We hadn't really plotted out which hike we wanted but it seemed like the bulk of our options were in the Prarie Creek area just south of us. As our car weaved back into the trees, Alice's eyes grew wide; these were the trees you think of when you think Redwoods. The trails were more well-marked than I had remembered and we found a sign-map with all of the distances and difficulties marked. Cathedral Trail was a moderate loop that boasted some of the largest of the area's Redwoods. This is where the markings began to meet my expectations. Keeping a close eye on the mile markers, we reached the mile that supposedly marked the trail head just as we reached a clearing. There was a sign for a campground to our right and only after we had pulled in down the road did we discover the small visitor's center tucked behind the trees. The only sign I could see was for the Foothills Trail, one we had considered but seemed comparatively less interesting. We were about to give in to our second choice when a park guide came around the corner. "I'm sorry guys, I'm not open for another half-hour." I stopped him and asked how on earth one finds the Cathedral Trail. Apparently, this was not a silly question. "Yes, you'll find most of the signs in here serve the purpose of trying to get you lost." As it turned out, it was only after beginning the marked foothills trail that you would come across a diverging sign for Cathedral. 
It was a beautiful hike. Starting out with some four-legged trail buddies, the path first wove down past an Eastern stream, letting the morning sun in through the gaps and illuminating the vibrant green mosses coating everything in a thick blanket. Then it curved inward and and upward, the trees towering monstrous around us. Many of them stood in tight clusters, reminding me of a sort of Ent family, giving them a sense of clan-ship.
Later at the visitor's center, I asked how old the trees were, which led to an interesting answer about their formation. He explained that while most records average trees at about 700, scientists still have no way of knowing the actual age of a Redwood. This is because they grow by dropping seeds on fertile soil that is in direct contact with their root system, sprouting new trees out of themselves. Every cluster is an original tree and its generations so that, if you were to add the ages of all the generations, you would find an original tree that is over 2,000 years old. 
The trail was a perfect length for our time-crunch - about 2.5 miles. Just before the last stretch, we ran into a man named Joe from Alaska who had just had hip surgery. It was his birthday and he was on his way down the coast to meet up with some friends in central California. He asked us about the difficulty of the trail and then transitioned to his camera, handing it off to me to go pose in front of the enormous Sequoia on 'display'. He wanted to make sure I got every angle, first on his camera and then on his phone. When we got to the phone, Alice noticed that he had a Panorama option which drew out even more enthusiasm. He was astounded when we showed him a picture getting the top and bottom of the tree in the frame and so we taught him how to use it. Then he insisted it was our turn for him to take our pictures so I passed my camera off to him. At the end of our mini photo session, he gave each of us giant hugs and kisses and called out as we began to walk "remember girls, it's all just a love story!" 
"I mean, I've met friendly people before. But not necessarily huggers...or kissers!" said Alice.
"That's my kinda people."
We hit highway 1 sooner than I'd recalled from my last trip down. My recollection thus far had not been very impressive. Not surprising though, I suppose, given that I was in a flustered post-car-crash state of mind back then. The winding road was much more tolerable without having that added fear that my car was being held together by Zip Ties. But it was still just as windy. When we broke out onto the coast however, Alice saw why it had been worth it. She gushed the whole way down and I was in equal bliss until I started to realize we may not have enough gas to get us to the next gas station. Soon, we were praying to the gas-guzzling gods as we turned every bend, hoping there would be something just out of sight. With the empty light threatening me, we made it to a one-stop shop in a place that wasn't quite passable as a town. The rickety store had a sort of 'Nantucket-shaped' porch with a rusty metal gas pump balancing on its edge that looked like an elementary art rendering of R2-D2, equipped with knick-knack ornaments. Not surprisingly, gas was $5 a gallon. Obviously, they could afford to do that, given we probably were not the first to have the predicament that we did.
Loading up just enough to get us the next town over, we left feeling much calmer about scenic joy-ride. When we stopped for gas, we also stopped in a store. As I was waiting for Alice by the car, a disheveled woman in the parking lot was yelling across the street at a man looking even more in disarray. "Are you gonna come help me with these groceries?" The man just mulled about on the other side of the street. "Fuckin' really? You fucker!" This went on like this as Alice made her way back to the car. When I filled her in on the yelling, she was taken aback by the scene. Unfortunately, I realized, these exchanges had been a part of my daily environment growing up in the fray of the reactionary, emotional culture of road dogs and rats.
After spending the last few hours zig-zagging and winding in spirals, my arms were tired and my legs were wired…and I’d mis-estimated again. Back on the big highway, we blasted some Shakira and pepped up the mood for a bit as the faster speed made me feel like we would be at our destination in no time. However, once we hit our first traffic congestion, I was over it. It was just time to be done driving. But we still had a couple hours. We did at least manage to arrive before the sun was gone.
I had done my best to prepare Alice for my eccentric friends but I knew that no description would adequately describe their enthusiastic and sometimes overwhelming presence. It didn’t take long though, for this be brought to light. Before we could even begin to unload, Aliah was ushering us into her room to play a sample of her latest artistic endeavor, beaming with the calm, whimsy-sticken approach to life that she always seemed to maintain even amidst unexpected turns (which happened a lot for her). Her husband Paz had himself locked away in the room next door, busily cutting and matching audio bites for their album. In mid topic about the sensations that Aliah was aiming for in her music, we suddenly found ourselves transitioning to our astrological natal charts. Talking on multiple levels simultaneously was her specialty as well as taking on multiple projects. On the astrological front, Alice and I had agreed to have readings done for us as part of an application that Paz was in the process of designing. I used the break as a chance to suggest that she look up our information while we get unpacked. We headed out to the backyard where a tent was supposedly set up for our use. However, it had been recently used by another guest who was not so considerate and sloppily hidden under a sweatshirt, I found a nice smudgy puddle of puke. “Well, dive right into the fray,” I thought as I threw a sort of apologetic look towards Alice who had not been privy to my discovery. “What’s up?” She asked. “I think we’re gonna set up our own tent.” I told Paz, who had actually known and had meant to pick up earlier before getting sucked into his project. While he tackled the funk, we unpacked and set up camp. Once we were settled, we grabbed some food and chatted inside with Aliah for a bit about AmeriCorps and working with the kids. Before we went off to bed, we tried to carve out a good time the next day for us to get our readings. I would be in the morning before we went out on the town and Alice could have hers done once we returned.
Like I said, unexpected turns are thematic here. That inevitably includes a constant change in plans. Really, plans are a non-existent concept.
Our day started with a lot of waiting and a lot of Aliah's passionate drive to impart wisdom. Paz needed to get in his morning walk before we could do anything so Aliah had the time and space to be inspired by a million and one ideas and concepts to share. She demonstrated her hormonal blend, a morning routine she had graciously shown me when I had last visited but to a disinterested acquaintance, just looks like a lot of gargling and swooshing and exaggerated movements. What she was most excited to show us was a series of Qi Gong/Yoga Flow movements designed especially for working with youth. I recognized quite a few of the movements and was thrilled for the mini presentation, as I had been thinking of ways to incorporate this sort of thing for the kiddos throughout the year and here she was with a straightforward approach. She understood my apprehension about kids that may not be open to the full origin of the poses and gave helpful suggestions on how to present it in layman's terms that can be comfortable for all. When we got to 'Punch the Air' she said "The kids love this one. Just be sure to emphasize that it's the air, not one another." I haven't had the opportunity to use the sequence yet but we may be starting a structured activity day at the gym on Saturdays and I think it would be well-suited for that.
After our mini educator's lesson, She wanted to give us exercises and affirmations. I could feel very apparent waves of antsy-ness (it was getting rather late into the morning) and we still hadn't started my reading. Fortunately, Paz returned around that time. He took us upstairs for an introduction on his approach to astrology and then Alice returned to Aliah's company while I went on video for a good couple hours. I found the project to be fascinating. Instead of throwing a bunch of jargon your way and telling you what times would be most suitable for what sorts of actions in your life, Paz presented each planet in a simple, open-ended way that allowed for more of a conversation about you as you understand you. Through that, one could begin to gain an understanding of how those views are manifested in one's chart. For each planet, Paz first described the defining characteristics and thematic elements. He then asked how we saw that planet in our lives by either describing a memory or a tendency we have towards that behavior. Then he had us rate the planet's theme on: Importance, how much we are a creator of that planets energy and how much we are a consumer of it. At the end of the session, he addressed any major life situations that needed clarification and asked me to give a small testimonial for the project. I was captivated by the conversation and how much my answers designed my reading. It was really a testament to one's inner knowledge of their authentic self. But as engaged as I was, I could hear faint rumbling in my stomach and an even louder inner-cry from down below as I imagined Alice having her ear talked off. I came down ready to expedite the process of getting out of the house. Aliah had some time to play a bit of a tour guide and so we all went out for lunch at a place called Dharmas.
