Letters: Of noisy beaches and quiet prairies

Of noisy beaches and quiet prairies

I believe Jane Engle needs to check out Carpinteria once again. Thanks to articles such as “Places Underrated” [April 19], it is no longer the beach town nobody knows about.

Our family has been camping there for 40 years, but it has become so popular that we can no longer get reservations during the summer. Engle is right about Carpinteria being a nice one-day trip during the summer, but readers should know that it is crowded. Perhaps she refers to Carpinteria as “heavenly without the hype” during non-summer days because it is a great place to visit, but once June hits there is no room.

-- Nadia Myers, La Crescenta

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Thanks for including the Flint Hills of Kansas in your underrated travel spots. I find them more than beautiful, very comforting and reassuring.

When William Least Heat-Moon was writing “PrairyErth,” his “deep map” of Chase County and the tallgrass prairie, he was asked by a puzzled friend why he would waste so much time on “all that grass.” He said, “The prairie is only grass like the ocean is only water.”

-- Evie Rapport, Lawrence, Kan.

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It was interesting reading your article about the Flint Hills. My wife and I live in Orange County, and we just returned from a weekend getaway there. I have to second your thought that this place is about as much of a “non-L.A.” place as you can imagine. And that is not a bad thing.

We enjoyed the rolling hills of the prairie and the wonderfully hospitable people there. There is a pervasive sense of real history that was a major part of the formation of our country, and the people still hold true to our forefathers’ values. Did I mention the pace? Our hosts continually apologized for not providing more time for relaxing, but, for us, the pace was much slower than what we are used to in Orange County.

-- Pat Larkin, Tustin

On the Amazon, minus the teens

I was delighted to see a picture of La Amatista grace the first page of the Travel section [“An Amazon Adventure,” April 12] and totally enjoyed the accompanying article by Amanda Jones.

My husband and I were on La Amatista with the UC Davis Alumni Assn. in 2004. Reading the article brought memories rushing back, and I took out our photo album to relive the experience. Jones vividly captured the reality and the spirit of our trip (without the rambunctious teens).

-- Mona Evans, Marina del Rey

The View Hotel? A superb place

I carried Mark Vanhoenacker’s article [“Majestic Sleepover,” March 29] with me to Monument Valley, Ariz., where my husband and I stayed April 3 to 5 at the View Hotel.

The view from our balcony after snow fell Friday night was magnificent. The superb location blows Goulding’s away.

The Navajos did an exceptional job designing the hotel to blend in with the rocks. We can’t wait to go back.

-- Susan Browne Rosenberg, Palm Desert