So yes, Ilenia suggested I start a blog. "Hmm.. who needs talk? Just take a peek, skim the entries and look at pics. Eureka!" Ok, I'm being facetious. It really is a good idea... I think.
It really is unfortunate that all of the Asheville pictures are on film and aren't digital. Those pictures are just to die for. Well, I haven't developed them. But the sights were spectacular, don't even worry about photos just GO!
Coming from the flat lands of the tropics, it is a spiritual experience being in the mountains. The first time I drove into them I had the serene feeling of being cradled by the Earth. "So this is how they came to call you 'Great Mother'." I said silently to myself. I was taken aback by the sunsets and sun rises. The greens and yellows of the hills drew my attention away from the road (where it really should have been). I felt opened up. Real. It was a sudden surge of clear reality as I broke down into my surroundings and let go of all the emotional baggage I had attained in Jacksonville. That trip I was merely driving in them, getting from place to place. Engaging completely mundane activities, with the exception of the bodywork. I wasn't even trying to connect. The natural energy of the place reached out and grabbed me. I was lost and without my center, but somehow found my bearing and brought them home with me from that trip. Honestly, I changed after those few days.
Am I describing a city or a lover? Both.
My most recent trip, April 14 - 16, 2008 was even more fascinating! For starters, I was on VACATION! Really, the first true vacation since Lime Tree Resort in Big Pine, The FLA Keys, 2005. Yes, it was long overdue. Second, I had my partner in crime with me, making the adventure all the more worthwhile (and taking some of the driving duties!). We spent our single full day in Chimney Rock Park. Begging at an itty bitty cave where moonshiners hid the stash in the prohibition days to a 2400 ft elevated waterfall/stream (you better believe I climbed those rocks and got my feet wet!) to walking along a giant cliff face and ending back at the beginning of our trail. We spent 3 hours hiking treacherous paths and exhausting steps up and up and up. When we got the the Chimney, after 25 minutes of climbing steps with less 02 than normal, my poor little quads were shaking. But it was worth it. I sat there in a zen meditation pose and just gazed out at the landscape before me. Don't fret, I took goofy pictures like the rest of the tourists too.
Since I don't have photos, watch this video. Luckily, the producers of Last of the Mohecans, felt the same way I did and filmed this part of the movie along the skyline/cliff trail. These are the trails that I walked and the sights that I saw... Minus the indians and the people throwing themselves off the side of the cliff. Watch the vid till the end, you'll see the waterfall I went playing in. It's not the large one, its the one behind the fighting mohecans in the end. Oh yeah, there's gratuitous violence to keep you entertained too.
By the way, running through that - for real, with out safety nets- is just not going to happen. 2400 ft up people. That gorge in the beginning is really there. It's a highlight of the trail.
The entire time I was enamored by my surroundings. I was also inspired to give a massage. After walking/experiencing those trails, the treatment would be so perfect.
The rest of the trip was filled with culture. Live music, unique shops, venues and art. And perhaps the best part of all was all the VEGAN FOOD!! That's right, not only were there vegetarian options everywhere there were vegan options too! We went to a little bakery for some coffee and I had a delectable chocolate truffle, sans animal products. It was a divine experience, all in all.
My next trip is to a Northern State! A blue state. Boston, Mass. I'm excited. I'll be witness to a grand rite of passage for Gabriel's brother David. He'll be receiving a doctorate in Biomedical Engineering. What an achievement! This trip I will bring the camera and will have more that my words to post.
1 comment:
oh woops. i read the top post first, then this one. i know now why you're going to boston. i think you mentioned it in a text too?? my my, my mind is so clouded.
that place you described seems too good to be true. i will seriously seriously go up and visit you when you move out of jacksonville and into better lands. maybe sometime when you come down, i can go up with you and then just fly back to miami? it would be cheaper for all of us. i could chip in for gas, and then the plane ticket would be cheaper.. and it would be sooo much fun.
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