I woke up early this morning, still in Calistoga, and lazed around for a bit of the morning. I have watched the ‘new’ Megyn Kelly show now two days in a row. All I can say is: what happened to her?? She seems like she is trying to prove herself when she already has!! OK. Rant over.
I walked into town to put something in the mail. On my walk in, there was a guy walking towards me on the sidewalk, carrying coffee for him and his apparent girlfriend. As he was walking he leaned over the hedgerow where he was and proceeded to puke into them. Lovely. Is this Calistoga??
I mailed my letter, started walking back, and stopped in an art gallery. Some pretty cool stuff. Outside was a walking labyrinth. I decided to give it a try. Walking silently, trying to clear my thoughts. Then someone yelled something in Spanish to somebody else. And lo and behold, it was the retcher! Again! Sheesh!
Anyway, I was trying to make it back to the hotel spa, where my complementary mud treatment was waiting. Came with my stay at the hotel. And let me say again – I love the Calistoga Motor Lodge! I would stay there again in a heartbeat! Here’s a photo of part of my room:
And this is the garden of the spa
So. I walked down to the spa. I didn’t really know what to expect with this mud thing. All I knew is “you brush it on yourself.” Okay? So, Lorena greets me. We go outside to the garden. She says, do you want to be in the shade or the sun? I say the shade. She says, here is a loofah. Take a shower. The white mud goes on your face and ‘sensitive areas’ and the other mud goes on the rest of your body. Um. What?!? So, I’m naked outside taking a shower. Waaaay outside my comfort zone. Nobody was around, but still! There were guys working on the landscaping just outside the spa. Which had a fence. But the boards had gaps of about an inch. Just sayin’. So, I put the white mud on my face with my fingers, and I brush the other mud on the rest of my body with a paintbrush. Lorena comes out and brushes mud on the parts I miss. Then I’m lying out there until the mud dries. I tried to relax. I kind of got there.
Lorena came out about 15 minutes later and said it was time to shower off the mud. So back over to the showers I go. And, before I continue, NO, there are no pictures!! I rinse off as thoroughly as I can without being able to see all the mud, and as I’m drying myself off I see mud all over the beautiful white towel. Looks kinda like poop. Oops!
Lorena of course says no problem. Then I lay on my belly and she brushes mud all over the back of me. And I lay out there again til it dries.
Then again I shower off and sit out in the sun for a bit before I return to the world.
Now, I must say. I WAS WAAAAY outside of my comfort zone. But man my skin felt so smooth after that. So, it was worth it, and I feel good that I was able to work thru my ‘personal challenge’ and enjoy it. So, another first for me! Cool!
I went back to my room, gathered up my stuff, and started to wind my way to the Bay Area.
First stop – the Old Faithful Geyser of California!
Every 5 minutes!!
The ‘Fainting Goats’ of Tennessee
Then a stop at the Petrified Forest:
And then, thanks to Roadside America, a statue featuring Yoda and Indiana Jones in San Anselmo. I think this is the first time I’ve been to San Anselmo. I got myself a bagel sandwich and a pit stop while I was at it:
I purposely drove down 101 so I could drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Luckily traffic was bad so I could actually take a photo. Wish I could have taken more. It was beautiful.
Later, I had dinner at Fish Market in San Mateo – one my dad’s and my faves. I toasted dad with a martini (of course).
And now I am nestling in my room at my first AirBnB experience. Daniela and David are awesome so far.
And that was my day today!
I took some other pictures in Boise that made me think I would write another short story, about the Boise Butcher. And while I was driving to Calistoga I drove thru Yuba City ( the same dumpy town I remember) and drove by fields of dead, brown sunflowers that reminded me of the Terra Cotta warriors – brown stalks standing at attention out in the fields. I couldn’t pull over to take a photo. Somehow I need to figure out to write about these things in a coherent manner. Or maybe not. It’s all the journey, right?
More soon. I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am!