A recent New York Times Fashion & Style article explores the trajectory of the sport given the cultural craze. From Staten Island to San Francisco, sales of kid-size recurve bows have more than quadrupled this year!

Whether you have a Robin Hood fan, a small Cossack (a kid into ancient weaponry) or you just love fun, free, urban family activities, you’ve got to check out the Golden Gate Park Archery Range in San Francisco when you’re visiting the city. It’s a beautiful and well-maintained piece of park real estate, near the beach. It’s easy to park and accessible by public transportation. It’s always open for folks with their own archery equipment. If you’re looking to try it out as an activity, you can swing by the nearby Archery Pro Shop, where you can sign up for lessons, rent or buy bows or investigate other equipment. You can also buy bows and arrows on-line.

Many folks first try out the sport at summer camp. My kids got a taste of it at Camp Mather, the San Francisco family camp, located near Yosemite, that is beloved by many city families. The setup at Mather was low-tech and we had a blast. We invested in bows and arrows and started learning about the sport.

The next summer on a visit to my in-laws’ home in a somewhat rural area on four acres on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, we built our own archery range. We bought a bale of hay for $8 at a local Feed Store and my kids made a target out of a giant poster board.

You do need space and oversight. Archers need to be at least 5-6 years old or have exceptional dexterity and listening skills. The range etiquette is vital, as safety is paramount.

On a recent, glorious, fall afternoon, with perfect pumpkin light, we made a family outing to the range in Golden Gate Park. There were quite a few free targets. Three other parties were there and the mood was genial. One guy handed out cards for another range down the coast near Pacifica, wanting to make sure we all knew about it (archery buffs are quite passionate about their sport).

There are often Community College and other classes held at ranges, so check out local options. We spent about an hour; all shot a few rounds, and the kids left with smiles across their faces and rosy cheeks.

“Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average…which means, you have met your New Year’s resolution.”

As Americans waistlines expand, there are so many ripple effects. From healthcare to clothing, design considerations to travel safety, more personal bulk means changing laws, rules and preconceived notions. I have heard sad tales of folks unable to squeeze into rides at Amusement Parks, being banned from bungee jumping, even forced to purchase two plane tickets because of size. That doesn’t even take into account self limitations because of shame or inability to maneuver. But, what about weight limits for boats, buses and other vehicles? More and more, places and companies are upping the average weight limit per person.

In the mid-twentieth century, 160 pounds was allotted per person, taking into account the portly and stocky, and on the flip side, children and the svelte. Fast forward to 2012 and the average American weighs 185 pounds. This has huge repercussions for everything from city buses and ferries, to small private fishing boat operators. According to a story in the New York Times today, the fleet of Washington state ferries are reducing the number of passengers allowed on each boat. Private vessel operators are also looking at reduced revenue because of Coast Guard rules that are popping up around the country. Even the Circle Line in NYC has been affected, although they prefer smaller loads to offer more comfort and ease of movement.

Many newly-designed public space seats are “banquettes” without arm rests to accommodate the larger backsides. Certainly the tiny divets, for bottoms are being rethought on many mass transit upgrades. This is not isolated to the U.S., as countries around the globe struggle with fat stigma and the consequences of the global obesity epidemic.

No one is actually suggesting weighing passengers, but it’s certainly food for thought as we all take stock of what we ate over the holidays and consider our New Year’s resolutions to slim down.

Getting sucked into a series of books can be a marvelous experience. You become so invested, almost intimate with the characters. Much to my surprise, I am completely taken by Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and have been burning the midnight oil as I gallop through the three books. I keep putting the reins on my reading because I don’t want it to end.

This summer, on a trip to the Pacific Northwest’s Olympic Peninsula, I insisted we take a 50-mile detour to visit Forks, Washington, home of the Twilight saga. Twilight is a series of four vampire, teen romance novels by Stephenie Meyer. It follows a teenage girl, named Bella, who moves to Forks, Washington and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen.

I have not read any of them and have little interest in the recent wave of vampire chic, but I am interested in the cult fascination of the vampire trend, and thought it might make a fun side trip. If for nothing else, my 11-year-old son has friends who are obsessed with the characters and so I was intrigued.

After much moaning by the three boys in the car, we took the hour-plus trip from Port Townsend to Forks, a sleepy logging town that has become somewhat of a Mecca for Twilighters or Twihards, as they are called.

