1.  Support a Cause. I often blow off requests for support. Or else I decide to think about it later, which I never do. I will choose a few causes and find ways to help out.

2. Volunteer. When my kids were in elementary school, I spent a lot of my time in volunteer activities. Now, not so much.  Nevertheless, requests for volunteers pop into my almost daily. This year, I’ll read through them and instead of automatically hitting delete, and select one or two get involved in.

3. Visit someplace meaningful. Traveling is a good way to add meaning to your life. I’m planning a trip to England in April, so before I go I’ll do some research to find one activity that is, in fact, particularly meaningful.

4.  Read up. I tend to read novels and steer clear of anything that smacks of self-help. This year, I plan to read a few books on adding meaning to my life.

5. Sign up for a benefit ride.  Every year I think about doing one of those bike rides where you have to raise money for a cause. But I’m the worst fundraiser imaginable. I wince at the idea of asking for money. Still, I’ve been dreaming about it forever, so I think it’s finally time to stop wincing.  I will sign up for a ride and figure it out from there.

6. Make contact. It’s easy to just let go of friendships once you stop seeing people regularly. I want to make a better effort to keep in touch with friends I no longer have the opportunity spend a lot of time with.

7.  Join something. Believe it or not, the reason I usually don’t join clubs or community organizations is because I hate attending meetings. Sound lame? Think about it–a lot of organizations are really about meetings. Nevertheless, there are plenty of organizations in the community that are doing really good things that I would like to be involved in.  I plan to get involved with one of them.

8. Donate items thoughtfully. I have a tendency to donate only when it’s convenient. I drop my old clothes off at the nearest drop box, and contribute to food pantries when I happen to think of it. I want to make more of an effort to donate food more regularly and, when I have clothes or furniture in good condition, to seek out a charity that needs them.

9. Engage in a meaningful activity. By which I mean, take a yoga class, because it seems like this is an exercise that is intended to improve your mind and your attitude, as well as your body.

10. Continue to blog occasionally about trying something new. I think trying new things does add meaning to my life, so I will integrate new activities into my blog whenever I can.

1.  It doesn’t matter what you wear. When I first started trying different things, I noticed that, as soon as I considered embarking on unfamiliar territory, I began fretting about what outfit I should wear. The question of whether to dress nicely or casually, to wear jeans or a skirt would honestly take up space in my mind. I’ve always done this, but because I was trying something new weekly, I became keenly aware of how much energy I was investing in fashion anxiety. So I came up with a strategy that has has worked for me. That is: when in doubt, dress up.  If you look better than everyone else, that’s never a problem. Honestly, I’m still waiting for that to happen. Also, I’ve noticed that unless you are attending a very formal event, nice jeans are universally acceptable.

2. It takes effort. I am not a good planner. Nevertheless, I became aware over the course of the year that I needed to plan a bit in advance if I wanted to try something different each week. Otherwise, a week could quickly fly by and I’d be staring into the empty face of a Saturday with nothing scheduled, searching event calendars for something I could talk my husband and son into trying.

3. Event calendars are great. I learned that there is always something new and different to try within a one to two hour radius of my house. How do you find them? You check online event calendars posted by newspapers. Or you log onto visitor center sites and click on their “Things to Do” button. Also, Groupon. It gives you an opportunity to try new things at half the cost. Read the fine print though. I still haven’t done that zipline tour I signed up for last summer.

4. The scarier it seems, the better the experience often is. Some of my favorite adventures caused me the greatest anxiety beforehand. I worried intensely about taking my son on the Bike Philly ride (worried about a crash, his hating it, not finding parking, etc.), but that was incredibly fun for both of us, and afterward I felt good that I had introduced him to the festive world of event rides. Similarly, I had some qualms about going to the beach for a girls weekend last spring, and was curiously apprehensive about attending an Elton John concert, after not having been to a concert in years. New experiences are like roller coasters or  really steep descents on your bike–the scarier it seems beforehand, the better it usually is.

6. It’s a good way to connect. I went on a tubing trip with my brother, took a pottery class with friends, went on a bike ride with my son, took a wine tour with co-workers and was introduced to Indian food by another group of friends. When you experience new things with people, you develop a new connection to them, and that adds a wonderful dimension to whatever it is you’re trying. I fell like the best part of this year was all the fun I had doing things with friends and family.

7. It’s good for your brain.  I had a few people question my decision to try something new every week. But having it on mind kept me more aware of how many different things there are to try. It also forced me to be more open minded about what I would try (tubing, for example, and that zip  line thing I’m still scheduled to do in April). What’s more, I found that the more I tried different things, the less anxious I became in preparing for them. Most new adventures end too quickly. I spent a lot of time worrying about doing Yoga on the Steps at the art museum (I don’t do yoga, so I feared falling off the steps). But  none of my worries were warranted and I met some great people that day. Because I had many such experiences, over time I began to worry less and approach new challenges more thoughtfully.

