On the hour’s ride, when I was willing to unclutch the steering wheel long enough to wave at an occasional wild turkey, pheasant or deer (I was disappointed we didn’t see any of the Black Bears who sometimes show up on the tour) or look out over the magnificent countryside, I was reminded once again to take it easy on the turns. Though not for the faint of heart or heavy of foot as we bounced over rocks, dipped into ruts, careened around hairpin turns and stormed through muddy ravines, the adrenaline surge was thrilling. I had to keep reminding myself to relax my body, none of whose internal organs were where they started out before the ride. Okay, so yes, a tad nerve-wracking – but oh so much fun!

Even once I was in a real car on a real road, the driving still felt treacherous. Windy, hilly, curvy roads surveying mammoth, stunning overlooks cover the 12,000-acre campus – Primland is just shy of the size of Bermuda – and the shuttle drivers carry Dramamine with them to assuage those prone to motion sickness. Not your usual hotel amenity. And a lot of driving is involved. Once you arrive at Primland, you haven’t actually arrived. It’s six miles from the North Gate to the Lodge; another 7 miles to the South Gate. Shuttles to the different activities felt like activities in themselves.

So it was not surprising to be happily on our own two feet again when hiking with naturalist Tim, who enhanced our walk over varied terrain with knowledgeable explanations of flora and fauna and an even more interesting worldview.

And then it was time for archery, of course. And air rifle shooting. And tomahawk throwing. Doesn’t every hotel have that? Channeling my inner Native American, I raised my bow and arrow and shot at the target, choosing to spare the ersatz bear, wolf and wild turkey statuettes who all seemed like less appealing options. Turns out I was a natural, hitting the target every time. Not so much with the air rifle. Seems I’d make a much better Indian than Cowboy! Although admittedly, my tomahawk throwing was a little rusty. To assuage my diminishing self-esteem, I reverted back to my trusty bow and arrow.

And the list of things we didn’t do is longer than those we did.  Fly fishing, clay shooting, disc golf, horseback riding, hunting, watersports, outdoor fitness track, and oh yes, of course golf and tennis.

But still, I felt I had definitely earned my Signature Massage at the spa, continuing the Native American experience which is more than just a theme, it’s a philosophy. Artifacts from the local Saura tribe abound and are considered sacred. In the signature massage, tribal elements of fire, water, air and earth are incorporated through hot stones, oils, scents and touch. And afterwards, you come full circle by sipping tea from the Native American Tea Company.

Prior to the massage, I was taken to a “relaxation space,” past hallways all decked out in shades of turquoise and brown – the color representing a “drop of heaven” and the stones, anti-aging. I was already well-relaxed before I even got to the Relaxation Room, where a wide span of windows looking out over the countryside, reinforced the sense of ennui. At this point, I didn’t even need the massage.

But that was before I met my spirit animal. Heather, my masseuse, led me into the massage room where, of course, there were animal feathers to clear the energetic pathways around me. I was told to ask myself a question I was seeking an answer to and to pick a card that spoke to me from the eight laying face down in front of me. Cynic that I am, I had no question and heard no card. The one I picked was the rabbit which apparently represented an internalized fear I needed to let go of. I didn’t relate at all – I didn’t like being a rabbit – but somehow felt the need to apologize that my rejection was nothing personal. I asked about the other cards – eagle, deer, wolf, skunk, turkey, squirrel, raccoon, each representing some personal exploration. Skunk? Turkey? Squirrel? The rabbit was beginning not to look so bad. We both thoroughly enjoyed our massage.

That night we went to the observatory for some star-gazing, of course. Foggy as it had been driving in, the sky overhead was crystal-clear, with a very sophisticated telescope projecting the stars onto a video in front of us. The full moon provided even more clarity. All of Primland emphasizes a return to nature and you can’t get much closer than this. We were surrounded by stars, planets, constellations, galaxies – including the Orion Nebula, a star-forming nebula approximately 1300 light years from Earth, the Pleiades Open Star Cluster (also known as the “Seven Sisters”) and the show-stopping Andromeda Galaxy (the closest and largest galaxy to the Milky Way roughly 2.5 million light years away). We saw over 1000 stars on the screen, including the mere 150 that the naked eye can see. So much that was impossible to fathom – in 4-6 billion years, the Milky Way may collide with Andromeda. Not to worry.

