In Praise of the Firemen of Fallen Leaf Lake

On a recent road trip to the Lake Tahoe area, my daughter and I stopped in Fallen Leaf Lake in search of a highly-recommended waterfall. The only way in is a windy one lane road. It took twenty minutes to drive five miles, and I prayed the entire time that no one would come the other way. We arrived safely and parked near the general store. The... read more

Traffic Calming

As a former Boston driver, it took me a while to understand how San Diego drivers behave. The habit that astonished me most was that they wait in orderly lanes prior to the exit ramp to get off the highway. In other words, they don’t cut in at the last minute to make their exit. Recently I saw something even more amazing. On a drive through... read more

Giving back to Ricardo Haller

Ricardo Haller is a wonderful person who has worked many years supporting the ViaSat family. I am sharing the GoFundMe website we have started for him on valsroad. If you are able, please visit the website at the link below. Much love and gratitude to... read more

Carlsbad Flower Fields

I’ve lived in the San Diego area for over thirty years. Each spring, I make plans to visit the Flower Fields of Carlsbad. I feel the same joy today as I did on my first visit. The Flower Fields are a local landmark featuring a rainbow of ranunculus. Back in the 1920’s, horticulturist Luther Gage brought ranunculus seeds to the area and began... read more

Winter Photo Winner!

The winning photo came all the way from Switzerland. Congratulations to I. N. from Zurich. She captured this photo on her iPhone. The sun, the blue sky, and the ski tracks made for an interesting arrangement. If you click on the photo, it will enlarge and you’ll see skiers in the background. ... read more