8. It fosters self-discovery. At my age, you would think I would know everything about myself. But, in fact, I was sometimes surprised at the activities I was drawn to. Not suprisingly, a lot of them revolved around food and bike adventures. But Ialso enjoyed tremendously some art-related experiences (a trip to the GoggleWorks, in Reading, and a pottery class). I consider my greatest discovery this year to be Longwood Gardens–a place I’d only visited once before, but found could be visited and revisited in every season with something new to discover each time. That surprised me, a bit, since I don’t necessarily consider myself a garden person.

9. I recommend it. Although my year of blogging about doing something different each week is over, I still plan to continue trying new things regularly. I have a better attitude toward trying new things. I no longer feel you have to be majorly adventurous, and I discovered there’s a lot to do that requires very little adventurous spirit. There’s plenty of discovery to be had in trying small things. You can learn a great  deal, for example, by going to a horse race, if you’ve never been to one; or by taking a chocolate tour of Philadelphia, if you’ve never given more than a passing thought to the infinite varieties of chocolate. I am still amazed, whenever I consider it, at what goes into producing a bottle of wine–a lesson I learned on our mini local wine tour. There are so many things to learn and experience, but it’s easy to fall into the habit of doing the same things over and over again.  Making a commitment to try new things, at least periodically, should be on everyone’s agenda.

10. I’m not completely done. I still plan to blog about new things, I just want to change the focus to trying something meaningful every week. But I’ll blog about that, next time.

And, instead of doing something different every week, I’m going to try to do something meaningful every week.  Volunteer more, donate to charities more thoughtfully, and get more active in community and school organizations that are seeking assistance.

Meanwhile, here are a few things I’ve done differently since my last blog.

1. Visit a Greenhouse filled with Poinsettas. For years I’ve been hearing about Glick’s Greenhouse’s holiday display. So, last weekend, my husband, son and I went out there and waited in a long line of cars just to get into the parking lot. I theorized that this quite possibly was the biggest traffic jam that back Oley Valley Road has ever seen. Once inside the Greenhouse, there was another long line which moved slowly through a display of wreaths creatively designed by local businesses that featured things like curlers for hair salons and miniature guitars for a music school. But the real attraction were the pointsettias. Boasting over 1,000 pointsettia’s, the display featured a beautiful variety of colors (even blue, my son noted). The theme was a cowboy Christmas, so the plants were interspersed with western accents, such as cowboy boots, horseshoes and saddles. My husband and I thought it was stunningly beautiful and a fun holiday attraction. My son described it later as “Room after room filled with the same plant.” So, maybe not exciting to a 14-year-old. But they offered free popcorn, cider and hot dogs, and even Ian was happy about that.

2. Go to the zoo: I’ve been to the zoo many times, but I never went to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Several weeks ago, while visiting my daughter in Pittsburgh on one of those unseasonably nice weekends, my family and I decided to spend a few hours checking out the zoo. In the past, I’ve only ever gone to a zoo in the summer. So this is what I learned about going on a cool fall day: all the animals are awake. Every lion, elephant, ostrich and primate was out moving around and, in some cases, interacting with one another. Aside from that, the Pittsburgh Zoo, I discovered, is very entertaining for several other reasons. First, it’s a nice size. There’s a lot to see but you don’t feel weary by the end of the day. Secondly, the animal habitats are, for the most part, roomy. I hate when I visit a zoo and leave thinking all of the animals were unhappy because space was inadequate. But the thing that really made this zoo spectacular, in my opinion, was that it also had an aquarium with many, many interesting sea creatures on view. So, if you find yourself in Pittsburgh, I would definitely recommend taking a trip to the zoo.

3. Bake bread. I have made bread before, but I’ve never made it with a group of friends. Recently, after our regularly scheduled book club meeting was canceled unexpectedly, three members of our club decided to get together after all. We discussed the book only briefly; our real goal was to bake bread. This idea came at the suggestion of my friend Diane, who hosted the get together and had recently purchased a 25 lb bag of flour for holiday baking. This made for a particularly fun evening, since we first mixed and kneaded the dough, then sat and chatted as we waited for it to rise. Then, because we were making a braided challah loaf, we braided the dough and formed the loaves. By that time, it was fairly late,  so two of us went home and Diane put the bread in the oven to bake. The next morning I picked it up from her and couldn’t wait to taste it. There is nothing like the smell, taste and texture of home made bread, but this was especially good since I’d made it with friends.

