Journey of Joy - Kick-starting April in Folly Beach, SC

Goodbye Franklin, NC for 2013
In our sightseeing in Western North Carolina and travels in Florida, Lynn managed to show me almost everything on her wish list. What's not on this list are the multiple ways she helped me shed my over-worked, over-scheduled self. With Lynn's prompting, I replaced my dull black and gray wardrobe, took off my watch, started eating healthier, slept later, wrote more, took tons of photos and videos, and generally learned to say "Yes" to life's adventures and possibilities. For this and her patient, honest, sometimes silly, and always insightful companionship, I will always be grateful. Click here for Lynn's blog - she's an amazing writer!

Chalkboard paint tracked our fun

Lynn and the Passion Flowers
at Butterfly World- perfect match!

Hello Folly Beach, SC

Welcome to Folly, a quirky, bohemian surf town just 15 minutes from Charleston. Hosted by my friend and former GMCR colleague, Lisa Elliott,  over 5 days I/we walked the beaches, visited Charleston, and ate amazing food at The Oyster Room (twice), the Lost Dog Cafe, Blu, and Rita's Seaside Grill. Drew and Jamie joined us for the long Easter weekend on their way to Savannah, and we all fell in love with Folly. Lisa works over the bridge in Charleston, managing the Le Creuset brand of high quality cast iron French cookware. The kitchen in her new condo made us drool with envy at the pans, casseroles, dishes, mugs, you name it. The beach wasn't so bad either! 

A few blocks from the Washout, a favorite Folly surfing spot 

Jamie and Drew get their toes wet on day one

The Easter Bunny left treats at the Island Girl Cottage
where the girls stayed

Cobblestone and historic buildings abound
in Charleston

Charleston is an absolute foodie paradise!

Sunset from the dock at Lisa's new riverfront condo -
I see a boat in someone's future!

Mother and child reunion

Journey of Joy - Spirits in Abundance at Cassadaga Camp

Inspiring bench outside a residence at the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp

Our Florida trip was a spiritual journey as well as a logging of miles, so what better place to go than the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp near Lake Helen FL? We booked two nights March 23-24, and it was quite something. A tiny village of 44 woodframe houses, on land leased for life. Just a few short blocks, wrapped around the outdated Cassadaga Hotel (definitely haunted) and the Cassadaga Bookstore & Information Center. Nighttime orb walks, spiritualist lectures and readings, chakra balancing, mediums, psychics, and crystals capturing and releasing energy on every corner. My intuitive powers were tuned up throughout the weekend, and now I often find myself on the receiving end of messages from "the other side." As if to prove the point, you may spy a random letter "o" in this post. No matter how many times I tried to delete it, it just wants to be present. Probably a message from one of the friendly spirits from my past.

Old hotel at the crossroads of the village - comfortable rooms, good rates, only downside
was the unimaginative menu at the hotel restaurant - the only eatery in town.

Lobby furnished with overstuffed sofas, where I waited for my most excellent
chakra balancing session with Katarina "Kat" Moonchild

 

Psychics are on call 24/7

 

Orb walk 101: Spirit orbs show up on digital cameras, but not to the naked eye.
Note the moon is visible in the upper left of this "before" photo I took.

And in the next shot, there were orbs! I count five in this photo alone.

Lynn took these pix of me between two sacred trees. No orbs near me in the first shot...

... then bright orbs in this middle image,  

...then an orange orb in the last one. You can choose to be skeptical if you like.
I for one am glad the spirits were willing to come out and play on that Sunday night.

o

Journey of Joy - Vero Beach (in a seashell)

Since my last post was April 14, and my dear readers have only followed me through St. Patrick's Day, at this rate I'll never get caught up on this trip blog. So at the risk of leaving out some beautiful scenery and detail, here's a mini-montage of our Vero Beach week.

Sunrise from Pat Sampson's penthouse in Jensen Beach. 

Pat and I after our private golf lesson.
BTW - we also drove by Tiger Woods' new mansion on Jupiter Island.

Lynn's shell collection doodle

Lazy days of beach-combing along the crystal blue ocean

Journey of Joy - Vero Beach Wild Weekend

March 16-23 our home was a cozy timeshare at the Reef Ocean Resort. From there, we took many side trips, met up with old friends, and walked on the stunning Vero beaches. We knew it would be a trip down memory lane for Lynn, since she owns a timeshare here and her parents lived in Vero in their retirement. Plus, she grew up only an hour and a half north. Seeing Florida through the eyes of a native is highly recommended! We did so much the first weekend, I'm posting the Vero week in two parts -- did I mention we spent St. Patrick's Day in a biker bar, listening to blues bagpipes?!

