Nia Seattle, Seattle

One of the best parts about being a travel writer is that I get to experience things that fall outside of my usual activities. I could be the poster child for the saying, "creature of habit." I have eaten the same breakfast nearly every morning for five years (onion, red pepper, garlic, and steamed broccoli scrambled with one egg and topped with salsa, a piece of Essential Baking Company's Mille Grane bread toasted with peanut...

Anew Outdoors, Washington

I am a true urbanite who never quite understood the allure of the great outdoors. I prefer heels to hiking boots, hustle and bustle to backcountry serenity. I take comfort in fine dining, in foreign films, in sipping martinis during the cocktail hour. And to tell you the truth, the thought of sleeping under the stars kind of freaks me out. With this is mind, it is a bit of a mystery as to why...

School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, Georgetown

An important element has been missing from my exercise routine. It's joy, and I'm not sure where I lost it. Somewhere between power yoga and super sculpt spinning, between triathlon training and race day nerves, between injury and recovery, between reading books about diet and magazine articles about attaining the "ideal" bikini body, I forgot about the pleasure of pure movement. I used to delight in moving my body simply for the sake of moving...

Ski Conditioning, Sound Mind and Body Gym, Fremont

It is hard to say whether the ski conditioning class at Sound Mind and Body Gym makes me feel like a professional athlete partaking in a regular training session or like an elementary school student participating in PE class (albeit a very advanced elementary school PE class). Either way, I love this class. Ski Conditioning takes place twice a week in Sound Mind and Body's huge basketball gymnasium. The class can draw up to one-hundred...