4. Go to a play. There are so many great holiday productions, but this year  I went with friends went to see the musical comedy Motherhood at Philadelphia’s Society Hill Playhouse. This, again, was organized by my friend Michelle, who is amazingly good at finding fun things to do and rallying us together to do them. Before going, I worried that I was too far beyond the young motherhood stage to enjoy this show. As it turned out, though, any mother could relate to this musical. The acting was great, the singing fabulous and there too many genuinely funny lines and songs to list here. You can listen to clips of the songs here. Who could not relate to the Costco Queen song? (My favorite line, preceeding that song: “She’s having a storegasam!”) At the end of the show, I really felt the  kind of camraderie you feel after you’ve spent an evening with a group of mothers who relate well to your own experiences. I definitely recommend seeing this. The good news is, it’s playing in Philadelphia through February 19, so there’s plenty of time to buy your tickets and organize a group of friends to see this together.

To begin with, we sat: It is always nice, especially on a weeknight, to have a moment to sit and relax before you start on a new experience. When we arrived, our group was seated at a table. The only other people in the restaurant were the other groups. So we had some time to chat with one another. Some of the women I had met only once before, during the Yoga on the Steps event in March, so I enjoyed seeing them again and having a bit of time to catch up.

Getting to Gracies: Gracie’s is located in what can reasonably be called an out-of-the way spot in Berks County (which, if you think about it, has many out-of-the way spots).  Driving there on a dark night, I felt pretty much like I was in the middle of nowhere, when suddenly the bright red neon sign that spelled out “Gracie’s” made it clear that I had arrived. Also, my friends Barbara and Anne pointed it out to me.

The decor: On the exterior,  Gracie’s juxtaposes neon signs, funky asymmetrical sheds and cute, colorful, decorative lights against a very traditional stone terrace. The restaurant itself is in a historic 1700′s home. Inside, there were large 18th Century fireplaces and the cozy smell of recently burned wood, but, again, some very modern touches, including neon lights over the bar and fun,  colorful, yoga-posing figurines on the mantle. Overall, there was a unique mix of funky and traditional decor that seemed less gimmicky, and a lot more interesting than most restaurants. If felt serious and fun at the same time.

Gracie: Gracie’s, I learned, is owned by chef Gracie Skiadas. She welcomed us at the door, and then came into the dining room to talk about what would be prepared that evening. According to her website, she started the restaurant in 1988 and included this message on her menu: “Gracie’s was designed & created out of respect for life and well-being.” In a way, I was surprised to learn that she’d been in business 22 years. She seemed knowledgable, of course, but also incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about her business. Here’s another quote from her website: “My intention and  the shared intent of those who work with me has not altered. My role is as it has always been, one of supreme passion with regard to my “COOKING” and my ART.” You can read more about the restaurant in this County Lines Magazine article.

In the kitchen: It seemed a privilege to be invited back into the kitchen of a serious chef. It wasn’t real large. But I’d estimated there were a dozen of us attending the class, and we fit in fine. I was somewhat relieved to learn that this wasn’t a hands-on cooking class. Instead, Gracie led us step-by-step through the process of making a three-course vegetarian meal. Like a cooking show? Not really, a lot more personal and less scripted than that.

Here’s the menu:

• Autumn broccoli and stilton bisque with mushroom/apple/walnut garni (This was a terrific blend of flavors)
• Autumn Acorn squash: This was stuffed with a mixture of different veggies including yams, parsnips, leeks and oyster mushrooms. It was amazingly good.
• Warm eggplant caprese: I can’t wait to try making this dish of layered eggplant, mozzarella and marinara sauce.
• Braised cabbage and fennel: My favorite dish of the evening, it was drizzled with a Dijon truffle cream.

Wines: Gracie included wines that best accompanied each recipe. So, it was a great evening. We got a cooking lesson, then got to sit down and eat this amazing food and taste some really interesting wines.

My favorite quote of the evening: “I love parsnips.” Gracie said that. Honestly? Parsnips!? I’ve never cooked with a parsnip. I can’t wait to buy some.

Chaos and Creativity.  Gracie gave us a paper she’d written up in advance that included this statement: “Creativity comes from chaos, and the passion of chaotic vegetarian recipes comes from the contrasts in flavors that we will experiment with tonight.” She went on to say that “My philosophy of vegetarian cooking is that you should Never Miss the Meat.” I didn’t miss the meat. And I’ve been thinking about parsnips ever since.

The photos: We were all so deeply entranced by this experience that none of us took photos. Therefore, all the images on this post are from Gracie’s website.

1. November is epilepsy awareness month: My friend, Sandy,  has organized various awareness campaigns every November for the past several years. This year, her daughter Grace put this together as a project for a Middle School class. They began planning a few months ago by asking Lords and Ladies Salons to provide purple hair extensions (a year ago, the salon had supported a breast cancer awareness fundraiser with pink extensions).  The salon owner or manager agreed to order the extensions and offer them  from Nov. 1-19 for $10 apiece,  including cost of applying them to your hair.  The entire $10 goes to the Epilepsy Foundation, since even the stylists donate their time for the cause.

