Landmarks and Lostness

I have finally admitted to myself that I have lived in too many places in too short a time.  I know this is a problem because as I'm learning new routes to and from various places (avoiding the freeway because of all the traffic), I try to remember landmarks and such...and I've started getting the Seattle area confused with all the other places I've lived.  And let me note here that none of these places look a damn thing alike.

It goes something like this (in my head):

If I turn left at that stoplight, it'll take me by the Lucky...   
No, wait, that's in Oakland (California).

 or

Okay, if I turn right here, I'll end up on the freeway...
No...no, wait, that was in Sterling (Virginia).

Sometimes it's really disappointing when I realize that I place I thought I'd go to on my day off doesn't exist in the state I currently live in - as much as I didn't love everything that California, North Carolina and the DC Metro Area had to offer.  Wherever you spend a lot of time, you're bound to find things that you won't even realize you're going to miss until you've left.

I do think that the hardest part is the simple confusion of trying to learn a place and having to get rid of all those old maps.  The ones that you created in your head, in order to get around those other places.

I've always done better with directions that list landmarks and I've realized this is now my downfall.  

I knew where to turn to get to my job in DC when I saw my friend Stacey's apartment building.  

I knew two ways to get home in North Carolina: the Food Lion way, and the WalMart way. 

And as much as I grew up in California (and therefore shouldn't have to worry about erasing those old maps, because they're so completely ingrained), my last visit to Oakland has been coming to mind way too much because the city had changed a lot when I finally returned to it.  I made a huge a effort to figure out where I was during my last visit, based on old landmarks (Lake Merritt, Arizmendi, Geo Kaye's, IKEA), while noting new ones (Blue Bottle Coffee, Portal, Bar Three Fifty-Five).  And damn me all to hell for that -  I'm even more confused now that I'm back in Seattle.  It's even worse when it gets dark - which is one thing that Washington state and Virginia have in common - very little in the way of street lights.  Why would is such a dark, rainy place almost devoid of street lamps to light our way?!  

I still love it here.

This One's for the Californians

May I live vicariously through you, my California friends?  Excellent.  Go to the Women of the Vine - Grand Tasting at Westin Verasa Napa on Friday, May 4th from 5-7pm for a complimentary tasting and tapas.  Honig's winemaker, Kristin Belair, will be there along with many other women of wine from the Napa Valley.

If you are interested in attending, go here.  If you do attend, tell me all about it later.

You can learn a little about Honig's commitment to sustainability from Kristin here:

My Favorite Strangers

As a followup to The Kindness of Strangers post, I'd like to take a moment to showcase some wonderful strangers you should know more about:

In Italy:  Michelle Fabio of Bleeding Espresso and Goat Berries not only gave a big yes to my request to put both of her blogs on our blogroll, but provided me with some much-needed advice on blogging etiquette and what to watch out for.  Prior to that email from Michelle, I wasn’t entirely sure that I was going in the right direction. 

I’m not the only LostGirls contributor who loves her writing style (Mary sent me my first link to Bleeding Espresso a while back), but I am the one who owes her a debt of gratitude for her Bleeding Espresso post “GutCheck: How Bad Do You Want It.”  I happened upon this post right in the middle of my prepwork for the launch of all five sites.  It reminded me of why I started the LostGirls project in the first place.  And as if that weren’t enough, the day of the LostGirls launch, Michelle posted another great get-off-your-ass post, "What AreYou Waiting For?"  

Honestly, I’ve never thought twice about how to raise and take care of goats, but I return regularly to Goat Berries to read what Michelle has to say (and see the pictures of all the goats, of course!).  And now you can also find her at Gemelli Press, a boutique book publishing company based in both Seattle, Washington and Calabria, Italy.

In California:  I have been a huge fan of the Honig Vineyard & Winery ever since my best friend and her husband first took me there for a tasting.  Every time I’ve been there since, I have really enjoyed myself and I always get a kick out of the people who work there.  My friends have always raved about Kelly Bria, but I only got to meet her once, in passing.  And on my last visit, before leaving California, we had David Cruz as our tasting guide (definitely the highlight of that trip to Napa).  So imagine how excited I was when I went to the Honig VISIT page, to send the link to a friend, and found both of our favorite Honig people pictured there.  

Honig is one of the things I miss most about California.  If you haven't been there, you need to check out that VISIT page right now and tell Kelly you can't wait to visit.  While you're in the area, also check out Elizabeth Spencer Wines, just down the street.

Not enough incentive?  Check out the badassery: