Pizza by the slice at Pennington Pizza in Pennington, New Jersey, paired with a regional Stewart’s root beer. Pizza used to be regional. If you were in New York, you just got New York pizza. If you were anywhere else in the country, there was a …
Pizza by the slice at Pennington Pizza in Pennington, New Jersey, paired with a regional Stewart’s root beer.
Pizza used to be regional. If you were in New York, you just got New York pizza. If you were anywhere else in the country, there was a different style.
New Jersey pizza can be folded and the oil runs down your arm. It’s sold by the slice, and paired with a Stewart’s root beer or maybe a birch beer. At one time, there was a neighborhood pizza pie place for everyone, run by somebody’s Italian uncle.
New York-style is pretty much the same, until you bring coal-fired into the picture. Some swear by the char.
Midwest pizza is all over the board. There was the cracker-thin crust that places like Ken’s popularized in the 70s. More recently, there are attempts at New York-style pizza, without the Italian uncle. It depends on your part of middle America.
The fun thing about Chicago pizza is arguing about it—all friendly, of course. Deep-dish is what they are known for, but Chicagoans beg to differ about which pizza maker is best. Giordano’s? Nancy’s? Lou Malnati’s? Pizzeria Uno? Do you want cheese in your crust? What’s worth standing in line for…because that’s a likely scenario.
Detroit-style pizza is square or rectangular, and often eaten with a fork. Otherwise it’s closely aligned to Chicago pizza.
California pizza—oh, now there’s a different pizza. Describe California toppings to someone from New Jersey and they won’t believe you are talking about pizza. These pizzas arguably started the trend toward fresh spinach, pineapple, artichokes, roast red pepper, sundried tomatoes, and goat cheese.
All this regionality made pizza distinctive. You knew where you were when you ate it. Times have changed.
Now you go to New Jersey and everyone raves about the wood-fired pizzas, thin crust and all. You go to Chicago and the deep-dish rivalry continues, sure, but they’ve branched out to skinny versions to appeal to the masses.
Pizza, in all its forms, has become ubiquitous. Want deep dish in Alabama? Go to Tortugas in Birmingham. Want Detroit-style on the West Coast? Try Purgatory Pizza in Los Angeles. Want New York-style in Missouri? Try The Big Slice in Springfield.
Understand, this is not a complaint, but rather a commentary on the melding of flavors and tastes that has taken place. As our world gets smaller, our access to the finer things in life—like our choice of pizza—is getting larger.
On a personal note, when I was transplanted from the East Coast to middle America, I missed “real pizza” terribly. What I could find was mostly described as cardboard covered in ketchup. Now, budget notwithstanding, I could use Goldbelly to get Pequod’s or John’s of Bleecker Street or a dozen others. But I don’t even have to do that. Pizza is offered in all its various forms at many local restaurants. It may not be the stuff of memories, but it usually satisfies the craving.
We are an amalgamation of tastes. And now, good or bad, we can access what we want. Without a road trip. Without necessarily packing it in dry ice to mail. Without using your imagination.
When it comes to pizza, it may no longer be regional. But it’s almost always good, in all its permutations. Go grab a slice.
The opinions of the author are just that—opinions. Feel free to nicely express your own.
Back in the 1880s, silver miners found work and built homes in the desert town of Calico, California. But those days of prosperity couldn’t last forever. By the mid-1890s, silver had dropped in value, leading miners to abandon the town. However, this wouldn’t be the end of Calico.
In the 1950s, Walter Knott, founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, bought the town and began restoring several historic buildings. Since then, the Calico ghost town has found new life as a tourist destination. Today, you can explore Calico Ghost Town Regional Park in the desert of Yermo, California. Take a look at what adventures await you there with this photo guide.
The proposal is a one-year deal, but the city and Troon might be interested in extending it.
The LPGA may have taken a major championship out of California’s Coachella Valley after 51 years, but women’s professional golf is poised to return to the desert with the biggest event on its developmental tour.
The Indian Wells city council will vote Thursday whether to spend as much as $100,000 to sponsor and host the Epson Tour Championship in the fall of 2024 at the city-owned Indian Wells Golf Resort. The Epson Tour Championship is the final event of the developmental Epson Tour’s season, with the top 10 players from the tour’s money list earning LPGA exemptions for the following year.
“After discussing funding options, the time during the year when the tournament is played, the consumption of existing tee times, and negotiated Resident Benefits, the Finance Committee recommends the Council consider the $100,000 Host City Sponsorship,” a city staff report to the city council suggests.