Let me tell you, this was a mistake. Unless you have a tween daughter or are particularly smitten with the saga, it’s a huge waste of time. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s positive that a little town on the edge has been resuscitated by a literature feeding frenzy, but I didn’t need to waste the gas money. Besides some life-size poster cutouts of Edward and Bella in the surplus store and this hilarious stall for wood bundles cashing in on the sensation, the town isn’t exactly scintillating. I’m sure if I had read the books I would feel differently, but I certainly used up my free pass to make a travel suggestion for the whole family.

If you are a Twihard, there are tours and chotchki shops on the main drag. You can spend the morning hiking in the Olympic National Forest and then make a detour to this two-stoplight town.

Now a trip to Stockholm, Sweden sounds more appealing. I might even be tempted to take a Millennium Trilogy Tour, seeking out all the spots in Stieg Larsson’s mega hit series. The books ooze with Swedish culture. Since reading the books I have baked Swedish bread and grilled my Swedish friends about everything from the incredible caffeine overload the country must experience to trying to keep the Nordic names straight. The tours take visitors around Stockholm to the real and fictional addresses in the books. The tours even make a stop at the 7-11 shop Lisbeth Salander frequents; she seems to live on frozen pizzas.

Interestingly, the global sensation of the trilogy has meant that visits by tourists have spiked whenever books are translated into a new language. The Larsson mystique was amplified by his premature death of a heart attack at age 50, and there is talk that he was mid-way through a fourth novel when he died unexpectedly. Swedish tourism officials have said the fans of the trilogy, along with the royal wedding this summer, have put Stockholm in the limelight and increased tourism traffic.

If you are interested, there are English language tours, tickets cost about 120 Swedish kronor or about $18-$20. Lisbeth and Blomqvist groupies can also purchase a map of the tour’s route for 40 kronor, about $6, at the Stockholm City Museum or the Stockholm Tourist Center.

Brewed Awakenings, Roundup a Latte, Grounds for Perfection, Espresso Yourself and Mocha Motion are just a few of the catchy/kitschy names for coffee shops on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.  I love coffee, but more, I love the ritual of coffee and am a sucker for the drive-through. It’s still novel to me and is a treat every time.

We travel to Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula often to visit my in-laws, who retired there from Southern California. It’s in a banana belt, sunny, and the lavender capital of the U.S.  The town is set in a valley. You can see snow-topped mountains from the Olympic National Forest and Park on one side and the Bay on the other side.

Our days are filled with blackberry picking, jam making, biking, hiking and just enjoying the peace and quiet this somewhat remote, unplugged spot offers. I usually get up early and practice yoga on the deck and stay up late reading, an indulgence for me these days. So, when there, I often switch from my regular decaf to caf and look forward all year to frequenting the various, hilariously named, drive-through coffee spots in the area. Prices are no cheaper than SF, LA or NYC, but they do know how to make a good latte in these parts!

So, here’s what’s romantic about the Willows-Herb Farm pairing. Everything.

The Willows is  almost adjacent to the Herb Farm - an excellent location when you find yourself stumbling across to your lodgings after you have eaten and drunk more than you thought humanly possible. It is a very warm, welcoming kind of place with classic Northwest architecture but it does have more than it’s share of weddings in the summer, so you could find the lobby teaming with revelers. There is a “happening” kind of bar near the lobby (with a great wine selection) and a nice patio - but for a quiet moment, you’ll do best to go to a small sitting room on the second floor.

The lodge has two special Herb Farm suites (decorated by the owners of the restaurant) that look out on an intricate and fascinating herb garden of mass proportions. (The restaurant starts their dinner with an optional tour of the garden that I enjoyed way more than I thought I would). Our suite was very large with one of my main requirements for a romantic room - a two person tub. The decor was a bit much - you have got to like country decorating (leave no wall unadorned) but with comfortable chairs and a cozy couch and included  thoughtful amenities (a carafe of Port, an additional bottle of very nice red wine, a generous tray of cheese, nuts, dried fruit). We loved our evening there, but I also went and saw the inn’s other rooms, which were more Northwest Lodge style, and also had fireplaces and two person bathtubs. I liked them a lot.

It’s hard to do justice to the dinner. It starts at seven (after the tour of the herb garden) and it goes on for three hours. The portions are perfectly plated and small, but there are nine of them. There is a wine for each course and if you drink it up, they add more. The room is beautiful, the table sparkles with five or six different kinds of wine glasses and decorative plates. The servers are all serious food people in apprenticeships and the owner and his wife help serve, explain and MC the rendition of what you are about to eat. We were there for one of their 26 different menus - The 100 Mile Dinner - which means everything (including the salt!) had to be made within a hundred miles of the dining room. It was inventive and the staff and chef were obviously challenged and excited by the assignment. (How do I know? They all gathered in front of us at the start of the dinner and told the room that this was the hardest of all their dinners to accomplish.) They were all so obviously thrilled to be there, sharing their craft and their passion, that we felt they were having just as good a time making this dinner as we were having eating it.

