I’m baaaack after one hell of a transition to the West Coast, and our first return to East Coast tattoo shows…Montreal 2019, held September 13-15 once again at the stunning Gare Windsor train station.
Our friends and gracious hosts Pierre Chapelan and Valerie Emond, owners of Studio Tattoomania Montreal, organize one of our favorite shows in one of our very favorite places-Montreal, Canada. Lefty and I missed attending the last few years, so it was a fantastic way to rejoin our friends and inspirations on tour!
It was a busy weekend of clients for Lefty, with some amazing meals and artwork punctuating the work with fun, as it should. Artists from around the world embrace the city. Montreal also has some of the most insane murals and street art I’ve ever seen, and wandering around downtown is absolutely not to be missed.
We were also lucky enough to chance get flights and have time to catch AURA light show, an immersive visual and audio experience at the Notre Dame Basilica Montreal. Completely worth the line, wait, and ticket price.
We ate too much smoked meat and had a decadent post convention dinner at Queue du Cheval to wrap up the weekend. Steak tartare was divine and I make no apologies for the two vodka dirty caesars I had instead of something from the wine list….which was extensive.
Icing on the cake, we got to celebrate a dear friend’s birthday with her, meet some fantastic new individuals to the crew, and catch up with artists we haven’t seen in years. Great way to get back to it! Thank you, Montreal, for being wonderful…. and to Pierre and Val for the hard work it takes to put on a great show, year after year!
The Molina’s are back on the road, and back in Canada with tattoo tribe! We finally made it (after a ‘leave at midnight’ drive to SFO) and two easy flights, to Kelowna for the 
After our flights tasting local vodka, gin, and a absinthe, our hosts were lovely enough to rent two large pontoon boats, and cruise us around Okanagan lake for a few hours! Yours truly went out, but with my seasickness tendencies on top of no sleep and lots of travel, I did end up slightly green around the gills… but absolutely don’t miss City Park and it’s gorgeous views. I’ll definitely be grabbing a coffee or two to sit by the lake and relax (at some point) in the next few days! It’s going to be a weekend to remember….
Heads up, when the convention floor is overwhelming….the Flamingo Resort has a pool area (featuring two Olympic sized pools, with lap lanes), a gym (including hot yoga classes), massage therapy, and is the perfect place to get your self-care, pamper-time on! Too bad it was chilly outdoors, the water was quite nice and warm…not lay by the pool weather, even in CA.
Sonoma and Napa Counties were hit hard during the Thomas fire, and there was structure damage in Santa Rosa–but less than three percent of local wineries were impacted! The best way to support the winery trails are to get out there, and visit tasting rooms. The Santa Rosa wine community is ready to welcome wine tasters and tourists back, complete with open arms and full wine glasses…the least we can do is show up and enjoy the world class hospitality they have to offer.
Even with the sniffles, husband took me for a quick taste (and of course to grab a couple of bottles) of the delicious new 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé at 
Organized and promoted in a CRAZY short span of time (about six months) by artist Rich Handford (Instagram 
