Author Archive for E'Louise Ondash
More to Sequoia than redwoods
We are 300 feet below the earth’s surface in Sequoia National Park’s Crystal Cave, aptly named for its magnificent, shining stalactites and stalagmites that surround us. Suddenly, the few lights mounted on the walls go out and we stand in blackness. Our group of eight does a collective, controlled gasp.
Woman’s book chronicles unlikely year in Iraq
The fear of being unemployed and mounting debt are strong motivators, which is why Gretchen Berg found herself in a small town in Iraqi Kurdistan teaching young adults English.Not exactly the path that the 39-year-old copy writer and fashion maven had envisioned, especially since she’d already dismissed a teaching career. But in 2009, financial desperation [...]
Mammoth Mountain, Lake aren’t just for wintry seasons
It’s the first week of June, but sizable patches of snow linger on the trail to Crystal Lake, 9,000 feet in the mountains near the town of Mammoth Lakes.
Former Ohio reformatory gets new life as historic building
From our perch on the metal-grated stairway, we can see the five stories of tiny, two-man cells — row upon row of metal bars stretching the length of the enormous East Wing.
Tours of historical ship offer education and ghost stories
Royalty, celebrities, power brokers, heads of state and ghosts.
On any day of the week, locals and vistors head to Tarpy’s
Before us on our table, bedecked with fresh flowers, sits a magnificent Grand Marnier soufflé — airy and sweet-smelling — a delicacy, to be sure. My husband, Jerry, takes a spoonful and his eyes roll.
Carmel is a quaint and gorgeous luxury beach town
It’s the first week of April and the news is replete with stories of tornadoes, destruction and death in the Midwest and South. But here on the crescent beach of Carmel, the winter sun is mimicking summer and the surf sparkles. Visitors and locals alike are cruising the sand just below the bluffs of the [...]
Book yields insights into the experiences of living overseas
Barry Frangipane did what a lot of us dream of doing but never have the courage to actually do. He and his wife, Debbie, pulled up stakes, moved to a foreign country and lived there for a year.Then he wrote a book about it.
Touching history: Exhibit features experiences on Titanic
I was rescued; my husband wasn’t.That’s what we learned when we reached the end of the newest exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. Every visitor to “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” receives a replica boarding pass with the name of a real passenger who made the ill-fated voyage in 1912.I became [...]