A few weeks ago I packed up the boys and headed to Montana. One of my dear friends bought two houses up there in a quaint little town called Gardiner about an hour away from Bozeman. To give you a little perspective on the kind of town Gardner is, the nearest Target or Home Depot is in Bozeman. So a little heaven – and a little hell.

Scott and I had a mission: To get the place ready for renters; doing small repairs, hanging photos and helping figure out what was needed. Not surprisingly, the landscape was stupid beautiful. I was also introduced to the reciprocating saw, my new favorite toy.

Driving seems to be my theme lately as I’m driving across the country for the seventh time. Stay tuned…

I met Ma Hazzard in San Francisco last week. It was her first time. I thought it’d be great to finally do all the touristy things that I’d never done. In addition to Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, Muir Woods and the Castro I surprised the Mother unit with a chauffeured trip through Sonoma Valley wine country.

I arrived the day before on a Thursday morning, 3 hours late, to fierce winds and ridiculous rain. Mom however arrived the next morning to big blue skies and sunshine; I couldn’t have been happier…wait, that’s a lie, I would’ve been much happier had I known that where I booked her hotel was crack city central; no wonder it was so cheap. As we made our way up the subway escalator we noticed a man hugging a lamp post, it was only after we got close enough that I noticed he was falling out on heroin. Mom grabbed my arm and I told her not to make eye contact and stay indoors.

We had a great time touring the city and. It was especially nice to see this great city again through a fresh pair of eyes. My favorite part would have to be the tour through Sonoma… I am a huge fan of Pinots and we tasted some amazing ones, not having to worry about driving was especially fantastic. My only regret is that Mom left on the best day of the week; it was 70 degrees, sunny and filled with naked sunbathers in the Castro.

After a very social evening and an indulgent ending at In N’ Out burger I woke up this morning hoping to round it all out with a trip to the Farmer’s Market in West Hollywood.

The avocados are beautiful, even though they take 10 days to ripen, they are well worth it.

There is an entire booth devoted to mushrooms, one for sprouts, one for nuts and seeds another one for artisan bread, a fish cart.There is something about purchasing my food from those that grow it that puts me in a great, grateful mood. I was going to buy some halibut, but decided to consult my recipe book and plan for it next week. Any suggestions?

Before I begin this tale I’d like to introduce my co-pilot, navigator, communications manager and photographer, Scott. Scott was nice enough to accompany PD and me on our little jaunt. He was also been along on my last trip cross country in 2007 that ended in destruction when Milo was broken into and my ENTIRE music and DVD collection was taken and sold on the black market of the Mission in SF…. I’m still not over it. Can you tell?

With Scott’s superior ability to read and use maps, his state of the art Mac book, his various publications on popular and obscure points in the US and the blessing of portable WiFi we were two steps ahead of ourselves and knew everything we would need and want to know about all of our planned sites.

At a couple of points Scott’s office would begin to ooze over to my side and on two occasions moved the gear shift into a Neutral posistion… on the Interstate… while we were moving; a small price to pay for advanced communication and professional documentation.

The drive through Vail and Breckenridge was the worst of the entire trip. It was stunning and quite difficult. We experienced sleet, snow, rain and extreme fog which made me mad that I didn’t get the right windshield wiper replaced nor did I apply Rain-X to the windshield. Bummer. An old friend from high school that I hadn’t seen in 10 years lives about 10 minutes from where I write this entry. I’m so stoked to see her and a little nervous. Till then…

For this Moms Day I suggested that my brother and I do the cooking (we requested that she and my sisters remain on board for consulting). I made a honey mustard sauce for the grilled chicken and Carmen made his special BBQ sauce for the ribs. I also made a grilled corn, asparagus and goat cheese salad.

All went well except that I tried to save time by starting the chicken in the oven and then finishing it on the grill. This proved not be the best idea; the poultry was overcooked and even the brine couldn’t save it.

Live and Learn. Thank God for games on the deck to take our mind off the not so perfect dinner… Carmen’s ribs turned out perfectly… fucker.