From the start, including the guided tour of the garden to an informal walk through their 4000 plus bottle wine cellar, we felt the personal hand, taste and desire for excellence of everyone involved with the Herb Farm. That alone was pretty impressive, but of course it wouldn’t matter if the execution of the evening didn’t match up to it’s ambitions. Happily, I can say every course was  imaginative and delicious. (The menu is set but if you have dietary issues they will make sure your specific needs are met. In my case, I hate beets and told them over the phone when I made the reservation. No beet appeared on my side of the table).

So this is the perfect place to have a truly memorable evening.  Everyone, from the owner to your servers, knows your name. There are no screaming babies to disrupt your intimate reverie. The dinner is pricey and it is adult. (The Willows is moderately to expensively priced, unless you book one of the Herb Garden suites, which are quite expensive).

If you are in Seattle or visiting Seattle, it’s about a 30 to 40 minute ride from downtown. Check it out for an anniversary, a place to pop the question (no, he didn’t) or just because you are in love. If you go the Herb Garden definitely stay overnight at the Willows. You will kick yourself if you don’t.

◊

Pepper Schwartz serves as the AARP love and relationship ambassador and is the chief relationships expert at Perfectmatch.com.

My sentiments still stand…the names of inns and restaurants have been changed to their rightful spelling.

Very high on my list of romantic getaways is a wine country retreat. Most people have at least name recognition with the wine country of Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, and the contiguous valleys that go all the way up  Humboldt county — but little Walla Walla is a jewel that is less known — but no less worthy.

This town is in the wine region of Washington state and is home to more than over 100 wineries, about 80 of which are open to the public either on weekends or by appointment. The quality of the wine is superb, the scenery is stunning, and there are fine restaurants and places to stay.

Why don’t you know about it? Because unlike Napa or Sonoma, Walla Walla is not a short drive from a major city. It is about a five hour drive from Seattle or a quick one hour flight. But it isn’t something that most people will do for an afternoon or on a short mini visit to the Northwest. But if you’re in the mood for romance (or fine wine) you are really missing something.

First of all, Walla Walla is like what a California wine town must have been 40 years ago, a small turn of the century downtown that is more for locals than visitors. There are very few “tourist shops,” although there are plenty of tasting rooms and festivals. Locals will fill the fine restaurants unless you get your reservations in early (if you like truly wondrous food that you aren’t upset paying top dollar for, book Saffron as soon as you arrive). Also very good: T. Maccarones and another favorite of mine is Brasserie Four — where I am boringly attached to the yummy Mussels and Yam frites. Whitehouse-Crawford is usually very good but I have to admit I had a mediocre meal last time I was there. Olive is a new yuppified restaurant with good lattes, great lunches, picnic supplies and a very good selection of wine.

The fun and the romance however goes beyond roaming the in town tasting rooms ( I particularly like Tru for Champagne, Da Ma for very good wine with great cowboy art on the label and Rollat ). Get a car and go to the Oregon border (about ten minutes from downtown Walla Walla)  for deluxe scenery — rolling green hills in the spring, yellow in the summer and fall — and the beautiful Blue Mountains (they do have a blueish cast) in the background. Tasting wines in the informal and modestly priced (or free) rooms is intimate (be sure to make someone the designated driver though — some of these wineries pour very generously).

The Washington side of the line has some alluring tasting rooms with knock-your-socks-off wine. Bereson is a casual place with excellent wine. Nearby is Saviah, Va Piano and Waters (which has an especially pretty setup).  I buy all of their wines. Go up the hill and you see bigger operations: Pepperbridge, (known for their Merlot) and Northstar, also known for their reds.

Tertulia Cellars and Amavi have architecturally interesting rooms.  If you make a private appointment you can see Garrison Creek. This is a gorgeous winery set in acres and acres of wine grapes. Sipping their wine looking out at the Blue Mountains is about as romantic as you can get (but go early in the summer if you can. They are a small boutique producer and their wine sells fast). If you cross the Oregon border you can visit Zerba, which has a tiny log cabin on the highway, and Watermill Winery, which is right in Working Class Milton-Freewater producing a very fancy Malbec and great hard cider.

