Fairfield is located in Suisun Valley, just twelve miles from Napa, you find yourself surrounded by "real" wine country. Not the huge, commercial tourist traps, but the actual vineyards where most of the grapes made in Napa wines are grown. There are growers, wine makers and some who do both. It's a Gals weekend getaway

My Weekend Pleasures Around LA Without Crowds shows that if there is a silver...

Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, California is a perfect stop along the Pacific Coast Highway. It's a perfect mix of tropical and wild beach. If you want to truly appreciate how beautiful a beach can be, visit it early in the spring, after a rare Southern California dark and cloudy sky. Any beach can look appealing in bright sunshine and blue skies. For the wanderer that seeks raw and wild beauty where ocean touches the land, this is where you go.

Evergreen Lodge: Not only did it have everything I was looking for, but activities for the kids, a rustic, but comfortable cabin, a solar-heated saltwater pool--and onsite restaurants. This meant less time cooking after a long day, and less frustration of hauling and trying to store food.

"You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart will...