The event, to be played Oct. 3-6, would be the first Epson Tour event held in the desert, though the tour does play an annual tournament in March at the Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet in Beaumont. The championship has been held in Florida every year since its inception in 2008, with the lone exception of 2020, when it was played at River Run Country Club in Davidson, North Carolina.
“The chance to bring women’s golf back to the Coachella Valley and the chance to bring championship golf to the city is something that we look forward to,” said Christopher Freeland, city manager for Indian Wells who prepared the staff report. “And the idea that at the end of the week 10 players will get their LPGA cards is great.”
The LPGA has a long history in the Coachella Valley dating back to an event in 1953 at Tamarisk Country Club in Rancho Mirage. The best-known LPGA presence in the desert was the 51-year run of an event hosted by television and recording star Dinah Shore under various sponsorship names at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. That tournament, which started in 1972 and was elevated to a major chainpionship in 1983, ended its run in the desert in 2022 as the Chevron Championship before moving to Houston for the 2023 season.
While the proposal to be voted on Thursday is a one-year deal, Freeland said be believes the city and Troon would be interested in extending the Epson Tour’s deal to play at the city’s golf resort. He added that by showcasing the resort and the Coachella Valley in October, it might be possible that a successful Epson Tour Championship could influence the LPGA to think about returning to the desert with an official LPGA event.
Alexa Pano of USA plays her shot on the third tee during the first round of the Epson Tour Championship at the Champions course at LPGA International on October 06, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Resident discounts included
If approved by the city council at the $100,000 sponsorship level, the new event will be known as the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells. City residents would receive discounts on grounds tickets, VIP hospitality and pro-am berths, and the city would receive advertising opportunities on the live stream of the event.
“This opportunity is consistent with the City Council’s goal to increase tourism to Indian Wells and expand the City’s brand as a golfing destination,” the staff report says.
The report says if the $100,000 sponsorship level is approved, staff has $62,200 in the Golf Resort fund to be allocated for the Epson event. That would still require $37,800 in an appropriation. The council will also consider a $50,000 sponsorship opportunity, or could turn down the chance to host the event at all. Freeland sid he was optisitic about the council vote.
“I would expect some sponsorship to be approved,” Freeland said. “I don’t know if it will be the $100,000 level or the $50,000 level, but I think something will be approved.”
For its part, the LPGA is estimating more than 1,900 hotel room nights from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6, a traditionally slow shoulder month period for the city, spinoff revenues at local restaurants, especially the golf resort itself. Receptions and parties, a pro-am for 150 amateurs, the LPGA card ceremony at the end of the event and an estimated $2.5 million in media exposure for the city are all part of the LPGA pledge for the event.
The Epson Tour Championship was played this year in Daytona Beach, Fla., at the LPGA International, but Freeland said the LPGA, through IWGR management company Troon, asked about moving the tournament to the IWGR. While the staff report does not say which of the two 18-hole courses at the golf resort will be played, Freeland said he has confirmed that the Players Course, renovated by John Fought from an original Ted Robinson design, will be the tournament course.
The Indian Wells Golf Resort has hosted professional events before, starting in 1993 with the Gulfstream Aerospace Invitational on the PGA Tour Champions, an event won by Raymond Floyd. The LG Skins Game was played at the resort starting in 2006 and ending in 2008 when the Skins Game itself ended. In recent years the resort has hosted the Southern California Open, an event conducted by the PGA of Southern California.
Just outside Santa Cruz, California, Roaring Camp Railroads takes visitors back in time while connecting them with the outdoors. The destination accomplishes this task with an old-school steam train that carries guests through a stunning redwood grove and up nearby Bear Mountain. Hop aboard and see what makes this attraction worth visiting.
Steam train service at Roaring Camp began on April 6, 1963. The Redwood Forest Steam Train continues running today, taking families, couples, friends, and all other guests on a journey through the forest.
The trip is somehow both serene and thrilling. It’s all thanks to Roaring Camp combining heavy 1800s steam engines with timeless views of nature. On every ride, a conductor’s voice crackles throughout the open-air train cars to provide insight into local history as redwoods tower above the train. For tourists who appreciate their sightseeing with a side of storytelling, Roaring Camp’s redwood train ride is a can’t-miss stop.
