Kitty back at home

Kitty is back at her home beach. The weather is very nice today but it did rain when she got back to San Diego. It is different to see palm trees everywhere versus redwood trees and long stretches of sandy beach versus rocky shores, but it is nice to be home. Kitty is resting up for the work week ahead.

Last Day at Esalen

Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods.

- John Muir

Kitty is savoring the last day at Esalen before going "up the hill". On one of the first days on the trail Steven had everyone pick out of a bag a John Muir quote. This was the quote I chose. Rest is what I needed. A last chance to see the ocean from Esalen. A last chance to bathe in the baths. A last chance to see friends who over the week have become a tribe. Kitty is sad to leave.

Kitty in Big Sur Day 5

Kitty woke up this morning to the smell of smoke and a blood red sun. The fire that is 100 miles to the north has brought heavy smoke to Big Sur. Today is our last big hike, our last chance to hear the roar of Big Creek. Many of Kitty's friends enjoyed the natural hot springs. Kitty is taking it all in and making memories.

Kitty in Esalen Day 4

Kitty almost got blown away by the wind today. Her friends Deborah and Ian took good care of her and protected her from being sand blasted. She danced in the pink and purple sand at the Garnet Sand Beach. With her friend Marty, she ate wild strawberries until her fingers were stained red. Kitty sat underneath the branches of the pygmy redwood forest and watched them sway and creak with the wind. The wind today sounded at times to be a sweet lullaby and at times speed metal.

Kitty in Esalen Day 2 and 3

Kitty is making friends with people, trees, and other creepy crawlies. Steven Harper, who is the leader of Kitty's hiking expedition, tells everyone to turn down the internal volume of the chatter in our minds and turn up the external volume to the world around us. She can feel, hear, and smell nature all around her. There is the sound of the leaves crunch beneath her feet. There is the smell of the ground and plants. There is the sound of the water and the birds in the trees. Kitty is being touched by nature.

Kitty at Esalen Day 1

Enough

Enough. These few words are enough.
If not these words, this breath.
If not this breath, this sitting here.

This opening to the life
we have refused
again and again
until now.
Until now

by David Whyte (but first read to me by Steven Harper)


Kitty needed to retreat back to nature. As I drove down Hwy 1 towards Big Sur to Esalen, there was excitement in what would come ahead. When I got to Esalen and went "down the hill", the view was breathtaking. To see the ocean from my own home everyday is wonderful but to see it untouched and rugged from Big Sur is awe inspiring. Kitty is breathing the air.

Kitty in Salt Lake City

Kitty really wanted see a salt lake, place titanium implants in bone, see snow in May, and meet some missionaries. She got everything she wanted in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was a busy but fun weekend.