The entirety of the garden is never visible at once. Instead the viewer is led to uncover intentionally hidden views of the landscape while strolling along its curved paths.

As our final trip of 2017, JD and I met up in Palm Springs...

I'm just a Chicago Gal experiencing the California Wildfires. First,it was the Sand Wildfire that began just weeks after we moved from Chicago to California. The Sand Wildfire was merely miles away from us.

Life Lessons Carson Valley teaches my kids on Spring Break: "Don't wait," he said. I can't remember his exact words after that, his wisdom mixed with the wind, the nay of the horses, the crunch of earth beneath our boots. It was along the lines of life is short. People put off their dreams, or traveling for too long. Sometimes, you just have to go for it. This is a man who truly follows his passion.

It's a round-up of my favorite SoCal Beach Piers because Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer...unless you are in Southern California and can hit those beaches all year long. SoCal beach piers are those iconic structures you find on postcards and t-shirts. They are an immediate way to identify which beach it is, and each beach comes with its own look and personality.