While Roaring Camp’s inaugural steam train service began in 1963, the area’s history dates back a little further. In the 1830s, a “mountain man” named Isaac Graham settled in the region with plans to start a logging operation. On my recent visit to Roaring Camp, a train conductor claimed that Graham’s daughter and wife convinced Graham to keep the forest intact. Twenty-five years later, the redwood grove “became the first virgin stand of coastal redwoods to be protected from logging.”
Guests board the Redwood Forest Steam Train at the little station across from Roaring Camp’s retro, western-themed general store. During the festive season, visitors can expect to see yellow-leafed trees and pumpkins or colorful twinkling lights decorating the area. For Halloween this year, Roaring Camp is hosting “Thomas the Tank Engine”-themed events for families. Later in the year, guests can enjoy a Holiday Lights Train and Chanukah Train. See what else Roaring Camp has to offer on its website.
Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, Outdoors Wire did visit Roaring Camp during a press trip to Santa Cruz, California. As always, Outdoors Wire operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner looked to the past to set up Olympic Club for the future.
SAN FRANCISCO – From the first tee to the 18th green, golfers will notice plenty of differences on the recently renovated Lake Course at the Olympic Club, a layout that already had seen plenty of changes since it was first designed in 1924.
As they did at several other major championship courses including 2023 U.S. Open host Los Angeles Country Club, Hanse and Wagner planned for the future by studying the past.
Hanse Design associate Tommy Naccarato said that meant researching old aerial photos from the 1920s and ‘30s as well as Spring Valley Water Company’s plans. That allowed the team to identify fairway bunkers that had been abandoned over the decades, and the historic research also provided clues on fairway widths, approaches and green surrounds.
The Spring Valley Water Company’s historical plans show the routing of the the Lake Course at Olympic Club. (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
Ultimately the Hanse plan would call for the reintroduction of fairway bunkers on Nos. 4, 9, 14, 16, 17 and 18. Other refinements included the expansion of greens by roughly 33 percent to provide more pinnable space, widening fairways by roughly 25 percent to better fit the land, expanding approaches to greens to offer more ground-game options and converting numerous green surrounds from fairway to rough for consistency course-wide.
The final piece of the plan was the creation of a new seventh hole to better connect Nos. 6 and 8 after the 2009 shifting of the tees on No. 8. The new No. 7 remains an uphill and drivable par 4, but the green was shifted down a hill to the right. The tee shot offers numerous options, the best of which come when players challenge a new fairway bunker about 50 yards from the green, Hanse said via zoom at a September reopening event.
The land for the new No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
No. 7 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
Players can notice the differences from the first tee shot, where the removal of dense shrubs between the first tee and second green has opened a view across the property and down to Lake Merced, all the way to the 18th, where fairway bunkers were added and the green was expanded.
All told, the refinements have provided the Lake Course with a more consistent Golden Age look and feel as well as improved playability for day-to-day play.
The Lake Course offers a rich history that Hanse and Wagner were able to tap into. William Watson and Sam Whiting designed the first version of the Lake in 1924, but storm damage led to a Whiting redesign in 1927.
Starting in 1955 the Lake Course became a familiar home to USGA championships, hosting U.S. Opens in 1955, ‘66, ‘87, ‘98 and 2012. It also hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1958, ‘81, and 2007, as well as the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021.
Throughout its championship history, plenty of work was done to the course while leaving the routing intact. Before the 1955 U.S. Open, architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. toughened the course. In 2009 the uphill par-3 eighth hole was shifted to the north and the greens were converted from poa to bent grass. And in 2016 a bunker renovation was executed under the direction of Bill Love.
No. 1 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
No. 1 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco after the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
The course played beautifully during a media event thanks to the work of director of grounds Troy Flanagan and his team that worked closely with Hanse’s team, including shaper Shaymus Maley who was on site every day throughout the project.
“Tapping into his knowledge and enthusiasm allowed us to do a better job and be much more responsive on how the golf course plays,” Hanse said of Flanagan. “I can’t think of better greens I’ve played on for an opening day.”
The praise of the course was music to the ears of Olympic Club president Jim Murphy, who led the club through what is always a nervous time for a membership.
“First there was uncertainty, then there was anticipation and now there is jubilation,” Murphy said of his members’ response to Hanse and Wagner’s work.
Those sentiments were echoed by longtime Golfweek’s Best rater and Olympic Club member Pat Murphy, who said, “I’ve been a member of the Olympic Club for 65 years, and previously served as green chair, on the board and as vice president. I feel this renovation has done a great job of honoring our past and positioning us for the future. The golf course is as beautiful, fun and engaging as it has ever been in all my years.”
