CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: November 25, 2011

It’s become a bit of a tradition. Whenever there’s a birthday, my gaggle of girlfriends heads to the wine country.

“Big deal — what woman doesn’t like wine,” you say? Well, this is where the story gets interesting.

We’ve found a little wine region where tastings are free, the farms are still rustic and country roads lace the gently rolling hills of a rich, fertile valley.

Did I mention it’s just 45 minutes from Oakland? It’s the Suisun Valley Wine Country — looking more like the Ponderosa than the glitzy wine regions we’re accustomed to seeing. And it’s dotted with produce stands, nut farms and family-owned vineyards, where you can chat with the growers and winemakers. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: November 11, 2011

When you think of autumn leaves, New England’s fiery maples and brilliant birch come to mind.

But here on the West Coast, we have our own fall color. It peaks more toward winter and is every bit as beautiful as Maine or Vermont. I’m talking about the Bay Area wine regions, where the leaves on the vines blush shades of burgundy and gold as they prepare to sleep silently until spring. The holidays are a cacophony of color for grape-growing regions such as Napa, Sonoma, Fairfield and Livermore. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but if pressed for an answer, I’ll say Sonoma. Continue reading →

Photographer Elaine Warner captures five friendly dolphins following the fishermen

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: October 28, 2011

The oysterman’s face was ruddy — the color of Georgia clay or the leaves of an oak tree in autumn.

He motored up to our group and tied his boat to the dock.

“Y’all ready to go out?” he asked in a drawl thick as Tupelo honey. Captain Doug had four fishing rods and two long wooden poles that looked like giant chopsticks. They were for pulling up oysters.

We scrambled for a seat that didn’t have fish guts or oyster juice on it and braced ourselves for the bouncy 20-minute trip to the oyster bars in Apalachicola Bay. This part of the gulf has some of the richest, most productive fishing grounds in the country, and — despite what you may have heard — it wasn’t affected by the oil spill. Continue reading →

Lenticular cloud above Mt. Shasta

CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: October 14, 2011

Last night I slept in a tree house. It was a sumptuous sleep on a bed of soft clouds at the base of a magical mountain.

Lest you assume it was “spirits” that somehow spawned my dreams, let me explain that the tree house was actually a spectacular cedar lodge called the Tree House in the town of Mt. Shasta.

Much has been written about the spiritual power of Mt. Shasta, which rises above the Cascade Range like a mythical god that can be seen for 100 miles. At the base of the second largest volcano in the continental U.S. is the postcard-like town of Mt. Shasta. It’s a town where crystal shops and healers can be found side-by-side with sporting goods outlets. The Native Americans believe Mt. Shasta has healing properties and people come here to worship at its feet. Continue reading →

CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: July 8, 2011

The sign at the bar reads “Recession Special — A beer, dog and moon-pie for 5 bucks.”

I put in my order and grab a stool near a neon sign next to a wall of old cowboy boots.

It’s lunchtime at Robert’s Western World honkytonk, and the band is just warming up — a duo with a cowboy on steel guitar and a petite, red-haired gal on vocals. I’ve traveled 2,300 miles to see this. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: July 24, 2011

The sky was a palate of lilac and gray when we started our road trip last week from Minneapolis to Atlanta — the Tour d’Heartland as I like to call it.

My daughter and I were taking my mom’s 98 Contour down to her nursing school in Georgia — with thunderstorm warnings along much of the route.

I like a good storm when I’m driving, especially in Iowa, where the landscape is a monotonous monoculture of corn, corporate farms and large ethanol plants. Gone is the patchwork of small family homesteads and neatly kept barns that used to make driving in this state a pleasure. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: May 13, 2011

I’m not one to live in the past, but when the phone rang outside an ice-cream parlor at the University of Oregon, I immediately slipped into college mode. I ran to the booth and picked up the receiver.

“Hey baby,” said a deep, breathless voice on the other end, “are you a player?” Before I could answer, I heard giggling and the line went dead. Continue reading →