Well, it's been a fast-paced week... After My Lovely Bride chastised me for lusting after a 72-ounce steak in Amarillo, we headed west in the coach and arrived at our next event in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico. We stayed at an RV campground downtown, and one of the first things we saw was a cat strolling around. We see a lot of dogs in campgrounds, almost always on lead, but rarely a cat on its own. We were amazed when we then saw the feline climbing a ladder into the driver's window-cum-cat door of the motor coach. The owners obviously allow their cat out for a walk on its own, because the ladder was placed in position for Fluffy to climb back in whenever nature's call (or perhaps carnal desire?) was satisfied...
Santa Fe is the home of gifted transformational music composer Jim Oliver, with whom Suzanne recorded a guided meditation on our previous visit. We were able to get together with Jim and his lovely wife Jann for a New Mexican dinner with some of the hottest salsa we've ever enjoyed. Jim and Jann taught us that the most often asked question in the state of New Mexico is "Red or green (chili sauce)?" We found both equally delicious.
Santa Fe has some lovely hiking trails, and we chose one just behind St. John's College, the Atalaya Mountain Trail, for a day hike. Here we see MLB relaxing for a minute, since we had last hiked at an elevation of 86 feet back in Florida, and Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet! We were both pretty tuckered out after our first Southwest hike.
Suzanne's Getting Out of the Box presentation at Unity of Santa Fe was very well attended, and the attendees were enthusiastic and appreciative. There were also several college students and young couples there, a demographic that is usually absent back home in our home town in Florida. Thanks to Rev. Brendalyn for her hospitality and inviting Suzanne back for a third visit to Unity of Santa Fe.
While in Santa Fe, Suzanne received an email from a woman in Silver City, NM, who noted that her small town had seen an inordinate number of deaths of young people over the past couple of years, and asked her to come and speak there when she had a chance. Fortuitously, we had a couple of days free and were able to drive directly to Silver City where Suzanne presented her Meaning in the Messages talk last Friday. Even with such short notice, the event was Standing Room Only, and several people had to sit on the floor, but no one seemed to mind. We received a very warm welcome from Silver City, and would love to return in the future. The highlight for Suzanne was bringing through three young spirits to bring healing for their parents.
While we were in Silver City, we were able to go hiking and to dinner with a delightful couple, Denise and Scott Kennedy. They took us hiking on the beautiful Dragonfly Trail near Fort Bayard, an army fort that had been manned by Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Colored Infantry Regiment during the Apache Wars from 1866-1886. The fort was later used as an Army medical center studying tuberculosis, and housed German prisoners of war during WW II. Suzanne met Denise last year at her Unity Village weekend retreat in Kansas City, and we both enjoyed getting to know both Denise and Scott better.
Always seeking balance after Suzanne's readings and presentations, we also got out for a mountain bike ride on the same trail we hiked, albeit an extended version. Here we see some of the petroglyphs (including the dragonfly for which the trail is named) that Native Americans etched on the rocks centuries ago.
This cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia kleinea) are known for their barbed spines which adhere tenaciously to passing animals, hikers and mountain bikers. Birds often nest in these cacti, presumably to avoid ground-based predators.
On another hike, near our campsite at an Elks Lodge, I found this warning sign as I exited the trail; but there had been none where I entered! Fortunately, I missed the opportunity of being attacked by a crazed ground squirrel or coyote!
Tucson was our next stop, and after setting up camp in Catalina State Park, I got out for a hike while Suzanne gave a phone reading. Catalina is famous for its 60,000 or so saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea), found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and western Sonora, Mexico. They can live 150-200 years, grow to 50-60 feet tall and weigh 3200-4800 lbs.
There were also many ocotillo cacti (Fouquieria splendens) in bloom. Although it is not a true cactus, it provides some needed splashes of color in this parched desert environment. Those are the Catalina Mountains in the background.
There is some rugged terrain here, and not much water. I was carrying 3 liters in my backpack, because you never know when you might get in trouble and be out longer than expected. (Note to Judson Emens: Thanks for the Alabama visor. Not only did it provide shade, but as I passed another guy hiking, he said, "Roll, Tide!" when he saw my stylish chapeau; now if my LSU friends will be just as accepting... yeah, fat chance!)
