Red Room Where the Writers Are

Podcast of Whale Watching feature in the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Sunday, March 2, 2008.

Of all the towns dotting the western stretch of Interstate 40, Winslow, Ariz., is a sight to see.

It doesn't get much better than sitting under the desert stars, listening to live jazz guitar and drinking a glass of merlot on the outdoor dining plaza at Rancho Las Palmas Hotel and Spa in Rancho Mi

The chimes begin ringing over Avalon at 8 a.m. and will ring on the quarter hour throughout the day before going silent at 8 p.m. They have done this every day for more than 80 years.

The sun has just come up over the hills to the west and kayakers are already pushing into the glassy blue waters of Dana Point Harbor.

The wildflowers blaze across the hillsides, making swashes of color in between houses overlooking the blue Pacific. Sun lovers stretch out on the sand while seagulls dive and soar overhead.

It's hard to believe that San Diego has no hip slogan. New York is "The Big Apple," New Orleans is "The Big Easy," Chicago is "The Windy City," even LA is "The City of Angels."

Twilight in Santa Monica is a wondrous time.

The Inland region is a family of valleys presided over by the mountain patriarchs we call Baldy, San Jacinto and Big Bear.

Settled along the Kern River, Bakersfield is one of the fastest-growing regions in California.

If it's not the gradient blue Caribbean waters, it will be the white sands of its shoreline that tickles your soul.

The Praying Monk kneels in perpetual solitude on the hillside above the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa in Paradise Valley, Ariz. The name alone will draw you.

The season of sun and fun is upon us. Gas prices on the rise, airfares are too. This summer may find more people vacationing in nearby resorts, campgrounds and other close by places.

California is a melting pot of cultures. Sometimes the culture in the melting pot sticks together and creates a fondue of ethnic proportions.