Across the Mountains, Across the Sea

Its really true, those things which seem insurmountable and certainly not within my reach are those that take patience, healing, quiet and tons of fortitude. That's what this blog represents for me.   This blog is going to be about leaving Albuquerque, New Mexico and going to Hawaii.  Its going to be about all the changes the trip has put me through and how I've navigated the constant stresses.  Its also about being 61 and having what I call, a reluctant body. For instance, when I started out, I was going to the gym several times a week, walking the dogs on open trails everyday, hanging out with friends, going to AA meetings, eating out a couple of times a week, shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, going to the mall when I wanted and having a regular spiritual group.  When I left Albuquerque, I left all that behind.  

Our trip started out at a Motel 6 in Albuquerque.  The movers had come that day and the house was almost empty.  We wanted to go back the next day and have my dear Dora (housekeeper) clean and just make the place look good. Nobody slept well.  Not my husband, not I, or our two dogs or the cat.  The following day, we had to lift the bed up off its platform and scrape little Ling out of the box springs where she had hidden.  There'd been gunshots in the night, the place was filthy, people screaming, just generally not good.  Sam, my husband, had a friend that had told him that Motel 6 was great and that they didn't charge for dogs.  They should have actually paid us for staying there.  That was when we learned that our cat, Ling, knew a good place from a bad.  When we left Albuquerque, we only made it as far as Gallup (that's about an hour or so away). I saw La Quinta Inn and I fell in love.  There was a little dog park, a swimming pool, the room was sparkling clean, the bed was great, I loved it and they didn't charge for dogs; Ling never crawled under the mattress there. The rest of the trip was like this, full of ups and downs.  We were heading to Phoenix where our friend had a house that we were going to stay in for 3 weeks to wait out the dog's quarantine. (long story, you'll have to read Sam's book) 

We stayed in a little suburb of Phoenix called Gold Canyon. I will never forget that wonderful reprieve from all the stress we'd been under selling the house and moving.  I was still almost to the point of being terrified about the dogs and having them fly.  The last plane trip from Hawaii had been really bumpy and that was all I could think about.  While in Gold Canyon, I decided that my only source of healing was to do a shamanic journey. (research Sandra Ingerman, if you'd like) That journey was amazing.  Thousands of dolphins came to me and told me not to worry.  They told me that they would carry the plane from La to Hawaii themselves. I believed them.  I have to tell you that the flight from LAX to Kona was the smoothest trip I'd ever had.  I don't think there was one bump.  I felt that a special relationship with the dolphins had been formed and I was so grateful.

I think by this time, I was starting to get worn out.  I had been on the road one month.  I was living out of a suitcase and my entire world was different.