Suzanne's first event here was her Meaning in the Messages presentation to the Tucson International Association of Near Death Studies (IANDS) at Unity of Tucson, where she had spoken last year. It was a warm and welcoming group, and she will be speaking to them again Thursday evening (Getting Out of the Box).
Finally, Faithful Readers of this blog may recall the dinnertime behavior of our Dachsund Rudy, who often pushes his food bowl around with his nose to let us known in no uncertain terms that he's hungry. It was somewhat disconcerting when after a long day on the road, I noticed Rudy's Dog-Mom pushing her wine glass around the counter with her nose, hoping that I would be a bit quicker in opening a new bottle of Pinot Noir that we had received from friends. (Thankfully, the stemless glasses are made of plastic and not crystal!)
We actually got to stay
in our new house for five nights before loading up the coach and heading
northwest to Alabama. Two long days of driving took us to Tuscumbia, near
Muscle Shoals, where we met a wonderful family with whom we had been
corresponding by email for over a year. Judson and Donna Jo Emens are probably
the kindest, friendliest, most giving couple we have ever met. They have two
adopted daughters, Haylee and Nadia. Judson had contacted Suzanne about Haylee,
who has cerebral palsy and had been confined to a nursing home at age 21 with
people five and six decades older than she before the Emens rescued her and cared for her for five years.
Suzanne gave Haylee a reading over Skype which helped her a lot. Thanks to a local benefactor, Haylee now has her own home and 24/7 help so that she can live independently.
We had a thoroughly delightful time with the Emens family. While Suzanne was giving Donna Jo a reading, Judson took me for coffee and a tour of the Wilson dam at Muscle Shoals, part of the TVA system.
This view of the dam was shot from the tower where we would have dinner that evening...
Suzanne and I then went for a 4-mile run with Judson around Tuscumbia, following a route that he had set up for a Final Four Run a few years back. Judson also joined us for a tour of Ivy Green, Helen Keller's childhood home in Tuscumbia, where the cherry blossoms (Prunus serrulata) were in bloom. Interestingly, this was the very day that Patty Duke, who played Helen in "The Miracle Worker" passed away.
This magnolia tree (Magnolia grandiflora) at Ivy Green is the largest I have ever seen. The estate is named after the English ivy which grew at Helen's ancestors' home in England. Built in 1820, the simple clapboard house is well-maintained and filled with artifacts and memorabilia from her life.
Here we see Suzanne at the same well pump where Helen first understood what Anne Sullivan, her blind teacher and lifelong companion, had been trying to tell her with sign language in her hand.
As we were driving around Tuscumbia, Donna Jo showed us this cool billboard, with 9 year old Nadia and one of her teachers, promoting the school that she attends. Isn't the message appropriate?
Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner in a revolving restaurant atop a hotel tower overlooking the beautiful Tennessee River. It was a great way to finish our visit to Tuscumbia.
As we were about to depart for Arkansas, Judson dropped by to let us know that we would be encountering severe thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes along the way. He suggested that we might not want to proceed all the way to Little Rock. After watching NOAA weather radar all morning, we stopped short in Millington, Tennessee, just east of Memphis, and hunkered down for the night. The yellow, orange and red blobs on the radar arrived over us that evening, and it was a very long night. Unfortunately, our little Rudy had another bout of upset tummy and had to go outside in the midst of it all, which was more than a bit disconcerting... but we made it in and out safely, and he's feeling better again. The worst part of that night was only getting about two hours' sleep. (I could get by with little sleep in my 20s and 30s, and maybe even into my 40s, but now I need at least 6 hours a night or I'm a tired grump.) We got on the road again the next morning, still with light rain and low clouds, but by that afternoon the skies had cleared, and we arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after our longest driving day ever in the coach, 424 miles. We crashed (metaphorically speaking) right after a light dinner and felt much better the next day.
