Just got Inked!!

So after years of procrastination, today was (unexpectedly!) finally the day I took the plunge and got my first tattoo! Yes - all those hours spent looking out of the window from my apartment in Christopher Street finally propelled the subconscious into conscious action and I found myself in Tattoo Heaven, just after midday today.  After explaining the real reason I was there was delayed peer pressure from my Mother (she'd got a tattoo there 3yrs earlier - a lower back tattoo saying "F*ck You" in Chinese characters!), the guy asked me what I was thinking of getting.  "The hell outta here" crossed my mind, but instead I replied I was looking for something pretty, discrete and feminine.  Something non-visible except to me, my gyneacologist and bikini waxer.  After looking at a gazillion non-inspiring pictures of flowers, I stumbled across a collection of Myan Tribal symbols and one in particular, Dwennimmen, really captured my attention.   

Dwennimmen is a symbol from the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa and is a symbol of strength, humility, wisdom and learning.  It derives from the geometric shape of a ram's horns  - the ram is seen as a very strong animal with graceful and magnificent horns  and, even though its horns can be used viciously and forcefully for survival, the ram normally chooses not to use them as such but to be graceful and elegant in its approach.  The strength of a ram depends not so much on the forcefulness of its horns but on the integrity of its heart.  In addition to beauty (inner and outer), Dwennimmen also signifies the necessary balance that is needed in life.  A person may be talented and gifted and may have skills and knowledge, but it is not these virtues alone that enables one to excel.  It is the creative use of these skills; the strength in mind, body and soul; and the humility that comes from understanding one's place in the universe.  It is the learning and wisdom that comes with time that enables a person to exceed his normal capabilities and excel in his endeavours (Adinkra Dictionary by W.Bruce Willis, 1998).

I can't think of anything better to have as my first tattoo.

New Life Kick-Ass Recipes

Here are a couple of my favourite recipes from my time here at New Life Hiking Spa. More can be found on their website at www.newlifediet.com. Yummy!!

Avocado Dressing
1 ripe avocado, peeled and seeded
1 clove crushed garlic
1 plum tomato, finely chopped
1 tbs. red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup skim or soy milk
1/2 cup yogurt
Dash of Cumin and/or chili powder to taste
Tamari to taste

Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth.

Chicken Sesame and Spinach Pasta Salad
6 oz. pasta twists
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup light sesame or extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbs. sugar
¼ tsp. pepper
3 cups cold, shredded cooked chicken
½ cup finely chopped parsley
½ cup thinly sliced green onion
8 cups lightly packed torn fresh spinach (2 bunches)

Boil pasta, drain. Meanwhile, cook sesame seeds in ¼ cup oil in fry pan, stirring until golden. Cool. Stir in remaining cup oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Pour over cooked pasta, add chicken and toss lightly. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. To serve, add parsley, onions and spinach. Toss gently.

New Life Sundae
4 perfectly ripe bananas, sliced
Chocolate sauce
Nuts & berries

Freeze sliced bananas in a plastic bag. Remove from freezer, thaw 10 minutes then place in blender. Puree until smooth. Consistency will be like ice cream. Use a bit of vanilla yogurt or part of an unfrozen ripe banana in blender if needed. Top with chocolate sauce.

Blue Ridge Hike
Today's hike choice was another advanced one - trailhead was fairly close to the hotel, about a 5min drive away, and firstly went along the flat, through the woods and past some old logging cabins. There were only 3 of us on the hike today (we got a round of applause from all the other hikers this morning when we stepped forward to leave!) which was led by the lovely Chuckles and Drew. After our usual stretch (my calves were soooo tight!), we started our slow and steady climb uphill. I didnt bring the camera kit with me today, as i didnt want the extra weight to carry in case the climb was really strenuous, but in the end, it was actually fine and I really didnt find it horribly tough. After about half an hour, we passed by this lovely waterfall (but just had to content myself with looking at it rather than taking a piccie!) where we stopped to take a breather, before continuing up and actually reaching the top in an hour, way faster than usual!! (yey, us!) The view was OK but a bit limited vista, really, so it was more of a good hike for the exercise, rather than the scenic view from the top. We stopped just long enough for our fruit break before starting our descent again fairly quickly - it had rained for about 20mins on the way up and was threatening to do so again, so we wanted to make it back down before it started pissing it down. The rain we'd had, whilst very pleasant cos it cooled us off on the way up, made it a little slippy underfoot on the way back down, so I had to concentrate extra hard not to lose my footing!! I made it, though, with only one or two minor slippages - a distinct improvement from Patagonia!!!

