My trusty laptop in one hand and a joltin' cup a joe in the other -- yep, the Road Sage is ready to go! Hmmm, my hands are full, though…how will I drive?

Fortunately, I'm not trying to do three things at once here. As the Road Sage, my objective is to hit the road and find what's interesting, unique and fun. Then I'll sit down, have a cup of coffee and tell you all about it. (For a serious javagirl, coffee is a favorite muse.) By visiting this site often, you'll be able to join me on my journeys and make them your own, thanks to the interactivity of the site (emailing me on the road, using the message board and trying your hand at our pop quiz).

Okay, now it's time for a little bit about me: I'm a former stockbroker who grew weary of going to work at 6 AM. In 1994 I left Wall Street behind and started "Javawalk," a coffee walking tour in the heart of San Francisco, as a way to legitimize my coffeehouse addiction. I also started writing more.

Focusing on food and travel writing, I've traveled the length and breadth of the U.S., writing about everything from spas in the Southwest to "Friday Lunch" in New Orleans' French Quarter. Having lived in Mexico for a year in the late 80s, our southern neighbor is also a favorite subject. My work has been published in Diversion and Travel Holiday magazines on the print side, with Travelocity, CitySearch and Sally's Place being regular outlets on the Web. I'm also the West Coast Editor of the Bradmans North America guidebook, which is published in Europe and distributed to, among others, American Express Corporate Card holders.

As well, I'm the Founding Editor of Astrozine (www.astrozine.com), a webzine which offers astrological profiles of celebrities and the newsmakers of the day. My first book, "Stars of the Stars ," which I wrote in collaboration with astrologer Kelli Fox, was published in the spring of 1999. The book features nearly 50 celebrity astrological profiles and is a kick to read!

Women's orgs are also important to me, which is why I co-founded San Francisco Women on the Web (SF WoW for short), a networking and professional development organization for women on the Web. So is all this hard (and yes, fun) work paying off?  Must be -- I was featured in the January 2000 issue of Via magazine and the February 2000 issue of Working Woman magazine.  In the case of Working Woman , it's truly humbling to have my efforts held up as a model for others.

I'm quite fond of running, hiking and urban adventures which involve a bicycle, although road trips involving beat-up Chevy trucks will always occupy a special place in my heart. Last but not least, my inveterate traveling partner/photographer/husband Fen teamed up with me for our greatest collaboration yet: Steven Gabriel was born in the fall of 2001. We look forward to hitting the road with him for many years to come.