But that’s just one part of the area. There are amazing wineries on Highway 12, including one of my all time favorites, Woodward Canyon. L’Ecole is in a lovingly restored school house and is a big producer of moderate and excellent red wines. They also make two high end wines — Apogee and Perigee (delicious!)  A classy experience all around can be had at Long Shadows, a collective of six wine makers who have made a big success of their wines (they must have: the tasting room is decorated with a number of impressive Chihuly glass creations).  The wine has won all kinds of awards.

Finally, the last intense area of wineries is out by the airport. The Port of Walla Walla has built numerous small industrial type  buildings — unadorned but cheaper to rent, so that they can “incubate” young winemakers and wineries who can’t afford to do a more presentational tasting room. It is fun and efficient walking around them.

On the other side of the highway are some more excellent wineries — and some more beautiful scenery — Walla Walla Vintners, Abeja, a’Maurice, and K Vinters (who recently got a 100 on their Royal City brand and whose Syrahs are justly famed). Speaking of Abeja, that’s the place I like to stay and it wins the romance sweepstakes in any state. Two couples collaborated on putting the winery and an inn together to make a destination inn. I have been there seven or eight times, but let me warn you, you have to win the lottery (literally!) to get in there on spring barrel and other important wine weekends. They have a lottery for people on their wine list and  there are only nine rooms to be had. But what fabulous rooms they are!

This time I stayed in the summer kitchen that used to be a small farm outbuilding but now has a modern small living room and kitchen, and upstairs a big tub (two people can definitely cuddle in there), a shower and a big bed overlooking the vineyards. It is decorated beautifully with fluffy towels and quilts and big robes to make you feel well taken care of. A new room, just finished in July, is called Edison and it is a beautiful big bedroom and kitchen with an enormous window looking out into and among the trees that makes you feel like you are in a tree house. I have seen all the rooms — I would be happy to stay in any of them.

The innkeeper Mary is delightful, and a fine cook. Your room comes with breakfast and this July visit we had lemon soufflé pancakes one morning and a superb herb and cheese omelet the other next day. Sitting out in the garden under the trees, soft breezes rustling by us, hearing the river beneath us — it doesn’t get better than that.

If you can’t stay at Abeja, there are other charming places. Try Walla Walla Inns and Walla Faces Winery .They have lovely apartments downtown but also a few rooms right off of Highway 12 not far from the airport that has beautiful views of the hills and a pool. Girasol is also situated among wine fields very close to Pepper bridge and Northstar and is very romantic. The major hotel in the city, the Marcus Whitman, has been renovated and has a classy lobby and restaurant. If you wanted a place to stay in town so that you could eat and drink a lot and not have to drive, this would be a good choice.

During the winter Walla Walla  is a pretty sleepy (and cold) college town, but  starting in late March and going until November it comes into its own as a romantic destination. It gets hot in late spring and very hot in July and August.

The whole area is getting into the wine and food act now and two nearby towns also are quite charming and have attractions. Waitsburg has the Jimgermanbar which is renowned for its owner’s mixology, and the Whoopem-Up Café with celebrated home cooking. Dayton has a Fromagerie (a goat farm that produces cheese) with international interns and seriously good products). These places make for enjoyable excursions.

The area is growing every year. Each time I go I hear more international accents but so far, I haven’t seen the kind of buses that invade Napa on summer weekends. I hope it doesn’t come to that  (although I love Napa despite the heavy tourism and I will write about it soon in my list of the country’s most romantic places). Still, I would say see Walla Walla now — it has a casual charm that won’t last forever.

◊

Pepper Schwartz serves as the AARP love and relationship ambassador and is the chief relationships expert at Perfectmatch.com.

But this month I was invited to a birthday party up at the Summit restaurant on top of the Crystal slopes and I realized there were new possibilities for love on resting ski slopes.

First there was the ride up. With the snow gone and the mountain temporarily ungroomed by the careful padding of ski machines, the actual contours of the mountain are easier to see and quite beautiful. It is also an adrenaline rush as you feel yourself go up the mountain and have a better idea of how high up you are. It took us two different lifts to get to the top, and then we were greeted by one of the most beautiful views on earth: Mt. Rainier undraped, no clouds whatsoever. Moreover there was a 360 view — we could see Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Mt. Baker, all of them topped by glaciers. We were agog.

The Summit restaurant has a $79 gourmet meal but it couldn’t compete with the view. I am told they also have a very good brunch, but the view is what makes you hold hands, glad to be seeing this together. You might have gorgeous mountains you can visit during the summer too. I’m not sure they are as spectacular as this one, but if I were you, I’d go find out.

◊

Pepper Schwartz serves as the AARP love and relationship ambassador and is the chief relationships expert at Perfectmatch.com.