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

After a quick restorative phone call to Mum (who assured me that she still did love me!) and a check of the Blackberry to allay the irrational work fears (they still need me!), it was time for breakfast and decision time - which hike to do today? I decided to bite the bullet and go for my first advanced level hike, quite a steep climb up to an overlook called Deer's Leap. There were 6 of us, plus 2 guides and we were actually hiking along part of the Appalachian Trail, which was pretty cool (apparently takes about 6 months to do the entire length!). The hike was pretty tough in places with some steep ascents but fortunately also had enough fairly flat bits so you could get your breath back. I was also lugging all my camera kit, including the tripod, as i'd been told that the view from the top was worth taking it all with me. As you can tell from the pic, the view was pretty stunning although I didnt need my tripod (ah well!) so it was a great hike to do. Fortunately we came back down a different way, so we didnt have to do The Ladder in reverse!!

Got back to the hotel around 12.30pm, took a very speedy shower before lunch before then heading off for kayaking at half one! Drove about 5miles from the hotel to this pretty little lake where we hired out individual kayaks for an hour's gentle paddling and exploring. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, perfectly warm and sunny - I took a bit of a risk and took my camera out with me to take some piccies. Alas, didnt see the loons that our guide was telling us about but there were some very cute ducklings!

After the day's exertions, was time to chill out and relax, so spent the rest of the afternoon out in the sun just reading and sunbathing. About time I started to get some decent colour on me! To round out the day, after dinner, was time for my hot stone massage with Alison - was OK but a little too light for me, but relaxing nonetheless. Then had a lovely long chat with Charles, who's now ensconced back at home after sojourning at my place and looking after the boys for me, so that was a great way to end a very enjoyable day!

Where did that come from?
Wow. Just woken up from an incredibly intense and vivid dream where I got fired from my job for no reason whatsoever. Went from indispensable to disposable with 2 days notice. I either dont dream or usually dont remember them but this one was so strong, its like a movie, as i can still replay bits in my mind. Added to that, in this dream, the loss of my job seemed to be orchestrated by my Mum and sister, and it was all very unpleasant!! I think I came out fighting in the end and decided to sue Pfizer but it was the sense of bewilderment and "but why?" that really got me. I think i need a very very long and strenuous hike today to get the residual anxiety out of my system! Either that or a very large glass of Malbec!! :-(

Peg Legs

Another chilled out day today (is it only Tuesday? time seems soooo slow out here) - managed this time to get up in time for the 7am stretch and qigong classes (helped by my room's alarm clock mysteriously going off all by itself at 6.35am! nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!). Stretch was good (no matter how much you do, you always seem to feel tight!) and Qigong was interesting, although it would have been good to know a bit more about what the sequences we were performing were supposed to be doing. I have no idea if i did it right or not - at times it all got a bit too co-ordinated for me (especially at that time of the morning!) and i lost the plot, so hopefully i didnt inadvertently do anything weird or irreperable to my Qi!!

After breakfast, time to load into the buses and head off for our hikes. I chose to do the easy intermediate hike today up Mount Peg, mainly so i could mildly amuse myself with lots of internal double-entendres and smutty thoughts (sorry, honey!). Actually, the walk was gorgeous too - quite short, only about 4.5miles or so, but with lovely views across Killington from a beautiful alpine meadow, about halfway up. Got chatting to one of the guides, a chap called Sam, and we were trying to out-nerd each other with our knowledge of camping equipment (he eventually won on account of having once given a 15min lecture on how to strip down and rebuild a MSR Whisperlite stove - I conceded graciously!) and swapped favourite campfire recipes. He also put me on to (another) outdoorsy website called http://www.moosejaw.com/ - yet another mailing list to sign up for!

Following the hike, we continued on into the town of Woodstock to eat our bagged lunch and to do some shopping. Was a very pretty little town and I found this perfect quiet spot for lunch, down the road a bit from the green, right by the river. Very contently chomped my sandwich in the sunshine, sipped my (illicit) non-fat maple latte and read yesterday's copy of the New York Times. Then did a bit of shopping and bought a few pressies before heading back to the hotel for a lazy afternoon in the sun.

Just how few calories do you need per day before a Slim Jim starts to look like a tasty and attractive snack option?

In case you've ever asked yourself the question above, in moments of quiet gastronomic reflection, I can now tell you that the answer is 1,600. Thats how many calories I'm currently on a day here at New Life - the relative paucity of which has to be the reason why the mechanically separated chicken snack (so thoughtfully provided by the lovely Charles) started to impinge on my consciousness as a viable protein choice late this afternoon. Back out in Old Life, I'd rather gnaw my own fingers to the bone in preference to even remotely considering eating one of those flexible fructosian fiends, so I knew urgent, remedial action was needed! So, after dinner (which was very tasty - just bugger all of it!), I quietly snuck out of NL and high-tailed it to the local grocery store for supplies! I had an alibi all ready in case of discovery (I actually also needed to buy deoderant too, so there was a legit reason for my visit) but fortunately it wasnt needed. As it happens, I bought very healthy snacks - blueberries, almonds, yoghurt raisins (went a little crazy there) and organic 85% dark chocolate (physiologically impossible to eat more than 2 squares at a time) so even if the diet Nazi's had tackled me to the ground on my return and demanded to see my caloric contraband, at least there wouldnt have been illicit bags of Doritos and Cheez-Its spilling forth from my rucksack!

Today's schedule
Way too blissed out to write much. Here's what I did today:
8am: breakfast (didnt quite make it out of bed for 7am stretching & Qigong - oops!)
9.30am: short nature walk
10.30am: cooking class
12.30pm: lunch
2pm: pilates
4pm: thai yoga massage
5pm: gentle yoga

Just about to float down for dinner before tonight's talk on "living green". Check for me for recycling already (thanks, Mum!), plus i at least own a book on how to live green (thanks again, Mum!) so I guess thats a start!

Cooking with George Bush
So I've just figured out who Jimmy le Sage, founder and owner of New Life, reminds me of. It came to me during the cooking class he was leading - he could be Dubya's long-lost twin! He looks like him, is a similar body frame & height and sounds almost identical. Maybe they should think about trading places? (Jimmy would probably even do a better job of running the country!)

Whilst i wasn't pondering the resemblance, I did actually learn something - how to use tamari to make a soup roux. I'm also sensing a kitchen investment somewhere in my near future - he made us a smoothie using this kick-ass Vitamix blender (i think they're the same ones that Jamba Juice use). I've just thrown away my crappy Cuisinart one (again!) which was completely useless, so I think my STARS are going to be put to good use in Macy's kitchen dept when i get home!

Ohashi, not sushi

Got up early for Qigong at 7.30am, but (as i later found out!) I was in the wrong place (doh!), so ended up taking a stretch class instead. Was very good, though, nonetheless, and made me resolve to..err.. stretch more when I get back home. Such a simple thing but which I just never seem to get round to doing.

After breakfast, went on the intermediate hike (about 5.8miles) which was very pleasant, not too challenging as it was on dirt roads, so the ground was pretty even (except for a steep, slippy hill down to the river. WELL DONE me for not going arse over tit, as usual). It had absolutely chucked it down the night before with an enormous thunderstorm, so the more usual hikes up and down mountains weren't being offered as the ground would have been way too dangerous underfoot. After stopping at a bug-infested bridge for our fruit break, we tromped back to the vans and headed back for lunch.

I think someone must have slipped Ambien in my lunch cos afterwards, I completely and utterly crashed out! Despite predictions of more rain, the weather outside was beautifully sunny - i was so knackered, though, I couldnt move from my bed and so slept right through the gorgeous sunshine! Ah well - think of all the sun damage to my skin I'm preventing! Anyway, had to rouse myself in time for my 5pm Ohashi method massage with Deidre. I'm gradually working my way down the list of spa services and the Ohashi massage was described as "Oriental diagnosis followed by deep, but non-painful pressure applied on the acupuncture meridians, along with gentle stretches and limb rotations. Balances energy flow, relieves stress, enhances range of motion and eases aches and pains, especially for shoulders, back and hips". Ahh.... shoulders! I have to say this part of my body has been getting extra special attention so far this week and they were loving it so far, so they were very excited about this latest treat.

