Food and travel stories are fun to write because they often involve interviewing people who are really happy and want to share that joy with others.

Cheeses to Intrigue and Entice Holiday Guests
To write this story I interviewed several prominent cheese shop owners who explained how to create cheese board themes such as all-California cheeses, mild-to-sharp cheeses, varieties of goat cheeses, and others. I thoroughly enjoyed researching this one!

 

 

 

 

Wooden Boats
Classic wooden boats have a powerful allure for amateur sailors. In this story, I profiled several wooden boat owners in Newport Beach, California who told the stories behind each of their boats and why they love them — in spite of the daunting amount of maintenance required.

 

 

Create a Happy Thanksgiving Table
It’s pretty common for guests arrive at parties with all sorts of food restrictions. That’s why I was eager to do this Q &A with Anna Thomas (left), author of the famous 1972 book, The Vegetarian Epicure, to find out how she accommodates guests with dietary needs at her holiday celebrations. She has a practical approach and her foods and easy to make and dee-lish! Her new book, Vegan Vegetarian Omnivore, is full of beautiful photos of satisfying foods.

 

 

 

 

 

Walking the Southern California Coast
This was an inspiring Q & A with Tom Courtney who has written several books about walking along stretches of the spectacular California coastline, “inn-to-inn,” as he calls it. In his books, he describes the joy of talking short and multi-day walks, at one’s own pace, along the many beaches in northern and southern California.