I have to inject a funny story at this point; I had made a reservation in Tulsa, and when we arrived Thursday afternoon, checked in at an office in a nice RV park area of the huge Expo Square complex. We were assigned site #65 at the southwest corner of the parking lot, outside the RV park, and almost a mile away from the office; as we left, the office guy mentioned, "Oh, yeah, we are having a gun show this weekend." There were several other big rigs and fifth wheels in the area, but the parking lot had hardly any cars in it. No sweat, I thought, there's lots of room, and we spent Friday with our friends Lynette and Brenda, and Suzanne tested equipment for her Saturday interview on the Internet show Buddha at the Gas Pump. We awoke Saturday morning to find the previously empty parking lot filling up fast, and there was no way we could have moved our coach more than 20 feet. In another half hour, we were totally blocked in, with cars or pickup trucks within a foot on three sides, and a hill behind us.
Lots of guys were walking around with holstered pistols or long guns. One guy pulled so close along our right side that I was concerned he might hit our slideout; I was getting out, and My Lovely Bride said, "Ty, remember that everyone here except you is carrying!" I stuck my head out, and the driver next to us said, "Sir, you have any problem with me parking here?" "No, sir, so long as you don't hit the coach." (For some reason Suzanne was inside laughing hysterically at how polite I was with the guy)."You're safe," he replied. That was comforting. What concerned me more was that we might have to get up at oh-dark-thirty to move on Sunday morning before the throngs arriving for The World's Largest Gun Show totally blocked us in for the entire day. We wound up moving that night to the real RV park, where the nice lady said, "It looks like whoever took your reservation thought you were a gun show exhibitor." I hesitated to say that we were actually in town for my wife to give a presentation on attuning to higher consciousness and to channel her spirit guides, Sanaya... you never know how that is going to be received in some circles.
Along the same line, we saw this roadside sign in southern Alabama, possibly sponsored by a beleaguered treasurer of some local church...
In a more positive vein, Suzanne gave her Making the Connection talk Friday evening to a very warm and enthusiastic group at Unity of Tulsa, and the response was one of the best ever. Lynette is one of the leaders at the church, and had put the word out very well. It was a great evening, and most of the attendees would return the next night for a session with Sanaya.
Saturday evening's event was also memorable. Two ladies even drove in from Dallas, Texas to hear Suzanne speak. Suzanne signed many books and answered lots of questions from attendees. We were invited back next summer, and are already looking forward to that visit. (Rest assured, it will NOT be on the same weekend as The World's Largest Gun Show!)
Many thanks for the Tulsa event go to Lynette Setzkorn (at right) and her "sidekick in stalking" from Phoenix, Brenda Bollmann Baker (at left). Brenda and Lynette will be attending many of Suzanne's events this summer, including those in Tuscon, Phoenix, Prescott Valley, and Unity Village. Brenda has an "earthy"alias (especially considering she is a high school English teacher): "Shegonna", referring to her comment about My Lovely Bride's likely reaction to my affection for my solar-powered hottie, Hula Babe: "Ty, shegonna kick your butt!"
Just before departing Tulsa, we stopped by Lynette's to say goodbye to her and Brenda, and I did get the opportunity to handle three pistols, two shotguns and a carbine while there. Lynette's late husband Mike left behind a small arsenal of weapons, and Lynette asked me to unload those that were still loaded. The pistols were straightforward, and the shotguns had empty chambers, but when I picked up the Winchester Model 94 carbine, I carefully unloaded the 7 rounds without chambering them, not knowing how old they were or in what condition the action might be. Suzanne joked that even though I didn't attend the gun show, I did at least get a manly testosterone fix after two days being surrounded by a majority of women.
We are now in Amarillo, Texas, after a long day's drive from Tulsa. I saw a billboard advertising "Free 72oz. Steaks" for those individuals who could eat one. I suggested we stop there and give me a shot at it, but MLB said something like, "Ty, don't let your gun experience go to your head. You're not a hungry cowboy out on the range during a cattle drive!"
Well, 2016 has already provided us with three tumultuous months, but Suzanne, Rudy, Gretchen and I are on the road in our motor coach, again for just over six months and about 10,000 miles. We plan to visit 17 states, with Suzanne scheduled for 25 events so far - it seems the list grows weekly. You can find her schedule of events on her web site, www.loveatthecenter.com. I apologize for not having blogged recently, but it's been insanely hectic...