So the treatment was very different, interesting & good. She picked up on my shoulders straight away (they were very pleased) and, encouragingly, said that the rest of my meridians were pretty well balanced. I felt suitably pleased with myself - obviously my meridians have been getting on with the job well enough without any conscious interference from me! In the course of the diagnosis, she asked me a couple seemingly random questions (did i have allergies, was i well organized, when i moved to the US, did i bring many momentos with me, did i have a problem with letting go?) which I'm sure had a meaning but (being British) was far too polite to ask for a further explanation of. In the case of the "Letting go" comment - it was actually quite astute of her but, rather than letting go, I was more concerned with not "letting rip"!! Forgive the gory details, but I am extremely windy at the moment due to this diet (I think i ate too much fruit today) and with someone squishing your tummy, it was all i could do not to let one flying. Thank God I didn't, otherwise they would have had to have sent the HazMat squad in, in full biowarfare gear, to come recover our melted and putrified bodies. Honestly, the whole of Killington has no idea, at the moment, just how close it is to becoming part of a major bowel-induced bioterror alert. Only the strength of my arse-cheek muscles, keeping it clenched for King and Country, is preventing a full-scale wipeout.

After such exertions, it was time for a restorative supper before going to Deidre's talk on an intro to Chinese Medicine and Healing. It was interesting but she did slag off the drug industry a fair amount which annoyed me a little as I dont think she gave enough credit to how I think times are changing and the increased recognition, within Western medicine, as to the value of the Eastern philosophies and a more holistic approach to health & wellness. I dont think you'd find many people in the Pharma industry who would claim, for any illness, that drug treatment is the be-all and end-all - probably not many physicians would either. I certainly don't. But, I guess that doesnt make for such a provocative talk - very few people actually want to hear (or believe) that the drug companies are actually trying to make a positive difference in advancing our understanding of human health and medicine. But, I kept my figurative soapbox tucked neatly away underneath my chair - its a tiring discussion to have sometimes and I just wasnt in the mood, so I just listened and accepted that she had a different viewpoint to me on certain things. After the talk, I was ready just to retire and hit the sack. So, had a nice long soak in the bath, read a bit before lights out. Goodnight!

ps.
Massage was excellent - just the right balance between applying deep pressure and more relaxing stretching. It did get a little painful round the shoulder area but it wasn't as grit your teeth as usual, so its got to be helping! Chuck even threw in a bit of energy work for good measure (I asked him afterwards and he said he likes to mix techniques up) - dont know what its called, but the bit where he laid his hands above my head was especially good. They weren't touching my head but i could feel the heat radiating out from them and it was very soothing. So pretty much floated back to my room and now having an early night ready for Qi Gong at 7.30am tomorrow morning. Good night!

pps. According to the pedometer my Mum bought me for my birthday, i walked 10,747 steps today or 5.088 miles. Not bad - more than my usual Saturday in Manhattan!!

Day 1: Let the chillin' out commence!

Ahhh.... What an absolutely perfect day it's been. An ideal blend of being outside, inside, active and relaxed. Already feel significantly more relaxed and chilled out - and its only Day 1!! Think I'm going to have to be poured back onto the plane come next Saturday!!

So, breakfast at 8am was grapefruit with sprinkles of coconut, followed by oatmeal lightly sweetened with maple syrup. Again, delicious. I'm amazed, though, how completely obsessed everyone is with food - thats all people talked about at dinner last night and at breakfast again this morning!! Even whilst we were eating brekkie, people were speculating what would be for lunch!! I guess i'm loving the food cos i eat this way normally, but there is a significant amount of grumbling about the lack of salt, sugar and the rest. I'm probably one of the only folk in here who's not plotting to escape to the local bakery down the road or the pub across the street to fill up on contraband pastries or beer!

After breakfast, was time for my first hike. I totally had to laugh at myself this morning because, dressed in all my full-on hiking gear, with boots, thick socks, Camelbak and Buzz-off insect repelling shirt. With not a scrap of make-up on (I didnt even bring it with me this week!) and hair stuffed under a floppy hat, I'd be surprised if anyone from work would have recognized me! Chose the "nature walk" - NLHS code for "beginners" but it was perfect for what i was after. About 4miles or so, dirt road over gently rolling hills, leading us through the forest to finish at a very pretty waterfall. The weather was perfect with the sun shining and a light breeze (although it was a little sticky) and there weren't too many bugs about so I dont think i got chomped too badly. I had all my camera kit with me (Sam would have been proud!) and even lugged my tripod so I could take some pics of the waterfall. There were also lots of beautiful (and enormous!) butterflies which was a real treat to see - you dont get many of those down on 13th St!!

