Sedona Retreat Re-Cap
I arrived in Phoenix on Sunday, March 18 in time to catch the 4:00 shuttle from the airport up to Sedona. This was a bit of good fortune, as it had been snowing "up there" most of the day and the forecast was for anywhere from 6" to a foot of the white stuff in the higher elevations -- and it is a 2-hour trip by automobile.
As I was checking into the Sedona Real Inn a day early, I didn't know what time my roommate would be arriving. I figured once I got checked in, I would ask at the front desk if there was some place close by that might deliver a sandwich or a pizza to my room and I would just wait around for her to arrive.
Just as the shuttle pulled up in front of the hotel, a rental car drove up and a blonde woman called out the window "Are you Kathi?" I said, "Yes! Are you Cathy?" We both laughed. Turns out, Cathy had arrived much earlier than me, rented a car and had already checked in to our room. She helped me carry my bags up to Room 325 and then we jumped in her car and headed out to find some dinner.
Needless to say, I was jet-lagged. Arizona is 3 hours time difference from Maryland and by the time we finished our dinner and a drink at the Barking Frog, I was pooped! We went back to our room and I went face-down on the bed -- it was only 8:30 p.m. local time, but my internal clock said it was 11:30 p.m.
I slept like a rock until 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning -- tiptoed around so as not to disturb Cathy; went down to the breakfast room and got some coffee and waited until 6:30 to go back up to the room. Cathy was already awake so we spent some time getting acquainted and unpacking and then went downstairs to breakfast. By the way, it was STILL SNOWING!
The Retreat was not scheduled to begin until noon, so she and I made a few phone calls and went to Empire Nails to get mani-pedicures. I had intended to do that before leaving home, but ran short of time. Turned out to be a good thing and I am soooo pleased with the job!
We headed back to our hotel at 11:00 and met up with two other gals who had checked in a bit earlier. Turns out, I was the ONLY AMERICAN in this group! The majority came down from Calgary and two (plus Vikki) came from Montreal, but Vikki DID "fess up" that she was born and raised in New York City and she still considers herself an American despite having lived in Montreal for many years.
At noontime, the rest of the group had arrived and Vikki gave each of us a big hug and a gift bag full of things we would be using during the next five days. There was a schedule of sorts, but a loose one -- good thing, as the weather was definitely going to mean rearranging some of the outdoor activities we had planned for Monday. It was STILL SNOWING! Glad I stuffed a winter jacket into my suitcase at the last minute before leaving home!
I suppose the big thing I want to clarify is that, while Vikki DID write "Runaway Husbands" the focus of this retreat was not that. In fact, two of the women in our group had been widowed in the last 18 months (both husbands succumbed to ALS) and two of the women are happily married. The theme for the Retreat was, in fact, "The Path to Happiness -- A Rejuvenating Retreat for Women of All Ages." And we WERE all ages -- for about an hour, I was actually feeling like the "senior citizen" at 58 -- pushing 59 really hard -- but then Vikki confessed: she is 62! Sure doesn't look like it! The youngest woman was 49; the rest were between 52 and 56.
Anyway, there were group sessions mixed in with fine dining, sightseeing, hiking and some special stuff, too. The week's schedule included:
Two workshops at the Sedona Creative Life Center (a very cool place!)
Yoga in a traditional yurt at the 7 Centers Yoga Arts Center
Hikes at Oak Creek Canyon and Boynton Canyon
An afternoon with Joseph White Wolf, Shaman of part Sioux Indian tribe - visits to 3 of the Vortex sites around Sedona
A 2-hour tour with the famous Pink Jeep Company of Sedona
An afternoon of shopping at the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Center
Sunset watch from the Sedona Airport Vortex (phenomenal lighting as the sun goes down!)
Creation of our "Vision Boards" at the end of the week
Special meals at the Barking Frog, Junipine Cafe, Ken's Creekside, Wildflower Bread Company, and Enchantment(a luxury resort).
and a Final Workshop with Vikki and movie "The Horse Boy"
That's a LOT of stuff to pack into 5 days -- and I won't bore you with all the details (primarily because I was so into the activities, I didn't take time to note what we did every single day) but I will say that it was a wonderful trip, a fantastic week and the weather got better each day. By Wednesday, we were able to ditch our coats and a few of the braver members of the group wore capris! I did break down and put my shorts on Thursday evening, but even when hiking, snow on the ground made a jacket necessary. Those canyons are in the higher elevations and it is chilly down by the river!
Anyway, that's a brief recap of the week. By Friday morning, I was BEAT -- and wouldn't you know -- my phone started ringing at 6:00 a.m.! My realtor had forgotten that I was in Arizona and didn't "block" the multiple list service from wanting to show my house in my absence. Needless to say, after getting THAT squared away, I was wide awake. Needed to shower and start figuring out how to stuff all my things back into my suitcase before leaving for the Phoenix airport at noon, so I just stayed up.
