T is for...

It's day twenty of the A to Z Challenge. :-)

Today's topic is Tubing.

When I was little, we moved a lot because my mom was in the Air Force. The only place in my world that was constant was Grandma G's, out in the country.  She lived about 20 minutes outside of Covington and just below Gathright Dam and Lake Moomaw.

In the summers, which were hot, we'd cool off by playing in the Jackson River, which flowed through her backyard. We'd splash and look for fun stones to skip. Mostly, though, we'd climb into big inner tubes and float down the river. There was this one access point where someone had tied a rope to a tree. We'd reach the access point, climb out of the water with our tubes, leave tubes on the shore, and then swing out and SPLASH into the river at a deep spot.

Jackson River Access Point

Isn't that just inviting? Don't you just want to jump in and cool off? Okay, maybe not yet, but come back and look at this picture in the middle of the sweltering summer. Yeah, it'll be inviting.

 

Anyway. Once we'd finished with the swinging out on the rope and swimming back to shore a bunch of times, we'd hoist up our tubes and walk up the Access Point road (I use the word road loosely, it was just gravel) until we got back to Natural Well Rd and then went up to the spring.

 



Spring






If this image seems familiar, it should. It's the cover to Pieces of the Soul. This place was such an intergral part of my life, it was only natural that I used it for my book cover.






So, we'd walk to the spring, tubes on our shoulders or balancing on our heads (I was a kid, remember?), and we'd gulp the fresh spring water. Oh, it was nice and cold and it hit the spot! The spring is just off the road, in this well shaded area. It's cool and inviting. That old cooler you see in the picture, you can actually step into it, if you're brave enough to submerge your feet in the FREEZING cold water.

After drinking our fill, we'd walk back to Grandma G's and start all over again. It was the best way to spend a summer day at her house.

Do you have any places that tug, not just on your heart strings, but on your soul? Tell me about them!

Sedona

So, this is post 2 in the vacation in Arizona series.

When last I left you, my small but loyal readers, I had safely arrived in Arizona with my sisters and niece. And some seriously impressive views.

We started our first day in Sedona early. By early, I mean sunrise.

View from our hotel

How gorgeous is that, I ask you?

We had a very busy day.  We had a lot places to hit.

Here's one, from the trail.

We hiked around Cathedral Rock and took a zillion pictures.

Okay, maybe only approximately 400, but still. A lot of pictures.

Om

 I got to meditate at one of the energy vortexes. It was a truly amazing experience and there are not words for how clear and strong and peaceful I felt after my meditation ended.

I was skeptical going to Sedona, hearing all this talk about "energy spots" and how "amazing the energy is" there. Anyone in the pagan community will understand when I say it sounded "woowoo" to me. For a witch, I have a pretty good head on my shoulders. I'm practical, I think things through, and if it sounds to out there... well, let's just say I am not one to jump on the bandwagon.

I don't know if it's healing, or if the energy spots can really be "masculine" or "feminine" (seriously, I saw a website that said that). What I do know is that I felt great while we were there. I felt amazing after meditating. That's good enough for me.




We also went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which was very small, but absolutely lovely.

We ate lunch at a fantastic restaurant at the Tlaquepaque shopping area. I had flautas. They were awesome. Yum. Sorry, distracted. Where was I?

We did a lot of shopping, actually. More interesting, however, was the fun before lunch and shopping. We stopped by Center for the New Age. Yes, we did some shopping there, too. We (and by we, I mean Riz and me) got our auras photographed.

Take a moment. Go ahead and read it again. I know. I just finished telling you I had a pretty good head on my shoulders and that I don't really go for that woowoo crap. Now I'm telling you I got a picture taken of my aura.

Oh, there has to be a really inappropriate joke there somewhere, but I just can't think of it.

Well, it helped that the woman who took the photos and then reviewed them with us, Jamie, was also quite grounded and practical. I sat on a little sofa, placed my hands on some biofeedback plates, and *SNAP*, photo done. Then she went over it with me.

I am, apparently, the poster child for aura photos. So said Jamie. This is because all the things that she saw for my 'life path' I was already doing. BOO. YAH. That's right. I'm awesome.

What? I am.

Next up was Rizzie and she was dead on the mark about her, too. Two for two. Not one iota off. I must admit, I was impressed. So. If you go to Sedona, have an aura reading with Jamie. I'd love to hear what you think!

Aren't they cute?

Of course, the best part of the day was that it was spent with Lana and Mia.

Mia is full of energy and a super expressive face. She had us in stitches ALL DAY LONG. Seriously.

All day.

Sigh. I miss her.






Well, on that sad note... I think I'll wrap up Day 2 of the Arizona vacation. Tune in for the next installment!

Adventures in Air Travel

My sister, Riz, traveled with me to Arizona so we could see our sister, Lana, and her daughter, Mia.

Our day started very early. I didn't set my alarm right. Fortunately, Daddy's alarm went off and woke me up. Rizzie knew I was awake when she heard, "OH CRAP!" We managed to get our stuff loaded and Mom drove us to the airport. 5:20am on the HOV is interesting. It was kind of scary how many people were on I-95 already.

We checked our bags and headed to security. This was my first experience with the body scanner. Little did I know that the bling on the butt pockets would lead to a pat check and hand swab. No, really. The blingy button on my pockets showed up as anomalies or something. They had to check me. Then I got to do the hand swab. I was a little afeared that my lotion would mark me as a terrorist (like Jeff Dunham), but I passed so I got to keep going.

We're sitting at our gate, whiling away the time, minding our own business when a swarm of kids arrived. I don't really mind the groups of kids in airports (most of the time); there were a couple kinds in this group that were annoying as hell. First, there were the two girls who couldn't seem to stop laughing while desperately trying to get one of their friends' attention from across an aisle. They were directly across from us. They were loud. Then there was the kid who clearly skipped both crawling AND standing before walking. I know this to be true because every time this kid tried to stand up, he fell on his face. I kid you not!!! Every time! I've never seen a teen so incapable of standing. His friends just laughed at him.

The flight was nice - what little of it I was awake for, anyway.  The poor girl sitting next to me in the row apparently climbed over me, twice, while I was passed out. This is what happens when you're awake for 24 hours and then only sleep about 4 before traveling. Just saying.

Our layover in Chicago was miraculous, if only because we didn't have to change terminals. At all. I have never (that I can recall) been so lucky at Chicago O'Hare. It was AMAZING.

It was our flight from Chicago to Phoenix, however, that proved most entertaining. First, the woman in the seat in front of me did not seem to grasp following basic instructions. The flight attendants announce to "please fasten your seat belts." She did not. They instructed the powering down of all electronic devices. She was still on her phone. It took two more prompts before she finally clued in and did as instructed. Then, later in the flight, she turned into Mary Poppins. I say this because she pulled this bag out from under the seat in front of her and, lo and behold, it was the never ending bag. She kept pulling stuff out of this bag - another bag, two jackets, a makeup bag, a purse. Seriously, Riz can back me up. Never. Ending. Bag. How she got the damn thing to fit under the seat in front of her is beyond me. Just bizarre.

We had a great experience with Alamo car rental when we got to Pheonix. We ended up with a Dodge Charger (sweet):

The drive to Sedona from Phoenix wasn't too bad. Beautiful weather for the most part. One of our first real views of the area came from a scenic view heading into Sedona.

Such a beautiful place!

We checked in at the Sky Ranch Lodge, which also had amazing views and good accommodations. If you're going to Sedona, I definitely recommend staying there.

All in all, it was a great start to a wonderful vacation!