american west, california, Hiking, history, Travel

Hiking the Angeles: Echo Mountain

Echo Mountain is a popular front range hike with easy access from Altadena. At 5.5 miles round trip with about a 1400 foot elevation gain, it is considered moderate. There are some cool ruins at the top, harkening back to the 'Golden Age of Hiking."

Europe and the United Kingdom, Historical sites, history, Museums, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation

The Tower of London

This final post in our Great British Adventure series focuses on the Tower of London. Since it was built in the 1100s, the Tower has served many purposes: armoury, treasury, Royal Mint, housing for the Crown Jewels, and very famously a prison. This was an interesting and educational experience for the family and definitely a must-do on any London itinerary. Cheers!

Europe and the United Kingdom, Historical sites, history, Museums, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation, writing

Salisbury Cathedral and the Magna Carta

After visiting Stonehenge on our first full day in England, we drove to the historic city of Salisbury. We paid a visit to the medieval Salisbury Cathedral, a wonder in itself, which houses one of the last four original copies of the Magna Carta. This pivotal document, written in the early 1200s, formed the basis for our modern practices of due process, and has influences many governing documents in the centuries since.

coffee, Europe and the United Kingdom, Hiking, Museums, outdoors, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation

Prehistoric History: Stonehenge

Our first full day in England was spent at prehistoric Stonehenge and in Salisbury. Stonehenge is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and it thought to have been built in during the later part of the Neolithic Era and the Bronze Age between 3000 and 1250 BC. Today, it stands, millennia later, as a testament to human ingenuity.

california, Museums, outdoors, photography, Style, Travel, Uncategorized

Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens, located in La Canada-Flintridge off Interstate 210, west of Pasadena, is described as "an urban retreat 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles." The gardens boast 150 acres of botanical collections, pretty walking trails, and seasonal displays.