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Los Angeles CA Press

Still crazy for wildflowers? Colorado road trip leads to the summer bloom - Los Angeles Times

You could fly there, but a 925-mile road trip from Los Angeles to Crested Butte takes about 2½ days and is a chance to cross a few places off your bucket list. The route along Interstates 15 and 70 and U.S. 50 passes through the desert Southwest landscape of Las Vegas, the paleontological paradise of St. George, Utah, and Colorado’s Grand Junction and Montrose. https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-travel-road-trips-special-purpose-colorado-wildflowers-20190520-story.html

A missed flight leads to a carefree 24 hours in funky Maui town of Paia

Haleakala, Maui’s highest peak. At least we thought we were finishing our tour. When we missed our flights home to Los Angeles a few days later, we were more pleased than upset. Having scored an extra 24 hours on the island, we booked tiny, bright rooms at the Nalu Kai Lodge in Paia for $140 a night. A 15-minute drive from the airport, the inn has a hammock and a Tiki bar. The rooms are spotless, with hardwood floors and wainscoting. It all belies the fact that the lodge is tucked behind a strip of shops next to a Chevron gas station. Not much to do, but plenty to see Given the suddenness of our extended stay, we had an afternoon ahead of us and no agenda. So we weaved in and out of jewelry stores, then paused for a while at Cafe Mambo to sip black coffee and admire a display of prints by local artists as rain fell softly outside. But even in Paia we couldn’t escape chain restaurants – we wound up guzzling coconut porters at Rock & Brews. Later, we sauntered down the skinny shoulder of the Hana Highway, lit by the moon, and passed a cemetery and steepled church to catch the last reservation at Mama’s Fish House. The Maui institution is romantic, but pricey. We were underdressed and out of our price league, but that didn’t stop us from gluttonously ordering rounds of mai tais and bottles of wine, and food – appetizers and seafood so fresh that the menu names the fisherman who hooked it and where it was caught. The next morning we wandered drowsily down an alley and into the Eden of coffeehouses, Paia Bay Coffee, and never wanted to leave. Breakfast was simple and fresh, and the coffee was strong. We devoured both on the patio shaded by potted palms. Feeling like locals in Kihei Our 24 hours in Paia capped off a spring week in Maui that, at times, was the stereotypical Hawaiian experience: the Old Lahaina Luau, mai tais with tourists, a double rainbow over our friend’s oceanfront wedding. For most of the trip, though, we stayed in an Airbnb rental in Kihei, a small town filled with affordable hotels, grocery stores, strip malls and fast-food restaurants. It’s a vanilla locale, but with beautiful, easy-to-access beaches. We stayed there because it was cheap – our three-bedroom house was $135 a night. Our days in Kihei unfolded with sun salutations and side planks at Maui Hot Yoga, a casual studio within walking distance, and ended with dinners cooked at home. One evening, we watched the sun set over the ocean from a grassy knoll, sipping beer from red plastic cups. In Kihei, we got a taste of what it might feel like to live on the island. We skipped the popular road to Hana, scared off by the inevitable crowds, and instead rented mopeds and cruised south toward Wailea. We buzzed in and out of beaches with p... http://www.ocregister.com/articles/maui-686915-kihei-paia.html

A Juaneño memorial and mystery in Los Rios Park

San Juan Capistrano.The Juaneños are the original inhabitants of the land that became Orange County, and they also dwelled in what is now San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside counties. The tribe provided the manpower for construction of original landmarks in Orange County, including Mission San Juan Capistrano.Sometimes little changes at the memorial, which is in the city's Los Rios Historic District, and then something happens to freshen it up, the addition of a fresh bouquet of flowers tied to a red bandana, for instance."I've lived here all my life, but it's a mystery to me because we don't know who he is," said Ester Ocampo, 19, who recently was walking by the memorial with her friend Stephanie Mora.Thom Coughran, interim public works and utilities director for San Juan Capistrano, said the city is aware of the memorial but is not clear about who constructed it. He said is not aware of any plans to have it taken down, even though it is on city-owned property, Los Rios Park.**As he stepped onto the park, where sycamore trees hovered over picnic tables and a trellis lushly covered in grape vines shaded benches, Nathan Banda glanced at the buildings that housed his ancestors hundreds of years earlier. Today, the area is a tourist attraction. That isn't bad, he figures, if the Juaneño heritage is being preserved.Consider that although the language, rituals and other practices are often passed on to new generations, the tribe has largely merged with European settlers and culture. And although there is a Juaneño office in the city, the tribe does not have official federal recognition and all that that might confer. Members have pointed to occasional divisions within the tribe and ineffective leadership.The Los Rios Historic District, near Mission San Juan Capistrano and across the railroad tracks from the train depot, is the oldest continually occupied neighborhood in the state. Its more than 30 buildings include three adobe homes built in the late 1700s for mission families.Most of the dwellings are private residences. Others provide specialty retail, restaurant and commercial services. Some are both, a combination of money-making ventures and housing, an interesting and unique mel... http://www.latimes.com/socal/weekend/news/tn-wknd-et-1227-indian-site-20151225-story.html