After walk, back to hotel in time for lunch. Today was a lentil soup, followed by tuna salad - yum! After lunch, I had a slightly more active afternoon than yesterday as I decided to do all 3 exercise classes back to back. First up was Pilates, then strength training followed by Fit Ball. The same lady taught all three (so I was mildly competitive in wanting to keep up with her!) and, to be honest, it wasnt massively strenuous in terms of being aerobically challenging. She focused very heavily on core work throughout each of her classes, so i'm sure my abs are going to have something to say about it tomorrow!! For now they feel fine, but we'll see!! After the last class finished at 5pm, I had just enough time to jump in the inside hot tub, followed by a dip in the much cooler pool, then hot tub etc etc. My shoulder is still giving me a bit of trouble so I'm reliably informed that will help! Also hoping it will pre-empt any stiffness from today's exertions too.

Then time for a quick shower before dinner which today was salad, a chicken/soba noodle combo, followed by peach cobbler. Alas had misfortune to sit at table with the very loud and annoying people (sadly, from New York) but fairly successfully managed to tune them out until one of them started telling me this very long-winded, convoluted and ultimately not very interesting story about how he met a Bowes-Lyon on the Hamptons Jitney. YAWN!! Managed to feign sufficient interest until the peach cobbler was finished and then scarpered at the first opportunity! I'm fairly laid-back but even i have limits!! Anyway, now writing this as I wait for my first spa treatment, a full body deep tissue massage with Chuck - he's supposed to be excellent. I reckon after he's done, i'm heading straight for bed!!!

New Life Hiking Spa here I come!!
Yey!! Very excited as holiday is here!! After an absolutely crazy week at work (was still working until 12.45am last night!), had a bright and early start as was up at 4.45am, ready to leave the apt at 5.30am to make it to the airport for my 7.20am jetblue flight from jfk to boston. Cos of the ungodly hour, it was a pretty short cab ride with no traffic, so i arrived with plenty of time and no stress. The flight was good, smooth and only 40mins - just enough time to chug down the complementarily bad Dunkin Donuts coffee, before landing at Boston.

Then had a 2hr layover in boston, so again, already in chilled out holiday mode, I just enjoyed the time, read my book, people watched and had some butternut squash soup for breakfast(!).
Also had to re-check in for my Cape Air connection - was this tiny desk staffed by what looked like 3 14-year olds, who asked for my weight (no, I didnt fib!) but who then also weighed my hand luggage so as to "balance the plane". Oh holy crap, I thought. What about my boots?? They're really heavy! What if I inadvertently cause the first ever plane crash due to hiking boot overload?? And just what the hell am i flying in?

A quick look out of the terminal window onto the tarmac soon gave me my answer as, ranged on the apron, were several of the tiniest planes I'd ever seen! (Cessna 402's to be precise, for all you data junkies out there). A grand total of 7 seats including the pilots! There were only 2 passengers, including myself, so i indulged myself in fantasies of this being my private jet! The boarding process was somewhat different to what i'm more usually used to as we were taken by a guy with orange plastic wavy things across tarmac to plane. My backpack was loaded into wing (how cool is that!) and I sat right behind the pilots so had a front row view.

Wow. The whole experience was utterly fantastic and just gives you a totally different, more raw perspective on flying. The airconditioning before take off was the pilot opening his window and it felt like we had been loaded into a mini-van with wings. After the obligatory safety "announcement" (honestly, if this puppy is going down, there's really no point to knowing about the emergency exits, other than for retrieval of our splatted bodies!), we started trundling down the runway, bouncing along enthusiastically! We were in a line of 3 other little planes, behind this enormous AA jumbo, which took off before us and again challenging my limited understanding of the theory of flight! Then it was our turn - WHOOO-HOO!!! SPEEED!!!! It was just awesome - we just went so fast and then up, up and away!! We had a brilliant view of the airport and city all laid out below, so i spent my whole trip with my nose glued to the window.

After a while we hit our cruising altitude of 6500ft. The whole thing reminded me of eddie izzard skit re small planes and the pilot who hid the biscuits! The flight took about 1hr, and we flew over the Vermont spine of the Green Mountains. It was just beautiful. I saw many individual houses tucked away in the hills and lining the many lakes & mildly resolved to own one one day. Landing was as fun as taking off - as we approached runway, it felt as if could brush the tops of the trees with my fingertips. I also had several more prosiac thoughts involving hoping the pilot was a good aim as runway was pretty narrow!

