Nothing beats fresh cherries, picked right from the tree. Photo courtesy of www.sxc.hu

Spring is blossoming in California with a wealth of farm tours throughout the state. Agritourism coordinator Penny Leff, of the UC Small Farm Program, shared some of her top picks with us.

1. On Sunday, March 14, Visalia's Farmers Market Farm Tours offers a field trip to Oak Patch Farm, known for its salad greens, sprouts and assorted pesticide-free veggies. Additional tours leave once a month on Sundays. For reservations and information, call Paige Williams-Reng at 559-967-6722.
2. On four Saturdays during March and April, join the Friend's Ranch Tangerine Tours. The tours, which run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. include a quick history about these Ojai citrus growers followed by a walk with the farmers through the orchard. Pick fruit, sample the tangerines, and feel free to ask questions. Cost is $12 ($5 for children 2 to 10). Pick your own fruit, or buy it in the packing house, for $1.50 per pound for fruit they pick or buy in the packinghouse. Make reservations at 805-646-2871.
3. On Sunday, April 18, join Sonoma County Farm Trails for a Blossoms, Bees & Barnyard Babies Tour. Highlighting some of Sonoma County's finest food and agriculture, the one-day event features orchard walks, newly-born animals and blooming fields. Our top pick? Sampling local honeys while learning the art of beekeeping. Cost is $25 per car or $10 per person. For reservations, call 707-837-8896.
4. Every Saturday, between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Alex and Jackie Lehman offer Pomegranate Honey Tours of their 500-acre Home Grown Cellars in Madera County. The farm is known for its pomegranates, grapes, apples, almonds and walnuts. Don't miss the farm store where you can buy pure pomegranate juice, pomegranate honey (an intense flavor created by placing the bees in an isolated pomegranate orchard), pomegranate oil, soap, jelly, seed meal and more. For tour information, call 559-664-8599.
5. Join the self-guided Tour de Cluck Chicken Coop Crawl in Davis on May 22, featuring a cycling tour of local urban and suburban chicken coops. Tour de Cluck benefits the Davis Farm to School Connection's work to support local food in the schools. For details, call Jacqueline Clemens at 530-758-5005.
6. Every Sunday, Petaluma's Tara Firma Farm offers public tours of its almost-organic property. Tara and Craig Smith welcome you to tour their vegetable fields;  meet grass-fed, pasture-raised pigs, cows and chickens; get a ride to the top of the property to enjoy views of San Francisco Bay; and hike 30-40 minutes back. End your visit at the farm store where you can purchase produce, chicken, beef, pork, and eggs. For tour information, call 707-765-1202.
7. On April 24-25, enjoy a tour of 12 Mariposa farms, vegetable gardens, wineries and orchards during the Mariposa Weekend in the Country. During the event, located in the Sierra foothills, you'll get to check out an alpaca ranch, sheep ranch and two cattle ranches, in addition to a family farm. Additional activities include a bird walk, nature photography workshop and children's activities. Book the tour through JJ Gillispie or Kris Casto at 209-377-8450.
8. Finally, for a unique weekend getaway, book San Luis Obispo's "Bounty of the County" hotel package. Enjoy two nights in a boutique hotel combined with a guided local farm tour. Tour the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, milk a goat at Happy Acres Family Farm, or see lavender oil being made at Green Acres Lavender Farm. Other highlights include wine tasting at Ancient Peaks Winery and wine making at Eberle Winery. Learn more here.

The California Celts play what they call Celtic Ska — a fusion of reggae, bluegrass, Mexicano and rock styles.

If you're heading through the Inland Empire this weekend, check out Riverside's Downtown Street Jam, a free concert series taking place from 2-9 p.m. Saturday.

Held at Orange and Ninth streets, the event will boast two Irish bands, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. The Leperkhanz will hit the stage from 3 to 4:30 p.m., followed by California Celts from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Adorned in traditional Irish kilts, the California Celts play what they call Celtic Ska — a fusion of reggae, bluegrass, Mexicano and rock styles.

Alternative/modern rock band Smile Empty Soul will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Hailing from Santa Clarita, the band is best known for its single “Bottom of a Bottle.”

Bring along a lawn chair and arrive early for the best seats. Learn more about Downtown Street Jam on Twitter and Facebook.

The Sonora Celtic Faire arrives this weekend at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds. Photo © 2009 Sonora Celtic Faire.