It was Bike Week in Florida - and on Sunday afternoon 300 Harleys
showed up at Earl's Hideaway in Sebastian, FL to hear Pipapelli,
Lynn's brother R.J. (Bob) Grady and his kilted blues band.
They came down from western North Carolina for the gig. 

More about St. Patrick's Day in a bit...
Back to Saturday: here's where we stayed.

Started the week off with oceanside lunch at Waldo's, at the 

Driftwood Resort, a quick walk from Reef Ocean.  Lynn's timeshare 

 is located here. She usually comes in late April or September, 

without the crowds and traffic of Spring Break in Vero.

Saturday night we drove north to Port Canaveral, to hear
"Even Odds" at Grills, a fun patio bar beside the cruise ship docks.
The band is led by Roger (shown here with Lynn), a childhood
friend of her family. In fact, she used to babysit for the lead guitar player!
Great danceable music, and nice to meet some of her Rockledge friends. 

St. Patrick's Day dawned bright, and we fueled up with
brunch at Mulligan's - an even shorter walk down the beach.

North again 30 minutes to Earl's Hideaway. Here is Pipapelli
wearing the Grady family tartans. R.J. on the left, and his
wife, Cindy, singing Janis Joplin-style vocals. 

R.J. the dancin' piper got the crowd going!

Do the math: 300 bikes bring a crowd of 500 and Earl's was thrilled!
 Theysold out of green beer, and the corned beef and cabbage special. Yes,
Harley owners tend to be in the AARP set. So plenty of crazy green outfits
amid the lawn chairs,and no bar fights,at least while we were there!

If you don't arrive in a Harley, better make it
some kind of cool ride

Creativity runs in the family! If you want to know about
The Creature From the Black Lagoon connection
to R.J.'s band, visit and like Pipapelli on Facebook.

Journey of Joy - Boca Raton week

Thanks to a last minute change in plans, we ended up spending March 8-15 with Lynn's friends in Boca, Jackie and Louis Abouzeid. Jackie (Oates) and Lynn Grady have been friends since childhood, when both their families moved to Rockledge, FL in the fifties. Both their dads served as Rockledge's Mayor back in the day. Jackie's Boca home is warm and welcoming, with a Key West-inspired decor.

Sea turtle sand sculpture

The week was like a private health spa for the two of us. Fruit smoothies in the Vitamix for lunch, gluten-free meals at night, daily meditation from Deepak Chopra and Oprah's 21-Day Meditation Challenge, and while Jackie was at work, we explored area beaches and local attractions.  Boca highlights:

Clara the Psychic - Traveled to Miami for a personal reading. The experience could take an entire blog post, but let me just say that Clara was authentic and her well-worn tarot deck predicted my future as mostly rosy. Same for George, Drew and Jamie. She said to expect good health, prosperity, new business ventures, and even two great sons-in-law down the road... Can't wait to see it all come true!

Butterfly World - Coconut Creek FL. This is a must-see attraction for anyone traveling to Florida! Classical music surrounds you in the parking lot and throughout the exhibits. Hundreds of exotic butterflies flutter around you in a spectacular enclosed flower garden. There were also giant macaws in another section, and an aviary. The butterfly house was magical, like being granted a temporary visit into heaven.

Colors, colors, and more colors

A Blue Morpho camouflaged on Lynn's bag. The photo at
the top of this post reveals their bright blue inside wings.

Jackie poses by one of the oversized Passion Flowers,
developed and bred at the facility to attract butterflies

Lynn was a butterfly magnet that day!

Beaches of Boca

Deerfield Beach - Palms were swaying in the stiff breeze

White caps made for beautiful surf 

Giant starfish graced the beach at Red Reef Park
(photo by Lynn Grady)

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

Coastal ecosystem, sea turtle rehab and nesting protection,
and a 38' tower  with ocean and intracoastal views

Meandering raised walkway through the coastal forest

At 40' up, we had a good case of "blender hair" 

This turtle was hit by a boat propeller,
and is recuperating at the Center

Banyan tree, part of what is called
a Hardwood Hammock forest

Odds 'n Ends

Lynn and Louis in a heated ping-pong match

We got henna tattoos in Boca --
mine still lookin' good on Vero Beach

The colors of downtown Boca 

Jackie's tray of shells and beach glass says it all