Aliah described it as THE only place to eat and after one visit, I can't say I disagree. They had absolutely anything and everything. One could eat there for a month and not get through the whole menu. And their dishes were HUGE. As a treat for hosting, I paid for Aliah and I to share a salad and Tofu dish and we still had enough leftovers for meals over the next couple of days. In the same lot, was a Goodwill that Aliah was fond of and the idea seemed to perk Alice up and so I immediately agreed. Of course, I left with more clothing than I need, that number being zilch.
Midway through the afternoon, we still had a lot on our wish list of things to do. Aliah wanted to show us a Buddhist Garden that was "a photographer's dream'' and Alice was dearly clutching to the vision of city strolling and beachfronts. It had also been mentioned that Lee Holden - the man who's videos my mom first used to introduce me to Qi Gong - had a class that night. I had completely forgotten that he was Aliah's regular teacher. So that was enticing as well. In the heat of the day, it was easy for Aliah to convince us that the beach should wait, so we began our hunt for this garden. It ended up being tucked away, far from any recognizable neighborhoods or streets.
Land of the Medicine Buddha turned out to be not just a garden but an active Buddhist Monastery and retreat center. At the entrance to the grounds, there was a large, spinning carousel-shaped structure. I had never seen a prayer wheel before and as I looked at the building pictures of the thousands of mantras tucked within its layers, I was mesmerized. Tibetan Buddhists believe that these holy spires were given to beings called Naga to deliver to the human beings as a healing tool. Further in, they had more, smaller wheels and even in one of my less reflective states, spinning them washed an immediate calm over me. Nearby, they had written suggestions of mantras to chant for given dis-eases and struggles or simply for continued compassion.
We had begun an ascent to reach the Large Buddha when Aliah realized she'd had to be back almost 20 minutes ago for a cleaning lady. She was about to let it slide but I was desperate relieve Alice and so I insisted she should probably get back - we didn't mind. By the time we arrived at the house, I'd let go of the idea of Lee Holden and turned the day's events over to Alice's hands. We changed and got well-instructed directions to easy downtown parking from Paz.
With some time to ourselves, I checked in and apologized for such a long, unexpected day. Her response wasn't complete disdain - she'd found their animated character to be endearing - but yes, it was a lot of wearing social time. Fortunately, the city was quickly easing the tension and I admittedly enjoyed a break and a chance to see what downtown Santa Cruz looked like. I'd never been a window shopper so I didn't know what I would do downtown, but it had felt odd to be in such a city and not have any sense of it. And I did end up finding enticement. We browsed until near-sunset and I acquired some postcards, some unique herbal novelties and a pricey pair of the coziest pants I have ever worn. My sensory overload and social flurry was kicking in and we were losing sunlight when at our last store, Alice subtly tried to nudge me along. We had heard the beach was a 10 minute walk away and a pretty straight shot. Turns out, finding a damn ocean can be hard! We made just in time to catch the mid-setting glow. All smiles now, we fooled around with the camera and dipped feet in icy water and breathed out the intensity of the day. It was in these moments that our companionship thrived, rambling on about pasts and childhoods and quirks we wouldn't have imagined one another having.
We stopped at a co-op on the way back and arrived too late for Alice's reading. Their son Zach had a friend over in his separate little garage house but Zach had been in a funk so his friend ended up hanging out on the porch with us for a bit instead. About an hour later, we went in to say goodnight to Aliah. She began to say she that it was unfortunate she couldn't go over one of the affirmation handouts she had given us and, feeling sensitive to Alice's tolerance, I jumped in to end the conversation, saying that was okay, I was familiar with a lot of it already. This did not actually end up speeding up our "goodnights." Aliah squared me in the eye and very calmly but harshly explained that this was a problem for me - thinking I know all and shutting off to teachings. She actually had a point there, but this was not one of those moments. I just wanted to let good nights commence. Once Alice was in the tent, I went back inside and Aliah apologized, giving me a chance to explain myself.
