It's been a week since we got home from Burning Man, and I am still at a loss of what to say. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail last Tuesday asking how it was and my e-mail back to her said "All I can say is OH MY GAWD!!! That's all I have to say!" And I feel like I am still in that state. If you've been to Burning Man (BM), you know what I mean. If you haven't.....well.....I think I can try to write something.
This was my first time at BM, and my husband's too. And we went with two other friends who had never been before. I don't think any of us had any idea what we were in for! By the time Dave and I got there on Friday afternoon our friends Jen and Angie had already been there for a day, so they had sort-of eased into the atmosphere. And they were ready to start doing things, so Dave and I got pulled into excitement of it all right away. That night we went to the Silicon Valley burn group's party and met up with some friends. And we met some other cool people too. Then we headed out into the Playa (that's what they call the desert out there) to look at all the artwork lit up and see what was going on. We ended up riding, actually more like lumbering, around on the top of a 2 layer bus artcar and getting a great view of all the other artcars and all the going's on around us.
But, we didn't get to bed until 5 in the morning, and we were dead the next morning and slept in. So, we missed our morning yoga which I really wanted to try. That day was a very mellow one. We visited some of the big camps, and basically lazed around all day, trying to recover from the night before. That night was the burning of the man. Dave met up with a friend and went right up close to where the burn was going to be, but Jen and I took our lawn chairs and set-up by the bike racks and lamps. So, while Dave got a great close up view of the Burn, we got an great view of all the thousands of people parading towards the burn site, in their very best BM finery. It was a fabulous spectacle of color, creativity, and pure wildness. There were wigs, hats, furs, capes, boots, bodypaint, sparkle, wings, and costumes. It was just fabulous. We also got to see all the artcars come in. They were incredible. There was a full stage car that looked like a harem with bellydancers, a big pussycat filled with cats of both genders, several driving sofas, and a canopy bed full of a crowd in their PJ's having a "slumber party" to name a few. Jen's personal favorite was...a guy riding a tandem bike. He was on the front seat and on the back seat was a metal man pedalling along with him. But the metal man was completely on fire, from head to toe. It was really incredible to see. And the burning of the man was quite a site to see. And we also could litterally see the energy of the crowd rising as the man burned and finally fell. It was like a wave of passion flowing through the group.
That night we went to bed early, and the next day was our best day. We decided that we wanted to go see all the artwork in the desert before they all got burned down that night. So we hopped onto our bikes, and headed into the playa. However, there was a dust storm happening in the playa, that we had been protected from in the camp. So as we rode out there, we were assaulted by the wind and sand and we could barely see anything. Our group stayed very close together as we rode out blindly into the dust. We were prepared enough that we had goggles with us, and we covered our mouths with fabric so we could breathe. But I have to say, it really was amazing to ride out into the dust, not able to see anything, and not knowing where we were really going, and then to have a huge gorgeous structure suddenly appear in front of us out of the dust. I think that is exactly how someone should see desert art. It was absolutely magical. And then we would walk into the art and it was like a safe haven from the harsh conditions outside. And we would stay and just really enjoy how beautiful it was and watch the dust swirling around outside. We spent most of our day doing that, and then came back to center camp and collapsed with some cold drinks. We were all so covered in dust that Jen was teasing Dave and me that we were finally the same color! That's never happened before.
Dave spent the rest of the afternoon at the book tent and Jen and I went to the Necklace Factory tent and I made myself a gorgeous garnet necklace. We needed some quiet time to focus on something other than struggling for survival so this was exactly what we all needed. Another woman in the Necklace tent said she always makes a new necklace each time she comes to BM. That necklace sort-of represents who she was at that particular BM, and she is always so surprised at how each necklace is so different from any of the other ones. I think that sounds like a terrific idea and I am going to do that too if I ever go back.
Which brings me to the question you are probably dying to know the answer to. Are we going to go back? For me the answer is "I don't know yet." It was an amazing experience, and I'd love to do it again. But, there are so many adventures for Dave and me to have still, I'm not sure we'll repeat this one. We'll have to see how we feel each year as Labor Day weekend approaches. I think each year it will be a new decision, and that's how I like to run my life. Keep it an adventure. Keep it spontaneous. But I will say this. I've never experienced anything like this in my life. So, if you have the constitution to handle the desert and camping for a few days, I would highly reccommend that you experience Burning Man at least once in your life. And then you can say "All I have to say is OH MY GAWD!!!!!"
