Great Adventure

With the coming of the dawn, Michael Kinloch could finally see the enormous size of the waves that had been crashing over the sailboat. In the darkness, he had felt them slam and occasionally caught a glimpse of lines of foam. But in the light, he came face-to-face with the 50-foot waves that broke all around the 27-foot sailboat as the seas grew rougher and more ominous.

The death Sunday of Huell Howser, beloved public television chronicler of California, has prompted an outpouring of appreciation for his work from fans and critics alike. Howser, the host of programs like "California's Gold," "Visiting," "Road Trip" and other PBS favorites, was known for his down-home demeanor and contagious enthusiasm ("Would you look at that!") for the subjects he covered, which ranged from well-known California travel destinations to obscure roadside attractions and intriguing everyday people.

Six Flags unveiled its 2012 lineup of new roller coasters, thrill rides, water slides and live shows at the amusement park chain's 12 North American locations. > Photos: New attractions coming to Six Flags parks in 2012 New Six Flags President and Chief Executive Jim Reid-Anderson said a full slate of new additions would become an annual event, promising to add a new attraction at "every Six Flags park every year. " Six Flags ' 2012 attractions include two new roller coasters, two relocated coasters, three tower rides, three water slide complexes and at least one show.

Huell Howser, a great man of television, died late Sunday in Palm Springs, to which he retired quietly late last year - or as quietly as an interested public would let him, the announcement that he would make no more programs being news throughout the state and prompting tributes and some expressions of concern that now will be multiplied many times over. He was a boyish 67 years old. If you lived in California in the last few decades and owned a television you likely have an opinion, and quite possibly do an imitation, of Howser, and it probably involves the phrase "That's amazing!"

The creators of the great purple scourge, Barney the Dinosaur, have an unspoken contract with parents palatable for all involved: We buy their videos and an occasional plush toy for our 3- and 4-year-olds and make Barney's brain trust obscenely wealthy; they in turn create benignly lobotomized entertainment that holds our non-demanding kids in thrall; our kids watch TV and allow us a few precious minutes of peace.

There are many things you can call Fox NFL sports analyst and coaching legend Jimmy Johnson but "wimp" is not one of them. When two blocked arteries prevented him from competing on his favorite TV show, CBS' "Survivor," three years ago, Johnson underwent heart surgery, lost 30 pounds, cut his cholesterol level in half and applied again. The network couldn't resist and offered him a slot on "Survivor: Nicaragua," which premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. (Yes, that's a new night for the granddaddy of reality TV shows)

A week or two spent vacationing at the ocean, mountains, lake or desert can be total bliss. But moving to that vacation paradise and living there full time can present many pitfalls. Having been San Francisco Bay sailors for years, it seemed only natural that, set free by retirement, my wife, Monica, and I would go off to see the world by sailboat. Shivering our timbers, we sailed first to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez. It was a great adventure.

About the time I was told it could take up to three months to get a long-term French visa because I had filed all the wrong documents and didn't have a permanent address in Paris, I wondered what I was doing. Why was I giving up my rent-controlled apartment in sunny L.A., abandoning my car, saying goodbye to family and friends? Why, in short, was I moving to Paris? Actually, this doesn't count as moving because I'm coming back.

John Ferris died the other day. John Lyman Ferris. He liked his name stretched out. It provided him with a sense of greatness that shorter names did not possess. It was, in its way, a heroic name. Don't trouble yourself trying to recall who he was. You probably wouldn't know. But those close to him knew him as one of the great adventurers of our time. He should be mentioned in the same context as Christopher Columbus, Sir Edmund Hillary and Meriwether Lewis.

It does nothing to slight either Michael Chabon or his slyly entertaining new novel, "Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure," when I say that 10 pages into it, I began to think of another book and another writer. On my 10th birthday, my parents gave me the wonderful edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" that N.C. Wyeth illustrated.

Six Flags unveiled its 2012 lineup of new roller coasters, thrill rides, water slides and live shows at the amusement park chain's 12 North American locations. > Photos: New attractions coming to Six Flags parks in 2012 New Six Flags President and Chief Executive Jim Reid-Anderson said a full slate of new additions would become an annual event, promising to add a new attraction at "every Six Flags park every year. " Six Flags ' 2012 attractions include two new roller coasters, two relocated coasters, three tower rides, three water slide complexes and at least one show.

Reporting from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey-- Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., has a long and winding roller coaster history that's filled with as many twists and turns as the amusement park's many record-breaking rides. Photos : Top 10 Six Flags Great Adventure roller coasters Great Adventure was a must-see on my road trip across America's coaster belt, in large part because of the park's three world-class rides: El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro.

There are many things you can call Fox NFL sports analyst and coaching legend Jimmy Johnson but "wimp" is not one of them. When two blocked arteries prevented him from competing on his favorite TV show, CBS' "Survivor," three years ago, Johnson underwent heart surgery, lost 30 pounds, cut his cholesterol level in half and applied again. The network couldn't resist and offered him a slot on "Survivor: Nicaragua," which premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. (Yes, that's a new night for the granddaddy of reality TV shows)

Eleven-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel caught something different in the off-season: an 11-foot anaconda in the wildlands of his native Venezuela. "It was always a dream of mine to go out in the jungle and try to find an anaconda," Vizquel, now with the Texas Rangers, told the Associated Press. "You see so many movies and so many things about it. I saw it in the zoo and other places, but it would be great just to see it out in the wild."

It does nothing to slight either Michael Chabon or his slyly entertaining new novel, "Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure," when I say that 10 pages into it, I began to think of another book and another writer. On my 10th birthday, my parents gave me the wonderful edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" that N.C. Wyeth illustrated.

About the time I was told it could take up to three months to get a long-term French visa because I had filed all the wrong documents and didn't have a permanent address in Paris, I wondered what I was doing. Why was I giving up my rent-controlled apartment in sunny L.A., abandoning my car, saying goodbye to family and friends? Why, in short, was I moving to Paris? Actually, this doesn't count as moving because I'm coming back.

Reporting from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey-- Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J., has a long and winding roller coaster history that's filled with as many twists and turns as the amusement park's many record-breaking rides. Photos : Top 10 Six Flags Great Adventure roller coasters Great Adventure was a must-see on my road trip across America's coaster belt, in large part because of the park's three world-class rides: El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro.

Receiving relatively little attention in the big deal involving the agreement by Time Warner Inc. to buy Turner Broadcasting System Inc. for $7.4 billion is the fact that the Atlanta Braves baseball team will have a new owner for the first time since entrepreneur Ted Turner purchased it in 1976.

Ryan Adams may be the post-alt-country man of the moment, but he's got a long way to go to catch up to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. In the first of two nights at the El Rey Theatre on Wednesday, Tweedy and his newly streamlined group showed stunning reach and range as they previewed material from their fourth album, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot," due for spring release from Nonesuch Records.

John Ferris died the other day. John Lyman Ferris. He liked his name stretched out. It provided him with a sense of greatness that shorter names did not possess. It was, in its way, a heroic name. Don't trouble yourself trying to recall who he was. You probably wouldn't know. But those close to him knew him as one of the great adventurers of our time. He should be mentioned in the same context as Christopher Columbus, Sir Edmund Hillary and Meriwether Lewis.