Hot Air Balloon Rides in Napa

You've seen the ads for hot air balloon rides in wine country but have you actually seen the balloons taking off in in the early morning Napa sky? A stunningly beautiful scene. The sun just rising over the vineyards, vines green with early summer foliage and young grape clusters -and on the horizon - colorful hot air balloons rising. Seeing the balloons in flight definitely encourages one to book on the next ballon ride and the post flight champagne brunch is included.

Summer travel plans? Try something closer to home

I was just reading an article in the local paper about vacationing this summer and they say "an unprecedented convergence of problems will make this the worst air travel season since 2000". Hmmmm, so I'm rethinking my travel plans. Maybe a destination closer to home isn't such a bad idea. From the Bay area, a day or two of driving can get you to a lot of great places in Northern California. How about the eastern Sierras? Bishop and Mammoth Lakes are beautiful and not as trampled as somewhere like Yosemite. And there is plenty to do - camping, fishing, swimming, soaking in one of the hot springs, hiking, biking, rock climbing and so on. Plus there are some landmarks to visit such as Mono Lake and Bodie(see photo), a must see if you are a fan of ghost towns. The portion of this town that survives has been left as is, broken down cars, rusting tin cans and all.

Vanity Fair Article on Tokyo Fish Market

Ok, this is the last comment on the fish market - I promise. Check out this month's issue of Vanity Fair (June, 2007) and you'll find a 12 page article on the Tokyo Tsukiji fish market with plenty of photos. I think they say it all.

Where to find the largest knives?

In Saiki Japan knife making has been going on for centuries. In fact, the worlds’ sharpest blades are made in this Japanese town. I don’t know about you, but I am very interested in cutting technology. I am by no means a Samurai Warrior. However, I do love to cook and I do love to garden. I love Global knives and I love ARS pruning tools.

Best Sushi: Tokyo Fish Market

Take a look at the photo of this bowl of sushi. If you are wondering if it really pays to spend more money for the best, freshest tuna sashimi, salmon, yellow tail, the answer is YES!! Fortunately, however, at the Fish Market in Tokyo, in the little side streets you can find little gems that are very inexpensive. 5 Star Michelin? At least for the sushi, perhaps not the décor: you can forget about the white table cloth and fine linen décor. This little lunch spot (go for an early lunch after visiting the Fish Market) was heaven on earth. Definitely the best sushi I’ve ever had. Price: $15.

Tokyo Fish Market Not to be Missed!!

Don’t miss the experience of visiting the best fish market in the world where you will see every kind of fresh sushi fish around. Get to the fish market early, the wheee hours of the morning are best. There you will enter into the bustle of hundreds of vendors/merchants slicing fine tuna sashimi, salmon and fish beyond your belief. We bought fresh Toro tuna and managed to buy wasabi and soy sauce for a picnic. Note: if you’re squeamish or not a fish/sushi lover this experience is not for you! You will see merchants cutting heads off live eels, sawing giant tuna. It seems like the harvest of the ocean was in that market.

How to deter a persistant woodpecker?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stop a woodpecker from 'drumming' the metal chimney (and possibly the roof itself) of my house? I haven't climbed up on the roof yet to see if the bird is causing any damage so potentially it's just a loud annoyance (that I can live with, holes in the roof - no). The suggestion I've been given was to shoot it. Killing the bird would certainly take care of the immediate problem but my guess is that it would only be temporary, that is until the next woodpecker moves into the territory. I would prefer a more harmonious solution since I didn't move to nature to wipe nature out. I've read that you can put something on the roof that starts to move as soon as the bird lands to scare it away. Has anyone had any luck with this option? Anything that you can buy to shoo away woodpeckers? Besides running out in your bathrobe like a crazy nut, screaming at the bird but mostly scaring the neighbors.