Hitting the Reset Button in Mexico's Riviera Maya

I enjoy taking active vacations tiki-touring around in a rental car navigating strange new places, and years ago, when I was on vacation with my family in Mexico we were indeed out and about, touring the ruins of Tulum, snorkeling in Cozumel's reefs and meeting sea turtles in the caves and coves of Xcaret.

This was not going to be one of those vacations. Visiting the Riviera Maya to be in my friend's wedding I arrived at the luxurious compound that is the Iberostar Grand Hotel with 48 hours to experience the relaxing joy of doing nothing in a tropical palace and to celebrate a beautiful marriage. In addition to the bathroom being bigger than the room I inhabited in my New York apartment, the beach was practically on the doorstep, the grand staircase was as grand as the one in the movie Titanic and fresh flowers were delivered. A weekend of palm trees, waves, hot tubbing, fresh seafood, and no phone or internet, paired with the Ya-ya sisterhood-like bonding that comes with being in a bridal party made for a whirlwind of a trip and a gorgeous alternate reality - one that narrowly escaped tropical depression Ida!

From the Top: Mt. Tamalpais

Mt. Tamalpais, also known as "Mt. Tam" is the highest point of the Marin Penninsula and offers numerous loop trails for all levels of hikers. Though not far from the suburbs of Marin, the 2,571-foot summit is full of lizards, ferns, creeks and rugged waxy plants. Hiking in July, the air was hot and dry so if you go, pack lots of water and sunscreen for those California rays. The trails are marked and pretty mild, so you can pick your own route and probably still make it home in time for dinner. The payoff: amazing views of the entire Bay Area from the perch at the top.

Park City, Utah: 300 Days of Sunshine, Plenty of Powder and Sundance

Escaping New York in February, I craved sun, and this mountainous desert destination delivered. I went to Park City, Utah for the skiing and got blue sky and blinding rays to go with it. Sunglasses are needed for this winter wonderland. Park City, Utah, about 30 minutes by car from Salt Lake City, is an old western town turned ski resort town boasting active pursuits galore in a gorgeous rugged landscape.



My hosts turned me on to the free bus system that runs throughout town (its fine to bring your ski gear on board) – a good way to learn the lay of the land and get around if you’ve got a few minutes to wait. I took the bus with some seasonal liftees from Java, Indonesia to Main Street where the storefronts selling cowboy boots and turquoise jewelry preserve the historic building structures and western mining town vibe.

At the top of the hill is Karleen’s Uptown Fare, serving homemade lunch fare (soups, salads, sandwiches and baked goods). Karleen was indeed behind the counter and the colorful locals made it a more than worthwhile stop – I even managed to have a psychic at the next table give me an unsolicited reading based on my birthdate. Apparently “spring is [my] new beginning”, I am “intuitive and should beware of material grasping”, have a “very balanced feminine and masculine side.” Great.

The Park City Museum, a building with old jail cells in the basement, was closed for renovation, but I was able to explore exhibits of three local artists at the Kimball Art Center and check what was playing at the funky Egyptian Theater on Main Street. If you walk slowly, you’ll notice placards on all the historic buildings which tell their story. Most were damaged in a major fire that swept the town in 1898. While making a stop at the Geneology Library Branch on Main Street, I learned more about the church than geneology from the enthusiastic staffers from the Church of Latter Day Saints. Further down the street, for a caffeinated respite, stop at the Alpine Internet Café and pick up some of the Park City weeklies and ski magazines to find out about upcoming events.



My first adventure in the snow was skate-skiing with Jess. Similar to cross-country skiing, skate-skis require a skating motion and allow you to glide for more continuous movement than cross-county skiing. Trails are maintained around the McPolin Farm or the “White Barn” as locals refer to the property, accessible for a fee. Additional trails across the street meander around creeks and aspen trees for free. With so many active, rugged men skiing the trails with their dogs, single women should run here after work!



It's hard to get up early for work but its easy to bounce out of bed for a day on the slopes…Friday we enjoyed impeccably groomed trails at Deer Valley, fueling ourselves with the resort’s turkey chili and Snickers. Besides the snow on the ground, Friday had all the makings of a stunning summer day. My pasty winter white skin got sunburned in no time, and I easefully spent the entire afternoon making run after beautiful run. Half-priced sushi rolls are a happy hour special at Oh Yum Sushi where our group feasted - the Firecracker, Playboy and Texas are all recommended. In this town, its best to stick with wine for après ski drinks since Mormon laws require beer be lamely watered down to two or three percent.

