Jennifer Roe-Duffy Massage

A freelance massage therapist, Jennifer Roe-Duffy was trained at San Diego's Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She specializes in deep tissue and Asian-style healing. With experience in Qi Gong, she applies these principles to her massage technique.

Scheduling can be a bit difficult, as she does her own bookings. It took us a while to get in touch with other after phone tag, and between both of our busy schedules, the appointment had to be booked a full week in advance.

The massage found all the crunchy spots in my muscles. She worked out a lot of tight areas, and I felt a lot of good muscular releases and loosened tendons. Her work style is deep, which is not as relaxing, but serves better to work through knots. She talked a lot more than I prefer. I tend to zone out and prefer silence.

The basic rate is $100 for an hour massage including travel to your location. If you want to book multiple or extended massages, she negotiates on the price. Overall, I would recommend her for deep tissue and injury work, but not for your typical relaxing Swedish massage.

She primarily does house calls, upon referral only. If you'd like a referral, please let me know.

Jennifer Roe-Duffy
619-517-9982

Stephanie's Bakery


Stephanie's Bakery is a delicious bakery that emphasizes "real food" baked goods. You will not find junky trans-fats or anything artificial in their products, instead you will find delicious, indulgent treats. Their specialty is strudel, and to be honest it is the only thing I've had there! That said, the strudel is so good I haven't had any reason to try anything else.

They have sweet strudel, like classic apple or strawberry, a San Diego favorite made with local fruit when in season. They also have savory strudels; my favorite is the spinach.

The cafe is pretty average; I don't recommend it for the atmosphere. Their strudels are sold at several locations, and I highly recommend this local product whenever you're in the mood for a snack or light meal. It is also a good deal, since it is made in bulk, costing only a few bucks for a large slice. Yum!

Stephanies Bakery
4879 Voltaire Street
Ocean Beach, San Diego

Game Towne


Game Towne is located in Old Town San Diego. (Or should it be Olde Towne?) Either way, Game Towne is a delightful game store, which packs a huge selection into a tiny square footage. On top of that, about half the store is dedicated to D&D type stuff, which is important to have, but doesn't particularly interest me. That said, in the other half of the already smallish shop (shoppe?), you can find the most engaging and interesting game collection in all of San Diego.

First of all, there are puzzles. And I'm not talking jigsaw puzzles, I'm talking all kinds of puzzles. From wooden puzzles to metal ring and string puzzles to puzzles that combine wood, metal, and string to plastic puzzles with moving parts to just about any kind of puzzle you can imagine. Some of my favorites include the classic Rubik's Cube (these come with stands for when you finish them), the wooden puzzle that locks down a bottle of wine until you can figure out how to open it (great gift to a puzzle-loving wine connoisseur!), and Tantrix, a metal pieces puzzle with infinite number of incarnations (too complex to explain, though simple to play - see picture above).

Second of all, there are wooden games galore. Wooden board games! These are my favorite kind of board game, and they abound at Game Towne. You can get Mancala, the Egyptian game where you move stones around, in any size, from travel size to jumbo full coffee table size! The stones in the biggie are beautiful! Then there are games like Quatro (kind of 3-D tic-tac-toe). Also the classics like Backgammon and beautiful checker boards.

Third, there are really just a delightful number of games that you would never find at your typical toy store. For example, a Sudoku where you make your own combination so you can play on the same board forever. Brilliant! They have games for childre and adults (either of any age).

Most of the games have samples so you can try them out, and the owners and employees are incredibly knowledgable and friendly. They know pretty much all the games and can explain them and make recommendations. Game Towne is a fantastic treat and an inspired choice for shopping when in Olde Towne.

www.gametowne.com
3954 Harney St
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 291-1666