Cheri Eplin

If the Heavens were responsible for sprinkling magical dust upon land, Angel Island would definitely be one of the recipients. Set in the middle of San Francisco Bay a stone's throw from Alcatraz, Angel Island is a perfect place to travel solo- a treat for both mind and body. Yeah, right… now for reality…. if you are a Mommy Diva like me, it can be a great day for YOU and your family!

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a group of 29 Rotarians—and one sister-in-law willing to help translate—to change the lives of 143 patients, mostly children, from the university city of Pereira, Colombia.
Rotaplast, a program that provides surgical intervention to eliminate untreated cleft lips and palates, makes Danville, California Rotary President Vic Georgiou very proud.

“Truly, these doctors perform more than surgery,” Georgiou said. “It’s an art form. Sculpture, that’s what it is.”

Envision a world without television, cell phones, computers, or commuter lanes. Imagine floating almost effortlessly suspended, where your only neighbors are a sea otter, a bat ray, or a rockfish, and—hopefully—your diving partner. If you can picture that scene, then perhaps you can conceptualize the sport of scuba diving.

Scuba diving might conjure to mind cruise ship commercials with tanned and toned bodies in exotic places or a program on the Discovery Channel. If you see the glass as half-empty, you might associate scuba diving with movies like JAWS. Diving does have its dangers, but you have a better chance of winning the lottery than being bitten or bothered by a great white shark.

If Tony Bennett lost his heart in San Francisco, I found mine in Half Moon Bay.
Located just 25 miles south from San Francisco, this seaside city usually boasts mild weather (with morning and nightly fog) but ironically welcomed me with unusually warm weather during my visit, which coincidentally paired with the heat of my impending divorce. My weekend escape to this coastal gem proved to be the perfect weekend getaway.