THURSDAY TRAVEL / JUST ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S DRAMATIC NORTH BEACHES

Crescent City delivers a California coast of crashing surf, rocky headlands and towering redwo ods. Near the Oregon border, this working harbor town rewards travelers seeking salt air, forest trails and an unhurried escape. 

Founded in 1853 as a shipping and supply center for gold miners, Crescent City endured a devastating tsunami in 1964. Today, its downtown tsunami walking tour recounts the destruction and recovery. 

Follow Pebble Beach Drive for Pacific panoramas and offshore sea stacks. Battery Point Lighthouse, illuminated in 1856, welcomes visitors when tides permit access. Nearby Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park trades ocean thunder for the quiet grandeur of ancient trees. 

For lodging, Lighthouse Inn is a leading choice, earning strong traveler reviews for comfortable accommodations near the harbor. Breakfast is included. Dining standouts include Chart Room Restaurant for chowder, fish and chips, and sea lion watching; SeaQuake Brewing for craft beer, pizza and local fish; and Schmidt’s House of Jambalaya for Cajun flavors. 

Start mornings at Paragon Coffeehouse (above) or SeaFront Baking Company. Browse downtown around Third Street for boutiques, gifts and local finds, including Johnston’s Gift Garden Home and Tsunami Beach Company. Then return to the waterfront: Crescent City’s finest attraction remains the restless Pacific, providing an ever-changing finale to the day. 

Crescent Beach Overlook

AMERICANA / OLIGARCHISTS TAKE HEED; AMERICA'S REAL POWER HAS SPOKEN

Day before elections, 2026

An American Warning America woke up Wednesday morning with a political hangover. Not the ordinary kind that follows a bitter election, but one that raises an uncomfortable question: How long can a nation's governing class dismiss the frustrations of its citizens before those citizens decide they've had enough? 

 The French discovered one answer in 1789. America offered a different answer on November 3, 2026. Rather than storming a palace, voters went to the polls. Rather than overthrowing a monarchy, they changed the balance of power in Congress. 

 Yes, the circumstances were vastly different, but the historical comparison deserves consideration. France had its aristocracy, America its billionaires. France had a king and queen insulated by court privilege. America has elected leaders, powerful donors and political institutions increasingly scrutinized for their relationships with concentrated wealth. 

 The question is not whether another revolution is coming. It is whether those entrusted with power recognize the warning signs when voters deliver them. After all, the ballot box is one of democracy's greatest inventions. It allows a restless nation to make itself heard without overturning the furniture or chopping heads.