Having moved about 30
times since leaving home for the Navy, I had always intended that our home on Little River Path would be my last. That intention remained valid for 8 years, longer than I had lived in any house since I was a kid. We were comfortable there, Suzanne had the
house just the way she liked it, and Rudy and Gretchen loved chasing geckos on
the lanai. The garage was even (relatively) in a modicum of disorder. But there was this itch to
scratch... could we find a place with a better view? Colorado, Wyoming and
Minnesota were out; I'm too old to shovel snow. Utah and Arizona? Nah, not
enough trees. How about something closer? While on a bike ride, we saw a
"For Sale" sign on a house here in The Villages with an amazing view,
and only 5 miles away. Fast forward a few weeks, two contracts were signed and we were planning our move. Our new house is a bit larger and has a nice view of some old live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoidies).
March also provided us with an unexpected crisis for our 11 year old long-haired Dachshund Rudy. An abnormal blood test following a 15% body weight loss and a prolonged upset tummy had us driving up to the E.R. of the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital. Two overnight stays and many tests later, Rudy was diagnosed with a probable severe food allergy, and is now on a hypoallergenic diet. No more regular treats, chicken or cheese, but after 2 weeks on his new diet, he is gaining weight and acting like his old self.
Suzanne has been busy preparing several new workshops and presenting one to an Energy Meditation Group here in The Villages. She is also working on a DVD of her Your Emerging Soul workshop that will be available within the next month. My "paperwork drills", as we called them in the Navy, were mostly new mortgage and IRS tax form-related. (I am still praying for a flat tax; hope springs eternal with every election cycle).
The last 14 days have been a whirlwind. We packed up our household goods, put them in storage for a week, cleaned the house, made some minor repairs, closed on our old house, lived in the coach for 8 nights at Grand Oaks (a local horse farm and carriage museum), moved into our new house, and started our road trip... there was even time to get a few hours sleep in that schedule, but anyone who knows My Lovely Bride knows that when she has a major task at hand (I think moving into a new house qualifies under that term), she can be focused like a laser beam. I remember the first night in the new house, when we got to bed around midnight, I woke up at 4:00 AM to find her up emptying boxes and filling closets. But I must now mention that my sanity in particular was saved during this move by our good friends Elizabeth, Bob and Jan. Elizabeth spent two days unpacking most of the kitchen boxes and refilling our cabinets, while Bob saved my aching back when he provided his wonderful F-350 truck for hauling mirrors and garage cabinets from Lowes, and helping me put one of the 189-lb. beasts together.
The most important thing: MLB is happy. As we left our new home after sleeping only five nights in it, Suzanne said that she could feel the love that surrounds our new abode and is looking forward to sharing that love with all who enter it in the coming years.
Every now and then you hear a word that sounds just like something you're familiar with, but then you realize it's not what you originally thought of... One recent example arose when I was listening to the radio (for Super-Techies, that's an antique box that sits on a shelf and transmits words and music from a speaker). I thought I had heard the word "Rastafarian", the term for members of an Abrahamic belief which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s. But no, what I heard was actually "Pastafarian", a parody of organized religion which started with a letter from an Oregon State University physics grad to the Kansas board of education protesting the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.
The author suggested that the universe was actually created by an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). Another of his arguments (supported by bar graphs) is that global warming is the direct effect of a reduction in the number of pirates sailing the Seven Seas. Pastafarianism/FSMism has now been recognized as a religion in Poland, The Netherlands and New Zealand (Sheree, you had better keep an eye on those folks), and a woman in Massachusetts even had her driver's license photo taken with her religious headgear in place... My Lovely Bride is shown here cooking pasta while wearing the particular headgear adopted by Pastafarians. (No, she is not going off the deep end, just modeling!)
Okay, shifting gears... we haven't had much rain recently here in Central Florida, but one day there were enough raindrops on our lanai screens to use my macro lens to get a real close-up of a drop of water, with the inverted image of our hedge residing inside. It's almost like there's a tiny world hidden in that raindrop... who knows, maybe there's another level of reality there?
