Golden foodie awards deserving of red carpet treatment
In the top observances for awards, there are the well-known Oscars and Emmy’s, with the Golden Foodie awards close behind. What are the Golden Foodie awards, you ask? The awards began 4 years ago as a way to honor hard working chefs, superior restaurants and those who add their talents to make the Orange County...
Preserving Hawaiian culture in San Diego
Overlooking the beautiful De Anza Cove, North Mission Bay Park, was the perfect setting for the 5th annual San Diego Ho’olaule’a Hawaiian Cultural Festival. Organized by Jordan and Marla Martin, with contributing partnerships, sponsors and many volunteers, it’s their desire to keep Hawaiian traditions alive and pass them on to the next generation. As the opening ceremonies...
Flowers and river cruising, a blooming good time
Vibrant colored flowers are still blooming in the Netherlands and the best is yet to be seen. Many people associate Holland with springtime tulips and with the late cloudy winter, the abundance of these beauties is just around the corner. There are countless flowering beds in the country of the Netherlands and Keukenhof Gardens is the “Disneyland” for flower...
5 old time places in San Diego to eat comfort food
Please note-Adam’s Steak N’ Eggs has permanently closed Adam’s Steak N’ Eggs has been in Mission Valley since I was a kid and the row of hotels and motels on each side hasn’t changed over forty years. Known for breakfast steaks and egg combos, the screw drivers and Bloody Marys are also eye openers. A lumberjack...
Open air fish market reels in San Diego
Fishing boats and especially tuna seiners, used to line up along the San Diego harbor and as they disappeared, became a memory for those old enough to remember them. Fast forward to today and San Diego is encouraging fishermen to troll the local waters and revive the fishing community it once was. An open air...
Forget the retirement RV, Hyatt Maui has friends and sun winter long
Hawaiian trade winds gingerly shifted through palm trees as the family welcomed guests at their grandson’s first birthday party. The guests, dressed in aloha attire, are “snowbirds” from the cold east coast but now part of the Hawaiian family. Joe and Sadie Validzich have been staying at the Hyatt Regency in Maui each winter for over twenty...
San Diego’s historic police headquarters opening with a new venue
San Diego’s latest addition to the restaurant scene is a well-orchestrated confluence of top eateries in a historical landmark with bygone days beaming from each corner. My interest was piqued when I knew first hand where this was about to happen. The former San Diego Police Department headquarters, designed in a Spanish motif from the...
Front Burner helps kitchen staff in time of need
Fund raisers routinely call upon restaurants to support a good cause which do so willingly to help their community, but who helps the kitchen worker when needed? Maria Sparks of Cork and Platter Catering said two years ago several eateries in San Diego got together and held a fund raiser for one of their own...
A Palace, Dying Pope and Forgotten Painting
In a darkly lit room and barely noticeable above the arched doorway inside an old Italian palace is a painting with a 400 year old story still being told. Just outside of Rome and on the hillside beyond the fortified walls of the village of Zagarolo, is the former Colonna palace where the Pope’s commission...
New Surfing Creations in San Diego
Cardboard, Styrofoam noodles and duct tape, a surfer’s tried and true way to protect their favorite surf board for traveling. Sweating while wrapping the board is just the beginning and thankfully, there’s a better way for this arduous task. I met a young San Diego man with Surf Travel Solutions demonstrating his newly created surf...
105 Years Old and Full of Hawaiian Spirit at Teshima’s Restaurant
Her soft hand held mine as she warmly greeted me in her home, above her landmark restaurant. Mary Teshima is 105 years old and up until recently, greeted customers in her namesake Teshima’s restaurant where her great grandchildren now run the business. Near Kona, Hawaii, she has provided gracious service for tourists and locals for...
Strawberry fields forever in Carlsbad
Picking your own freshly grown strawberries is family fun and refreshing in the U Pick strawberry fields of Carlsbad, Ca. Big red and juicy strawberries hang gracefully from the vibrant green plants, dangling in the farm fields waiting to be picked under the bright sun. This popular north county attraction is open April through...
