It got to the point there where every woman under the age of 28 in America hated Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn – not because they’re horrible people, just the opposite, actually, but from the years of 1996-1999, there wasn’t a bar in America that didn’t reek of pick-up lines from that film.

It was a movie for those of us who weren’t good at approaching women, who maybe did leave one too many messages on the answering machine the same night we ‘got digits, baby’. It showed the gritty side of being lonely and gave us all hope that if we couldn’t be Trent, then maybe we’d have a friend like him. No one wanted Pink Dot to deliver to Tulsa, Oklahoma more than I did – although hitting on any member of the opposite sex in that town, even if in jest, might have resulted in a quick and justifiable death.

And no other film draws more pilgrims than this one: ‘Swingers’. Read More »

Haven’t we all read the Peanuts books or watched the television specials that showed Snoopy fearlessly flying across the fields into enemy territory? I for one recall sitting in my bunk bed when my grandmother would babysit, and pretend I was Snoopy chasing the Red Baron across France. Ra-ta-ta-ta-tat!

Last spring I got to live out my fantasy and ride in a red open cockpit bi-plane. Vintage Aircraft Company has been around for ages. If you drive to the wine country on a regular basis, you will recognize them because their sign and location is on Highway 121 just before the final turn towards Napa Valley.

They have several different vintage planes including a World War II Warbird. My choice was definitely one of their Boeing PT-17 Stearmans, and on the day I went up they had a bright and shiny red one ready for me! It can accommodate two passengers but I wasn’t about to share this ride, so I had a great time sliding about the 32″ seat.

When we got there I learned they offered aerobatics for an additional fee of $50 on any of the planes including my open cockpit bi-plane. Of course I said yes to that and I think they gave me a “famous Cuban Eight” but I couldn’t tell you because unlike regular planes, you don’t get a headset with a mike connected to the pilot. It is a bit like water skiing, just tap your head to ask them to slow down or give the slashing across the neck if you are done.

My 20 minute tour over the beautiful Sonoma Valley was the best. After I stopped thinking about the reality of my possible death, I loved soaring just a few hundred feet above the fields and vineyards.

If you want more they also offer 40 minute flights:

The Wine Country tour: Catch an Eagle’s View of the world renowned vineyards of the Sonoma and
Napa Valleys, heading east across the bucolic Carneros region to Napa, Turn north to St. Helena, West
to glen Ellen then back south through the lush Sonoma Valley. Grapes galore.

West to the Pacific: Aviate over rolling hills and open pastures of Sonoma, Novato and Petaluma;
then head out to Tomales Bay and absorb the Majestic magnificence of the Pacific Ocean.

Spires of “The City”: Drift south toward San Francisco. A panoramic outlook of the Sausalito and
Tiburon Harbors: outlying views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands,
then circle Mt. Tamalpais en route to Point Reyes and your safe Sonoma return.

And this adventure is also available for kids too. They can accommodate a child about 40 inches tall with their booster cushion, though all kids under 10 years must fly with an adult.

When your ride is over there are lots of great Sonoma Valley restaurants nearby or drive a little further into Napa Valley for world class restaurants or maybe just a slice of pie at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen.

Here is me "Amelia Snoopy Earhart" in my shiny Boeing PT-17 Stearman