2. I’ve never had purple hair before. In fact, the only color I’ve ever dyed my hair is brown, so purple was quite a stretch, even if it was only a thin lock of purple.  I went on Nov. 1, when Sandy held her kickoff event at the Pottstown Lords and Ladies. In addition to Sandy and Grace, there was quite a crowd waiting for purple extensions when I arrived.  Fortunately, I knew most of the estimated 20 women and children waiting, so it was fun to watch how the purple strands looked in everyone’s hair.

3. I opted for two: I decided to get one on each side. I never knew how extensions were put in, so I was surprised that it involved a heating device that melted a keratin-based adhesive onto my hair. The stylist was very friendly, and told me about her niece who was recently diagnosed with an unusual form of epilepsy. She also told me the extensions would last over a month, could be styled like the rest of my hair, and if I wanted them out earlier I could come in and have them removed.

4. A word about Lords and Ladies Salon. If you’ve never been to Lords and Ladies’ Pottstown office it’s probably worth trying just to see the building it’s in. Located on King Street in an old Victorian Home, it has been renovated as a salon, but the owners kept some of the most interesting architectural details intact. The room we were in featured pillars with impressive decorative trim, charming window seats and beautiful wood floors.

5. A word about epilepsy. I could fill a lot of blogs with all the things I don’t know about epilepsy. Fortunately, there are some really good websites that can help people like me gain a better understanding.  Here are a few facts from the Epilepsy Foundation website:

• Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million Americans and 50 million people worldwide.
• It affects more than 300,000 children under the age of 15–more than 90,000 of whom have seizures that cannot be adequately be treated.
• Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
• Julius Ceaser had epilepsy. So did Dante, Dickens and Mozart.
• And, it turns out I’m not alone in having a pretty slim understanding of epilepsy.  It is, in fact, “among the least understood of major chronic medical conditions, even though one in three adults knows someone with the disorder.”

6. A word about purple hair. My purple extensions were buried under my real hair, so they didn’t show all that much when I got them. However, the day after I got them I rode my bike to work and, let me just say here that biking to work is great for many things, but it is never good for your hair. The purple locks stuck out pretty noticeably on both sides of my head. The next day I trimmed them shorter so they tucked in better, and it hasn’t been a problem since. Honestly, if people notice them, they don’t mention it. My daughter, who is 24, loved them, of course, and went the next day to get two of her own. She has long, dark hair and she doesn’t bike to work so they look a lot better on her.

7. A great way to support a cause. Of all the ways there are to support a cause, this was one of the most fun things to do. It was different, and kind of exciting and, since I did it with friends, it also made for a nice get together in the middle of the week. The extensions are available from all Lords and Ladies Salon locations through Nov. 19, so you can try it yourself if you like. I recommend it. Just call and ask or walk in and they’ll squeeze you in. It only takes a few minutes, you’ll have intriguing purple locks for month and you’ll support a really important cause.

8. If you do get purple extensions.  There’s a good chance, if you get extensions, that people might notice them. Two of my co-workers mentioned them. Here’s what I said: “I only did this to support a cause. I am, of course, past the stage of my life where I need to put purple in my hair for effect!” That of course was such a lie.  I mean, I really did want to support epilepsy awareness, but I liked the effect!

While I have diligently stuck to my commitment to do something different every week, I haven’t continuously blogged about it. Here are three things I’ve done since my last blog.

1. Visited a coffee house: When my daughter told me that a good friend of hers was performing at Steel City Coffee House in Phoenixville, I knew I wanted to go. As it turned out, my son went to a football game that evening, so my husband and I had a free night anyway. We made the decision to go at the last minute. This turned out to be  a unique and enjoyable experience. For one thing, I got to connect with some friends I haven’t seen in a long time. I also had the opportunity to experience first hand the talent of Jillian Miller, who has been friends with my daughter since elementary school, and who not only plays the piano beautifully and has an amazing singing voice, but also writes her own very compelling songs.  The next band was terrific as well, although we could only stay for part of that performance.  The atmosphere at Steel City is relaxed and a little bit funky. The space is small, but all in all an intimate and interesting setting for listening to live music. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to such a small venue, and I was reminded of how music really comes alive in such a space. In addition, the food was delicious (check out their menu) and the staff was friendly. My husband and I agreed we both hope to go back soon. I just hope he doesn’t try to get me to participate in open mic night!