Continuing on more serious spiritual topics, Suzanne presented her Your Emerging Soul workshop twice in the past two weeks, and each was S.R.O. and received extremely well by participants. She will be presenting this workshop again as part of her Unity Village Retreat 24-26 June in Lee's Summit, Missouri (outside Kansas City). See her web site www.suzannegiesemann.com for more information.
Attendees for the Y.E.S. workshop traveled from far and wide; Irene Vouvalides and three friends drove down from Hilton Head, and several others flew in from Dallas, Connecticut, St. Louis and Pennsylvania.
The weather here in Central Florida has been spectacular, with warm, dry, sunny days and cool nights. Our Pack has gotten out for several forest hikes; here we see My Lovely Bride with our sweet little Gretchen (AKA Ten Pounds of Fighting Fury) riding in her backpack. It is always funny when we pass other hikers and then point out our Dachshunds riding comfortably on our backs.
This particular hike was near Inverness, FL, on the Citrus Loop in Withlacoochee State Forest's Citrus Wildlife Management Area (49,000 acres). I have backpacked here in previous years, and we found one tiny campsite that a thoughtful, friendly person had marked with a colorful wind wheel and a Welcome sign. Rudy (seen here in my backpack) wanted to spend the night (there were squirrels galore in these oak trees), but we hadn't brought tents and sleeping bags on this dayhike.
Those of you who may be wearing one of Suzanne's beautiful coin pendants (which she designed, by the way) may wonder if she uses overseas labor to make them. This photo taken of her sweatshop workers proves that there is no overseas or child labor involved, but I can vouch that they don't get union-mandated breaks, either. (Many thanks to Ruthie, Jan and Bob!)
Finally, I have to mention that one of the attendees at Suzanne's Y.E.S. workshop recognized the contributions that "That One's" long-suffering husband makes. Her comment, "Suzanne, I want to tell you that Ty is a saint... maybe we should call him Saint Ty!" I can't understand why, but many attendees laughed at this pronouncement. I saw the truth, if not the humor, in her obviously accurate comment. I explained all this to my spiritual adviser and guru after we got home, but all he had to say was "Ommm..."
I love signs. Not only are they (sometimes) informative, but they are often amusing. The first was observed on the back of a landscaping trailer here in The Villages. (I hope the owner is named "Prissi", but I'm not hopeful...)
The second sign was outside a local financial planning company (which shall go nameless, for military cooperation reasons)... the funniest thing about this sign was that when I mentioned the misspellings to the girl at the desk, she asked me, "Wow, were you an English teacher?" "No, I was a naval officer, but I had to write a lot." "Oh, that explains it; I'm the wife of a Navy yeoman, and the sign was written by a former Air Force guy. Wait until he hears he was pimped by the Navy!" Anchors Away, Birdman!!!
Those readers familiar with the US Navy know that during most of the 20th Century, and especially after WW II, thousands of sailors were recruited from the Philippines. Service in the US Navy was a path to good pay, training and citizenship for young men who otherwise would have few opportunities back home. When I served aboard ships from 1968 until 1990, many of our crewmen were born in the "P.I." Many were cooks and stewards, and for thousands of American sailors, their first taste of Asian cuisine was pancit, chicken or pork adobo, and lumpia served aboard ship or ashore in Subic Bay or Manila when their deployed ships pulled in for R&R during Vietnam. Suzanne's first taste of these culinary delights was at CINCLANTFLT headquarters in Norfolk, and more followed at every duty station until she retired. So it was no surprise that when we got married, pancit and lumpia were front and center on the serving line at our reception.
Fast forward to last week, and she was having some physical therapy done on her elbow, and everyone in the office was from the Philippines. She mentioned our wedding menu, and after looks of amazement from the staff, one of the ladies said, "I'm bringing you pancit on your next visit." Sure enough, a few days later we were enjoying it at lunch, and then a few days later a gift of lumpia followed. The ladies also told her about a Filipino restaurant in Leesburg, so one day we took Suzanne's Lovely Mom Ruthie on an outing for lunch. As soon as Ruthie sat down, a cute little Filipina girl about 4 years old came over and starting talking to her and showing Ruthie her iPhone. They had a fun chat while we ordered.
