While wine in the Golden State began not with ambition but with obligation when Franciscan missionaries planted the first vines in the late 1700s, it has grown into a world-class industry. That deep history is still highly legible across the state today: from Napa's formality to Sonoma's looser sprawl, and further south and inland to regions carving out a completely unique path to global recognition.

When my stepsons were younger and summers stretched long in Los Angeles, I had a problem. Their dad worked long hours, and I needed to make the city feel like an adventure rather than a boring pile of concrete. So, I made them do something they initially resisted: write a summer bucket list.

Few cities do contrasts quite like Los Angeles. It’s where palm-lined boulevards meet glassy skyscrapers, and sun-soaked beaches sit just a short drive from mountain trails.