As the boys suited up with beacons and shovels for back country skiing, Jess, Karen and I had a lazy morning ending up at Canyons to ski the afternoon. It was a gorgeous, sunny girls day out, warm enough to eat a burger on the side of the mountain. Feeling ambitious after lunch we took the “Ninety-Nine 90” lift to the top of the mountain and hiked the final crest to enjoy the sweeping views of the valley and Great Salt Lake. And once you are at the top, you have to ski down, in this case through deep powder. Taking it slow, the three of us closed down the mountain as the only other skiers at this point were staff in red jackets.

Since Park City is a movie town (Sundance takes place late January), we viewed a screening of “Rachel Getting Married” at the town’s library, part of the Park City Film Series. At this kitchy venue there’s a raffle and other charming pre-show traditions.

Even though I am not in New York, Sunday still equals brunch. The Eating Establishment on Main is a good bet for strong coffee, huevos rancheros and all kinds of omelettes and eggs benedict combos. The Wasatch Brewing Company had six-dollar pints in the afternoon-try the Polygamy Porter or Full Suspension Ale for a local brew. More skiing at the Canyons was had - half-day passes are a great way to save money and still enjoy a full afternoon on the slopes.

Olympic Park is an obvious stop for any Olympic enthusiast where you can tour the grounds and a special museum exhibit with feel-good success stories, gold medals, skeletons, nationality pins, uniforms and bobsleds. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to lay on a real Olympic skeleton and take advantage of the photo op carrying a faux Olympic torch.





Good Karma, serving green curries, lamb, dahl and other tasty dishes, is a Persian restaurant managed and owned by Executive Chef Houman Gohary. Gohary, who moved from Iran at the age of 12 to be educated in Austria, chatted warmly with us about his conviction to the belief that positive thoughts create positive opportunities. A true “glass-half-full” kind of guy, Gohary takes turns running the restaurant with his wife, choosing fresh powder days to ski. For dessert we wondered to Java Cow on Main Street which offers an extensive selection of ice cream flavors in a cozy café. Dolly’s Bookstore is also open late, selling, in addition to books, crafty burlap totes, stationary and gift-y items. For night on the town: Spur’s has live music almost every night in a Wild West saloon setting, the No-Name Saloon boasts a lively, laid back bar scene and Harry-O’s is the club to for dancing. The taxi drivers of All Resort Taxi service are friendly locals with stories to tell about living in “eco-huts” and driving Sundance scenesters. While Park City is a beautiful and outdoorsy place to live, our driver complained that the town is somewhat awkward to navigate socially and that the work force is largely transient because of seasonal resort jobs. Tip: if you take the shuttle into Park City from the airport, be sure to pick up $20 taxi vouchers which saved us a lot in an otherwise expensive town.

To cure Jess’s case of the “Mondays” we ambushed her for lunch at El Chubasco, a Mexican joint serving tacos at rapid-fire speed for the noon working crowd. Skiers and the local police force alike settled into the restaurant for the popular spicy eats. Beware the mango salsa-it sounds sweet but there are habeneros in there!



Mike and I went to the Johnson Mill bed and breakfast in nearby Midway for a night, a rustic and beautiful residence on the grounds of an old flour mill. Snowshoes are available for exploring the snowy landscape. We saw mule deer, bald eagles and plenty of wild tracks during our hike. From the Waterfall Room, the sounds of running water can be heard and French doors open to a gorgeous mountain view and porch. Complimentary coffee, cookies, oatmeal and popcorn are available 24/7 and an extensive video library is open to all guests. We settled (appropriately) on “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and also watched the original version of “The Red Balloon” the following day in front of the fireplace. Don’t depend on having dinner delivered if you are without a car. The only option from here is Dominoe’s (mmmm…Cinnisticks.) For breakfast we were served popovers with candied apricots, bacon, juice and fresh fruit. Staying on a quiet weeknight allowed for a quiet and peaceful stay at this magical little retreat.









