Mom's turn: Back in the Saddle...with wine!

Day 5 We stayed in Fresno last night and then headed on to Napa today. What a beautiful town!! We booked the same hotel that we stayed in 4 years ago and didn’t even remember, the Chablis Inn. They gave us a goodie bag on arrival…full of fur-baby treats. How thoughtful!! It made the fur-babies feel right at home.

Day 6 Today was the most exciting for me! We went on a 16 mile bike tour through the vineyards of Napa Valley. We started with espresso and a currant scone from Bouchon Bakery then on to Napa Valley Bike Rental to pick out our bikes. We went with the Specialized hybrids that were recommended by the staff, who was awesome by the way, for easy touring of the wineries. We had a fabulous time; the views were spectacular with vineyards and wild flowers everywhere, and the wine was just as good! My favorite winery was Goosecross Cellars with Jose. He was very knowledgeable and quite entertaining. The girls opted to sleep late and play in the hotel pool.

We went back to the hotel and picked up the girls to finish the day up shopping in St. Helena and then traveling up the mountain so we could look down over the valley. What a view!

Mom's turn: Some things never change

me on my first "ride" with my BFF (best furry-friend) - Shiva

Beautiful weather begs for a bike ride!! And what better way to do it than with your best friend :-D Not much has changed since I was a kid, aside from safety (I wear shoes now and Samson is buckled in)…and I still think my new Baby needs finders ;-)

me on my new ride with my BFF - Samson

Mom's turn: A very merry Christmas, indeed!

Someone’s been a good girl this year - MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! My super family always gets the best gifts for me. My DD found a fancy wine opener from Brookstone for me, the Connoisseur’s Compact Wine Opener in the color merlot. She had no idea how perfect it was as I had just been oogling one at my friend’s Christmas party! What a surprise to have my very own now! Then my HH…what can I say about him!?!?! He is always full of surprises…this year it was the Electra Townie. YAY!!!!! For those of you that know me well you might think another bike is the last thing I needed…but this is absolutely perfect and I have been yammering about wanting one for over a year!!! Although I never thought I would actually get one because he’s thoroughly enjoyed giving me a hard time, something about “needing another bike like a hole in the head.” But I really DID need it :-D In pink, too!!!!!!!!!! It’s perfect for riding around the neighborhood…it makes me feel like I’m 12 years old again! I LOVE IT!!!!!! And it’s the perfect bike for Samson and O’Malley’s trailer; now we can hop in and go to the new dog park they just opened!!!!!!!!!! They don’t mind riding behind a pink bike!!! She’s beautiful…all pearly and iridescent! I can’t wait to get my stickers, bell and basket for that customized touch…and maybe later we’ll even go for the fenders!!!

Mom's turn: Official Pictures

More (and better) pictures of our recent ride, Velo des Arts, can be seen here:
http://flickr.com/photos/beast_of_traal/sets/72157608908717667/

Mom's turn: Back in the BIKE-saddle, again!

I found an awesome bike ride put on by B.R.A.S.S. to raise awareness for street safety and also increase art appreciation for the pieces all around Baton Rouge. It was the Velo des Arts that start/finished at the new state capitol.

“Starting at the state capitol we’ll head out through the downtown area on a 12 mile odyssey to view the public art scattered across our city’s landscape. Re-gathering at the Civic Center Complex we’ll head to Westdale Middle School to experience the much-debated and currently threatened student created sculpture. We’ll stop along the way to see other works of art including those in the B'nai Israel synagogue. On the return trip we’ll stop at Circa 1857 before returning to the capitol. At the capitol we will learn a bit about the art and architecture of the building before adjourning for the after party at Lafayette Park. We will receive our own personal commemorative t-shirt and enjoy food, drink, and the last Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge ‘Sunday in the Park’ with Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Carla Cook.”

My family was a bit reluctant at first because when we woke up the temperatures were a very nippy 41 degrees! And to a good ol’ Southerner – that’s FREEZING! They thought I had lost my mind!! However as the ride went along and they warmed up the smiles came out.

We saw several interesting things and learned quite a bit; that's nice since we actually live here! Our first stop was close to the starting point and we saw a motion sculpture that represented a flock of birds; Teeny and I were distracted with the awesome embroidered biking shirt and even cooler helmet, though. Then we moved on to the downtown buildings that incorporated intricate tile work with the native Louisiana iris and the state flower, the magnolia. See – there are some more smiles!! Next stop was close to the Centroplex

I love photostich...how cool is that - a panoramic shot!

with the infamous “paper clip dock” that is rumored to be up for destruction and a memorial to Martin Luther King. Then we went on to a synagogue. The first piece we saw was an intricate work celebrating the freedom of both Jews from the Holocaust and African-Americans. I also learned the difference between a holiday menorah (having 9 branches) and a traditional menorah (having only 7 branches) along with the fact that they allow no human art reference within the synagogue itself. We saw the torah, covered in some beautiful hand painted silk cloths, and kept in a cupboard, of sorts, with tiles on the front depicting the Jewish holidays that are celebrated. My favorite piece actually came at the end of our tour from the place I would have least likely expected, since I dislike the work as a whole. It was hidden inside the West Dale sculpture and it personified my family from one extreme to the other so perfectly that I couldn’t help but fall in love with it! I still do not like the sculpture and have the unlucky fortune to live in it’s vicinity; I do, however, have a much better appreciation for it and what it represents now.

