I met Mike McDonnell at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago at Meadowood Resort in St. Helena for my first and only croquet lesson.McDonnell — the only full-time professional croquet instructor on the West Coast — met me with gleeful pep and was ready to play. It didn’t matter that I had never played American six-wicket croquet, the championship version of the popular backyard sport: McDonnell was ready to show me how to hold the mallet, hit the ball and play a lawn sport that traces its roots to Victorian England.Getting started
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In two weeks, Lake Tahoe — about 185 miles east of San Francisco — will be celebrating harvest and all of its seasonal influences during the 26th annual Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival.The Sept. 9-11 event at the Village at Northstar in Truckee will usher in a crisp change in weather and turning of leaves and feature fun-filled, family-friendly events that include live music, great food, libations and a growing crowd of regulars.Tahoe grape stomp (Sept. 9)
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For me, Houston has always been a stopover, not a foodie destination.
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Venice Beach, long-known as a hangout to hipsters, musicians, artists and beatniks, may be most famous for its beach and boardwalk, but its shopping district on Abbot Kinney Boulevard about a mile from the ocean is where the locals shop and dine.
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