With just a little time left in town before taking a red-eye back to reality, we had a beer at the dive-y O’Shucks on Main. Peanut shells littered the floor, extreme surfing and snowboarding played on the television screens and a chill playlist let us enjoy vacation mode just a little bit longer.

Westward Ho to Portlandistan

The air smelled like campfire when I stepped out of the PDX airport in Oregon and among my first surprises was the abundance of green during the dead of winter. Portland's wet season allows moss to remain on trees year-round. I never saw it rain in Portland, but the roads were always wet.


I had my first hoppy Oregon beer, a Hammerhead Brew, at McMenamin's Kennedy School - an old school which now serves as an inn with a restaurant, a pub, hot tubs and a theater pub. The McMenamin's name surfaces all over the Portland area where craft brews are served. Between the beer and Oregon wine country just several miles outside the city, this town is serious about their libations.

While shopping for dinner, the folks were significantly more pleasant buying groceries at their Trader Joe's than those at Manhattan's Upper West Side Fairway. (Perhaps because the shopping carts actually fit through the aisles...) I met a house full of colorful residents in the SE Mt. Tabor neighborhood where I stayed. The house had a grafitti wall with sharpie-d quotes and a spray painted bathroom that looked like it belonged in the East Village. I joined them for a Sunday ritual: "Dance Church" at Om Tradition Arts and with that experience I was truly welcomed to "Portlandistan" - a hippie good time of movement meditation and community building with a play list of high energy sacred dance music. A sign in the studio indicated the guidelines: "No booze, no shoes, no coke, no joke."

In addition to hoppy beer, the people in this town care deeply about their coffee. I drank freshly brewed Stumptown cappuccino at Albina Press, a bright and sunny space for caffination where MacBooks abound. All the coffee shops I visited had excellent Wi-Fi, local artists exhibited on the walls and plenty of bikes parked out front.


It took two hands to count the other Subaru’s on the road all headed toward the coast. The sun spots cleared the clouds just enough to see the volcanoes. Apparently during the winter one can go days at a time without seeing the volcanoes. Our first stop on this day of coastal tiki-touring was Cannon Beach. The beach is home to stunning rock formations including Haystack Rock – the third-largest of its kind in the world.


After seeing a handful of fully arched rainbows at Cannon Beach I started calling the place fairytale land. The weather systems from the rainy season maintained magical atmospheric conditions letting the sun sparkle on the water periodically. The high winds allowed flocks of pelicans to simply float in the sky without flapping their wings and the tide was savage with huge waves smashing into the rocks. After carving though the towering pines on the way to the beach and seeing the powerful stretch of ocean, I was humbled and reminded that nature will beat my ass.










We drove through one of the parks, actually considered somewhat of a rainforest with a canopy of trees, heavy moss and ferns growing wildly. More stunning emerald scenery unique to Oregon.



After stopping at the crashing waves of South Jetty(which looked like the ocean I imagined in Melville’s Moby Dick) and a few other coastal lookouts, we made it to Astoria, recognizable as the filming location of the final pirate ship scene in Goonies – a crucial fun fact to any American child of the 80’s! Huge barges were at port here and the Wet Dog Cafe offered a fantastic view of the ocean at dusk. I drank more good beer with my “ clucker” burger topped with a friend egg as we took a moment to reflect on our favorite scenes from Goonies…




Back in Portland my partner and I took a free yoga class at People's Food Co-op in a lovely studio above the produce for sale. A tea stand is set up out front and the bench is made of cob, a “green” material made of clay, straw and earth. The City Repair Project, behind much of Portland's beautification, also uses the material.

Petit Provence fueled us for our day skiing on Mt. Hood with strong coffee, the breakfast special (eggs, chicken basil sausage, polenta and toast) and the very best chocolate croissant ever. EVER. Seriously, so good. Multnomah Falls are the highest in the area, just 15 or so minutes outside of Portland, and the Columbia Gorge goes on for miles with breathtaking views of volcanoes and pines all along the way.




Of the three ski resorts on the Mt. Hood we chose to spend the day at Timberline which is at the highest elevation (read: best views.) And for you movie buffs, the lodge at Timberline appears in The Shining. We had plenty of runs to ourselves on the uncrowded mountain enjoying views of the other volcanoes well into Washington. When I first arrived I wondered if the steamy cloud atop the volcano was smoke but I was quickly educated that each volcano has its own weather system that looks like a little dome-shaped cloud over the crater.