No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco before the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco during the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
No. 18 at Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco after the restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (Courtesy of Hanse Golf Course Design)
There is no doubt the course refinements will be embraced by the membership, but perhaps the bigger question is how will the course play in championships. The Lake Course is set to host the 2025 U.S. Amateur, 2028 PGA Championship, 2030 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 2033 Ryder Cup.
The amateur events and the Ryder Cup should be able to tee off while maintaining the added fairway width thanks to their match-play formats. It will be interesting to see how chief championships officer Kerry Haigh and the PGA of America prepare the course for the 2028 PGA Championship, for which conventional wisdom would suggest the narrowing of fairways to add challenge. But a potential ball rollback, more hole locations from which to choose and more rough around the greens may see them embrace the added width – we can only hope.
“I thought I won a few bucks on that hole until Chuck hit his ball,” Spina laughed.
When Rick Lehman missed the green with his tee shot on the 165-yard par-3 seventh hole at Andalusia Country Club in La Quinta, California, he didn’t think much of it other than the shot wasn’t very good.
What Lehman and his two playing partners couldn’t have known was that within seconds the three golfers would be witness to something rare — back-to-back holes in one from the trio.
Steve Spina, a guest at the course and playing second on the hole, made a hole-in-one with a 7-iron. Chuck LaVarnway, playing last in the threesome, then holed his own tee shot with a 5-hybrid.
“The funny part was we are playing a game where one guy can win all the money if he wins by two strokes,” said LaVarnway of the double aces on Sept. 23. “So I hit my shot and I’m thinking I have to make a 2, and it was going at the pin and I turned away, knowing that I hit it very well. But I turned away and Rick goes, ‘That went in.’ And I said ‘oh, come on.’”
“I thought I won a few bucks on that hole until Chuck hit his ball,” Spina laughed.
The odds of an amateur golfer making a hole-in-one are 12,500 to one. The odds of consecutive holes in one, according to the PGA of America’s website, are about 17 million to 1.
Lehman, LaVarnway and Spina play golf often at Andalusia. Lehman and LaVarnway are members of the club and Spina, a part-time La Quinta resident who lives in Burlingame near San Francisco, as a guest of his brother-in-law who is an Andalusia member. On this day the threesome was playing a game called Nine Points, meaning the winner of a hole gets five points, the second-best score gets three points and the highest score on the hole gets just one point.
Lehman’s shot didn’t offer much inspiration to his playing partners, he said, missing the green on the downhill par-3 with water in front. Spina then hit his 7-iron.
“It was in all the way,” Lehman said.
“It hit three feet in front and rolled right in,” Spina said of his fourth career ace.
Second ace same as the first
Then came LaVarnway’s turn.
“We high-fived, and Chuck was like, whatever, and he walked to the cart to get a different club,” Lehman said.
“Chuck goes, oh, I feel a little breeze, so he goes back and gets a different club (a 5-hybrid) and then he hits it and it goes right in, the exact same line,” Spina said. “It was crazy.”
“They were almost identical shots, to be honest with you,” Lehman said. “They both went straight at the hole. I think the ball marks were a foot or so away from each other, and they both just bounced a couple of times and disappeared. It was crazy.”
For LaVarnway, it was his 10th career ace. But Spina, LaVarnway and Lehman all said they have never seen two aces from the same group before, much less on consecutive swings.
“And we are all jumping up and down like a couple of kids,” Lehman said.
“We are glad Rick was there (as witness), otherwise no one would believe us,” Spina said.
Perhaps the only downside of the two aces is that they came so early in the round.
“We walked onto the eighth tee box and, well, something like that, the excitement, it’s over,” Lehman said. “Stuff like that should last longer, the excitement. We did talk about it all day. How could that have happened?”
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club. Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke …
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club.
Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke lead over the field after the first round. Lyons did much of the heavy lifting, firing a 7-under 65.
“A very special day for me, really,” Lyons told Golfweek. “We [Team Ireland] came over about a week ago. We’ve been enjoying Southern hospitality for the last week. We’ve played some great golf, played some really cool golf courses last week, getting climatized to playing off of Bermuda [grass].”
The preparation paid off for Lyons, as he hardly missed a fairway all day. The Irishman went out in 2 under with his lone bogey on the day coming on the par-4 8th hole. On his way back in, Lyons caught fire, making birdie on six of his final nine holes.
