Santa Fe and Taos and I have finally met

This has been a long day coming...
Five years ago, I was in a large room with about 30 other women in a training session learning the latest in sexual health education. In order to break the ice and get to know each other we were each asked to write down three truths and one lie and read them aloud when we introduced ourselves to the group.

I wrote down:
I grew up in Northern California just a short distance from San Francisco
I nearly lost my eye as a kid and wore an eye patch for a year
I have an aversion to chocolate
I can speak four languages fluently

The room as a whole decided that my big ol' lie was growing up in Northern California because I just looked way too much like a Santa Fe girl. What? Really? I would have guessed the eye bit or the languages but go figure... in any case, they didn't believe me that I wasn't from the Southwest.
And somehow this theory has come up time and time again, well, now I can say I've finally made my way to Santa Fe and I can kinda sorta see what everybody's been implying. I blame the cowgirl boots and earth tones I wear six out of seven days a week. :-)

Anyway, if you too should find yourself in Santa Fe. Go to these two places, drive up Canyon Creek Road and skidaddle on out to Taos where it's a bit more down-home and warmer (not temperature, just the vibe).






1) Cafe Pasqual's
121 Don Gaspar Ave
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 983-9340
Order the two vegetarian mole enchiladas stuffed with zucchini, spinach, grilled tofu!! The mole is perfection as are the black beans topped with homemade sour cream. Chai latte is yummy spice and sweet combined, well-balanced indeed. To top it all is the chocolate budino tartlet with sea salt and olive oil... So rich and unique decadence that we had to share with our neighbor table. Love this place, everything hit the spot!


2)Kakawa Chocolate House
1050 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(866) 982-0388
Holy cacao I don't even like chocolate and my taste buds have forever changed... The Atole is indeed an ancient medicine, be sure to try it as it's the oldest recipe for hot chocolate and packed with a chili honey punch. Too bad you can't ship it, it's the only thing here that's just to be had in the moment. Forget doctors, bring on the Atole ;-)













When we got to Taos, the sun was setting so in remaining minutes of light I snapped a shot of the 2nd oldest church in the U.S.



and a few street images that were just a few 100 feet away from our La Dona Luz- the best bed and breakfast EVER. Paco has been renovated his family's property and making the perfect home away from home with local art, traditional Native American rugs, photographs, paintings, and nic-nacks of cute, quirk, and sacred.

The Yellow Bird Deer room, where I stayed last night, is something out of a dream I've had, I slept so well and so sound surrounded by its charms. The staff is so sweet and the location couldn't be better. Must stay here if you ever come to Taos: http://www.ladonaluz.com/

Humbled

As we drove away from the Trinity Site (where the first atomic bomb was tested)I felt so inexplicably saddened and in awe of what's possible, what we choose... how far we remove ourselves from our connection to each other and our Earth.

Coming from the White Sands of million year old gypsum leftovers from an ancient ocean, it was insane to me that in the presence of such great beauty, such a life-altering devastation was implemented.















We weren't allowed to get much closer than this but in a way, I'm glad.





The placard outside the gated government site quoted Robert Oppenheimer who stated that while watching the test he was reminded of a line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita:

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

They didn't mention their first words uttered, "Now, we are all sons of bitches."( ^ "The Trinity Test". United States Department of Energy. http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/trinity.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-08.)

Just two months after being tested, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima changing the world forever in the way it dealt with conflict. Fighting fire with fire, is it evolution? It feels like boys in a playground pushing each other or more accurately, pissing on their territory and not being consious of anything other than the "me, myself, I" and being victoriously right. Are we so obsessed with playing God that we skip over the part where we're connected, we're one, we are love?

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." - Kahlil Gibran

I feel so humbled and so altered by these strange sights that are undeniably real in my face, not in a history book, not in a newsreel, and that beg me to inquire within.

48 hours ago, I dipped down into the Carlsbad Caverns, where I felt like I was inside the womb of the earth. The mother of mothers, the unknown bedrock of beauty. The mysteries of creation dripped and hung above me, the air cleansed everything- my eyes shone like stars after I came out, like a cloud had been lifted. It took millions of years to create the forms that I witnessed and yet before they were there.

