California Adventures: Summer Travel, Fine Wine, Fine Art & Formula E Racing!

Welcome back to Coast to Coast with Heather Dawson! In this feature-packed episode, we take you across Southern California to explore smart summer travel tips, local festival highlights, world-class ceramic art, high-speed electric racing, and star-studded sports.

Reporter Audrey Stafford kicks off the journey with essential strategies for the summer travel season, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service with top destinations like Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and the Redwoods. Beyond national parks, Audrey highlights bucket-list experiences across California, including hiking Half Dome, taking a hot air balloon ride over Temecula Valley Wine Country, and snorkeling along the coast. Since in-park lodging fills up fast, staying at partner hotels like Best Western or Wyndham within a 20-minute drive offers a great alternative, provided travelers lock in early airfare prices before rates jump.

Next, field reporter Jason Rzucidlo brings us to the heart of the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival. Festival-goers sampled offerings from 16 participating wineries—ranging from sweet Moscatos and almond champagnes to rich Syrahs paired with gourmet food. Beyond the early morning hot air balloon launches and evening balloon glows, the crowd enjoyed live country music performances from acts like Parmalee opening for headliner Phil Vassar.

Correspondent Ketta Dugo then visits the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in Pomona to explore artist Dirk Staschke’s exhibition, Nature Morte. Inspired by 17th-century Dutch Vanitas still-life paintings, Staschke uses hyper-realistic ceramic sculptures of cakes and sundaes to examine themes of craving and overconsumption. Each piece features a dual design: a highly polished front paired with an exposed rear structure that reveals the intricate labor required to build it. Founder David Armstrong converted a former bank building into this 51,000-square-foot facility, creating the largest ceramics-only museum in the country equipped with public studios and artist workspaces.

The action shifts to the streets of Long Beach as Jason Rzucidlo covers the FIA Formula E Faraday Future Long Beach ePrix. Driver Lucas di Grassi captured his first US victory, with Stéphane Sarrazin finishing second and Daniel Abt taking third. Festival attendees explored cutting-edge electric vehicle technology, getting an up-close look at the BMW i8 and Faraday Future’s 1,000-horsepower FF01 concept car, which features NASA-inspired zero-gravity seating for ultimate driver comfort.

To wrap up the showcase, the episode drops by “Tennis with the Stars” at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas before the Indian Wells tournament, featuring top tennis pros Eugenie Bouchard, Kei Nishikori, and Richard Gasquet. Host Heather Dawson concludes with an insightful conversation alongside optometrist Dr. Elise Kramer, who shares essential advice on recognizing dry eye symptoms and choosing targeted eye drop formulations to protect your vision.

For more episodes, travel guides, and stories from across California, visit coasttocoast.tv.