Nikolas Lebanese is a gem serving up decadent mesa platters, mint tea and pitas almost two feet in diameter. There are no reservations but table turnover is quick and we were sampling succulent lamb kabobs and grape leaves in no time at this adorable family joint that has been in existence for 20 years.



Happy hours are yet another way to experience Portland. We could always find one extending well beyond the hours that one would traditionally consider "cocktail hour." Our friend Sophie was sporting her Ovulation Awareness T-shirt when we met her - she had recently published a zine on the same topic. This is a zinester town and places like the IPRC and other presses offer resources for self-publishing. Craft beers were $2 into the evening at Eastburn which had cage like swinging chairs that disguise if you’ve had one too many or are just swaying in your seat. I wanted to save my meager receipt at the end of the night to wistfully remember the low beer prices once I get back to New York where I would be charged $6 for a single beer.


On New Year’s Eve we rode a red vintage Schwinn tandem bike through Ladd’s Addition (a perfectly groomed square of Pleasantville houses) to Clinton Corner, yet another cozy neighborhoody coffee shop and breakfast joint for some eats. This trip is seriously recharging my batteries with amazingly tasty and healthy food. This morning it was a Nova omelet with smoked salmon and goat cheese and, you guessed it, Stumptown coffee.


The city proved its reputation for being bike-friendly during our bike across the Hawthorne bridge into SW, the business district and downtown. Pioneer Square is a central plaza and colorful ethnic cart food stands line the nearby street. I also got to check out the shiny OHSU hospital at the top of the hill with views of Mt. Tabor when my partner got called in to do some work.


My New Year’s treat and retreat was at Breitenbush Hot Springs. Upon arrival Mike and I were given a sled to pull our bedding and bags through the snow to our little cabin in the woods. Breitenbush is an off-the-grid magical respite and retreat center with all vegetarian meals, sanctuaries for yoga and meditation, a reading room, lodge with a fireplace and spiritual programming. The vibe is like walking into the first five minutes of yoga class while everyone else is set up and doing their practice. It’s the kind of place where you take your watch off and lounge around in your softest clothes and stocking feet-even for meals in the dining hall! Without my watch or a countdown I can’t tell you exactly where I was at midnight on New Year’s but I have a feeling it was under the falling snow in a geothermal hot pool among the pines. Stunning. I was able to do a yoga practice in the sanctuary with windows to the woods and rain pouring down and I later joined in a Chakra meditation based on imagery of Bridget Davies. The vegetarian meals left me feeling cleansed and nourished, and after a hectic period in New York prior to my trip, the luxury of time without structure was the space I craved. The hot pools were situated along a rushing river, high from the rainy season, and a sauna was also nearby to visit between soaks. The Silent Pool was especially serene with the best river view of any. My time at Breitenbush was the best gift I’ve ever received.


Back in Portland tried the happy hour at Night Light – a good hang in SE. A double date had us bar hopping on Alberta Street during an Art on Alberta night (a tradition which normally occurs the last Thursday of each month). After sampling Oregon beer at a few spots including Tin Shed ad the very hopping Vendetta which boasts all-season outdoor space, we found ourselves at Voodoo Donuts where we were served a huge Boston crème donut by a thouroughly pierced hipster couple. Our friend Tyson was selected for a donut eating contest in front of the shop. He won and will have icing in his beard forever now I think. Also, in Portland, if you can grow facial hair, you probably have a beard.


The tandem bike got more use during our final day in the city with a trip to J&M for breakfast (I recommend the Mediterranean scramble) and to the legendary Powell’s city of books – the largest book store in the country! They had an entire rack of local zines and you actually get a map to navigate the color-coded rooms of books.


Our tandem bike continued to 23rd street, a charming stretch of shops and restaurants including Vivace Coffee House and Creperie where we shared a strawberry and nutella crepe. Another stop on this tasting tour was the Rogue Brewery, known for its Dead Guy Ale. Andina was the real star dining establishment serving Peruvian small plates and Pisco Sours during happy hour. Peanut, passion fruit and hot sauces garnished our beef hear and octopus skewers. Amazing.


And after an entire week of doing nothing mediocre in Portland I think I’m in love.