The longest night of the year...

I just woke up and stumbled to my computer to prepare for the rest of my life. Today is a day of preparation. I believe that if something is truly important, it's worthy of preparation. Any journey, through either outside or inner landscape, will benefit from the effort.

That's how I view the Winter Solstice every year. It's both the shortest day and the longest night. It's the perfect time to pray FORWARD, to appreciate my blessings, lessons and challenges of the past that have made me stronger and, at times, raked me to my core.

So, the whole day is mine to prepare. Tonight and tomorrow Winter Solstice arrives. The fire is hot and crackling in the wood stove. My dog, Belle, is ready (as always) to lay quietly beside me in meditative support....

My first prayers for the morning...

Let Us Know Peace

Let us know peace.
For as long as the moon shall rise,
For as long as the rivers shall flow,
For as long as the sun will shine,
For as long as the grass shall grow,
Let us know peace.

O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you, to your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth.
(Ancient Native American Prayers for the Solstice.)

~Julia's Wisdom ~

"A day at a time, a page at a time, we wipe clear our vision of the world. We see what obstacles impede us, what roads are open to us. We become more alert to the shortcuts, switchbacks, and dangers of the trail. In short, we become present to our lives, at once more alive in guiding them and more receptive to signposts that indicate alternate routes. We become explorers rather than mere tourists."...

"By moving my hand across the page, I move the hand of the universe across my life."

On the Road with my Girls...

I just returned from visiting my two oldest daughters, Anna Rose and Lacey. Both live in the Bay Area. I had an incredible time with both girls, but doing completely different things.

I treated Lacey to a professional productivity conference - Getting Things Done - at the Intercontinental Hotel. We then spent time touring around San Francisco and spent quality relaxation time at Kabuki Springs & Spa. I introduced her to a college acquaintance of mine from Humboldt State University. We shopped, ate insane amounts of incredible sushi at Sushi Rock, and Thai at Osha Thai and thoroughly enjoyed each other.

Anna Rose and her husband, Chris, are adopting a child from Ethiopia and so, I wanted to travel someplace special with Anna before the baby arrived. We decided to go to Cabo San Lucas on Baja. We'd originally discussed the Yucatan, but Anna suggested the Pacific side because of numerous hurricanes threatening the Eastern (Caribbean side) of Mexico. As it turned out Hurricane Norbert hit Baja the day after we left. Ah, well...

Anna and I stayed at an all inclusive resort - Melia Cabo Real. It was lovely. But, I discovered something disconcerting about myself... I'm horrible at relaxation and could only handle about 2 1/2 days of it. What a humbling experience. I also felt uneasy having so many people wait on me with such....hmmm...humble intensity. It also felt freaky getting up from a meal without paying a bill...so freakish, in fact, that I tended to over tip, which offset the freaky feeling and made me feel better.

I very much appreciated traveling with Anna in Mexico. But next time I go back I'll likely take a more independent traveler route.

So...You Want to be a Mermaid!

Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a Mermaid. I never told anyone. I didn't HAVE to tell anyone about my dreams to make them vivid. That's sort of the thing with dreams...when you "tell" them there is the danger of losing the magic of it all.

So, I didn't tell anyone I wanted to be a Mermaid. Just like I never told anyone that I wanted to be a Jet Pilot, a Wilderness Explorer, a Merchant Marine, a Sailor, a Private Detective, a Medicine Woman/Tribal Cheif(tess). This would be a more powerful version of the Indian Princess many of my friends probably wanted to be. Nope. Never told anyone. And I've found that all of these things have woven their way into my life in one form or another.

A few months ago I found Weeki Wachee - the home of the Mermaids. At first I thought - "No way!" But, yessiree. While I wove aspects of Mermaid metaphorically into my life, these awesome women showed us metaphor only goes so far.

Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

I watched these ladies in action and it occured to me what a powerful message they send out into the world. Live your passion, even if it may not make sense to anyone around you.

Yea, Weeki Wachee can (and has) been discounted as old and kitchy. But there's something profoundly magical and powerful about thumbing your nose at "contemporary" and "politically palatable," and being sexy and frolicking (and getting a paycheck) while you're at it.