The food was delicious and authentic, and every other diner surely used Tagalog as their primary language. We were the only Anglos there, and it brought back many fond memories to both of us retired Navy officers. For those in our area, you can find great food at very reasonable prices at the First Asian Grocery on Route 44 in Leesburg.
Two incidents that occurred on our outing bear recounting. On the drive to Leesburg, we were delayed in a traffic jam by a tractor parade crossing the road, complete with county sheriff escort. Imagine our surprise an hour or so later when we found ourselves in a deja vu moment when we got caught by the same parade in a different location. I'm not a tractor expert, but My Good Friend Bob (formerly Farmer Bob) could probably tell you more about this tractor than you ever thought possible. (They were apparently from a local tractor museum where Bob is said to have a lifetime membership.)
Speaking of outdoor activities, winter in Florida is a great time for backpacking on the Florida Trail, which runs from Pensacola to Miami. I got out this week for a two-day trip, which allowed me to lighten my backpack from the 40 lbs I was carrying on the Appalachian Trail to 22 lbs, a huge benefit. For example, I replaced my compressed gas backpacker's stove with a tiny Esbit fuel tab stove (weight savings: about 8 ounces).
My destination was Hidden Pond, a pretty spot to spend the night and a reliable water source. You would think that water isn't a problem while hiking in Florida, but the sandy soil and karst limestone geology makes for unusual water hydrology. Rainfall is soaked up quickly, and while there are lots of ponds scattered about, they are often surrounded by muddy marsh, and reliably-flowing creeks are actually quite few and far between. I arrived at Hidden Pond late in the day, and thought about a quick dip, but (a) there might be a lurking gator looking for dinner, and (b) I hadn't brought a swim suit, and even though I hadn't seen a soul in hours, fer sure if I went skinny-dipping, a troop of Girl Scouts would arrive and I would be caught in flagrante delicto, so to speak... "not a pretty sight"...
I pitched my luxurious, not-politically-correct, one-man tent in a grove of live oaks festooned with Spanish moss. I was careful not to set up under any large overhanging limbs (called "widow-makers" by backpackers) and had a home-freeze-dried dinner of chicken with a cherry sauce. (Note to self: remember to bring the salt next time; MLB uses none when cooking, and I forgot that necessary spice when packing.) A walk around the area gave me a sense of solitude, wilderness and tragedy; this was the site of the brutal murders of two college students by a 19 year old psychopath in 2006. Sentenced to life without parole, he later killed his cellmate. (Sometimes "solitary" isn't such a bad idea.) I had no other neighbors, probably for five miles in any direction, except for the owls, Sandhill cranes and a pack of coyotes who gave me a reveille call for about five minutes just before sunrise. It was only a little unnerving listening to the pack's yips and howls; attacks on humans are exceedingly rare.
I only met one other overnight backpacker on my two day outing on the FT in Ocala National Forest. Alex is from Ukraine, and was out for a week or so. That's about the limit of food one can carry, and that's eating light. Alex saw my Ocala Half Marathon tee-shirt and mentioned that he was also a marathoner, with a personal best time of 3:09; mine was 3:12, back when I was Alex's age... gosh, that was more than 5 years ago, as I recall. Alex and I met while I was watching some Sandhill cranes; he was about 25 yards away listening to "a strange noise"; I helped him with the identification of a big bull gator making mating sounds (a low guttural
rumble like a motorcycle starting up in the distance). We chatted, and
he mentioned thinking about walking closer to the gator to get a picture for friends back in Ukraine, since the marsh grass was in the way. "Um, Alex, that might not be the best idea you've ever had..."
I would like to thank our good friend Lynette Setzkorn from Tulsa for a very thoughtful brass key chain/dog tag she sent me with some lyrics from a Pink song. I think that Lynette was surprised that an old guy like me would like Pink's work. Hey, I appreciate talent when I hear it, and she has such a subdued, "girl-next-door" style...
Finally, I received a missive the other night from our great buddy in Colorado, Army Colonel "Crusty" Charles Cunis, who was making fun of Floridians for wearing parkas with hoods, gloves and boots when the temperature drops to 72F. To prove the Good Colonel's disparaging remarks wrong, I sent him the following photo of a Florida golfer ready for an evening on the links when the temp actually reached a frigid 59F, and as you can see, he's not even wearing boots! Crusty can send his spare snow shovel to Terri of the Frozen North, who has far more need for it than us Floridians...
