It's about a three-hour drive out to Twenty-nine Palms, but with 24 hours notice that...

Fairfield is located in Suisun Valley, just twelve miles from Napa, you find yourself surrounded by "real" wine country. Not the huge, commercial tourist traps, but the actual vineyards where most of the grapes made in Napa wines are grown. There are growers, wine makers and some who do both. It's a Gals weekend getaway

I dreamt I walked through the blooming Flower Fields of Carlsbad. A sea of pink, white, red and orange flowers in rows of waves as far as I could see. I stepped into a painting with the breezes blowing off the ocean and could see the ocean from atop the hill. I realized I wasn't dreaming. This was a dream come true.

Sipping morning coffee in the mountain air at Half Dome while watching the sunrise in Yosemite is one of the greatest moments I've ever had. I've written previously about my goal not just to see Yosemite, but to experience Yosemite. There is nothing like the experience of mixing fresh, hot coffee, with cold pine air, watching the light bounce off the icy needles in the trees.

Alas, during my time in Phoenix last week, I heard the horses down by the Salt River, but as I hiked down the rocky incline,  I could hear the hooves as they scattered.  I spent an hour at the bend in the river, watching the early morning light change and dissipate my cold breath in the air.

"My life was being raised in a small town on a farm, and I...