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  Staying in any city can be an expensive venture, especially when the Airstream is parked and we’re looking for a place for a week or so to stay. One can only be billeted with friends for a short period before outstaying ones welcome. I never want to get to that stage. hence the need to find other options. We love to housesit, and couchsurfing is an interesting idea. But neither were options for our second week in San Francisco, especially on such short notice. This made the idea of a work exchange arrangement during our stay at the Integral Yoga Institute incredibly appealing and absolutely welcomed! Both of us are multi-talented hard workers (a very charming, handsome husband indeed helps as well), and any chance to save our money, utilize our skills and put our hard-earned / saved $$ towards anything other than accommodation is appealing and most desirable. Thus began our first day of work exchange. The list of things for us to do was generous and very much doable. However, the giant task of office organization took longer than expected and the whole afternoon was spent creating a functional space for the staff and volunteers of the house. It was such a fun productive day which ended in a magical Restorative Yoga class that made my heart sing and melted my body into quiet calm and happiness.
 The last day of our ‘Heart to Hand‘ workshop … a truly lovely weekend with some fabulous yogis of like mind and passion. Very much like our Yoga Teacher Training in that the pace was steady with so much relevant information, but it seemed a much more relaxed environment. Just a very different style. Kristie was a fabulous teacher; so authentic and with an incredible background in hands on therapy and energy healing work.
 After the workshop was an opportune learning session in itself. We spent a few hours flying fellow students, one of which happened to be a body worker. Learned some additional fabulous Thai massage techniques that are incredibly powerful.
We ended the afternoon exploring the local thrift and idiosyncratic stores (can you say ‘Good Vibrations‘?), enjoying the gorgeous weather and ambiance of the Mission area.
 Not only could the workshop be called ‘Heart to Hand’, another worthy name also descriptive of the opulence might be ‘Heavenly Food to Stomach’. I have died and gone to food heaven. Oh divine coconut sweet potato soup!!!! Two hours later and man, I’m still full from the creamy delights of 1 1/3 bowls! Probably didn’t help that I just had some yummy chocolate  .
Amazing building and room space, fabulous workshop … I especially enjoyed the blindfolded yoga class this morning. It was a very long day but oh so worth the experience. Meditation a go-go.Below is the description that encapsulates the weekend:
Kristie Dahlia Home, a senior Integral Yoga teacher, incorporates her knowledge of Thai Yoga Massage and Reiki to share the subtle power of using touch when teaching. Kristie addressed when to use and not to use touch as well as energetic exchange between teacher and student. Prerequisite: This program is open to Yoga teachers from any lineage.
  Yesterday we were blessed with a safe front-yard in Santa Cruz to park our Airstream! Yay, the freedom to explore Northern California without being encumbered by the possibilities of parking. I can’t tell you how much a relief that truly is, especially in getting around a big city. Travelling has taken on whole new meaning and insight, with finding space to safely park, flourish and live in our 35 foot trailer (which works out to be about 52 feet in total, with the Dodge attached).
This morning we broke camp early so that we could make our way north to the San Francisco Integral Yoga Institute. From the moment I stepped in to this gorgeous 1904 Victorian home, I knew that this was a place I wanted to be, partaking this weekend’s Yoga Teacher’s conference: “Heart to Hand – The Use of Touch in Teaching”. A home to establish ourselves for a little while.
  The drive up Highway 1 alongside the coast was absolutely scrumptious. So beautifully striking. A photographers dream, truly. We arrived earlier than expected and explored the Integral Yoga Institute in the Mission area of San Francisco. After a decadent yummy lunch after the noontime meditation, we went on an exploratory expedition of the area. The sun was shining, the temperature warm and the scenery fantastic. Oh the streets! They are crazy steep (I can’t imagine driving a manual car in this city). So much so, that many of them have steps instead of sidewalks. Today was about settling and easing in to a weekend of yoga. The evening session started us out with learning how to give a Thai massage. Yum. Hope slaDE~ and I exchange this skill often!
  T his was our last day camping at New Brighton National Park beach. The luxury of time is on our side, yet again blessed with a new day. A time for multiple barefoot explorations and ease I say! The Capitola Bluffs compel me like a needy lover, and I am mesmerized by the beauty and deliciousness of their grandeur. I explore, alone, with my camera at the ready, anxious to discover the treasures that await. Guaranteed. Rain clouds ominous on the horizon, rolling in like the waves which re-dress the beach with each playful kiss. The best kind of lover. Slow, fast, steady, roaring. Ever-wanting, ever-changing.
Like a pixie with delicate wings a kilter, I explore the thundering surf, unearthing the delights of the ocean with a digital click. Light dances, creatures scamper and dart, birds hover in the wind as the zephyr howls with bellowing delight. The rain dances here and there, reluctant to stake a claim until certain I am tucked away in my caravan. And then it releases in full force, grateful for the cathartic blast. My timing is implicit! A half day of glorious adventures on the beach. Seacliff Beach houses the Palo Alto, an incredible concrete ship superstructure, an iconic remnant of glamourous amusements of the past, now a marine sanctuary, broken in its watery tomb. Photos are impossible to capture the true essence of natures beauty, yet I yearn to encapsulate the moment when my mind forgets that all is perfect in the world, just as she is.
 And still the rain continues. We celebrate with a scrumptious dinner with our friend Pete, and share in drunken stories of glorious times of past and future travel, grounded in the present by the droning yet blanketing downpour.
 Waking to the distant sounds of the ocean was such a soothing and incredibly beautiful gift. Who knew that I could find such joy in the haven of my Airstream, conscious to the changing world outside, finding sanctity and harmony within. Don’t like the view? Change it! Manifest your destiny, dream big and redefine. And here we are. In probably one of the most beautiful places on earth. The California coastline …. natures exquisite beauty and tremendous power on full display.