Awe and humility has been the order of the day this whole week. I ended this strange journey yesterday in Albuquerque with my roadtrip buddy's 83-year-old mother who was just getting in from her regular yoga class. YOGA student at 83??? I wanna be this awesome when I'm her age!

Mary Lou is so full of life. We've been like school girls on a sleepover, non-stop soul chatting about everything from Ram Das to the joke of "original sin" and how sex/orgasms were all the rage after menopause because there was finally no worry of pregnancy any more. Oh woman, I'm so glad I wasn't a Catholic in the mid-western U.S. in the 60s and that today we live in a world where it's easier to find out what and HOW AMAZING the clitoris is. In short, we've been gushing to each other about Ram Das, yoga, meditation, sex, psychology, and the meaning of life. She's such a testament to brilliance and openness to inquiry and the lessons that keep coming while we keep kicking, dancing, laughing- living!

She rocks yoga jumpsuits, headbands and attends music appreciation classes in addition to her 5am gym sessions. She's got the most crystal clear brightness I've ever seen, her eyes just gleam with sweet, wise, clarity. I want to take her home with me. And don't even get me started on her boyfriend, an uber-passionate teacher whose greatest wish is to have an Independent Education Plan geared towards a student's unique passion. I'm in love with these two phenomenal beings who just live their truth and show up for it every day with a twinkle in their eye.
They boost my confidence in the hearts of people, of all ages.

My faith in humanity is restored... love how that happens right when you need it. Re-set button pressed, check! I'm so grateful to be able to share in this heart opening, earth shattering contraction and expansion game that never stops showing us what beauty is.

Ella Enchanted: Marvels of Mother Nature

Awe. Sheer awe. 800 feet below the surface of Carlsbad, New Mexico is a true world wonder. When word first got out about the Carlsbad Caverns, photographic evidence was required for belief. By the time folks in Washington D.C. got wind of this divine mystical sight, there were still non-believers but after witnessing them first hand the good ol' politicians on Capitol Hill deemed it a treasure true and true.

Walking down the cavern's trail on what's now paved and well-lit (thank you Broadway Show Lighting Experts), it's overwhelming that for just $6 U.S. Dollars you witness sacredness and inhale it with your senses.

I felt humbled by the drippings of life that have been here for millions of years and some still continue to grow.


The magnificence of this place was almost unspeakable and so I kept quiet as my eyes widened and my mouth gaped.



For you nerds and lovers of facts (I'm one of you)- Carlsbad Caverns includes a large cave chamber 3rd largest in the Americas and 7th largest in the world, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet (about 1,219 m) long, 625 feet (190.5 m) wide, and 350 feet (about 107 m) high at the highest point.

Proof of my nerd-dom, exhibit A:



The end of the day found us several hours east at another spectacle of magic, White Sands! A storm was rolling in, spits and swirls of rain flew onto us and opened up to a rainbow as the sun set.
Pretty darned epic if I do say so myself.

The world's largest surface deposit of gypsum(the finest limestone grains) cover and create dunes nearly 500 total square kilometers of the area.

Crazy that this is the same area that missile testing is done, a tad eery indeed but the dunes themselves have such a sweet serenity that beckons you to sled down them and make sand angels.
What a bright, blessed day.


Love to you from the Land of Enchantment...

Deep In the Heart of Texas

A week in Austin, the capitol and well, the heart of Texas at its "weirdest."



In a sentence, what went on? Ice cream licking at Amy's, rockin' veggie burgers at Opal Divine's downtown spot (and damn good margaritas too, Thanks Jason and James), rollercoastering the highways that weren't marked in little red cars (thanks Amber and Holly for lending me your hotrides), a breakdown at the Apple store (thanks Mac Geniuses!!!), mean and rude remarks at the Ginger Man bar (boo on too cool for school clique-y jerks and their circles), a phenomenal tip top hair cut by Miss Holly Taylor at Aziz (yay, first time I didn't cry in a salon chair, in fact I smiled and got taught how to do a proper hair toss), outstanding fried avocado tacos and queso at Torchy's (dearie me, how did I live before I ate queso tex-mex style??), a killer deep, life-changing massage from Mateo (masseuse guru extraordinaire thank you for the best massage of my life), random cross meetings with the right people at the right time (David McCully you are a gem and Paul & Maggie, you bring Michigan's reputation up and outta the park) and closing out with a first-of-its-kind Alamo Drafthouse cinema special of 1980's girlie Saturday morning cartoons complete with a selection of over 25 cereals, My Little Ponies, Care Bears, Thundercats, Voltron, Jem, Rainbow Brite and of course....


