We wanted to drive a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway while visiting Asheville. The scenic Parkway runs along the mountain ridges from Virginia, where it connects with Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, through North Carolina to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We started at the Folk Art Center near the Asheville entrance to the parkway. The Craft House contains an exhibition of folk art and a craft store. From the Folk Art Center, we continued north along the scenic mountain road. It was very reminiscent of Skyline Drive, which we've driven many times. I stopped at several of the scenic overlook pull-offs for the view and photos. The bluish haze you'll see is why this is called the Blue Ridge. Late March was still very early in the year and not everything was open ... read more

Wednesday was a day to explore the natural features of the Western North Carolina mountains. The previous day's rain had cleared, we would see the features! We followed US 74A southeast from Asheville to Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is a large natural formation shaped like--a chimney. It is described as a a 315 foot (96 m) granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. One enters the site from the highway and then follow a winding road up to the parking lot. From there, a trail leads to Chimney Rock itself, or there is also an elevator. A gift shop and cafe are located next to the rock, but do not detract from the impressive sight. Chimney Rock itself has a overlook that enables a view of Lake Lure below and the Great Smoky Mountains ... read more

The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena is a well-known celebration of New Year's Day. Susan and I went to see the parade on New year's Day 1985. (It's the only time I have seen it in person.) It really is quite a spectacle, with themed flower-bedecked floats, marching bands, and costumed equestrian units.The Tournament of Roses and its parade began in 1890 as a way for citizens of the new city of Pasadena to show off Southern California and its mild Winter climate to the folks "Back East". Floats began as carriages decorated with flowers. Today, the self-propelled floral floats are elaborately decorated in an array of different blooms and plant ... read more

During our Christmas visit to see my mother and and in Los Angeles in 1984, we ll took a day trip up the coat to Ventura and Santa Barbara. After a morning coffee break at Oxnard, we arrived in Ventura. The city of Ventura is the gateway to California's Channel Islands. Most of the northern islands of the chain are part of Channel Islands National Park. The park headquarters, at Ventura Harbor Village, has interpretive displays about the islands and their flora, fauna, aquatic life, and ecosystem. (The Channel Islands themselves can be reached by private boats or through park tours. There are beaches and hiking trails on the islands.) We spent some time viewing the displays at the visitor center, which Susan said reminded her of the one at Assateague National Seashore in Virginia. It ... read more

Alta California, the present-day state of California, was claimed for Spain by explorer Juan Cabrillo in 1534. (Hence Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro today.) Spain paid little attention to this distant possession for the next two hundred years. By the middle of the 18th century, Britain and Russia were expanding their claims to territory along the Pacific Coast of North America. Charles III decided it was time to enforce Spain's claim to Alta California. In 1769, Gaspar de Portolá was dispatched to lead an expedition northward from Loreto in Baja California and establish a permanent garrison at Monterrey Bay. A company of Soldados de Cuervo (Spanish colonial troops who wore a distinctive leather jacket), and Franciscan missionaries set out on an overland trek to a place as described two hundred years previously. The route they followed ... read more