Of course most rides are all about the shirt - and here is our super cool trophy that we got for this one!

Mom's turn: TEVA-ventures

Another fabulous vacation full of adventures at the TEVA Mountain Games in Vail, CO. Thank you Ashley for including me again – it was amazing!

There’s no state quite as beautiful as Colorado – both in the winter and the summer. They have the freshest air, prettiest skies - even at night, and cleanest water ever…makes you feel like a school girl :-D

Ashley & Elen

We stayed at the Hotel Gasthof Gramshammer, more commonly know as Pepi’s. It’s a beautiful Austrian owned and decorated hotel right in the middle of the village. We had perfect access to everything. So after a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit and assorted breads

we headed out to see what we could find.

First stop was the Triple Crown Challenge sponsored by Bear Naked (which, by the way, is the best granola ever!). This was an event set up to help spectators get involved and win more swag from Gear Town of course! You were sent on three specific challenges and after completion of each you received a password. Challenge #1 was orienteering. My husband got a HUGE tickle out of this as I get lost as soon as I pull out of my driveway at home! Very funny…I managed just fine, thank you very much. We followed a map around Vail Village to find three different flags with passwords on them. Step one accomplished!

Challenge #2 was mountain biking. Giant was the sponsor for this event. I am an incredible Giant fan; we own three road bikes made by them. If you’ve never experienced the difference between road and mountain biking, as I had not, Colorado would not be the place to start!! Why must we wear these dorky helmets?

It was pretty intimidating peaking that first hill and the shocks on the bike itself were a whole different story – I almost went over the handlebar when I hit the first bump!

However, I survived that challenge, too, but I think I will definitely leave it to the professionals!! Besides – they are much more fun to watch in the free-style races…they know no fear.






Challenge #3 was rock climbing. Not so bad, right?

Until Chris scampered up the wall three times before I finished my one and only climb!!! HEY – where’s his helmet??? I don’t want to be the only funny looking one in this pictures - ARGH.

Again, I think I’ll leave it to the professionals. This year TEVA held the World Championship Bouldering competition. That was amazing to watch –
my favorite was the women’s Swedish contender, of course.
When you had accomplished them all and retrieved all 5 passwords you went back to the Bear Naked tent where you picked up you prize bag: a recycled grocery bag, a super water bottle, a fruit roll-up, and a bag of Bear Naked granola of course! Made the humiliation of wearing goofy helmets oh so worth it!!

Next day was the infamous Mud-Run! We had so much fun last year that Ashley talked me into signing up again.

However this year I chose to tip-toe around the mud pit at the end and sneak in to get my robe!!! I know…missing the point of the mud run, but I was so cold and apparently more out of shape than last year as the first trip up the mountainside almost did me in.

Hmmm, another event best left to the professionals. We watched the first woman come across the line at the 10k trail run right around 40 minutes. GOOD GRIEF – she’s a machine!!!
Okay – time for some fun…how about playing in the SNOW??? 5 feet of snow on the ground in June – amazing. And me in my TEVA sandals of course. BRRRR!
Luckily the hotel had the coolest thing in the world – a heated tile floor. Awesome for a quick warm-up.

Now back to business…like winning these awesome pair of $129 sunglasses from Costa Del Mar for a $5 donation, SWEET! Watching more kayaking,



resting in the best swing chair ever,



and learning how to turn green :-D (with my clothes anyway).
CoCoNa was a sponsor and they make clothing out of coconut shells. Nifty idea. Ashley won a pair of hiking socks in one of her adventures and gave them to Teeny for a good luck token on her upcoming camp. They are supposed to be extra cushy and sweat wicking…perfect!

After the games wrapped up we headed back to Denver for the night before catching our flight the next day. It was a gorgeous drive with mountains all around…again, Colorado is the best!

We stopped in Golden on the way at Buffalo Bill’s grave site.

We discovered some really tasty fudge and what a “good woman” is
…uh, I think he died searching for one!
We left there and went on to a Balistreri Winery for a tasting and tour.
They had some very nice wines, but my favorite new find was a dill cheese they offered…yummmo! I also learned that most of their grapes were shipped in from the other side of the mountain because growing conditions were not very good on their side.
Time to say goodbye…if I could wake up to this view every morning I might not even need coffee!!!