Venice Beach is located just south of Santa Monica along the edge of the Pacific Ocean. This is a town of eclectic dichotomy of street side artists and backpackers along with a mix of trendy upscale establishments. Venice is home to numerous actors and actresses and the city has been featured in a number of films and TV shows including Baywatch. Very popular with surfers and you will often see surfers riding bicycles with their surf boards … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Restaurants
There are literally thousands of restaurants in Los Angeles and compared to some large cities, overall the food here is generally quite good. Unlike in some cities, excellent restaurants are not always the most expensive or 'polished' - rather often some of LA's best food is found in unassuming strip malls. Pick any type of food you can think of. Los Angeles will have it. Any type of food. Chances are you will find a number of restaurants serving … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Accommodation
Los Angeles offers a diversity of accommodation ranging from basic rooms to some of the state's top luxury properties. If you have your own suggestion for LA area hotels, please email dave@pon.net & reference this page in your email. We will consider all recommendations. We have personally stayed at nearly all the properties listed below. And be sure to scroll down to the map at the bottom of this page listing approximate pricing and … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Wineries
California's original planted grapevines date back to the early California Missions. Of historical note is the Ramona Vine at Mission San Gabriel (north of downtown). This vine was planted in 1774 - this mission was founded in 1771 and at one point was the largest winery in the state of California. Early wine was used for sacramental purposes at these area missions. Some of California's earliest commercial wine making dates back to the 1830's … [Read more...]
Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb
9/1/2000 - Friday After traveling for three days and undergoing quite an ordeal getting from San Luis Obispo to Nairobi, Kenya, I finally arrive in the Nairobi airport at 7:50 pm. After going through Customs and gratefully retrieving my backpack and suitcase from the baggage claim area, I was overjoyed to see John Bragg there to greet me. We had some very long big hugs of relief to have made it to Nairobi safely and in time before the rest of … [Read more...]
Morocco – Moroccan Rugs
Shopping for rugs in Morocco is an experience that can be unbelievably draining on you financially if you are not careful. It DOES NOT matter if you travel to Morocco already knowledgeable and aware of Moroccan sales tactics & techniques. As several guide books about Morocco say - Moroccan sales techniques are generally regarded as among the most sophisticated and effective in the world. More about this will be explained throughout this section. … [Read more...]
California Avocado Festival, Carpinteria CA February 2002
California Avocado Festival Carpinteria - Visit the California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria, CA. This is a three day FREE event held in October each year and benefits local non-profit organizations and promotes the town of Carpinteria. Santa Barbara county is the 3rd largest Avocado producing county in the USA. This is three days of family fun, food, music, and of course avocados! Cool competitions include the best dressed avocado, largest … [Read more...]
Bangkok, Thailand – Day Trips
The following destinations range from half day to very long day trips from Bangkok. AYUTTHAYA used to be the largest and main city in Thailand before Bangkok. Its located about 90 minutes north of Bangkok by bus (via the Mo Chit bus station) or about 2 hours by train from the Hua Lampong train station in Bangkok. It is well worth seeing if you have a day. It takes most of the day to see this city when you count your travel and visiting … [Read more...]
Oaxaca, Mexico – Restaurants
There are many restaurants in Oaxaca, perhaps on average, they are a little more expensive then comparable restaurants in other cities in Mexico. This can be attributed to the fact that Oaxaca is a popular tourism destination. Years ago I heard that visitors were afraid to eat in Oaxaca's restaurants for fear of becoming sick from food poisoning. This has completely changed as the standards of food health have improved significantly including … [Read more...]
Santa Rosa, CA – Weather
Sonoma County has many many micro climates, not only relating to temperature, but also with precipitation. For example Santa Rosa averages a little over 30 inches of rain a year, but if you travel 10 to 20 miles away, rainfall averages can be much higher. Cazadero, in western Sonoma County one year received 117 inches of rain! Sometimes for several years in a row Cazadero receives well over 50 inches of rain each year. Santa Rosa tends to have … [Read more...]