Time Flies- plus another American Roadtrip

It has been too long since I last posted. Since August I finished up the fall season at the yoga retreat center, participating in retreats like the the Raw Foods and Juicing 10 day cleanse and the Thai Massage workshop. During the Thai Massage retreat (led by Jason Beasley) we flew in a beautiful Thai cook who provided one authentic Thai meal each day. We were also blessed by the visit and prayers of Lao monks dressed in bright orange robes. To top it all off we had an incredible costume dance party Saturday night to celebrate halloween.The fall provided us with a local bounty of fresh vegetables to cook for our guests. I breathed deeply as I walked the leaf covered path through the forest from my cabin to the main lodge each morning and every night. It was the best I've ever lived, ending with bittersweet goodbyes just 1 week ago.













I rented a car with a silly friend and we headed north out of Tennessee into Kentucky, stopping first at the Blue Grass Brewery in Louisville. From there we followed our princess feet and the stories of strangers to Daniel Boone National Forest. Unable to find a highway on the map, we stopped at a gas station where a gatekeeper showed us the hidden way. When we entered the 70-foot one-lane rock tunnel portal we discovered ourselves amidst the magic and beauty of the famous Red River Gorge. We were soon running and playing and climbing on the different rock formations and sky bridges, finally nestling into the ovary of Princess Rock.

Our next stop was Athens, Ohio to visit a friend from the Ecovillage Training Center who just finished building his 30 ft. yurt in the beautiful country outside town. I was impressed with the countryside with its dairies and farms that provide locally, and also fell in love with the town and the Farmacy- a food coop, a used book store, a trade-conscious coffee shop, and a worker-owned restaurant called Casa Nueva. While in Athens I bought locally-made soap, a used book, and a vintage green cashmere sweater.

From there we drove through Pennsylvania to Willow Pond herb farm, just in time to view a live lavender pruning----- demonstrated, to our shock and amusement, with a chainsaw. It is a pretty farm that specializes in lavender (they have over 100 varieties) and also grows other herbs, providing products like bulk medicinal herbs, homemade soap, tea, potpourri, and more.

Just a 10 minute drive from there and we traveled back in time to civil war era Gettysburg, walking amidst women in bonnets and protruding skirts, men in uniform smoking cigarettes on grassy knolls, some with small children also dressed the part, others getting drunk on the porch outside the pub... Confederate flags waving in the wind... It was a site to see and experience...

Our last destination before my vagabond traveling companion and I parted ways was Annapolis, capitol of Maryland and beautiful little city. I spent the night there, got a yummy cup of coffee at City Dock in the morning and traveled north by myself to my final stop- Colts Neck, NJ.

And here I am, searching the internet for a vehicle to maneuver my way through this driving culture, and either an apartment a walk-away from work or a work-trade scenario for a room in an old farmhouse in exchange for rent. The journey continues as I search for a sustainable solution for living in this place and these times.