Branded the "Disneyland of Celtic Faires," the 24th Annual Sonora Celtic Faire arrives at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora March 12-14.

Celebrating the cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and Wales, the faire will feature several hot Celtic bands, including Molly’s Revenge, Need Fire, 1916 Band, Wicked Tinkers and Sligo Rags.

Traditional Celtic groups include Nine 8’s Irish Band, Golden Bough and Black Irish Band. Three full Scottish Pipe bands will also perform, in addition to several solo Celtic performers and dancers.
 
Other highlights at the faire include armored knights jousting on horseback, Scottish Highland games, Scottish and Irish modern clans, the Sierra Spiral Dancers, Highland Scottish dancers and Irish step dancing groups.

While you're here, be sure to browse the historic village with 500 costumed re-enactors, longbow archery, street performers, a giant, Vikings and fire-breathing dragon.

The faire kicks off at 3 p.m. Friday and continues at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $50 for all three days online at www.SonoraCelticFaire.com.

Las Vegas is a hot destination for us SoCal residents, so it's helpful to know where to hang out when we get there.

To help guide your evening, Nightclub & Bar Magazine announced its 2010 Nightclub & Bar Awards today at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  

Judged by 20 industry leaders, journalists and consultants, the winners (out of 235 contestants) were:

• Mega-Club of the Year: XS, Las Vegas
• 
• New Club of the Year: XS, Las Vegas
• Nightclub of the Year: Tao, Las Vegas
• Ongoing Promotion of the Year: Hard Rock, Las Vegas – Rehab
• Resident DJ: Paul Oakenfold – Rain, Las Vegas
• Single Promotion of the Year: Midsummer Night’s Dream – Palms, Las Vegas
• Ultra-Lounge of the Year: Blush Boutique Lounge, Las Vegas

Winners were based on nightclub concepts, programs, talent and professionalism. To learn more, visit their Web site.

The Murder Mystery Dinner Train at Fillmore & Western Railway.

For a change of scenery, hop aboard the Fillmore & Western Railway this month for two murder mystery dinner train events.

• On March 13, the railway hosts the "Night Train to Murder." Departing at 6:30 p.m. and returning at 9:30 p.m., the event features a prime rib or chicken cordon bleu dinner with entertainment by the P. Maxwell Productions troupe. Here's the scoop: It's 1930 and celebrity Caesar Deville and his crew have just completed work on a new Pandamount Picture. Prohibition has just ended, and for now, anything goes: maybe even murder. Cost is $89 per person.  
• On March 27, bring the kids for a ride aboard the a “family style” murder mystery that takes place on one of the great trains of the silver screen. Eastwood meets Westwood during this 2 1/2 hour evening adventure, which includes spaghetti & meatballs, garden salad, garlic bread, coffee or tea and a special dessert.  Adults are $61; kids under 13 are $32.

Reservations required. Call Fillmore & Western Railway at (805) 524-2546 or (800) 773-8724. www.fwry.com

Montage Resort is hosting a Raw Food Retreat in April.

Natural wellness educator Susie Sondag, the owner of Opulent Living, is offering an "Art of Living Raw Retreat" at Spa Montage April 18-20.

Sondag will help you embrace organic and raw foods and purify your body with a series of lectures, raw food classes and tasting workshops. Choose from the complete Art of Living Raw Retreat, A Day of Living Raw, or a special one-hour lecture. The series includes signature Spa Montage Surrender experiences.

The Art of Living Raw Retreat, $1,135 per person

• Two nights oceanfront accommodations
• Three Thalassic beach walks
• Three informative Art of Living Raw lectures
• Three raw food preparation and tasting workshops: Preparing Nut Milks, Soups and Appetizers; Preparing Main Course Entrees; Preparing Desserts & Elixirs
• One 60-minute Surrender spa treatment, one 90-minute Anti-Aging Facial and one 90-minute Aromabalancing session

Day of Living Raw
Select your preferred focus and enjoy a day that includes a beach walk, lecture, food prep workshop and Surrender spa experience.

• Sunday, April 18: Surrender to Cleanse & Detoxification, $395
• Monday, April 19: Surrender to Anti-Aging, $435
• Tuesday, April 20: Surrender to Longevity, $435

Art of Living Raw Lecture
$195 per person, 11 a.m. - noon

• Sunday, April 18: Disease & Detoxification
• Monday, April 19: Regeneration & Anti-Aging
• Tuesday, April 20: A Longevity Lifestyle: Feel Confident & Empowered

The entire series takes place at Montage Laguna Beach, located at 30801 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

• Watch our video about Montage Laguna Beach.