2. Climbed a Treehouse: Earlier in the year I visited Longwood Gardens for the first time in years. That was a cold winter day, so I explored only the indoor exhibits. Recently, thanks to a Groupon, I returned with my husband and son to check out the grounds I hadn’t seen the first time. I discovered a lot of interesting garden and fountain areas, but my favorite places were the three treehouses. Longwood refers to them Nature’s Castles and lists them on their website under family fun.  And while these undoubtedly have great kid-appeal, they are fascinating to adults, as well. Although none were built onto tree branches, the way you normally envision treehouse, each was spectacular, raised high off the ground on stilts and surrounded by trees. Each treehouse has a different theme. The first, Canopy Cathedral, was inspired by a Norwegian Church.  The second we visited was my favorite. Called Lookout Loft, it included copper soundhorns for listening to nature. My son and I used them to whisper to one another across the platform, which was fun. The final treehouse was called the Birdhouse. My husband and son were too tired to climb up its many steps, but I ventured up and found a view well worthy of a treetop birdhouse. What always fascinates me about Longwood Gardens is how someone took a tract of land that maybe wasn’t even extraordinary to begin with, then built gardens and fountains and greenhouses and treehouses, so that piece of land became a place to explore nature.

3. Experienced Mum Mountain: For years I’ve read about Ott’s Greenhouse in Schwenksville, PA. Recently, my parents were up visiting and I was looking for something to do in the vicinity of my son’s soccer game, and I came across a listing for Ott’s Mum Mountain. I thought my parents would enjoy this, so we went. We were not disappointed. I wasn’t quite sure how to get there, but as it turns out, there was no missing this place. It was located right off Route 29, and the mountain of colorful mums is very visible from the road.  The hillside is covered on both sides with mums, offering a dazzling array of color.  You can walk underneath it through an impressive stone-walled tunnel built, or climb to the top along a staircase.  Equally fascinating is the large greenhouse, shaped, I thought, somewhat like an oversized circus tent balloon.  Inside was a waterfall, coi pond and hundreds of exotic plants.  Like Longwood, it amazed me how a space can be tranformed into an adventure through plants!

1. We visited three wineries: Our itinerary included three wineries–two of which were quite a bit farther from our Pottstown offices than I’d anticipated. They included Manatawny Creek Winery, in Douglassville; Vynecrest Vinyards, in some far-off place called Breinigsville, PA; and Pinnacle Ridge Winery ,  in Kutztown. Each winery allowed us to taste 6-8 wines.  I was driving, so I severely limited my tastings, but I still learned a lot. Also, we weren’t offered a spit bucket probably because this would have grossed us all out. In case you were wondering.

2. What I know about wine: Well, I know a lot more now. But overall, my understanding of wines has pretty much been limited to other people’s commentaries. Occasionally this means that what other people tell me is a great wine turns out to be something I have a hard time swallowing. Especially if they say “dry and oaky.” Even if I can heartily agree that it tastes like a dry oak leaf, I can’t see how that’s a great wine. So, I embarked on this mini-wine tour with a lot to learn.

3. Manatawny Creek Winery: What struck me first was how close this is to where I live, and how charming the shop was. The walls were purple, the bench outside was purple, the countertop was purple as well. This gave the shop an artsy feel. The owners were fun and informative. They gave us a sheet with a list of wines to choose and informed us we could taste 8. Because of my lack of knowledge, I stood next to Lisa Foster, who is a wine expert, and shamelessly copied, checking off all the wines she checked off.  The wines were divided into categories of sweet whites, dry whites, sweet reds, semi-sweet, etc.  I already know that I don’t like wines that are too sweet, but two of my co-workers preferred the sweet wines. Lisa seemed open to everything. It was interesting to taste wines in this manner, because it allowed me the opportunity to compare and contrast in a way I never had before. That alone enabled me to understand that there was more to wine than “dry and oaky” and that wines seem to have an intricate variety of flavors that you sort of have to think about while you taste.

4. We toured the production areas: I never stopped to think about the fact that local wineries not only grow their own grapes, but make the wines on the premises. In fact, our tour was very well timed, since many of the grapes are being harvested now. Manatawny has 10-acres of vinyards, and also purchases some grapes from other parts of the state. In the production area we saw large vats of grapes that had recently been picked and had to be mixed several times a day. We also saw large metal tanks where the wine ferments. We didn’t see the barrels, since they were in another area, but we did see a bottling  machine that was pretty cool (it wasn’t operating). The smell was very strong and yeasty, which I hadn’t expected. And the vinyards were very scenic at evey place we visited, although it was pouring rain throughout the day.

5. Wine tour becomes Whine Tour: When we finished that tour we were told the next vinyard was 45 minutes away. This was enough to elicit a few complaints from me and the two fellow coworkers I was driving with, Cindy and Dolores. In fact, we hit traffic and a detour that took us far out of our way and through the deep, winding backroads of Berks and Lehigh Counties. Suffice it to say we did a fair amount of whining, and wondered how we were even going to survive another wine tasting when we hadn’t eaten lunch. We managed.

6. Vynecrest: This place was so beautiful that, despite the fact that getting there was trying, we all agreed that we would love to come back for one of their Saturday afternoon music events. The events are held in their Vyneskeller, which features a wall of windows overlooking the vinyards. I again limited my tastings, but really enjoyed several of the wines and bought one called a Lemberger, which I’d never heard of before.

