Blogger giving Central Valley natives a fresh take on home

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Cassie Yoshikawa is best known for her Christian travel blog, "Cassie's Compass." It highlights diverse destinations and adventures fueled by faith.

"I think a lot of people, when they hear Christian travel, they think mission trip or religious tours," she said. "To me, it's so much more than that. Every destination deepens my love for God."

Among her favorite places in the Central Valley is the Old Town Trail, connecting Fresno and Clovis.

"It's, obviously, so beautiful, but it just connects a lot of places in Fresno," she said. "Exploring places is another way I feel closest to God as well."

The Oklahoma native moved to the Valley with her husband, Ka'eo, seven years ago.

"We spend our free time exploring California, the city and things like that," Cassie said.

From day trips and date nights to hikes and museum tours, Cassie's Compass showcases the "best of" Central California, a blog that is ever-evolving.

"I think people from California forget where I used to live, I had to fly to go to the beach," she said. "I had to fly to find the mountains. I had to fly to get to a national park, a winery and here, you can get there and back in the same day."

The blog also offers a downloadable map that features the hidden gems of Fresno and surrounding areas.

In addition to insight on her world travels, 12 countries and counting, Cassie's Compass gives readers native to Central California a fresh take on home.

"That's kind of my goal is to help people fall in love with Fresno again," she said. "To do that, you have to know the city. Same with the outdoors and God's creation -- if you're going to start caring about nature, you have to get out there and experience it yourself."

Cassie is planning to lead group travel-- both abroad and here in California.

If you follow Cassie's Compass on Instagram, she's taking input on where the first destination will be.

For news updates, follow Vanessa Vasconcelos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.