The Perfect Healthy Getaway: 5 Tips from Solage Calistoga
This week I took an active travel getaway to Solage Calistoga, a new kind of resort in Calistoga, California, and was truly impressed. And it takes a lot to impress me these days. Although Solage Calistoga was created by the same folks responsible for Auberge du Soleil and the other high-end Auberge properties, it wasn’t [...]
Discovering Thalasso therapy in Ixtapa, Mexico
On a recent trip to Ixtapa, Mexico, I experienced Thalasso hydrotherapy for the first time, and became an instant convert. If there were a spa here in California that offered this relatively new treatment, I’d be booking regular appointments. Taking its name from the Greek word for sea, Thalasso therapy uses warm seawater in specially [...]
Women + Travel + Hotel Rooms = Sleep? Not Always!
Would you book a hotel room if you knew the bathroom was a walk away — outdoors? That subject came up recently when I recommended TreeBones, an incredible eco-resort in Big Sur, to a friend. I told her TreeBones was one of my favorite places I’ve ever stayed, but warned her that the elegantly furnished [...]
Following the Sun South to Find Outdoor Adventure
When I have to scrape ice off my car before driving my kids to school, I start obsessing about heading south in search of warmth and sun. Like many people, I suspect, I love the outdoors, but hate the cold. Let’s face it, hiking just isn’t as fun when your nose is pink and your [...]
Germs on a Plane: 5 Myths and Truths About Healthy Flying
Is it true you get sick every time you fly, or does it just seem like it? It’s a common belief that planes are germ factories and with every passing minute you spend in the cabin, you’re more likely to get sick. So what’s myth and what’s fact?Test your knowledge about planes and germs by [...]
Tis the Spa Season: The 5 Best Spas In Napa and Sonoma
It seems lately like every hotel is suddenly a “resort” or at least includes a spa offering the latest herbal-infused therapies. But if you’re hoping for a truly therapeutic approach to relaxation or, better yet, some relief for your aching back or racing mind, that’s not so easily found. With my back and shoulders perennially [...]
Three Days in Tuscany an Hour from Home
Harvest time in the Italian countryside functions as a collective fantasy; we all share the same longing for that iconic vine-encrusted, ochre-colored Tuscan barn set amid golden fields. Of course, the one larger image is in fact a collective of smaller, more disparate images: A round-shouldered squash, a bottle of red wine, a round of [...]
7 Reasons You Need Vitamin D to Stay Healthy in Winter
The days are getting short and dark now that it’s mid-November, and at the end of many a busy day I realize I haven’t managed to get out in the sun once all day. That’s not a good thing, because more and more evidence is pouring in that getting enough vitamin D — sometimes called [...]
Highway 116 Revisited: A West Sonoma Escape to Foodie Heaven
I’m very lucky; I don’t have to go far for one of most soul-soothing, health-enhancing, consciousness-raising adventures on this beautiful planet. All I have to do is drive north on 101, turn off on 116 north through Sebastopol, and suddenly I’m passing apple orchards, heirloom plant nurseries, bakeries, even a crazy hippie café with a [...]
Of Photos, Guidebooks, and Sunsets
Just a quick note to announce my excitement that a photo I took of the incredible desserts at Sucré in New Orleans has been featured in the Schmap Online Guidebook to New Orleans. This is a first for me. I’ve been working hard to advance my photography skills, but still think of myself as a [...]
