By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | nshaffer@timespublications.com
Exploring a picturesque maze of canals and bridges via gondola, a charming gondolier in boater hat and striped shirt at the stern, is probably the single most enduring image of Venice — and...
By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Mathew Broughton
This is my favorite view,” says Jill Cox, standing on the porch just off her living room and gesturing toward Sulfur Mountain in the distance. “This is what sold me...
by Alex Wilson
Perched atop a mountain promontory on the eastern edge of the Ojai Valley, commanding nearly unbelievable views, Meditation Mount welcomes people of all faiths seeking peace, personal growth and healing.
Since its founding in 1971, Meditation Mount has...
by Karen Lindell
Milt and Arlene Larsen have worked their magical touch on Montecito.
Milt, co-founder of the Magic Castle in Hollywood, and Arlene, a costume designer, have brought their love of magic, old-school entertainment and show-biz memorabilia to a new...
By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer
While the California beer boom has been going strong for decades — San Francisco’s Anchor Steam showed up on the scene in 1971, long before the term “craft brewing” had been coined — ciders are...
By Mike Nelson
At the Wilson family farm in Rochester, New Hampshire, 9-year-old Kay, one of six children, watches her mother feed, for the umpteenth time, “hobos,” men hungry and without homes.
As they sit on the back step of the...
By Alex Wilson | Photos by Luis Chavez
journey to England provided inspiration for an Oxnard family to replace their backyard lawn with a more natural and seasonal meadow-style garden.
Catherine Lewis and her husband Wayne joined a garden tour with...
By Leslie A. Westbrook | photos by Luis Chavez
he Hopi carve and paint Kachina dolls that are given to children to learn the spiritual and religious significance attached to them. Any sensitive person who has encountered these emblems can...
By Chuck Graham.
The two weathered, wave-battered sea stacks were prominent on the western horizon. Jutting 100 feet high and just off the beach at Willows Anchorage on the south side of Santa Cruz Island, they were an incredible site...
The Fillmore and Western Railway recreates the excitement and enchantment of train travel.
BY MARK STORER
Trains are an American myth. With the stature of Arthurian legend, trains resonate now (mostly in the minds of people of a certain age) with...