As I age (somewhat gracefully, one hopes), jet lag is getting tougher to take. For almost two weeks after our return from New Zealand, while My Lovely Bride adapted very quickly and slept like an angel, I was awaking between 0200 and 0300, and often not getting back to sleep at all. I would go for long walks in our neighborhood, when the only other humans out were the community watch and the newspaper guy. It wasn't all bad - middle of the night walks are great for reflection, listening to music (headphones, not a boom box held up to my ear, although the boom box option would have provided an extra upper body workout and given my neighbors an opportunity to enjoy my music... hmmm...), observing the night sky and sunrise, and of course the benefit of exercise itself. But sleep is a glorious invention, and my mental state was suffering more than usual from the disruption of my circadian clock. After all, 0200 is when the body is normally enjoying the deepest sleep of the cycle.
Finally back on a regular sleep schedule, we are back in the routine of Life in The Villages. One of our favorite pastimes is mountain biking, and last week we loaded our trusty Giant bikes on the car's rack and drove to Santos Trailhead. We were a half hour into our ride, having seen nary a single other rider, when we stopped for a water break. We heard wheels behind us, and through the woods came a young couple wearing Team Giant jerseys. Jess and Joel Nankman were obviously professional riders, and as we chatted, we noticed that their bikes were basically the same as ours, although theirs were the top-of-the-line professional models and ours a notch or two below; the guys were riding Giant Anthems and the women Giant Lusts. Of course we joked about the girls being "lusty". (You just can't make this stuff up.) Based in PA, Jess and Joel travel around the East Coast racing for Team Giant (the men's team) and Team Liv (the women's team), living out of a van with their Lab Clifford. Both of these riders have dozens of trophies and podium finishes to their credit, and we truly admire their skill and stamina.
Speaking of dogs, our Dachshunds Rudy and Gretchen are glad to have us back from New Zealand, although we wondered whether their surrogate parents Marc and Maureen would dog-nap them before we got home. We learned from neighbors that our puppies were even more spoiled by our dog/house-sitters than by us, and there were some hang-dog expressions on the puppies' faces when M&M left to return to North Carolina. If we ever go away on a trip again, we'll know who to call to make our pups happy. We recently took Rudy and Gretchen out on hikes to the Cross-Florida Greenway and to Sumter Landing, carrying them in our backpacks. We would have walked them beside us, but Rudy in particular cannot go five feet without sniffing and marking his territory.
We got to visit the new Sharon Morse Performing Arts Center here in The Villages for an Amore performance by renowned tenor Fernando Varela and his amazingly talented wife Susan Williams. Here we see Suzanne and Her Lovely Mom Ruthie in our front row center seats (I happened to see the ad in the paper on the day the concert was first announced, and ran down to the ticket office to be first in line for this splendid performance.) We also enjoyed the inspired pianist William Joseph and an amazing violinist, the lovely Molly Rogers.
We were able to get away"off the compound" for a day trip with friends "to Winter Park, FL, near Orlando. Gayle and Bill Hancock (on the left) and Donna and Ron Virgilio (on the right) were great companions for lunch at a Turkish restaurant (awesome naan bread), a visit to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum (world-famous collection of Tiffany glass, but no photos allowed, darn it!), a brief stop at the Wine Room for teeny libations, and a grocery run to Trader Joe's. Thanks, Ron, for being the Designated Driver!
While in Winter Park, we saw several unusual trees in the town's Central Park. I think this one was designed to stop our Rudy from marking it... ouch... talk about cruel and unusual punishment!
The weather here in central Florida has been glorious, warm sunny days and cool nights, even better than that in Minnesnowta and the Northeast. Yes, Terri, I know that Coon Rapids (center of the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Dogsled District) has been having a heat wave courtesy of El Nino; and our good friends Mike and Beth Pasakarnis (Wolf's parents) have been enjoying some decent weather in Mashpee, Mass, on Cape Cod, after a recent snowstorm. After seeing the extensive glacial valley-cutting in New Zealand during our recent trip, I won't belabor the arguments against global warming, but simply say that warmer winters are not necessarily all bad. These smiling tourists are obviously not chilled to the bone.