The islands get all the tourism they can handle, but if you take the ferry with your car and go on a weekday you can miss the weekend congestion. If you must go on a weekend and take the ferry from Anacortes (about an hour and a half from Seattle) or from British Columbia, prepare to wait in line a few hours. Locals know to get their car in line for the ferry early, spend time doing something else, and then have a friend drop them at their car before the ferry arrives.

Puget Sound is  full of islands with character — high bank, low bank, small coves, big agricultural expanses, small houses that blend into the trees, trophy houses that have architectural bragging rights — and somehow it all hangs together.  The ferry ride shows you a  sampling of terrain and lifestyles as it moves past various islands, stopping at several of them (San Juan, Lopez, Orcas) and giving glimpses of many more in the distance, many of which are only served by private boats or smaller Ferry services.

I stayed on Orcas Island. Orcas has a charming, New England quality and 2,409-foot-high Mt. Constitution, the highest point in the San Juans. It was colonized by Robert Moran, one of the Captains of Industry of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and Moran State Park is named after him. The mountain has a demanding climb to the top and moderate auxiliary trails for unambitious hikers like me. Expansive water views are everywhere and the island is dotted with wonderful places to stay and explore.

I usually stay at the Inn at Orcas, which is a short walk to the Deer Harbor Marina, about a fifteen minute drive to the town and quite a distance from the park. It’s a formal sort of house (think Charleston) near a cove that fills in when the tide rolls in from the nearby bay. Jeremy is your host and his partner in life is the cook for breakfasts that are wonderful as long as you aren’t on a diet or have a high cholesterol reading. These guys are warm and engaging hosts in a gorgeously decorated inn. Each room has its own theme, some nautical, some floral, some more English than others, all luxurious.

There are also two more private buildings — one of which is a small cottage that is quite cozy and has a great view of the inlet. I stayed there once when I went to a wedding and roomed with another good friend from out of town. We almost  burned down this adorable hideaway when Adrienne rested her suitcase on the gas fireplace and it melted and started to smoke. The acrid smell woke me up, and I grabbed the suitcase and tossed it outside. Fortunately, nothing but the suitcase was damaged and the cottage is still there for you to enjoy. A mark of Jeremy’s hospitality is that he has been kind enough to allow me to stay at his place many times since then.

If haut Charleston is not to your taste there are other romantic choices. The Kingfisher is beautifully located across the street from the water’s edge and they provide kayaks and other watercraft for experiencing the sound. They have a few rooms, sweet, simple and some with a great water views. The inn is very reasonable and has terrific breakfasts and seriously good food for  other meals as well. Another choice if you want a farm-like experience is the Turtle Back Farm. It has beautiful pastoral views and is compelling and cozy inside. Like the Kingfisher, its close enough to town to bicycle in.

One reason I stick to the Inn at Orcas (or my friend Cynthia’s place nearby) is because it’s a short walk to Deer Harbor — which is such a perfect setting that it looks like it’s waiting to be discovered as a movie set. Kenmore Air can drop you off there, and circling around before you land in the water is just so beautiful it makes you want to fall in love with the person sitting next to you (this means it would be a good idea to know the person sitting next to you…). The picturesque cove also  has a great little stand for lattes and sandwiches that can be your reward after you complete the absolutely stunning walking and running trail that starts after the harbor and goes forever along the water’s edge with many lookouts.

As for uber romantic things to do: Get a small boat and motor over to San Juan Island and eat at the Backdoor restaurant (wonderful food); have lunch at Roses, which has delectable chicken salad and just about everything else they serve will have you mindlessly happy. You can also just get stuff at the deli section of the restaurant and create an instant picnic on the nearby beach. If you want a fantastic dinner for your second night, drive (or cab) over to Ships Bay — which is a lovely place to stay as well.

It’s all informal here on this island, not too touristy even in the summer. There are  good quality shops in town and several surprising places (like Art Galleries and Pottery Shops) to discover throughout the island. Exploring here is a good idea. So is just reading on the beach, and cuddling at night when the temperature usually dips a bit.

Orcas is definitely a place for lovers — but it is such a quiet and beautiful place that it’s also a place a single person could go to find a dramatic vista and meditate. Families love it too. Many sailors come here with their kids and fish and explore several of the islands and inlets. (Few will swim however. That water is cold!) There’s no doubt that many different kinds of people can enjoy this island world. Still, I think of Orcas as the kind of place that will make you wish you were with your honey — or motivate you to find one.

◊

Pepper Schwartz serves as the AARP love and relationship ambassador and is the chief relationships expert at Perfectmatch.com.