To mention once again that this is not your usual hotel amenity seems ridiculously redundant. For more information, visit the Primland site.

The post Virginia’s Primland Resort: Where the Out-of-the-Ordinary Happens Everyday appeared first on Traveling Archive.

I’m sharing a touching video (see below) about a little girl who sees for the first time. It reminded me of the Gospel passage of Jesus healing a blind man (John 9) which I studied recently. If you don’t want to hear heavy stuff move on the joke section. I just have to get this off my chest.

We’ve all experienced a desire for things seemingly unattainable: a brand new home, a car, hi-tech toys, the latest fashion assortment, etc. … and they need not just be material things. They could be relationships: a loving family, a Prince Charming, a best friend, etc. For the blind man, it was a humble request to function just like everybody else.

Imagine what it was like to wake up everyday in darkness. To not even know how your food looks. To not be able to run free. To rely on sound and smell, taste and touch because those were your only tools.

Then one day, a stranger opens your eyes and you see light for the first time. You see your hands — “so that’s what they look like.” You see art and writing on flat paper. You see colors — “so that’s red blood, green grass and brown dirt. (“I can’t believe nobody told me my blue shoes don’t match my green robe — just kidding!“)

But before you have time to discover more things, you see angry, disbelieving faces, talking loudly at you because somehow you are finally like everybody else. Who invited you to their club? They ask you questions but you have no answer. They insist you fit into their limited realities and dismiss the preponderous possibility of a miracle. You suggest an answer they refuse to consider.

“You were born completely in sin! How is it that you dare to teach us?” Then they expelled him.
— John 9: 34

Many of us, even those in high scholarly places, carry wrong (deeply ingrained) assumptions that lead to the inability to realize we could be wrong thus depriving us of ever finding the truth.

Jesus said, “I have come into the world to exercise judgment so that those who don’t see can see and those who see will become blind.”

Some Pharisees who were with him heard what he said and asked, “Surely we aren’t blind, are we?“

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t have any sin, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
— John 9: 39-41

Did you get that? Jesus challenged them to dig into their assumptions and if they insist that they didn’t need to be taught, then yeah — “they’re blind indeed!”

Let’s ask ourselves: Are we blind to our assumptions? Do we refuse to listen because ideas do not fit our reality? Are we noisy parrots that have little original thought? Are we blind?

Since birth, the blind man was in the minority of a population that could see the physical world. After he gained his sight, he experienced an unexpected paradigm shift because he was again in the minority in a world that was spiritually blind.

TGIF people!

Southern Talk

Contributed by Naomi of N Hollywood, CA

North Carolina
A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road,
and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it.Then he got back in the car to wait.

A passerby studied the scene as he drove by, and was so curious he turned around and went back. He asked the fellow what the problem was.

The man replied, “I got a flat tahr.”
The passerby asked, “But what’s with the flowers?”
The man responded, “When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it neither.”

Tennessee
A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65.
The trooper asked, “Got any ID?”

The driver replied, “Bout whut?”

Texas
The Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up
into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, “Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don’t you see that sign right over your head?”

“Yep,” he replied. “That’s why I’m dumpin’ it here, ‘cause it says:
‘Fine For Dumping Garbage.’”

Y’all kin say whut y’all want ‘about the South, but y’all never heard o’ nobody retirin’ an’ movin’ North.  Have ya?

TGIF Videos

Girlfriend Massage vs. Wife Massage
Sent by Raffy of Manila

You can already guess which is the preferred massage.

Watch Video

Baby Sees For the First Time
Sent by Leo of Taipei, Taiwan

There are shorter videos that lead up to that amazing moment but the buildup is just as good. It’s a modern man-made-miracle.

Watch Video

Parting Shot

Thanks to Mel of Washington, D.C. who shared this photo

More exciting than Curling

The post Southern Talk appeared first on Traveling Archive.