This was the most challenging day I think, for the both of us. For Alice, I had immediately started to gather that the way the day was unfolding was not going to be ideal for her. For me, it presented an interpersonal and introspective construct of journey to add to this geographical journey. I found a whole bunch of inner qualms about myself, my agreeability, my ego, my role as a travel companion. From moment to moment, I was observing my inner calm and checking myself to keep perspective and enjoy the harmonious aspects of our travel and personality traits among these challenges. Yet even so, it became a sort of puzzle for me to figure out what peaked her enthusiasm or if I was in the "right or wrong" for judging her perspective of seeming to always be looking at the "next step". In learning about our different comfort levels with "hosting", I began to challenge my own beliefs about the Global Community. Staying in another's home felt intrusive to her whereas I'd always seen it as a gift to be able to host someone. Was I just naive? Is it selfish to be so readily accepting of one's willingness to help? One is always prone to thinking their philosophies are superior and our experience was making me keep that in check. Overall, the day was an exercise in neutrality and balance.
But who ever said growth and challenges can't be joyful?
Loading up just enough to get us the next town over, we left feeling much calmer about scenic joy-ride. When we stopped for gas, we also stopped in a store. As I was waiting for Alice by the car, a disheveled woman in the parking lot was yelling across the street at a man looking even more in disarray. "Are you gonna come help me with these groceries?" The man just mulled about on the other side of the street. "Fuckin' really? You fucker!" This went on like this as Alice made her way back to the car. When I filled her in on the yelling, she was taken aback by the scene. Unfortunately, I realized, these exchanges had been a part of my daily environment growing up in the fray of the reactionary, emotional culture of road dogs and rats.
After spending the last few hours zig-zagging and winding in spirals, my arms were tired and my legs were wired…and I’d mis-estimated again. Back on the big highway, we blasted some Shakira and pepped up the mood for a bit as the faster speed made me feel like we would be at our destination in no time. However, once we hit our first traffic congestion, I was over it. It was just time to be done driving. But we still had a couple hours. We did at least manage to arrive before the sun was gone.
I had done my best to prepare Alice for my eccentric friends but I knew that no description would adequately describe their enthusiastic and sometimes overwhelming presence. It didn’t take long though, for this be brought to light. Before we could even begin to unload, Aliah was ushering us into her room to play a sample of her latest artistic endeavor, beaming with the calm, whimsy-sticken approach to life that she always seemed to maintain even amidst unexpected turns (which happened a lot for her). Her husband Paz had himself locked away in the room next door, busily cutting and matching audio bites for their album. In mid topic about the sensations that Aliah was aiming for in her music, we suddenly found ourselves transitioning to our astrological natal charts. Talking on multiple levels simultaneously was her specialty as well as taking on multiple projects. On the astrological front, Alice and I had agreed to have readings done for us as part of an application that Paz was in the process of designing. I used the break as a chance to suggest that she look up our information while we get unpacked. We headed out to the backyard where a tent was supposedly set up for our use. However, it had been recently used by another guest who was not so considerate and sloppily hidden under a sweatshirt, I found a nice smudgy puddle of puke. “Well, dive right into the fray,” I thought as I threw a sort of apologetic look towards Alice who had not been privy to my discovery. “What’s up?” She asked. “I think we’re gonna set up our own tent.” I told Paz, who had actually known and had meant to pick up earlier before getting sucked into his project. While he tackled the funk, we unpacked and set up camp. Once we were settled, we grabbed some food and chatted inside with Aliah for a bit about AmeriCorps and working with the kids. Before we went off to bed, we tried to carve out a good time the next day for us to get our readings. I would be in the morning before we went out on the town and Alice could have hers done once we returned.
Like I said, unexpected turns are thematic here. That inevitably includes a constant change in plans. Really, plans are a non-existent concept.
Our day started with a lot of waiting and a lot of Aliah's passionate drive to impart wisdom. Paz needed to get in his morning walk before we could do anything so Aliah had the time and space to be inspired by a million and one ideas and concepts to share. She demonstrated her hormonal blend, a morning routine she had graciously shown me when I had last visited but to a disinterested acquaintance, just looks like a lot of gargling and swooshing and exaggerated movements. What she was most excited to show us was a series of Qi Gong/Yoga Flow movements designed especially for working with youth. I recognized quite a few of the movements and was thrilled for the mini presentation, as I had been thinking of ways to incorporate this sort of thing for the kiddos throughout the year and here she was with a straightforward approach. She understood my apprehension about kids that may not be open to the full origin of the poses and gave helpful suggestions on how to present it in layman's terms that can be comfortable for all. When we got to 'Punch the Air' she said "The kids love this one. Just be sure to emphasize that it's the air, not one another." I haven't had the opportunity to use the sequence yet but we may be starting a structured activity day at the gym on Saturdays and I think it would be well-suited for that.
