Sandi Hemmerlein
Sandi Hemmerlein is a writer and photographer. Based in L.A. but constantly on the prowl for new adventure, she spends most of her time nurturing her interest in birds, animals, neon, historic theaters, puppets, trains, folk art, and stained glass. In addition to her work for PBS SoCal, Sandi also documents everything on her own website Avoiding Regret.
Whether you have a difference in faith — or an indifference to faith — take off your shoes, set aside your fears and give yourself over to these five great temples and their traditions.
Unfortunately, not all of us live in an area where you can own your own goat legally. Here are five great places where you can get to know some goats – and, during kidding season, maybe even hold a baby.
It's amazing how few Angelenos have ever heard of — much less been to — the hiking trails in the San Fernando Valley. Here are five great places to hit the trails and see L.A. from its vast urban expanse to the north.
While the wildflowers are just starting to dwindle elsewhere, they are painting the town yellow, orange and purple in the Central Valley – namely, at the Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Here are five great ocean and ocean-side dwellers to look out for while visiting our coastal lands … and the places where you’ll be sure to find them, without interfering with their pupping, spawning, mating and other private business.
California may be famous for its ghost towns, but you don’t have to travel as far north as Gold Country, Death Valley, or even the Mojave to see one. Here are five great lost cities within arm’s reach from L.A., and what to look for when you visit.
This is a special time of year for the seagulls on Anacapa Island, the largest breeding ground for the Western gull in the Western U.S. The blooming wildflowers on the island make for a romantic setting for mating season.
The heavy rains of winter have brought a particularly spectacular bloom to the areas of Anza-Borrego – and the town at its center, Borrego Springs – that are easily accessible by car and on foot.
Today, you can track down traces of those days before the ratification of the 21st Amendment, without worry of police raids or mob ties or stock market crashes. You just have to know where to look.
If you’d like nothing more than to kick up your heels to the Charleston or the Foxtrot in some “Roaring Twenties” garb, celebrating the magic of the Jazz Age, then it’s time to immerse yourself in all the Art Deco that Los Angeles has to offer.
You can find peace and beauty in the most unexpected places, which can bring you solace in the most unexpected ways. Here are five great retreats where you can take a few minutes to walk, think, and just breathe.
Here are six ghost towns in the Mojave Desert that you can easily visit by car, really see something and maybe even meet some people (though not many).