Vacation Almost at Home - Part 5

St. Dorothy’s Rest Retreat House

 

This is truly a holy room. Lots of prayers have been said here, lots of listening, too, . . . the rain, the fire, the quiet, my heart, God . . .

I’m up at an Episcopal retreat house, called St. Dorothy’s Rest, near Occidental, deep in the Northern California redwoods. I can see the mist curling through tall pines, gazing out a long row of wood-framed panes from a four poster bed – oh, sweet God, there are windows everywhere I turn – I love this! There is even a gorgeous stained glass window with blue trim and a wooden cross.

 

 

A pot-belly gas stove turns on intermittently; magically to heat the room when it dips below 70 degrees. (I want one of these!) I kept it on all night; fell asleep watching its little fire; woke up once at dawn to its warm, dancing light, then nestled back into the covers and woke up around 7:30 to its sweet fire once again and got my first glimpse of the mossy velvet mist.

 

I feel like I’m a million miles from the city, but in fact, I’m only an hour and a half or so from Oakland. I’m on vacation almost at home.

 

Rob will join me tomorrow – he doesn’t want to miss his painting class and I love looking at his art; his prayer of many colors and interesting shapes, infused with his Rob-essence delights me and lifts my heart.

It is raining so I don’t feel like I have to go outside and be active. I can just stay here all day if I want to and write to you and pray and meditate and read and reflect and start my new mountain climbing book, Anapurna, written in 1951 by Maurice Herzog, a Frenchman, leader of the first expedition to reach the top of one of the giant 8,000 meter peaks in the Himalaya.

I hiked all the way around Bodega Head yesterday at Westside Regional Park outside of Bodega Bay. I strolled along, listening to the seals barking and the mighty surf crashing, gazing down, down, down (almost scary down!) at the magnificent rock and foam amidst the deep turquoise-green pools. Thank you dear CJ for going first and discovering this wild, wonderful area and sharing it with me!

(Can you even believe I forgot my camera?!?)

Dear reader, if you live in the Bay Area, come out here! It is a whole different world from the city. In fact, no matter where you live, go out to the closest wild place. Go out there now! Or really soon. It’s worth the energy. Walk in beauty. It will save your soul.

Rambling along spring green roads like the Bohemian Highway and Joy Road, (oh, dear God, so green!), I stopped at an antique store and bought a floppy black hat for $10. I’ll wear it to church next Sunday. It will collapse easily in a suitcase and will get to go on the next trip to Paris. And it will always remind me of this precious weekend near the end of this year of healing. Only a faint trace remains of the vertigo; the shoulder and toe joints are slowly healing. My spirit soars from a deeper, anchored place. Thanks be to God!