In Saratoga, there’s a Japanese garden called Hakone Estate and Gardens. To get there, you go up a steep driveway off of Big Basin Way, buy a token from the gift shop, and use the token to unlock a turnstile. Inside, everything’s verdant green and richly textured. The softest breeze rustles the leaves of bamboo […]

On Sunday, I took a friend to the Oakland Zoo.

At the end of August, I drove 1000 miles to Grand Tetons National Park, a mountain range just south of Yellowstone. For two weeks I camped, hiked and animal watched through intermittently sunny and rainy weather.