Good Morning Vashon! Im up early today which means Ill most likely need a nap later...my favorite. It looks a little cloudy and rainy today but the plants need it and the weather can change course rather quickly here. It might have something to do with the higher elevation or something but things definitely grow well here. Did I mention I went pescaterian? Ok...its like a vegetarian but only I eat fish and dairy. I feel way better and several well respected friends of mine recommended it so here I am:-) Im hoping to get some chickens in the yard soon but that may take some more time. For now Im still unpacking and trying to get most of my stuff moved over here but thats a real task since Ive accumulated a lot  over the years. Another spiritual path Ive taken is to not be so materialistic but it doesn't mean I can be stupid ad just leave everything behind....

Its been forever and a day since I wrote you all, so I just wanted to check in and say Im doing better than ever now since moving to Vashon. Its taken only a few month and I feel completely destressed and out of the all encompassing rat race of seattle. I truly live in paradise now! Ive posted some photos on my twitter account for anyone thats inclined to look...and will post more if I get good responses on these. I no longer live and die by a schedule...now I do whatever happens to inspire me that day. One of my favorite things here is keeping up the garden, as Ive not had such a rare opportunity in my life since childhood. Getting back to nature has improved my spiritual being tremendously, and brought back the wisdom I feel we were all born with but loose it to a certain extent in the process of living our day to day lives. Not taking the time to focus on the important things in life was a big issue of mine i didn't even realize I had until I took a step back from things and gather a new perspective from the resources that were with me all along but perhaps too much overlooked. I hope through writing about my own personal conquests I can help shine some light for others like myself that get distracted easily...

Its been so long since I wrote a blog entry that my account had expired! Sheesh;-) San Francisco is so amazing and I always find new and exciting things to do while here. This time I went to an awesome casual dining placed called Verbena, and I also did some much needed shopping. Especially the mac store and the Nike Store. Also, I took many a walks taking photos of the beautiful architecture! See more by visiting my instagram or Facebook page. Now don't start going crazy...only those that know me well enough have access to these and if you do you should definitely feel special! One more thing...I did visit the new Power Exchange as well which has reopened after close to 10 years of closure! This is a g rated blog so I won't go into any detail, but it is a sf institution so I thought it aaas worth mentioning. Don't go reaching for stereotypes now...I know you guys are mature enough to handle that information without acting like school kids;-)

Theres a lot more to Las Vegas than all the glitz and glamor of great hotels, shows, and restaurants. Theres also an interesting history unique to this area. During the great depression and prohibition, president hoover ordered the building of hoover dam driving the population from around 5000 to 25,000. It was mainly men from across the country looking for work, which might have sparked the mafia crime bosses to develop the casinos and showgirl theaters. Without getting dry here...the point I'm trying to make is that it wasn't the feds that drove the mobsters out of vegas...it was Howard Hughes that did that in the 60's. Buying the casinos at inflated prices was welcomed by the mafia, and they just thought they were getting one over on old Howard. Being the brilliant business man he was, it was actually his intent on reinvesting his money as a way to avoid extra taxation from the government. You accountants and tax lawyers feel free to comment here if this practice is still used;-)
Howard Hughes

Mobster Frank Cullotta

Mobster Bugsy Seigal

Im loving the east coast right now! Last week I was in DC and saw Pharaoh Sanders at Blues Alley. Omg! I almost got thrown out for getting too loud, because he played the John Coltrane song I used to always play on the juke box at the pool hall in Seattle several years ago. I went totally crazy! I think there must be some chemical in our brains that is released when were reintroduced to something we haven't seen or heard in a while. This also happened here in New York when I saw Bullets Over Broadway. They reintroduced songs from the 30's like Yes, we have no Bananas. Of course I went wild for this show too, especially because I was in the second row and could see all the actors expressions so well!

I just got back from Philadelphia yesterday, and I must say the city of brotherly love has some of the nicest people! I stayed in an old historical hotel formarly known as the bellevue stratford, which opened its doors in 1904.

Any native Philadelphian will tell you that this is where Legionnaires' disease started in 1976. Its namesake is because they were attending an american legion convention. Of course its all cleaned up now and is a great place to stay! Here is photo of the restaurant:

Im in Washington DC and were supposed to have a big snow storm last night and today, so Ive done my best to get out and about the last few days. My first night here I went to a brilliant place: Coco Sala

The whole menu seemed to have chocolate incorporated...see the crispy coco nibs on top of the scalops? The chocolate deserts were probably some of the best Ive ever had here! 

Yesterday was fairly warm(50's?), so I went out for a walk to find the Vietnam war memorial and got an eyeful of much more than that! 

Dont ask, but I have a personal connection to this place;-) It was so beautiful out, and I enjoyed the people watching. Washington DC is supposed to be one of the fittest cities in the US, and all walks of life were jogging, biking, and just enjoying being outdoors. 

I noticed the authorities were getting ready for a big day near the white house...I should have know I was going to see some action! Ill save that for latter though, as I was still enjoying the calm and peaceful morning.

I headed past the white house and onto a beautiful tree lined trail to find the memorial I came to see and pay my tributes to those that made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.

I could see the huge wall from here, and already a strange feeling set over me. I stopped to my left to observe the Vietnam women's memorial, which I hadnt known was there.

I felt like I could really feel the way they felt by this sculpture...a fitting memorial indeed! Next I walked closer to the Vietnam war memorial, and was amazed by the size of it. The whole wall was filled with names of soldiers that lost their lives over there. Not to mention the ptsd, suicide, and agent orange deaths that also occured because of the war.

I found the name I was looking for, and a little old lady came up to me and asked if I wanted a rubbing( where you rub graphite on a peice of paper over the name). I thanked her and realized my hands were shaking as I tried to get the name copied. It is that emotional a place! After this I had to take a little break off to the side to put it all in perspective, but it still seemed impossible to fathom. I think it makes us stronger to know where we came from, and hopefully we will never forget this event in history. I am forever changed...