Okay so that was more of a run-on sentence ramble but you get the picture.

Gluttony and cacophony ensued into the wee hours with my gracious hosts all over town. Cdub, you spoiled me with all the gourmet items about town and your biting wit, thank you.
Holly, I love my haircut and well, YOU!
Amber, you are my sister, my chingu, my sauce-som Sally.

I had way too much mac n' cheese, tacos, veggie burgers and margaritas. I'm now detoxing after my indulgences but they were worth the stories and the salivation.

The biggest a-ha moment in Texas was when my iPhone crapped out and I was prompted with the impulse to freak out. I'd been all antsy about driving my friends' cars on unknown streets and was gearing up to chicken out when my iPhone decided to give me the gumption to get out and get going. With no googlemap, gps, map, phone I managed to drive up and down 5th and 6th streets (one-ways) about 10 times, asking taxi drivers and nice looking folks which way to MO-PAC which lead to the mall with an Apple Store... I didn't know the street I was looking for was a highway (Missouri Pacific Highway 1). I got super flustered on my tenth round and decided to breathe in deeply, reminding myself that I had cash in my purse, a running car with a full tank of gas at my disposal and English being spoken everywhere- many things were in my favor. I would find my way! And I did, after miming "roll down your window and help me" to drivers near and far, I got over my fear of driving and did so with no technological devices. Wow, makes you appreciate how easy it to navigate our world! And even after that whole "detour of a morning" I made it to my massage appointment with 20 minutes to spare, yee haw indeed!

And I was gonna cancel my rub down out of fear of driving, ha! Thanks Universe for slipping me a super duper little lesson.

I'm so grateful to have had a good rest up in Texas. I got loved on by some super cute cats and puppies, friends, food, Pilsners, CareBears, milk & cereal and got a new coaching client for my new gig to top it all off!

God Bless Texas and remember to eat ice cream at the Alamo (Davy Crockett would've wanted it that way).

Reunited and It Feels So Good

It's been a year since Korean pop dancing, noraebanging (karaoke), English teaching and yogiyo-ing (hailing taxi cabs in Seoul).
Donning the wig we wore at a wig party March 2008... hitting the roads of Austin, TX.

Amber and Ella known as She-mean-ah and Val for Valentine's Day... it's unbelievable, I can't believe I'm here! Life is good!

The Cat's Meowwwwww

Owwww, wow, okay- I learned my lesson.

I was so nervous to sing in front of hundreds of Bourbon Street strangers that I had a few of drinks that were just one too many!

Well, I sure did do it Poppa Gene style- I fell from grace and smoked like a chimney, sang way off key, and drank like a fish.

I debated on whether or not to write about this night of debauchery but it's the truth and I learned a lesson. I hadn't been that hungover since I don't know when- sophomore year at UCSC? I guess my ego still needed a little boosting to get courage even after all the practice in those private karaoke rooms in South Korea.

It's so easy to fall back in to old habits and swim in your brain but I realize that there is a time and a place and I won't be revisiting for another ten years if ever.
Making something wrong or yourself wrong just gets you in to more trouble so I'm crossing this one off the list with a little "human"-ity.

Gollllyyy! However, here's what it looked like... note, the beads swinging (no, I did not flash anybody, I just stumbled a bit on the way home).

Food Porn at the Green Goddess

Found it- last meal on Earth, The Green Goddess in New Orleans...

Best meal(s) EVER! I want to marry the chef, seriously, I asked him (sorry Kim).

This gem of gems has only been around for six months and I'm telling you that if Food Porn needed a specific listing- this place would be it!






Started out smitten with the sweet potato pumpkin soup du jour (sprinkled with chili-laden roasted pumpkin seeds, coconut milk, pumpkin seed oil and melted blood orange zest honey butter and chives). DEAR GOD!

Add to that sweet potato biscuits with a side of red pepper jelly (not bell pepper but the spicy red guys) and the butter of love that now calls me by name, the honey blood orange butter!




Finish with the Saturn Calling dessert- sticky coconut black rice pudding with "rings & stardust" which was just galactically spectacular and then a post apocalyptic cocktail:
The Aviation MSY (Scott the bartender made his own very extra violetty version of this famous drink and MSY -Scott explained, is the airport code for NOLA).

Get this, and I rarely cocktail it up (it had to be done)...
Miller's gin, creme de violette, Cherry Liqueur from Austria with lemon juice and a twist.

It tasted like a cold black cherry squished and then drizzled with sugar glaze lace on high end French lingerie.

We went back again and again and again... I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this little known spot that is provocative in everything it delivers, seduces your senses like an old flame and is even more delicious!

Open 11am-4pm and dinner's only done Fri-Sun... try the breakfast, o dearie me the Strawberry and Chevre french toast is sin and succulence on a plate.

Hats off to what is surely the place I want to dine before I leave this planet.

10,000,000 stars- out of the park, swing!

Sour Mash Hugband

Cafe Bamboo, 100% Vegetarian and open til 2!

Caught a special performance from out-of-state
SF based band, the Sour Mash Hugband...

Was quite good tonight, no Poppa Gene antics
just yet... had myself a vegetarian BBQ PoBoy
(thanks Ralph for adding sweet potato fries
to my order)and a beer while listening to the musical
stylings of fiddle, accordion, guitar, stand-up
base and whiskey soaked gypsy pluckin'.



I love that we stumbled upon this *by accident (there are none!)
Request for awesome eclectic live music, granted!!

Bienvenue New Orleans and A Room with a View

I can't believe I'm here!

I've been craving some NOLA action since
I don't know when!

This is the land of Zita, the famous
exotic dancer from Puerto Rico that
swindled my grandfather's heart!

I'm donning his dogtags and gonna go find
me a proper Hurricane to down on his behalf.

We're staying at the Hotel Provincial...
My room is ridiculous, I did a little dance
when the door shut behind me and I opened
my balcony onto the French Quarter's gas lit
streets below! EEEEK!


What is "eek" in French?
That's what my heart's saying!

And for the record, duly note this now, my glittery
eye shadow exploded all over my bag so I've not
gone crazy with Mardi Gras just yet- there's proof,
no beads and drunken smiles here.


Just glitter,
pixie dust, Tinkerbell stuff- I'm PG here although
my P.G. wasn't!

Wow, wow, wow! My bed is bigger than the room, its
beyond king zize- it's Empress sized!


Stories and pictures to come, promise.

Must eat and be merry now, au revoir!

Charleston to Savannah

On the road again... leaving Charleston on its Cooper River Bridge, the longest cablestay span in North America... looks like a giant harp that could be a whole lotta fun ;-)



Entering Savannah, I caught the spires of this steeple and had to go check it out. The bells were a ringin' for us even and it was 5:17 PM, not exactly a bell chimey hour. The Independent Presbyterian Church opened its doors in 1829 but I think it burned at one point and therefore, had some work done. It wasn't a Notre Dame by any means but it was a good, Southern church. And my first to be seen!


Tomo-chi-chi, a Yamacraw chief to be received by the court in England and decorated as a dear, trusted comrade is buried in the center of the Wright Square... one of many little courtyards in the center of town. The Spanish moss set me off into a spell as it swayed on boughs of the grand trees, standing like ghosts.


And just down the street was a window display of old tin type photo prints that got ghoulish when you turned your head a bit.




I loved Savannah, it was the perfect spot to savor in the twilight of the day. But we had to keep going, after stopping of course at Gallery Espresso house for a piece of Chocolate Cake.
The cake was gone before we could whip out our iPhones so no pictures to taunt you, be grateful, it was devilish cake- very naughty, naughty cake!

Best CHAI LATTE I've ever had by the way, truly- it was perfect.

Good Mornin' Charleston!

Bright and sunny mornin' welcomes us to the "south"!

Well, well, the blue skies were quite a treat as was the sunshine. I was a little surprised to see palm trees on the southern coast but then again we're not that far from Florida...

