Wearing a Fez at a Portland Tea Tasting

In case it has not been overly evident previously, I dig tastings. It makes no difference whether it is jammy red wine, artisan ice cream, rich coffee, unique honey or, in this case, a tea tasting. I don't discriminate. It was pure luck that right next door to Portland's meaty Olympic Provisions restaurant was a tiny tea tasting [...]

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Wild Mushroom Hunting in California’s Napa Valley

Mushroom hunting is the one type of hunting that is on my bucket list. So, when a foraging excursion was offered through the Napa Truffle Festival I immediately signed up for a memorable fungi adventure. Much like an underground rave, the location was not disclosed until the day before the hunt. On the down low. We woke in the [...]

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Climbing the St. Simons Lighthouse in Georgia

After the muscular agony of climbing the 463 stairs of the Duomo in Florence I considered banning all future attractions with stairs, at least anything more than the ten it takes me to get to my bedroom. But, climbing to the top of a lighthouse was still on my bucket list. Unchecked. That is not acceptable [...]

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Donating a Decorated Tree for the Rwanda School Project

Donating, giving and volunteering will have an eternal place on my bucket list. No matter how many checks end up next to it. For me, giving is an important part of happiness and that is why I was thrilled when my restaurant, Sugo Trattoria, was invited to decorate a Christmas tree to benefit the Rwanda School Project and other local organizations. The [...]

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A Dinner for the Adventurous Eater: Pigeon, Heart & Cheeks

Truth be told, I really wanted to dine at Oregon's Le Pigeon because they were known to have pigeon on their menu. And my extreme lameness wanted to be able to say that I "ate a pigeon at Le Pigeon". It was purely a bonus that their menu was also filled with other offal; duck heart, pork cheeks and foie gras [...]

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Original Art & a Pimento Cheese Sandwich in Savannah

How does buying original art and a pimento cheese sandwich live in the same website article? Easy. Both were done in Savannah, Georgia at places that benefit the students of one of the most creative art schools around. The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is arguably one of the top art and design universities in the [...]

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Drinking Absinthe at a Secret Savannah Speakeasy

Ssshhh…I'm talking to myself because I am absolutely, positively not allowed to tell you where the Savannah speakeasy, Mata Hari's, is located. Lucky for them, I am pretty good at keeping secrets. Besides if everybody knew, it wouldn't be any fun. Mata Hari is sexy speakeasy in Savannah, Georgia that only allows entry through its discreet [...]

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Southern Hospitality and Ghosts at Savannah Inns

I have never stayed in a bed & breakfast before, not even for one of my fifteen wedding anniversaries or forty-two birthdays. It was about time that this goal got a big fat check off the bucket list and a serious bonus that my first Inn experience would be in historic downtown Savannah, where many of the charming B&Bs have a [...]

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A Luau in Maui. It Had to be Done.

Who travels to Hawaii without attending the quintessential luau? Surely there is somebody out there, it just isn't me. A luau is a Hawaiian feast that is traditionally held as a celebration for life events. Or to appease tourists. After much research, deliberation and head wall banging, I selected the Feast at Lele for my West Maui [...]

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Fish Pedicures in Spain. Animal Cruelty?

I get hate mail just about every time I write about eating strange animal parts or visiting animal attractions and I am certain that this will be no different. Even when I mentioned getting fish pedicures in Spain on Twitter I immediately received a hostile 140 character message and was defriended by a few. Or unTweeted. I mean unfollowed. Whatever. Some consider fish pedicures to be animal [...]

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