“Delighted with my day today,” Lyons said. “There’s another two rounds to go, so, I’m an amateur golfer, I shot 65 today, I could easily shoot 80 tomorrow so I’m just going to try to enjoy today and see how it goes tomorrow.”
Helping Lyons build Ireland’s lead, team captain Karl Bornemann (T-24) carded a 2-over 74. Rounding out the trio, John Reynolds (T-44) looks to make his score count in Friday’s round after an opening 76.
On the team side, Oklahoma commands solo second place at 2 under thanks to Michael Hughett (68) and Jon Valuck (74). Ricky Bell matched Valuck’s 74, giving the Sooner State natives plenty of momentum heading into tomorrow.
Team Michigan, South Carolina and California share third place at 1 under par.
On the individual side of the championship, there are a handful of players looking to hunt down Lyons.
Utah’s Shane McMillan rebounded well from an early bogey to post a 5-under 67. Michael Hughett (Oklahoma) used a bogey-free 11 holes to card a 4-under 68 while Michigan’s Jerry Gunthorpe had an up-and-down day en route to an opening salvo of 2 under.
Four more golfers are knotted up at 1 under with nine more players at even par.
Sharing Lyons’ sentiment, anything can happen in amateur golf, keeping the championship up in the air until it’s all said in done. But, if Lyons and his teammates have anything to say about it, the closing ceremony and trophy presentation will be accompanied by the sweet sounds of the Irish national anthem, Amhran Na Bhfiann.
The United States has no shortage of incredible outdoor destinations. When faced with such a wealth of magnificent canyons, lakes, mountains, and forests to explore, some travelers may struggle to choose where they should go next. If this conundrum sounds familiar, this article is for you.
Big Bear Lake, California, needs to be at the top of your travel to-do list. This destination promises hours of fun, especially as the end of the year approaches. Fall and winter turn Big Bear Lake into a wonderland of outdoor adventure. Whether you like to ski, hike, or fish, Big Bear promises to show you a good time. Not convinced to visit yet? Check out these seven outdoor recreation options you can try there.
Most big cities aren’t known for their hiking scenes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t great trails to be found. In Los Angeles, there are actually tons of cool places to hike, if you know where to look. Let’s dive into where you can find these hot spots.
For scenic and engaging LA hikes, you’ll want to head out to local parks and peaks. The county’s ridges and green spaces provide optimal back-to-nature vibes and gorgeous wilderness views. From Griffith Park to Solstice Canyon, here are the six best hikes in LA, where you can find them, and why you’ll love them.
There are 154 national forests in the United States. As of 2015, these forests stretched across 188,336,179 beautiful acres of land. With so many miles of wooded area to explore, it can be hard for any one spot to stick out. Today, the spotlight is on California’s Stanislaus National Forest.
Find this hidden gem roughly 92 miles southeast of Sacramento. Stanislaus rests in the middle of a particularly gorgeous region, between Yosemite National Park and Eldorado National Forest. If you want to bypass the crowds at Yosemite, there are 78 lakes and 1,000+ miles of hiking trails to discover at Stanislaus. Here are the region’s top attractions and why it’s such an exciting place to visit.
Photo by David Prasad
Where to go
There is a treasure trove of cool places to visit at Stanislaus National Forest. For tranquil views of the water, stop by Mosquito Lake. In the Emigrant Wilderness, you can find lush meadows during summer and icy landscapes in winter. Other scenic areas within the forest include Trumbull Peak Special Interest Area and Rim of the World Vista.
Get even more out of your visit by taking a day trip to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Bring the whole family for a guided hike or an astronomy night event.
USFS photo by Jerry Snyde
What to do
Outdoorsy tourists will find endless adventure in this California forest. Try hiking along Cleo’s Bath Trail, Lake Alpine Trail, or Carlon Falls Trail. Prefer water sports? Swing by the Cherry Lake Boat Launch, or kayak on the Tuolumne Wild and Scenic River. For mountain biking, head to Pinecrest Lake, Ferretti Trail, or Ebbetts Pass.
Photo by Kevin Dooley
Camping and lodging
Spend the whole weekend at Stanislaus National Forest. The region offers some quality campsites, plus a few resorts. See a full list of available campsites here, and explore dispersed, group, and RV camping options here. For your first visit, consider staying at popular spots like Lumsden Bridge Campground or Pinecrest Campground.
If you prefer sleeping indoors, book a reservation at Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort or Kennedy Meadows Resort & Packstation. Groups can also find some great cabin rentals on Vrbo or Airbnb.
