L.A. Times - Travel

On the buffalo trail at Antelope Island

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The annual roundup of bison by volunteers is a chance to see the enormous animals, icons of the American West, up close.

"How do you move a 2,000-pound bison?" a rider on a horse next to me asked. The punch line to this joke: "You don't."

Fit for the Faroe Islands

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The islands have unstable weather but steady culture and constant beauty.

From the mountaintop road above Kvivik, green slopes fell steeply away to the sea, drawing my eyes outward, over the village, to the soft shapes of other islands drifting in the pale blue distance. More than a thousand years of Faroe Islands history lay in that view. It was like looking at a map of time itself.

High-end New York restaurants offer meal deals in recession

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Balthazar, Café des Artistes, Daniel, Dévi, Jean-Georges, Tao and 21 are among restaurants offering lower-cost alternatives.

You gotta love New York. As soon as the financial bubble burst and the suits started packing their lunches, a host of restaurants fought back by offering affordable prix-fixe menus and perks to keep their tables full during tough times.

An American holiday outside Paris

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's Fourth of July weekend. My wife, Kathy, and I have a bag full of red, white and blue pinwheels, some Stars and Stripes-brand snack cakes, and a packet of mini-flags. We're nearly set for a holiday blowout in the country.

Lake Casitas: Water park makes camping cool

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Once known for some of the best fishing in the state, the recreation area's attraction is a great way to spend a weekend up a Lazy River.

I was floating on an inner tube, basking in the sun of a bluebird day in western Ventura County, as my inflatable vessel coasted on a lazy current under a spray of cool mist. On the shore, a tanned lifeguard looked down at me from behind big pink sunglasses.

Vacation rentals can save money, but it's buyer beware

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Group rates, a free night, a round of golf -- deals can be found online. But do business with reputable companies.

Here's a no-lose proposition: You get better accommodations, you get them for less and you get other discounts.

Hidden stories of the California coast

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Coastal Commission's 'Beaches and Parks in Southern California' has more than 50 color maps and about 300 color photos.

Summer's here and the time is right for . . . 352 fact-packed pages from the California Coastal Commission. ¶ The commission has published a weighty paperback covering San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, and it will answer all your questions about fat innkeeper worms, the romantic impulses of Richard Henry Dana Jr., and why you can run faster than you swim. ¶ The volume, "Beaches and Parks in Southern California" (University of California Press, $24.95), includes more than 50 color maps and about 300 color photos, not to mention entries on mugworts, newt, threespine sticklebacks and various other plants and animals of the coast, along with details on public access, parks and trails. The editor and principal writer is Steve Scholl. ¶ This isn't a book for the lowdown on hotels or restaurants or shopping -- there's virtually none of those things here. But this is the volume to toss in the back of your Volkswagen bus with the folding chair, the Mexican blanket, the Frisbee and your lucky old abalone shell. The book continues a series that began with volumes on Northern California in 2005 and the Central Coast in 2007. ¶ Here, drawn from the new book and only slightly sensationalized, are 10 nuggets that might be news to you.

The boar war that was averted on San Juan Island

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In 1859, the U.S. and Britain almost went to war again -- over a dead pig. Today residents celebrate how forebears used words, not weapons, to avert conflict.

The history books don't say whether the dead pig had a name. There's also no mention of whether the slaughtered swine ended up as ham on someone's dinner table. But one thing is clear: The porker's plight nearly led to human bloodshed.

Direct flights to Cuba now offered from LAX

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Next stop, Havana

Tags and TMI

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Question: What's the recommended information to include (and not to include) on one's luggage tags? I know people say you should put your cellphone number on them, but I don't keep mine turned on.