7. Lunch: At this point it was pretty much essential that we stop for lunch. We visited Wawa and ate in the car on our way to our final destination. My co-workers proved to be great traveling companions, providing (sometimes loudly) navigational assistance and handing me different parts of my lunch as I drove. Also, they encouraged me to skip the final vinyard but I had no idea how to get home from there.

8. Pinnacle Ridge: I really loved this vinyard. There is a gorgeous 19th century barn on the property that is used for events, and the showroom is set directly in front of the barrels of fermenting wine. The owner pointed out various wine equipment. All the vinyards had complained of birds eating the grapes. This vinyard had an electronic distressed bird call that sounded periodically. Nets were placed over the vines in one field. I learned the nets are difficult to remove, since they settle onto the vines and need to be worked off carefully. I also learned that wine barrels don’t come cheap. They’re all oak, but come from different countries and different forests, and each impart a different flavor. A French wine barrel can cost $1,000, and even an American barrel costs $350 or above, and the barrels are only good for several years.

9. I bought two bottles: After learning about the high cost and the labor involved in creating wines, I felt I should break my rule of never spending more than $6 on a bottle. So I bought two wines, both over $10 (and one nearly $20). I’ll save that last one for Thanksgiving.

10. On the way home: We did a goodly amount of complaining about how much driving we’d done and how late it was. But when I arrived home and complained to my husband, he frowned and asked “Did you get paid to do that?” “Listen,” I said. “This was hard work. It required a lot of concentration and decision-making.” He just shook his head, making it clear he wasn’t buying it. I’m glad he’s not my boss.

1. I went with friends: I drove into Philly with four friends, including our trusty organizer Michelle, who not only encouraged us to buy groupons for the chocolate tour last fall (thereby inducting me into the strange and wonderful and sometimes frustrating world of groupons), but also scheduled our tour during Philadelphia’s restaurant week. That meant we could eat a three-course meal at a great restaurant for only $20 after the tour. This was the perfect activity to do with a group of friends because, well, chocolate always taste better when it’s shared.

2.The tour started at Reading Terminal Market: Wow, last time I was at Reading Terminal Market was at a work-related lunch several years ago. I never went on a Sunday morning. It was awesome just to be there. There were so many interesting foods to look at, I found myself wondering at why I don’t go there more often. Probably because I have other things to do, but still…Anyway, we met our guide outside the market. She was an actress, she told us, and she ran the tour with an overwhelming degree of enthusiasm. If she was sometimes over the top, she was never boring. From her I learned that chocolate was first discovered thousands of years ago in South America, and that it was consumed as a drink, and made with spices. But listen, I learned a lot of stuff that day, so that might be wrong. Just in case, I’m including a link to the wikipedia page on chocolate so you can check for yourself (I have a lot more to write here or else I’d check for you). Anyway, we also learned about the health benefits of chocolate (dark chocolate is best), and tasted a cocoa bean. It wasn’t sweet, but not as bitter as I’d expected either. And she reviewed our route,  a walking tour which included visits to five shops.

3. The Famous Fourth Street Cookie Company: This was our initial stop and the first sign that this tour was not going to disappoint, because as soon as we got there a saleswoman set out a plate of cookies. Sorry, I can’t tell you anything about the Famous Fourth Street Cookie Company’s history. I was pretty distracted by that plate of cookies, which were thick and scrumptious looking. But I can tell you this, they were absolutely the best store-bought chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tasted. I bought six and brought them home. They were gone the next day.

4. The Pennsylvania General Store: This shop marketing all Pennsylvania made items, was also in Reading Terminal Market. We tasted Wilbur buds, upon which Milton Hershey supposedly based the candy kiss, and candy scrapple, a strange and wonderous conglomeration of popcorn, nuts, marshmallows, etc, mixed into choclate.  My friends and I were fascinated by the truffles which sold for over $100 a pound. My friend Sandy bought us each one–this cost about a dollar a piece. I chose a mocha truffle, but they came in dozens of flavors. It was, like most of the candy we tasted that day, rich and intense and worth savoring.

5. Verde:  Our next stop was a neat little boutique called Verde on 13th Street, which sold trendy hats and bags, and included in the back a small chocolate making kitchen where Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates are produced.  I realize as I write this that I could have been a better listener here. The sales clerk described the chocolates. I’m not sure what she said. But I bought four pieces including one with elderflower and champaigne, and another with chile. Again, these all had an intense and amazing flavor–think of the taste of Easter basket candy and multiply it by, say, 100. Pure happiness. (Wondering what the elderflower one tasted like? Strangely, sort of like rye bread. Deep, rich chocolate rye bread, of course.)

