Had an elegant, refined, and delicious dinner at this gorgeous restaurant. It was truffle season and they had a special white truffle menu which we participated in joyously.

The meal started with a Gosset Reserve Brut and fresh buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad made only like it can in Italy with fresh ingredients.

This was followed by one of the wines of my life, a 1979 il Colle Brunello. The tannins completely gone, this wine delighted nose and tongue with a violet perfumy silky smooth mouthfeel. It was paired with an incredible Parmesan risotto topped with white truffles easily the best pasta I’ve ever tasted. My main memory of it is how long the pasta stayed hot: far too often risotto is already cooling or cool by the time the plate is brought to the table.

Because the risotto was so delicious we ordered the other white truffle pasta special which was tagliolini with white truffles. Yummy yummy yummy again.

We finished the meal with a Sicilian Cassata and the waiter brought us mini cannoli’s on him (he was one of like six waitstaff who served us over 3 hours). We drank a crisp and refreshing Moscato d’asti with these delicious desserts.

As the photos below will show, the decor was simply sumptuous and lived up to the name of the restaurant: Gold.

So, as you probably noticed I never continued my Burning Man updates after the first couple of posts on the journey there. And you might imagine it is because I’ve been too busy or lazy to blog. And you would be only partly correct. The first reason I didn’t continue was because of lack of internet service in Black Rock City (thank god!) and I had really intended my posts to be stream-of-consciousness updates about the journey and the event and what it was doing to me and how it was changing me. The second reason is that you can barely, just barely describe Burning Man to someone with five senses (when they are sitting across from you) but just words will never be able to do justice to that experience.

Bur now, exactly a month after starting my Burning Man experience I do feel a permanent change inside of me. The change is subtle but powerful. I am more open, much more open, to people and experiences, and who I am and how to give simply and receive humbly. I judge less and I appreciate that feeling. And I have a commitment to having fun each and every day and that has proved to be a blast for me and for everyone around me.

And for all of that I cannot possibly be thankful enough. So thank you Burning Man, and those who made it possible for me to get there, and those who came and made the experience what it was. And thank you to the new friend I made this week who helped me relive it all. And now I must go. For there is some more fun to be had.

Big bad trucker likes to ride on the open roads with his kitty.

I’ve been asked this a lot. And since I’ve never been I’ve been forced to rely on the Internet: telling people to look it up on Wikipedia or look at the Google Images of the event. But a big, big part of Burning Man or Black Rock City (or BRC to those in the know) are the theme camps. Literally hundreds of camps put on for free by fellow burners trying to increase your participation and interaction with the event. And reading the descriptions of these camps this morning allows me to perhaps better explain what BRC is. So, purely for educational purposes, here are the descriptions of a couple of these camps. And since this is for education I’m not making these up. Come to think of it I’m not smart enough to make these up.

Strip Glow Bocce Try your skill in this Italian inspired game with a twist. Lose your clothes as you lose your aim and yes, watch naked people with balls.

Yoni Talks with Onamare Sacred and protected interactive workshop to explore, educate, and encourage women to love their yoni (look it up) as the SACRED LOTUS FLOWER.

Burning Man crew. Todd, Josh, Paul, Nitin, Eli (right to left)

I went to bed last night and woke up this morning with thoughts of Black Rock City (or Burning Man as it is known the world over) and the experiences that awaited me over the next week coursing through my mind.  My friends were about two hours late coming to pick me up in the RV which is just about on time for them and allowed me additional musings as I slowly got out of bed. 

My outfit was picked for 110 degree heat (linen shirt, linen tropical slacks, flip flops, fedora) and yet it was a cold, dreary, overcast morning in Portland and while there were many things and people I would miss about Portland this weather would not be one of them.

There are going to be five of us on what promises to be an epic journey: Josh, Paul, Eli, Todd, and I.  The RV is packed to the gills with costumes, bikes, food, water, games, and alcohol. At the last second another friend has asked us to tow his “art car” down there.  Anticipation is running high.  We’ll see what transpires over the next few days.  Follow me on the journey.