After our mini educator's lesson, She wanted to give us exercises and affirmations. I could feel very apparent waves of antsy-ness (it was getting rather late into the morning) and we still hadn't started my reading. Fortunately, Paz returned around that time. He took us upstairs for an introduction on his approach to astrology and then Alice returned to Aliah's company while I went on video for a good couple hours. I found the project to be fascinating. Instead of throwing a bunch of jargon your way and telling you what times would be most suitable for what sorts of actions in your life, Paz presented each planet in a simple, open-ended way that allowed for more of a conversation about you as you understand you. Through that, one could begin to gain an understanding of how those views are manifested in one's chart. For each planet, Paz first described the defining characteristics and thematic elements. He then asked how we saw that planet in our lives by either describing a memory or a tendency we have towards that behavior. Then he had us rate the planet's theme on: Importance, how much we are a creator of that planets energy and how much we are a consumer of it. At the end of the session, he addressed any major life situations that needed clarification and asked me to give a small testimonial for the project. I was captivated by the conversation and how much my answers designed my reading. It was really a testament to one's inner knowledge of their authentic self. But as engaged as I was, I could hear faint rumbling in my stomach and an even louder inner-cry from down below as I imagined Alice having her ear talked off. I came down ready to expedite the process of getting out of the house. Aliah had some time to play a bit of a tour guide and so we all went out for lunch at a place called Dharmas.
Aliah described it as THE only place to eat and after one visit, I can't say I disagree. They had absolutely anything and everything. One could eat there for a month and not get through the whole menu. And their dishes were HUGE. As a treat for hosting, I paid for Aliah and I to share a salad and Tofu dish and we still had enough leftovers for meals over the next couple of days. In the same lot, was a Goodwill that Aliah was fond of and the idea seemed to perk Alice up and so I immediately agreed. Of course, I left with more clothing than I need, that number being zilch.
Midway through the afternoon, we still had a lot on our wish list of things to do. Aliah wanted to show us a Buddhist Garden that was "a photographer's dream'' and Alice was dearly clutching to the vision of city strolling and beachfronts. It had also been mentioned that Lee Holden - the man who's videos my mom first used to introduce me to Qi Gong - had a class that night. I had completely forgotten that he was Aliah's regular teacher. So that was enticing as well. In the heat of the day, it was easy for Aliah to convince us that the beach should wait, so we began our hunt for this garden. It ended up being tucked away, far from any recognizable neighborhoods or streets.
 |
| I got a kick out of this obstructed view |
We stopped at a co-op on the way back and arrived too late for Alice's reading. Their son Zach had a friend over in his separate little garage house but Zach had been in a funk so his friend ended up hanging out on the porch with us for a bit instead. About an hour later, we went in to say goodnight to Aliah. She began to say she that it was unfortunate she couldn't go over one of the affirmation handouts she had given us and, feeling sensitive to Alice's tolerance, I jumped in to end the conversation, saying that was okay, I was familiar with a lot of it already. This did not actually end up speeding up our "goodnights." Aliah squared me in the eye and very calmly but harshly explained that this was a problem for me - thinking I know all and shutting off to teachings. She actually had a point there, but this was not one of those moments. I just wanted to let good nights commence. Once Alice was in the tent, I went back inside and Aliah apologized, giving me a chance to explain myself.
This was the most challenging day I think, for the both of us. For Alice, I had immediately started to gather that the way the day was unfolding was not going to be ideal for her. For me, it presented an interpersonal and introspective construct of journey to add to this geographical journey. I found a whole bunch of inner qualms about myself, my agreeability, my ego, my role as a travel companion. From moment to moment, I was observing my inner calm and checking myself to keep perspective and enjoy the harmonious aspects of our travel and personality traits among these challenges. Yet even so, it became a sort of puzzle for me to figure out what peaked her enthusiasm or if I was in the "right or wrong" for judging her perspective of seeming to always be looking at the "next step". In learning about our different comfort levels with "hosting", I began to challenge my own beliefs about the Global Community. Staying in another's home felt intrusive to her whereas I'd always seen it as a gift to be able to host someone. Was I just naive? Is it selfish to be so readily accepting of one's willingness to help? One is always prone to thinking their philosophies are superior and our experience was making me keep that in check. Overall, the day was an exercise in neutrality and balance.
But who ever said growth and challenges can't be joyful?
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