6. Teuscher: Next on the list, Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland, located in The Shops at the Bellevue on Broad Street. Initially, it appeared as though we were entering into a hotel lobby, but, while this was a hotel, the building housed a number of high-end shops including Tiffany’s, Williams & Sonoma, and, of course, this pricey but amazing little chocolate boutique featuring Swiss imported candy that sold for $78 per pound. This was a beautiful shop because in addition to chocolate, it also sold colorful handmade “fantasy boxes” for gift-giving. Here, we each got to taste a champaigne truffle. Pretty amazing. Again, I purchased four pieces of chocolate, pondering over which to choose as if it were a difficult math problem. I shared these with my family over the next few days, cutting each piece into quarters. I was pretty sad when they were gone.

7. Gelato: Our final visit was to Capogiro Gelato. I first tasted gelato several years ago on a vacation in Italy and have loved it ever since. But if it is possible to have too much chocolate, at this point in the tour, I had done that. Nevertheless, I didn’t pass up the opportunity to taste four tiny spoonfuls of different flavors–all with chocoloate. My favorite: chocolate hazelnut. It was intense, creamy and delicious.

8. Max Brenner’s: Where else for lunch after all this but Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man? I chose simple foods like salmon and salad, but it just so happened that dessert came with our meal. A hazelnut-chocolate banana crepe. Suffice it to say I couldn’t eat the whole thing. Or even half. Of course it was good, though.

9. I would definitely recommend this: This tour took me to shops I never ever would have gone into otherwise. It introduced me to a new way of tasting chocolate–small bites, savor, think about the mix of flavors. And most of all, it reminded me that there is so much to explore and discover and experience in the world that even something as seemingly simple as chocolate is actually complex , multi-dimensional and intriguing.

1. About Bike Philly: This is an annual event organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia. It includes options for 10, 20 and 35-mile rides. The 35-mile ride takes you onto shared roads, but the other rides take place in and around Center City on streets closed to traffic. It begins and ends on Eakins Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and goes past many of the city’s most famous sites: The Constitution Center, Penn’s Landing, Boathouse Row, to name a few.

2. We did 10 miles: When I first registered for this I signed on for the 35-mile route. But on Saturday night, Ian unexpectedly agreed to accompany me. The event is billed as a family friendly ride, and I had tried earlier to convince him to come along. I didn’t think he would handle a 35-mile ride on shared roads well, so I agreed to take a shorter route.

Ian and I at Eakins Oval

3. An early start: Unlike most event rides I’ve done, Bike Philly has a mandatory group start at 8:00 a.m. The website recommended picking up your ride packet at one of several Philadelphia locations the week before to avoid long lines. Since this wasn’t feasible for me–and because I also had to register Ian that morning–we packed our bikes the night before and left before sun-up on Sunday. I learned this: there is no traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway or Route 422 before 7 am on a Sunday morning. The parking lots recommended for the event included one located on N. 23rd St. It was no problem riding to Eakins Oval from there, as there were dozens of cyclists doing the same thing. We just rode with the crowd. When I arrived at the Art Museum, I was dismayed to find there were, in fact, no long lines. Registration took less than five minutes. My “ride packet” consisted of a paper bracelet and a map. We had 50 minutes to wait before the start.

Art Museum steps

4. Early morning at the Art Museum: We were intrigued by the fog that obscured the tops of some buildings, the steady stream of cyclists rolling in to Eakins Oval, and the early morning joggers running up the art museum steps. We had time to appreciate the fountains and study the crowd. We saw a triple tandem bike, which looked like fun. There was a mom toting her two toddlers in a bike with a wooden, wheel barrow-style cart in front. And there were a couple of fairly young children riding skinny wheeled racing bikes. Ian spent most of the time adjusting his bicycle helmet.

5.  The Group Start: The crowd of participants was enormous, snaking around the road in front of the art

Moving to the start

museum and feeding in from Kelly Drive. The ride started on time, with coordinators funneling the cyclists slowly onto the roadway a little at a time. I was impressed by how well organized this was. A group start with thousands of cyclists could have been mayhem, but surprisingly, we never felt like we were riding on top of others or being hemmed in on all sides. It was tight and slow-moving getting up to the starting point, but once we got on the road, we had plenty of room. That may be because with no traffic on the roads, those Philly streets are very wide.

A view of the crowd

6. No better way to see Philly. I always contend that there is no better way to see the world than from your bike. You’re going at the right speed to really take in the sights, and your visibility is fabulous–no roof to obscure what’s above you, no doors, walls or windows around you. The result is you feel like you’re part of the landscape, and not an observer of it.  I’ve been all around the parts of Philly we rode on that day, but I’ve never appreciated it as much.  That’s because I wasn’t stuck in traffic or trying to find my way somewhere. I really felt like the purpose of the ride was just to be there and to experience Philly from a very unique perspective and Ian and I both enjoyed being part of that.