Valentine's Day provided an opportunity to take My Lovely Bride out for a fabulous dinner at the Arnold Palmer Country Club here in The Villages. The food was exceptional and my date was beautiful. What more could a guy ask for?
On a sad note, I have to admit to failing on one of my important assignments while Down Under. Before we left, our dear friend Terri of the Frozen North (TOTFN) asked me to find one of her childhood heroines and get an autograph. I looked and looked, but could not find Xena Warrior Princess or her blonde sidekick Gabrielle; and given their leather and steel outfits with sword and spear, they should have been easy to find. Maybe they had taken a vacation to Ely, MN, to go ice fishing... but not in those skimpy clothes! (I offered to buy Suzanne a black warrior princess rig like Xena is wearing, you know, for special occasions, but got a Harumph! and a Smack! for my initiative. Sigh...)
Finally, this photo of My Lovely Bride working at our kitchen table provides a bit of mystery... what IS she doing??? The answer suggests yet another reason in addition to my jet lag why I have not been blogging as often as usual lately. More info to follow in days and weeks ahead...
Santa Fe is the home of gifted transformational music composer Jim Oliver, with whom Suzanne recorded a guided meditation on our previous visit. We were able to get together with Jim and his lovely wife Jann for a New Mexican dinner with some of the hottest salsa we've ever enjoyed. Jim and Jann taught us that the most often asked question in the state of New Mexico is "Red or green (chili sauce)?" We found both equally delicious.
While in Santa Fe, Suzanne received an email from a woman in Silver City, NM, who noted that her small town had seen an inordinate number of deaths of young people over the past couple of years, and asked her to come and speak there when she had a chance. Fortuitously, we had a couple of days free and were able to drive directly to Silver City where Suzanne presented her Meaning in the Messages talk last Friday. Even with such short notice, the event was Standing Room Only, and several people had to sit on the floor, but no one seemed to mind. We received a very warm welcome from Silver City, and would love to return in the future. The highlight for Suzanne was bringing through three young spirits to bring healing for their parents.
While we were in Silver City, we were able to go hiking and to dinner with a delightful couple, Denise and Scott Kennedy. They took us hiking on the beautiful Dragonfly Trail near Fort Bayard, an army fort that had been manned by Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Colored Infantry Regiment during the Apache Wars from 1866-1886. The fort was later used as an Army medical center studying tuberculosis, and housed German prisoners of war during WW II. Suzanne met Denise last year at her Unity Village weekend retreat in Kansas City, and we both enjoyed getting to know both Denise and Scott better.
Always seeking balance after Suzanne's readings and presentations, we also got out for a mountain bike ride on the same trail we hiked, albeit an extended version. Here we see some of the petroglyphs (including the dragonfly for which the trail is named) that Native Americans etched on the rocks centuries ago. 
On another hike, near our campsite at an Elks Lodge, I found this warning sign as I exited the trail; but there had been none where I entered! Fortunately, I missed the opportunity of being attacked by a crazed ground squirrel or coyote!
Tucson was our next stop, and after setting up camp in Catalina State Park, I got out for a hike while Suzanne gave a phone reading. Catalina is famous for its 60,000 or so saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea), found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and western Sonora, Mexico. They can live 150-200 years, grow to 50-60 feet tall and weigh 3200-4800 lbs.
There were also many ocotillo cacti (Fouquieria splendens) in bloom. Although it is not a true cactus, it provides some needed splashes of color in this parched desert environment. Those are the Catalina Mountains in the background. 
Finally, Faithful Readers of this blog may recall the dinnertime behavior of our Dachsund Rudy, who often pushes his food bowl around with his nose to let us known in no uncertain terms that he's hungry. It was somewhat disconcerting when after a long day on the road, I noticed Rudy's Dog-Mom pushing her wine glass around the counter with her nose, hoping that I would be a bit quicker in opening a new bottle of Pinot Noir that we had received from friends. (Thankfully, the stemless glasses are made of plastic and not crystal!) 
