Candace Dempsey

How would you like to make a splash in the famous Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle, on a hilltop above California’s Central Coast and legendary Highway 1? While zebras graze on the nearby pastures, you now have a chance to swim in the famous, and exclusive, Neptune Pool. During four dates this year, members of the Foundation at Hearst Castle (FHC) will have the opportunity to swim in this glorious pool, just as movie star Carole Lombard, billionaire Howard Hughes, and Charlie Chaplin once did.

I was dreaming of Venice last fall, but my trip to Italy fell through. Now, I'm socked into a Seattle winter, the roads covered with uncharacteristic snow. Luckily, I've got Dream of Venice in Black and White and my memoriesfor company. In 77 photographs from 10 countries, this new book strips the legendary floating city down to its bones, presenting it to us in black and white, in fog and ice and rain.

When my son, Jacob, was 5 years old, I dropped him off at a Seattle day care center, not knowing it was closed for Good Friday. He knocked and knocked on the front door. Nobody answered. This disaster predated the cellphone. Jacob — blond, blue-eyed, impish — had nothing but my business card. He had asked for it several days before. He was proud that I had one, like the other moms. He had zipped it into the pocket of his red jacket, the one he wore when I dropped him off that day.