Alumapalooza 2011
The benefits of arriving a day early at a rally is to see the evolving and birthing of the event. However, Alumapalooza isn’t just any Airstream gathering. I can personally attest to this statement with this being our 2nd year of attendance here in Jackson Center. There is a magic behind the flurry of Alumapalooza: 5 glorious days where a sea of shiny aluminum aerodynamically designed trailers fill a 40 acre field at the birthplace of the Airstream trailer (a tiny town in the centre of big-hearted Ohio) and where the meeting of said owners (aka like-minded soul’s with a passion for living more, seeing more, doing more) connect for mini-adventurers of the spirit and heart.
Alumapalooza 2011 would be the first time for my husband slaDE and I to be featured guest presenters beyond a karma workshop (ever, anywhere!). In fact we have our own yoga tent. How beautiful and spontaneously open is that? Last year, when we offered a Healthy Living seminar to include a section of yoga to the attendees, the participation was welcome by all who came (maybe an audience of 15 people), and from that success and interest, a second yoga class was offered (about 20 people showed up with mats and towels in hand), curious about trying something a little different. Rich saw the lure in the yoga possibilities, and from that emerged this years program, worthy of our recognition as a yoga entity and presence. We had a dedicated 30 x 30 foot yoga tent. How truly exciting!
Uprooting ourselves from the Terra Port, we made our way to the field of dreams, the home where 180+ Airstreams were to be parked for the week. Luckily, the previous few weeks of incessant rain had come to a blazing halt, leaving relatively dry ground for our heavy trailers to stand fort. At the aluminum gates to the this field of current emptiness, we were welcomed with a glorious ‘Welcome Home’ by our Silver Family friends Lou & Larry Woodruff (the volunteer aficionados of Alumapalooza 2011). Initially Rich had planned for our parking spot to be beside the yoga tent, overlooking our domicile for the week. But we had worthy friends fill the empty slot, creating a virtuous space where we breathed life with vital beautiful energy, sharing in the beginnings of a wonderful friendship.
Still groggy from the lack of sleep, the day was a blur as we settled in to the nomadic routine we’ve set up for establishing a base camp. We ventured as far as a grocery shop for the week ahead, but other than that, we kept to ourselves, preparing for the potential and possibilities of outdoor yoga. It was a peaceful, quiet and glorious time before the yoga storm!