The flight home was pretty uneventful except for a serendipitous moment. I'm sitting there in the aisle seat in Row 3 watching all the other passengers get on the plane.When about 90% of them were boarded, I looked up and SAW MY NEIGHBOR, Bert Frost! What a shocker! Bert lives about 5 miles from me and works for the National Park Service. He had just spent 3 days up at the Grand Canyon and was on his way home. I offered him my aisle seat (he is 6' 4" tall) if he promised NOT to complain when I needed to get up and use the restroom! We had a real nice overdue visit on the way home, which helped pass the 4 hour flight.
When we landed in Baltimore, Bert and I said goodbye and I went down to the baggage claim area to look for Tom. Well, when I spotted him, I started laughing out loud! It was just after midnight March 24th -- my birthday -- and here he comes-- dressed in his Charter Pilot "outfit" (black slacks, white shirt and black tie, and with his CAPTAIN'S BARS on his shirt!) He was carrying a big bouquet of flowers and wearing an ear-to-ear grin! I was so wowed and laughing it was hard to pucker up long enough to get that "Welcome Home" smooch, but I managed.
After we got my luggage and headed out to the car, Tom told me he had also brought me a sandwich (in case I was hungry) and my favorite coconut rum w/cranberry & orange juice! What a guy! I wasn't hungry, but the drink was perfect! We got home around 2:00 a.m. and fell into bed.
I just wanted to lie around all day Saturday, but relented on the house showing thing, so Tom and I hit the ground running at 9:00 a.m. -- picking up and vacuuming the place. We had to scoot out of here before 1:00 and were just pulling out of the garage when the realtor showed up. Still no word -- the realtor was from another company -- but my agent said "no news is good news" and promised to call me sometime today to let me know what the reaction was. Who knows? It night even be an offer!
So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and planning on another hectic week. My realtor is having another Open House here on Sunday afternoon. I spent today mowing and weed-whacking. I will NEVER get all the outside stuff finished in time for Saturday -- last week's 80 degree weather has got EVERYTHING just about in full bloom and my back won't hold out to get all the perennial beds mulched in so little time. Gotta give Cousin Gary a call to see if he can give me a day this week. Jaycpea is going to come down one day and help me sort through some more of my chotchkies and haul a lot of stuff out of here -- either to the local thrift stores or to sell on eBay. I would also really like to get a ride in sometime this week -- IF I can find someone to ride with and IF my farrier can squeeze in a trip out here to trim Miss Rio's feet. That's a lot of IFs, but I suppose if it's meant to happen, it will.
I will post some of my photos shortly, but Vikki had her act together and created an album online already. The link to that is below (copy into your brower if the link isn't "hot"):
http://pix.kg/g/G795738988212:569388988212/scl
ENJOY!
Replies
Sounds like an amazing week!! And no rest on the return, hope you get an offer soon!!
Sounds like a great time! I am so glad you had a nice time at your retreat and you saw your friend on the plane. And Happy Belated Birthday. Hope it was great!
Kathi - sure does sound like a great time and may I say Happy Birthday too! My Uncle\'s B-Day was the 24th and my old bosses. That was wicked sweet of Tom.
I\'m going to look at those pictures now. Glad to hear it was good. Was Vicki able to pick you up at the airport? Doesn\'t sound like it, but I hope she did :)
wowwie ! that all sounds fun. Sounds like you fit a lot in,glad that you got to go. Gotta hand it to Tom,great guy. I hope you hear soon from the realtor, crossing my fingers :)
WoW! Such a nice way to \"get away.\" Hugs. Neesie
Sounds like it was a little piece of Canada down there in Arizona! Calgary is in our western province of Alberta (for those who don\'t know) so maybe you met some fellow cowgirls?!
Even the word \'retreat\' sounds so enticing to me...I wish I could do something like that. Perhaps in a year or so when the nest is fully empty.
My heart melted with your story of your gallant partner\'s loving greeting. Lucky, lucky lady. You deserve all of this and more! hugs
Sounds like you had an awesome time. BTW-happy birthday!
Thanks for this Kathi - really makes me wanna go. Happy Belated Birthday as well.
Sounds like a nice time. I\'m glad you enjoyed yourself.
Wow sounds like you had an amazing trip & retreat, that\'s awesome, i used to go to a Aglow Women\'s Retreats when i still lived at home and was a young adult, used to love them, haven\'t been to one in years, God bless you, Eileen
Thanks for sharing your adventures! Your retreat sounded FABULOUS. I need to book something like that, not just always running myself ragged with Ironmans or the kids. Hope the house sells quickly!