Take an LA day trip to Solvang If you are looking to really feel like you are escaping Los Angeles. The picturesque Danish village is right of out a fairy tale storybook and the beautiful scenic drive through mountains will transport you into another land.

New Orleans is more than what to see and do. It's more than beads hanging off of street signs. New Orleans is tasting powdered sugar on the fingers, cobblestones that rise and fall with every step; big porches with small details. It's big music, marching through the streets and gentle hospitality.

 The strong personalities of the different home architecture line up as I stroll through Venice. It's like looking at a family portrait of the California family. The colorful houses reflected in the Venice canals under a bright blue sky. If the definition of beauty is symmetry and lighting, well, I just captured the perfect beautiful day.

I came to this country as a 5-year-old little girl with just my small suitcase...

When sunny skies meet mirrors and metal, the Chicago architecture pops before it melts into the clouds.

The chance to hike Walden Woods where Henry David Thoreau wandered every morning, to dip my toes into Thoreau's own pond and see the actual site of his cabin where he wrote his philosophies that continue to inspire wanderers, travelers, humanitarians.  To see a place that both inspired and reflected his sense of simplicity, appreciation, gratitude, and kindness.