7. Stopped Traffic: As soon as we got into the ride I understood why there was a mandatory group start.  It was imperative that the riders travel during a set time frame because there were police at virtually every intersection stopping traffic. I realized that putting this event together was quite a feat, and one that took a great deal of planning and coordination. It was also interesting to see that there were people here and there out watching the steady stream of cyclists, and you could tell from their expressions that they were enjoying the sight of all those bikes taking over the roadways. I couldn’t see the people stopped in their cars, though. I’m pretty sure their expressions were not so pleasant.

8. How we did: Ian only rides his bike around the neighborhood and, occasionally, accompanies me on a trail ride. I bike to work, so I ride nearly every day from early spring through late fall.  I thought it was really fun to have Ian there, to introduce him to the excitement of an event ride, and to have him ride in a completely different environment that what he is used to. He really enjoyed it. I even tried pretty hard to coax him into doing the 20 mile route, but when the ride split after about 9.5 miles near the Philadelphia Zoo, he was sure he’d had enough. I was aching to go the rest of the way–and the majority of riders did seem to be heading to the 20-mile option–but I didn’t want to ruin the experiece for him.

9. After the ride: All event rides end with food. This one ended for us at about 9:30 a.m., so neither of us wanted pizza, but we did get a soft pretzel and some fruit. There was a vendor handing out juice boxes of coconut water. We tried it, neither of us liked it. Then, we walked around, looked at the vendor tables, picked up a Bike Philly T-shirt, and headed back to the car. I worried about finding the parking lot, but again I just followed the line of cyclists. Shockingly, there was still no traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway. We were home by 11:00 a.m.

10. Next year: I so enjoyed this ride that I hope to do it again next year, and I’d like to try to get some friends to accompany me. It was a great way to spend a morning, and the best way to see many of  Philadelphia’s most famous sights without hitting a lick of traffic.

Tubes along the Hudson River

1. Go Tubing: I did this several weeks ago, when I was back up in the Adirondak’s with my family. I’ve been passing signs for tubing adventures in Lake Luzerne for years, and finally decided to try it. Acompanying me were my 13-year-old son, and my brother with his 13-year-old daughter. It was billed as a two-hour trip, but that actually included a bus ride to the tubing site near the headwaters of the Hudson River. The bus trip was pretty adventurous, taking us down a very narrow unpaved road through heavy woodlands. The scariest moment of the entire experience was when we passed another bus. The tubing itself was different than I’d expected. We were in a group of roughly 40 people, and we were accompanied by about five guides. The guides were in inflatable kayaks, and they used their oars to push wayward tubes back to the center of the river whenever anyone drifted too far to one side. I had to be pushed about a dozen times, which was somewhat unnerving. Overall, though, the river was beautiful and the experience was very fun. My favorite part was towards the end when we came to a rock and the guides invited us to jump off. Mostly the water was very shallow, but at that particular spot it was deep and cool and refreshing. We all agreed we would try the white water rafting trip offered by the same outfitters next year.

Saratoga Race Track

2. Go to a Horse Race: Also while up in the Adirondak’s I visited the Saratoga Race Track.  My husband and I had gone there a few years ago, but since we didn’t know what we were doing, we left quickly. This time, I was with my sister and her husband, and my parents, all of whom have been to the race track before and who understand terms like exacta and boxing a bet. It was all so complicated that at first I thought I’d never figure it out. Then, I realized winning money was possibly involved and I caught on remarkably quickly. I won 90 cents on the first race, and a similar amount on another race. Other than that, I lost the seven other races we bet on. Which was okay because I never bet more than the minimum of $2. I will add here that the people taking the bets were very patient and never seemed annoyed that I was pestering them with $2 bets. None of us won a lot of money, although some of my family members did a bit better than I did. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable day. The horses are incredibly sleek and beautiful (sadly, though, one did fall); the crowd is interesting to watch; and the activity itself, of trying to figure out which horse to bet on, was sort of like a math problem that engrossed us as a group and entertained us at the same time.

Duryea Day

3. Spend a few hours with Classic Cars: I’m so not a car person. I can hardly see the difference between a car show and a parking lot. But last weekend I felt we needed a family activity, so I suggested we all go to the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles Annual Duryea Day classic car show.  My husband and son agreed to come along very reluctantly. But, as it turns out, classic cars are fascinating. There were hundreds of vintage cars on display, ranging from some not very old, but quite unique sports cars, to a 1916 vehicle with a crank engine. Some of the souped up 50′s era cars were fun. Others were enormous. One Cadillac measured about 18-feet long, so it seemed like parking that could be a problem. The interiors were also interesting, particularly in the 30s and 40s era cars, many of which featured rumble seats and polished wooden dashboards and delicate seeming steering wheels. My son pointed out that even the tail lights were notably different than what is around today.   I’m still not a car person, but I was glad I went.