Mining Rust: Joshua Tree National Park
The old Wall Street Mill mine in Joshua Tree National Park is long closed, but some old trucks remind us of the small community that once lived here.
California
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco: Where Gumbo Was (#145)
This week Gumbo made it to the West Coast with a visit to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
California cops: How do you ticket a driverless car?
That's the puzzling question faced by cops in Mountain View, CA the other day. Mountain View, where Google...oops, Alphabet...is the most prominent corporate citizen is also one of the areas where Google's driverless cars are being tested. The...
Sea World gives up its killer whale shows
Sea World, which has been under attack for its treatment of animals, and especially of killer whales, or orcas, has announced it will end its killer whale shows by next year, starting with its San Diego park. The company said it...
Airbnb Tests Fixed-Price Packages
Painted Ladies in San Francisco/ Photo by PHeymont Airbnb has sent out invites to test a fixed -price, all services included package, that covers the travelers' whole trip. This...
Top 7 Things to do in Avalon – Catalina Island
Living in southern California for most of my life, I have spent a few weekends in Catalina. It’s only a short hour hour boat ride from Long Beach, but it seems like a world away. I love that it is so small and everyone gets around on golf...
JetBlue joins Virgin America on NY-Palm Spings route
Palm Springs in the distance with beautiful desert landscape. Photo: Stan Shebs / Wikimedia JetBlue is adding Palm Springs, CA as a destination for the winter season, giving shivering New Yorkers another way to head for warm...
Space Shuttle Endeavour: Out of This World
I recently had the chance to visit the Space Shuttle Endeavour , which is on exhibit at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. There were 6 different shuttles as part of the Space Shuttle program (Enterprise, Columbia,...
Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Aug 5, 2015: Sea Turtle
I caught this curious guy staring at me while I was taking some photos at Sea World in San Diego. I loved visiting Sea World and experiencing as much as I could cram into the short time I had there. I did a couple of behind the...
SF: Walls take revenge on public urination
San Francisco is testing a special paint that splashes back on your shoes and trousers if you offend it by urinating in public. It's a possible answer to San Francisco's rash of complaints asking the city to steam-clean urine from stinky walls. ...
SF's Airbnb law amended, faces more challenges
San Francisco's "Painted Ladies." Short-term rentals in San Francisco continue to raise controversy. San Francisco, one of the first cities to work out an arrangement for legalizing short-term rentals, has amended the law passed in October to...
United makes big 'biofuel' steps
Fill'er up, please! Kerosene-based fuels may soon give way to biofuel. Photo: Sascheporsche / Wikimedia Fuel has been a big issue for airlines, both in terms of cost, and in terms of greenhouse gases and carbon...
Selfie sticks booted from Disney parks
You won't see this at Disney anymore! Starting Tuesday, June 30, selfie sticks are out of the picture at Disney's theme parks, world-wide.
11 days, all inclusive: $120,000. Includes John Legend
And mind you, that price is for sharing a room. There's an $11,000 single supplement! So, what do you get for a vacation that costs more than double the median household income in the U.S.? Read on....
JetBlue extends its move into premium market
JetBlue is taking advantage of United Airlines' planned departure from JFK by increasing its business-class service from JFK to California. JetBlue, which made its reputation as a traveler-friendly one-class airline with great inflight...