Rutland airport was in direct proportion to the plane - ie tiny. The best bit was the baggage "carousel" - basically a hatch in the external way with a metal tray, they just stuffed your luggage through! Bloody brilliant. Must remember to take a picture on the way back out! I hadnt thought to prebook a taxi but, by happenstance, met the taxi man there as he was collecting lost luggage. The drive to hotel took about 30mins & Terry, the cabbie, gave me suggestions for palces to stay on last night. He even offered to put me up for the night if i lucked out - hmm...

Arrived hotel just before noon. Room wasnt quite ready so got orientation tour first. The New Life Hiking Spa is not a fancy or particularly modern place, but there's something about it thats extremely charming and very welcoming in feel. Its pretty well equipped for facilities - indoor pool and sauna, hot tub, gym, tv room, hospitality room, exercise "tent" where all the classes happen, spin studio plus full service spa salon. In addition to hiking, of course.

Lunch was at 12.30pm, sharp. Today was delicious gazpacho soup followed by an extremely garlicky chicken caeser salad. LOVE the food - so clean, no salt or sugar, simple and v tasty. And i love the fact too that there is no apology at all for how it is - its a real philosophy and approach to nutrition that is fundamental to this place. Given my own recent success with cleaning out my diet, its great reinforcement and validation that the choices I'm making are the right ones.
After lunch, back to room for snooze and read and to figure out what treatments I want to book. Cos of my early start, i awarded myself a very lazy afternoon and just relaxed til dinner time. The menu was salad to start, then i had a "combo" platter which was half portion of the steak and half portion of the stuffed summer squash. Followed by fresh fruit salad and delicious

After dinner, signed up for first batch treatments, then back to room to finish book and have early night. Spoke to Charles who's at my place looking after the boys for me til Tues - apparently they're disappointed he wasnt me but I assured him they'd soon get over it and by the time I get home next Sat, I'll be the one being treated with lofty disdain!! Now time for bed, ready for my first hike tomorrow!

Beaches, big branches and bubbles
So checked out of hotel fairly early this morning (which, in the end i was quite glad to as it was all a bit dark & depressingly Victorian in feel) and had an enormous cranberry almond muffin and coffee for breakfast, before driving out to the riding stables for my beach ride. Unfortunately all the private rides were already booked, so i had to go with a group of beginners (so no trotting or cantering) but it was still nice to be on horseback riding through the woods, then on the beach. Got chatting to one of the wranglers and pretty much heard his entire life story(which was very..er.. colourful!) during the ride, but that was fine - meeting new and interesting people is all part of the fun of travelling on your own!

After the ride, was time to drive back to West Sonoma spa. Instead of the coastal road, I chose to drive a more direct, inland route - glad i did, cos it was bloody long way and again took me longer than anticipated. Note to self - next time, check the distances more thoroughly and don't underestimate how long its going to take to get anywhere!! But it was actually a good choice in that it took me through some beautiful redwood forests again, with the road winding through ancient groves of the some of the most majestic trees i've ever seen. With golden shafts of sunlight occasionally piercing through the verdant cover, the light had this amazingly diffuse and soft quality that was quite ethereal and almost spiritual in feel. I parked up for a few moments during my drive so as to just sit for a while to soak up the atmosphere and reflect - it was a very moving experience that left a deep impression.

So, obviously the only way to follow that experience was with a good dollop of alcohol. And fortunately, I happened to be driving through one of the best places in the USA to go sample - Anderson and Sonoma Valley!! Alas, this is where the "travelling on your own is just as rewarding and fun" argument falls down somewhat - as it was just me driving, I was pretty limited in the number of vineyards and tasting houses I could visit. So, ever true to form, I picked the Roederer Estate - the West Coast outpost of the famous Louis Roederer champagne house. Oh my. I think i did well to leave with just a case of Rose champagne and a jereboam of NV house bubbles! Its going to be one enormous party when i crack that little puppy open!

Anyway, am now back in West Sonoma ready for final drive back to San Fran tmrw and flight back to NYC. Has been a good trip - poignant at times because i'm here on my own but, on the whole, a restorative one. Plenty of fresh air, more natural beauty than should be legal plus time and space for reflection. I'm glad I came and i'm also looking forward to going home and seeing what 2008 holds. Bring it on!!!