Slowly, luxuriously, I savour the pace of our lives. Sometimes as sluggish as a snail in heat. At other times, so much to do, trying to fit it all in. Yet breathing through the beauty of our journey. What luxury to have this freedom. I AM alive. What a blessing. Everything else is a bonus, whether it be the sadness of endings, the excitement of new beginnings, the process of a moment where change is everything yet nothing. And my world stands still. I am still, within that frame of animation, with breathing beating heart, functioning vital emotions that display my humanity and fallible mortality. It all comes down to perception and the world as we know it. It’s all we have. Why not make the most of it whilst we inhabit this earth plane? No right way, no wrong path. Experience. One step forward, two breaths back.
 Amidst all the stillness, life plunges forward today, rushing by like the staggered traffic of Highway 1, and I choose to run some errands whilst enjoying the sunshine blessings of a Californian day. slaDE~ can’t understand why I am unable to sit still with this incredible gift outside our doorstep? In a moment of silence I question that myself, but momentum has me looking to fulfill the tasks of our daily ‘routine’ (however unconventional that may be), exploring the new territory yet comfortable familiarity of this, my once home (Monterey Bay). And he chooses to accompany me. It’s not always smooth and easy, living this path together, with differing viewpoints and haunting desires that pull us in different directions, at times, yet keep us side by side. Always a choice. I can be less heroic and detailed in my choices. But I stand by them. And I am none the lesser.
The day ends on a beautiful note, where redwoods glow with the setting sun, and crop circles in the sand shine with the light of an eternal sun that flickers with one last hurrah, and sets beneath the ocean’s surface, blissful in its choice to bless us with its gift of Mother Natures kiss.
  Alas, the time had come for us to return to our beloved home on wheels. So much to see and do. And trying to cram it all in was proving to be a joyful albeit somewhat tiring task. But never one to complain about the joys of our nomadic freedom, I was excited about the thought of seeing our friend ‘Uncle Pete’ in Santa Cruz. I’ve known Pete for about 11 years …. instant friends we were in the days of Monterey skydiving. Pete a fellow traveller with about 30 more years under his gypsy belt than I, has kept in touch over the years, not one to forget birthdays or anniversaries. Last summer Pete came to visit us in Calgary, touring on his motorbike and enjoying the open offer to a place for resting his travel weary head. This happened to fall around the time of Stampede. And what a tremendous fun time was had by all. Ever the karmic gentleman, Pete returned the offer if ever we were to find ourselves in the area.  Hence, the visit with our Airstream: a time to catch up and show off our spiffy shiny home (that always sounded like a pipe dream whenever we told our dream-driven story).  Always one with a plethora of connections, somehow Pete managed to score us two nights free of charge at the New Brighton Beach State Park campground, in one of the prime spectacular spots edging the golden cliffs. What a treat! A luxurious walk at sunset set the tone to three beautiful days savouring the Pacific Ocean at it’s finest. And with Pete to fill our evening with entertaining stories, our first night on the coast bordered heavenly perfection.
 Never in my wildest dreams did I think that my knee would be up to the adventures we were to embark upon today! I’m a walker. A strong and joyful walker who derives much pleasure from using my large angular feet to get me from Point A to Option B / C or D. I may be a klutz, but ever the cowgirl,  I dust myself off, and get back on the figurative horse (my feet in this instance). So the thought of taking a whirlwind jaunt around my beloved San Francisco left me excited and up for the challenge. So much to see and do! Where to start!?? The Embarcadero seemed as fabulous a place as any to launch from. And that we did, with several thoughts in mind of how our day would go. But as with all pipe dreams, the vision may be grander than one first surmises. And alas, the distance that we had hoped to cover by foot looked like an implausible task if we were to return to Oakland before midnight. Upon this realization, we stumbled upon a bicycle rental company called ‘Blazing Saddles‘. At first I was rather intimidated by the thought of peddling with a bum knee. I’ve once before blown out my knee on a cross-country bicycle touring trip (third day in …. arghhhhh!) and I didn’t want to experience the same tortuous pain whilst traipsing around the city. But having an open mind and a sense of adventure, slaDE~ and I test-drove a tandem bike. Much to my surprise, my knee was sufficiently happy if the bike seat was elevated to its max height. And therein began our 2 hour synchronized peddling expedition via the historic and picturesque water-front wharf, back and forth across the monumental Golden Gate Bridge, stopping to take the typical tourist snapshots of historic Alcatraz, squealing streetcars, pooping seagulls and bellowing sea lions. I love being a tourist, as long as I can get my fill of photography in to document the journey along the way. That’s my thing you know! Kinda like the blogging you’re reading at this very moment.
 My saddle blazed more than my knee did, in the end (pun intended  ), yet we still had a lot of distance to cover. Tonight would be our introduction to the Integral Yoga Institute environment in the Mission area of the city. And that meant embarking on a streetcar / Muni / BART trek across the city. Both slaDE~ and I are seriously impressed by the efficient transit system of this city …. it’s a commuter’s dream, albeit expensive. Such are the best things in life, or so it seems. I still hadn’t been convinced to partake in the Teachers’ Conference: Heart to Hand: The Use of Touch in Teaching Yoga. But the moment that I stepped in the building, I was mesmerized, and immediately all over the concept of staying for 5 days, on retreat and in a partial work exchange for our accommodation. To call the Institute a mansion might be stretching the truth a little, but, in reality, this 1906 monstrous character-filled edifice was gigantic and spacious and oh so beautiful. The thought of embarking on a journey of growth and learning amongst colleagues, whilst being fed yoga, spiritual connection, meditation and sumptuous organic heavenly meals, had me craving for the weekend to arrive. SOLD!
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