Monday, September 11, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Memories of Hawaii
Ahhhh........last night I was reviewing pictures so I could post something new up here and all the memories of Hawaii came flooding back to me. It was so soothing, it almost felt like I was on vacation again....but only for a moment ;-) I wish a memory could take you back and keep you there for longer.
I never got the opportunity to tell you all about Hawaii. Wanna here about it? Well to start with, the weather was absolutely amazing. Sunny during the day, and rainy at night. The night rains kept things cool so it was just gorgeous in the daytime. And the grounds of the retreat where we were staying were incredible. We had our own waterfall with wading pools that we could hike to right on the grounds. And you know the view in the picture I now have posted on my profile? The hot tub was overlooking that view.
Walking the grounds was so relaxing and meditative. Everything was so lush and gorgeous, and there were beautiful Balinese Hindu statues everywhere. Our room was gorgous with marble walls, a huge golden Budha at the head of the bed and an outdoor shower surrounded by stained glass walls. And right outside our room we had our own private little wading pool. One wall of our room was just glass and a sliding glass door, so we woke up each morning to the view of our beautiful little pool with the statue of a woman filling up her water pot reflecting in the water.
The very first day we got there, as we were walking around discoving the property, Dave found a coconut that had dropped from on of the trees on the property. He went to the front desk and they gave him a macheti and he opened up the coconut. The milk was so sweet and yummy. Then I scooped out the meat and poured water over it each day so that I could have coconut milk every morning. Yummy! What a way to start the day.
All of our meals were included and were vegetarian. We were a bit concerned about not having any meat, but OMG the food was so so delicious. I'm Indian, so I'm pretty used ot good vegetarian food, but I have never tasted anything quite like this. The food was really tasty and every day they served something completely new and unexpected. They only serve Indian food one day. Both Dave and I were really impressed.
The yoga classes were fabulous and we met some really neat people there. One day I led a veil dancing class too, which was greatly appreciated. One of the guys in the class heard that I love gardenias and brought me back a stunning one from one of his hikes. In a way, it was all like a dream. I can't capture the exquisiteness of it all here. But it was amazing to be in this gorgeous physical environment, eating this incredible food that made you feel so relaxed and good inside, with weather that could have been special ordered from God. And then to have the opportunity to hang-out with these beautiful people. Everyone we met in the retreat was so full of life. They all had such great stories and we just loved visiting with them every single day. I'm pretty social, but I'm not usually that social. Usually I really want some alone time. But this time, I just couldn't wait to hang-out with our new friends. Just thinking about it all I'm tearing up. I really want to go back.
The last day of our trip was our wedding anniversary and one of the guys in the group offerred to take us out on his sailboat for the day, which of course we couldn't refuse! So we spent a lovely afternoon sailing along the coast of Maui and drinking flavored ice tea. Then we went back to his house. He and his wife buy homes and remodel them and sell them, so he showed us around his newly remodeled home. Have you ever walked on bamboo flooring? OMG, it felt so wonderful on the feet! It was soft, smooth, and had a lot of give. It was like being in slippers when you're walking barefoot! They also showed us a spot in their house that they are thinking of putting in a 600 gallon fishtank. And they were so inspired by pictures we brought of our seahorse tank that now they are thinking of making their's a seahorse tank. Oooooooo, it's going to be lovely. I hope we get to see it sometime.
That night Dave took me out to the best restaurant in town for dinner. The food was good, but the ambiance was amazing. The restaurant had their very own beach with lots of coconut trees, gorgeous rock formations out off the beach, and tiki torches lit everywhere. And the windows of the restaurant faced the sunset so we got to watch the sun go down behind the beach and tiki torches as we sipped our Hawaian alcoholic concoctions.
Oh yes, have you ever seen a moon bow? One night we were driving along the coast and we saw a silvery arch spread across the sky over the ocean. At first we thought it was spot lights, but there is no way you could get them to arch that way, and the arch started and ended in the ocean. It was nearly a full moon that night, so we figured out it was a moon bow. Like a rainbow, but at night. It was absolutley gorgeous!!!! And our friends that live on Maui say they've only ever seen one of those in the 2 years they've lived there. We were really lucky to see it. Wow, what a treat!
Did you want to see some pictures? If so, go to:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/travelingnuts/albums
I never got the opportunity to tell you all about Hawaii. Wanna here about it? Well to start with, the weather was absolutely amazing. Sunny during the day, and rainy at night. The night rains kept things cool so it was just gorgeous in the daytime. And the grounds of the retreat where we were staying were incredible. We had our own waterfall with wading pools that we could hike to right on the grounds. And you know the view in the picture I now have posted on my profile? The hot tub was overlooking that view.
