this place is sooo gorgeous. i’d forgotten how fabulous the landscape is here – peppered with sagebrush and all sorts of exotic brush. it’s been 11 years since i was last here and i am sad that is has been so long. connecting to the earth is so easy in this part of the country and i’m constantly gasping “ohhhh,” “ahhhhh” as i’ve been driving from albuquerque to santa fe to taos.
when i went to get my rental car yesterday, the check-out lady told me i needed 6 cylinders and not the simple car i’d rented. “um, ok,” i replied – clearly exhausted after having been up for 10 hours already. she offered a taurus. i asked if there was anything smaller and she hooked me up with a 2-seater silver car – a crossfire. OH MY GAWD – cutest car ever. i’ve never had a cute car, much less a sport’s car. has AC, power windows, seat heaters, and is so darn cute i want to drive and drive and drive. oh, and goes to 160mph – not that i’ve tested it.
yesterday exploring albuquerque was fun and i went on a tram ride at sandia peak – so touristy but so fun. it’s not everyday you have a yummy green salad smoothered in ranch dressing at a restaurant perched on top of the sandia mountains. then i taught a hip hips workshop at yoga now complete with a student i’d met in dc years ago, another student who used to live in dc, and podcast listener from ny who happened to be in town for a wedding. i felt truly blessed even if the airline lost my luggage that had all the books for the booksigning to follow – logistics. ate at a fab 24-hour diner in albuquerque that made my night. looooovveee diners and we topped off the veggie burrito with a cinnamon roll. life is good. back to my friend’s lovely home in santa fe and slept for 12 hours. when she woke me up this morning, i was still having very odd dreams. we gallivanted around santa fe – where they offer sopapillas with every meal (a concept after my own heart), even hit a bookstore where i found 2 more must-have texts (natalie goldberg‘s memoir and the first yoga sutras translation by a female), drove to taos, stopped at vivac winery, taught yoga, and now the retreat begins.
anyway, it’s cocktail hour and i should start socializing. not good at mingling with peeps i don’t know. can’t i just hang out in the corner and read or write? nope, gotta push my edges – that’s what life is all about, right? okay.
can’t wait to share this journey with you. i am so incredibly grateful to be in this beautiful part of the country to focus on tranquilology and regroup.