For reservations, contact Montage at 1-888-715-6700; or visit the Web site at www.montagelagunabeach.com.

Truth be told, most of us skip over the promo code box when purchasing travel flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals. It doesn't apply to me, right?

Actually, there are tons of Web sites devoted to finding these codes, which will help you save big on your next vacation. Dealhunting.com and CurrentCodes.com  are two online databases that categorize thousands of coupons and secret “checkout codes.”

For example, if you are planning a Hawaiian vacation at the Marriott this spring, you can use promo code MRP to get a "Suite Deal with Daily Breakfast for Two." The offer expires May 3, 2010.

There are tons of specials to be found, so have fun looking!

Photo courtesy of California State Parks

Housed in one of California's most historically significant buildlings, the San Diego Cosmopolitan Hotel opens in April 2010, fresh from a multimillion-dollar makeover.

The San Diego hotel, also known as La Casa de Bandini, was established in 1869 by Albert L. Seeley. Located in Fiesta De Reyes at Old Town State Historic Park, the newly renovated hotel features 10 guest rooms, an indoor-outdoor restaurant and several meeting rooms.  Read more about its history here.

Many historical features remain from the 1827 building remain intact, including a wrap-around balcony once used to watch local bullfights, adobe walls dating back to 1820 and a wood exterior dating back to 1869. The new Cosmopolitan Hotel in San Diego will be run as a bed and breakfast.

For more information, visit www.fiestadereyes.com.

Do airlines have WiFi? You bet — and here is a guide to them all. Photo courtesy of Alaskan Airlines.

With a trip to Hawaii planned this spring, I thought I'd do some research on all of the airlines with WiFi. Most of the information I found dated back to 2008, which wasn't much help finding current information about which airlines have WiFi.

But soon I stumbled upon a site called Gogo Inflight Internet. The company provides WiFi on airlines including Air Canada, AirTran, American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America. What's nice is you can buy the airline WiFi a single flight, or as a 30-day pass, so there's a plan for everyone. Single flight plans range from $4.95 for 1 1/2 hours, $9.95 for up to 3 hours, or $12.95 for any flight over 3 hours.

I have a flight planned on Continental this spring, which will complete its InFlight Internet service on its 21 Boeing 757-300 aircraft later this year. Alaskan Airlines announced this week that it now offers Gogo on all of its aircraft.

JetBlue WiFi service is also being offered on its BetaBlue plane. Unfortunately you can't book that specific plane and it's a random thing. JetBlue plans to expand its service to its entire fleet, though there is no set date for completion.

Another WiFi airline service is being offered through a company called Row 44. Southwest WiFi is offered on four planes at the moment, but the entire fleet should be equipped early this year. Service is between $2 and $12.

Routes and availability differ by airline, but as a rule it's offered in all 48 continental states. To get access, you'll need a laptop or handheld device with 802.11 a/b/g (Wi-Fi) wireless local area network (WLAN) capability.

Handhelds that work include the iPod Touch, iPhone, Blackberry 8320 or 8820 and Nokia N95. The service does not work in the terminal, but only after you've reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. It's also important to point out that you may not place calls during flight, but you can use IM or e-mail services.

I hope this guide to WiFi on planes has been helpful. For more details from each airline, click on their links above!

California is home to some of the leading spas in the world, and a new iPhone app has made finding them even easier.

The free SpaFinder app, made by www.spafinder.com, has a database of more than 5,000 spas throughout the world. With the app, you can search spas by price or specific spa treatments. Additionally, you can check available appointments and book your reservations right from the app.

The app also brings you news on the latest spa deals. For example, between March 8-14, SpaFinder is offering $50 spa treatments at dozens of spas throughout California. 

Not all spas are in the database, but it comes pretty darn close. I searched for some of the smaller independent spas I'd visited recently, and they were there. For example, there was a user's review for Elevations Day Spa in Big Bear Lake, but information about services and treatments was not yet available. Read our review here.

Since the SpaFinder iPhone app relies on candid reviews from real people, you'll get honest experiences and recommendations for that spa's best treatments and therapists. The iPhone's GPS searches for spas near your location and then gives you driving directions right to the spa.

You can't beat free, and I've found the SpaFinder app to be a nice addition to my iPhone. I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

For more information about the app, go to http://www.spafinder.com/iphone