HALF MOON BAY, CA - Although a coastal city - located around 35 minutes south of San Francisco - this feels more like a small harbour town with its romantic inns and luxurious resorts, on stretches of stunning sandy beaches where one can dine in or out on farm-fresh produce and freshly caught seafood.

YOSEMITE, CA - How do you sing Happy Birthday to a tree? Lots of people will be doing just that this year as three of America’s most beautiful national parks, all located in California, celebrated important anniversaries in 2015.

SAN FRANCISCO - Some trips begin before you board the plane. When a San Francisco native recommended Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, I was seduced in advance by his city.

LA JOLLA, CA - With the hang gliders silhouetted in a sky turned black and orange by the setting sun, and the last of the golfers finishing their rounds on the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course where PGA stars come to play, we begin our walk to where California drops off into the Pacific surf.

SAN DIEGO - There’s no better proof than this city’s famed Balboa Park that things do get better as they get older. And at 100, America’s most beautiful urban park never looked better.

SAN DIEGO - This was once the Cinderella of California cities — a natural beauty that always stood in the shadows while its state cousins, glitzy Los Angeles and sophisticated San Francisco, got all the attention. No anymore.

CORONADO ISLAND, CA. - It’s early morning — the sun is just beginning to show itself on the horizon — but already the parking lot at Coronado’s Municipal Golf Course is packed with cars.

CORONADO ISLAND, CA - It’s early evening when we wander onto Orange Avenue, this enchanting island’s main thoroughfare, in search of dining options.

CORONADO ISLAND, CA - While driving on the Coronado Bridge, which sweeps so majestically across San Diego Bay, we get our first glimpse of this island’s most treasured landmark, the Hotel Del Coronado.

LAGUNA BEACH, CA. - They say you can’t walk on water, but you can stand on it ... if you have the right equipment.