Walking the grounds was so relaxing and meditative. Everything was so lush and gorgeous, and there were beautiful Balinese Hindu statues everywhere. Our room was gorgous with marble walls, a huge golden Budha at the head of the bed and an outdoor shower surrounded by stained glass walls. And right outside our room we had our own private little wading pool. One wall of our room was just glass and a sliding glass door, so we woke up each morning to the view of our beautiful little pool with the statue of a woman filling up her water pot reflecting in the water.
The very first day we got there, as we were walking around discoving the property, Dave found a coconut that had dropped from on of the trees on the property. He went to the front desk and they gave him a macheti and he opened up the coconut. The milk was so sweet and yummy. Then I scooped out the meat and poured water over it each day so that I could have coconut milk every morning. Yummy! What a way to start the day.
All of our meals were included and were vegetarian. We were a bit concerned about not having any meat, but OMG the food was so so delicious. I'm Indian, so I'm pretty used ot good vegetarian food, but I have never tasted anything quite like this. The food was really tasty and every day they served something completely new and unexpected. They only serve Indian food one day. Both Dave and I were really impressed.
The yoga classes were fabulous and we met some really neat people there. One day I led a veil dancing class too, which was greatly appreciated. One of the guys in the class heard that I love gardenias and brought me back a stunning one from one of his hikes. In a way, it was all like a dream. I can't capture the exquisiteness of it all here. But it was amazing to be in this gorgeous physical environment, eating this incredible food that made you feel so relaxed and good inside, with weather that could have been special ordered from God. And then to have the opportunity to hang-out with these beautiful people. Everyone we met in the retreat was so full of life. They all had such great stories and we just loved visiting with them every single day. I'm pretty social, but I'm not usually that social. Usually I really want some alone time. But this time, I just couldn't wait to hang-out with our new friends. Just thinking about it all I'm tearing up. I really want to go back.
The last day of our trip was our wedding anniversary and one of the guys in the group offerred to take us out on his sailboat for the day, which of course we couldn't refuse! So we spent a lovely afternoon sailing along the coast of Maui and drinking flavored ice tea. Then we went back to his house. He and his wife buy homes and remodel them and sell them, so he showed us around his newly remodeled home. Have you ever walked on bamboo flooring? OMG, it felt so wonderful on the feet! It was soft, smooth, and had a lot of give. It was like being in slippers when you're walking barefoot! They also showed us a spot in their house that they are thinking of putting in a 600 gallon fishtank. And they were so inspired by pictures we brought of our seahorse tank that now they are thinking of making their's a seahorse tank. Oooooooo, it's going to be lovely. I hope we get to see it sometime.
That night Dave took me out to the best restaurant in town for dinner. The food was good, but the ambiance was amazing. The restaurant had their very own beach with lots of coconut trees, gorgeous rock formations out off the beach, and tiki torches lit everywhere. And the windows of the restaurant faced the sunset so we got to watch the sun go down behind the beach and tiki torches as we sipped our Hawaian alcoholic concoctions.
Oh yes, have you ever seen a moon bow? One night we were driving along the coast and we saw a silvery arch spread across the sky over the ocean. At first we thought it was spot lights, but there is no way you could get them to arch that way, and the arch started and ended in the ocean. It was nearly a full moon that night, so we figured out it was a moon bow. Like a rainbow, but at night. It was absolutley gorgeous!!!! And our friends that live on Maui say they've only ever seen one of those in the 2 years they've lived there. We were really lucky to see it. Wow, what a treat!
Did you want to see some pictures? If so, go to:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/travelingnuts/albums
Monday, August 21, 2006
My heart is breaking.....
Oh my Gawd! My heart has just fallen into the pit of my stomach and feels like it is melting. The seahorses are gone. We delivered them to their new home today. I just want to cry. We've known this was coming. We are moving to France very soon. We need to start looking for renters for the house in Sept. We've started packing and I've had an upscale consignment store come price all of our furniture. They'll come take it all away in a couple of weeks. But that's all just stuff. I love my stuff, but it is still just things. My heart isn't tied up in them. Those changes have put it right in front of my face....we're leaving. Life is changing fast. But this...OMG this hurts. I just want to cry. The tank is barren and empty. No little guys joyfully wiggling around to say hello. No more sweet snicks good morning. No more of Rocky's showing off, or Jacqualine's (the cleaner shrimp's) pranks. How the heck did we get so attached to our FISH?!!!! I must be nuts. But the tank is the center point of our house, and now the house feels so different. Now, I have to face it. As exciting as this move is going to be, it will present huge challenges for us. And the journey has begun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