The Mermaids at Weeki Wachee send the message that your passions can materialize into a successful endeavor. And young girls can benefit from that message in today's harsh world as they are encouraged to fill roles and shoes of others simply because those roles and shoes happen to be vacant.

I don't think that's a good enough reason to live someone else's dream for you as your own, even if it seems more logical that the budding dream growing inside your own heart. Dreams need to be protected and nurtured until they have time to step into the light. They can be pretty unrecognizeable until they move beyond the fetal stage. But that's when they need to most protection.

So, to all of you girls who want to be a Mermaid, there REALLY IS a place for you!

Jiri - Blue Morpho Journals

This is my friend Jiri. I met him and many other incredible people at Blue Morpho in Iquitos, Peru during my travels there November 2007.

Many of my friends and family have asked me to describe my experience at Blue Morpho. We worked with Shamans in Ayahuasca ceremony. Each of us had different reasons for being there and undoubtedly we had very different experiences. What we did have in common was the Mesa within which we learned. The Mesa is - to the best of my ability to describe it - is a spiritual arena which is controlled and protected by the Shamans and Apprentices overseeing the ceremony.

Jiri shared the Mesa with me in Peru. He also has captured the experience very well in his journal, though I have no idea how he could even pick up a pen during some of those times.

So, I would like to thank Jiri for his thorough description of the Blue Morpho experience. I encourage anyone who is wondering what it is like to visit Blue Morpho and to navigate an Ayahuasa ceremony (and emerge on the other side) to visit Jiri's JOURNAL. He also took some beautiful PHOTOS. Jiri has multiple Blue Morpho image collections there. Explore them all!

Excellent work, Jiri.

Thank you, my friend...

Angels in the Amazon...

I've just finished editing Part I of Angels in the Amazon. It was my hope to relay my experience rather than just create a dull "slide show" of non-descript vacation pictures. So, here it...an initial attempt at videography...

Each segment will be uploaded to YouTube and be available as a streaming video from there. I also have each segment on DVD. If you're interested, just ask me for a copy.

Shooting video and photos on the Rogue...

Emily and I took to the hills with some very special ladies to enjoy our very wet spring. Here's the video we created (View video here...) - Spring on the Rogue. We took the raw footage, and still images and used Microsoft Movie Maker to create a video.

Lots of Shoes...

Of all the things I pack for my travels, I give the most thought to my shoes. Why? Because you have to by picky. You have to be prepared for the terrain but you also don't want to be dragged down by the weight of too many shoes.

These are my first pair of Danskos my daughter, Anna, gave to me as a gift. I'm so happy my daughters have more style sense than I do!

Definite packers: Chacos, Danskos & flip flops

Definite "Maybes": Running shoes

Occasionally: Hiking boots, flippers for snorkeling

Forrest Gump ~ Momma's Wisdom about shoes. (Listen)

The Empire Builder

Emily and I are going on an adventure. We're planning a cross country trip on Amtrak's Empire Builder from Portland, Oregon to Chicago, Illinois.

Em and I have traveled quite extensively in the west (California & Oregon) on short trips to visit Ken when he was working for Columbia Helicopter and before we got married and settled down in Southern Oregon. These short trips ranged from fun to miserable, depending on how full the train was, the people we were sitting near and how closely the train ran on schedule. On these shorter trips we always traveled in the seated cars, and never rented a sleeper.

We're renting a sleeper roomette on both legs for our Chicago trip. Yea!

Here's our route on the Empire Builder:

Portland, OR (PDX)

Vancouver, WA (VAN)

Pasco, WA (PSC)

Spokane, WA (SPK)

Whitefish, MT (WFH)

Shelby, MT (SBY)

Havre, MT (HAV)

Williston, ND (WTN)

Minot, ND (MOT)

Grand Forks, ND (GFK)

Fargo, ND (FAR)

St. Paul / Minneapolis, MN (MSP)

Winona, MN (WIN)

La Crosse, WI (LSE)

Columbus, WI (CBS)

Milwaukee, WI (MKE)

Chicago, IL Union Station (CHI) I'm taking my laptop and digital camera (of course) and will provide updates once we get to Chicago and then when we return to Oregon. Unfortunately, there's no internet on the train. However! I may be able to use my Blackberry to grab some airtime enroute. I'll have to check that out! I have decided that - since technology is here - I might as well use it to give myself as much geographical freedom as possible. So, I consider this one big experiment in creative communication. Exactly how far away from home can I get and STILL communicate and do "business" effectively? We'll see...

