I stepped from my casita and looked up into a night sky exploding with stars. They swirled and throbbed, so bright that I needed no flashlight to find my way. On the western horizon, Orion’s bow pointed me toward the open-air restaurant at Rancho Pescadero, while the Big Dipper hung low in the eastern sky. … Read more

Like everyone, I appreciate a good restaurant. But perhaps because I used to be severely overweight, food is not overwhelmingly important to me when I travel. I generally eat only one meal a day, and most of the time I am happy enough with something from street vendors, who usually offer selections more appropriate for … Read more

My mother would have loved this. Every year, when I’d visit for Christmas, Mom would drag me to Bingo at the local smoke-filled hall. Gleefully she’d buy a passel of bingo cards and press a packet upon me. I’d tape my eight or ten cards to the carved and chipped wooden table while she spread … Read more