Even as a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I liked cars. In first grade, when my friend Jana brought over her new black and pink patent-leather Barbie wardrobe, stuffed full of evening gowns and handbags, I asked her which kind of car she thought Barbie drove. She shot me a look not unlike the stares I get from friends now when I rhapsodize about someday getting behind the wheel of a C4 Porsche. The truth is, I suffer from a common California ailment: automotive obsession. And after a lifetime of managing my need for speed, I discovered a way to indulge it.
My salvation came at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Sonoma, Calif. This is no fantasy camp. It is a rigorous, demanding driving course. But it's also an extremely high-speed version of one of the hottest travel trends: controlled danger. There is a variety of popular and costly ways to risk your neck--piloting a high-performance racing boat, canoeing down the Amazon, snowshoeing in Greenland. At the Russell School, you spend three days behind the wheel of a Formula One race car, burning around a track at speeds up to 120 mph. And at the end of the day, you can head to a nearby spa in the Sonoma or Napa valleys for a massage and mudbath. The Russell School understands that many people who want to skirt close to danger also want to be rewarded afterward. They call it Speed and Spa. But let's be honest: it's all about speed.