Here I am on the shores of Charleston on East Battery Street looking out to Fort Sumter (where the U.S. Civil War began)... broadcasting from there to you, Life Ella Mode:



And, I wouldn't be the kind little foodie that I am if I didn't share a tidbit or two about Caviar and Bananas, the downtown college cafe breakfast hot spot...



Boy, did I need a little pick me up with caffeine, note the slightly cranky "I need more sleep face" LOL!




The southwest wrap with eggs, beans, veggies, and salsa was pretty tasty. But the coffees and teas were where it was at, not to mention the gourmet deli and shelving items. They had my heart palpitating with their decadent cheese display and oodles of high end tummy pleasing odds and ends.

Sheba's Ethiopian Restaurant Does Us Sooooo Right!

We decided that we needed to keep heading south out of the snow regardless of the fact that we'd yet to eat anything... not the wisest of decisions but after yelping up the vegetarian restaurants in Richmond (the next big city to drive through), we made Sheba's Ethiopian the light at the end of the tunnel.

And IT WAS SO GOOD!!!! Normally, when I eat Ethiopian food in Los Angeles I eat at an all vegan spot so cheese had yet to make its mark. What an introduction!

Our waitress Kelly, was amazing and recommended these little hot n' spicy rolls of yum called Katenya... watch and drool:


The vegetarian combo plate left a little to be desired but extra sides of the lentils and greens made that problem go away might quick!





And to top it off, Sheba's served us complimentary honey wines called Tej since the traditional coffee presentation gal had the night off. Quite tasty! Don't worry we only had a few sips since we had to keep trucking...



Charleston ETD 2:30am, gotta roll!

Tootle-loo D.C!

Winter Wonderland Washington D.C.

22 inches of snow in D.C? The word etched everywhere in everyone's minds was SnOMG! and it was found all over the nation's capitol. Now, given that I'm from the coasts of the Golden State of California, snow and I aren't well acquainted to begin with- let alone a snowstorm that shuts down a city.



Walking in a winter wonderland was a song, never a reality and so it was as we walked out our door in Georgetown today- everything covered in white, pedestrians taking over the roads, cars blanketed in snow and going nowhere, flurries aflutter and yet Obama still had speeches to make...

Headed to Dupont Circle to catch the red line metro, on a mission to see the frescoes atop the Library of Congress (fingers crossed that they wouldn't be closed).

But first thing's first on a wintery day, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do- catch snowflakes!



The stairs were closed off with yellow cautionary tape but I just followed the plowers to the basement entrance hoping, hopping, slipping and sliding in my cowboy boots. The doors were locked but I turned to see this image and was grateful to be there any way.

The building was ominous and exuding such a sovereign strength in the snow, I felt a deep peace standing at its base and I took a reprieve from the increasing snow dust.

We trudged on, sinking into the deep snow paths making our way to The Mall, as it's called, to find the sights of the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian buildings, the Capitol Building and the White House.

Women on skis, dogs in sweaters running sans leash, kids throwing snowballs and packs of people with make-shift tupperware lid sleds were everywhere!
The sight to be seen were the sledders and snowmen builders on the lawn of the Capitol Building, which had the biggest slant to sled.


I walked, literally, down Pennsylvania Avenue for miles, colder than cold but smiling at the rare treat- this had only been possible in December 2009 and 1922! Where's my horse & buggy now!?

My boots soaked up the sludge and I stopped being able to feel them, so shortly after this moment (and being rushed past the White House by security, again!!, we headed home for a warm up. My speech was beginning to slur and the ice was hardening into a harder tread to trek. About an hour later we made it to the subway entrance at the Smithsonian where I was just two weeks earlier....
Check out the difference from the image from early January here and the video at the same spot today:


Finally, we arrived back where we started six hours prior to a sunset sky! The snowfall had stopped and the skies cleared, the light at the end of the storm, ended our day in a snowed D.C.


But wait, there's one last sweet order of the day in! After my toes thawed, I decided it was time for gelato, because no matter how cold I am my heart will warm at the idea of Italian, well anything. Thank god for Griffin Market keeping open and stocking Vanilla Bean Gelato!!!


Three scoops are my three cheers for my magical, once-in-a-lifetime-day in D.C. What a wonderful send-off!

Off to curl up watching Groundhog Day, it's a doozy and then off to Charleston, South Carolina tomorrow when the streets open up. Ta-ta for now!