Today...I work...

Today, or actually this weekend, I've committed to trying to wrap up a Small Business Management curriculum project I've been working on since accepting a job with Rogue Community College. I was hired to teach the RCC SBM program in Josephine County Oregon, a rural, economically distressed community in Southern Oregon. Entrepreneurship is the juice that keeps a community alive, especially in times of economical and social transition.

Once I complete this curriculum project, I can turn my attention to other things...But for today, it's work, work, work...and then I can play, play, play...

Just ASK FOR DIRECTIONS!

When you need help just ASK for it! (Listen)

Blue Morpho...or...Angels in the Amazon

I've always wondered if I'd ever actually see an angel. Now I have. And it's nothing like I'd imagined, or like the descriptions in the Bible. Maybe that's because those were other people's descriptions. And if I learned anything in Peru, we all have our own reality to live, to bear, to joy in, or to suffer through. I also learned that whatever the case, we don't have to do it alone.

I traveled to Iquitos, Peru in November 2007. Here is that story...

Success! Coco finds a home...

After delivering Coco to the World Parrot Refuge and touring their 10,000 sq. ft. facility (flight rooms, bird hospital (where the "special birds" live) and gift shop, Lacey and I said good bye to Wendy and the crew and drove back to Victoria. After a really nice seafood lunch we loaded our car back onto the ferry and headed back to the states. I was - to say the least - exceedingly pleased to be leaving Coco in another country.

Still, I have to admit that I was touched by the incredible empathy and gentleness that the World Parrot Refuge crew took with the hundreds of birds there. I plan to write a feature piece on the facility to highlight some of the really important issues Wendy explained to me regarding the exotic bird trade. Most of the birds find their way to Wendy's care after their owners lose interest or the birds grow so aggressive or annoying that no one wants them or their mess anymore. The lucky ones end up with Wendy and her crew. The unlucky ones get passed around from home to home, and many die from poor care and undernourishment. Worse still, there are the VERY unfortunate birds who get snapped up by unscrupulous commercial breeders. These birds basically get bred to death, and most eventually die from pure exhaustion and poor health.

That wasn't going to happen to Coco. As we left one of Wendy's assistants had rolled over a cage next to Coco with another huge blue and gold macaw. Coco and her new friend would soon form the beginning of a new macaw flock.

Coco Hates Me

This is Coco, my step father's blue and gold Macaw. Coco has never been very fond of me, especially when I was drawing Jim's attention away from her. Jim and Coco were bonded for over 2 decades, so when he died last summer Coco became a real problem. Though my mother could handle her (with difficulty) Coco was dangerous and injured my mother's arm during one of the periods she was out of her cage (Coco, not my mother).

I'd promised Jim that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to Coco, even though there was no love loss between us. My word means a lot to me. So, after mom's serious injury from Coco I tried to find a humane home for her (Coco, not my mother). The problem was, though I didn't want anything to happen to Coco, I also didn't want to put her in a situation where she might hurt someone else not accustomed to dealing with such an aggressive bird. And so began my search for a home for Coco...

That search took my mother, my daughter Lacey and I on a cross country road trip to Coombs, British Columbia to the World Parrot Refuge. This place is AMAZING! However, getting there was quite a trek - literally. We drove to Seattle from Grants Pass, Oregon by way of Puyallup, Washington, where we stayed with our life-long friend, Art Walker. We left mom there while Lacey and I went the rest of the way up into British Columbia to "deliver our load."

Before we could take Coco across the Canadian border, she had to have a thorough check up by a vet. She liked me even less after this experience. The vet awarded our cranky bird with a clean bill of health and a "ticket" to cross an international border.

Where is Shari today?

Well, today, on the birth day of my Travel blog, I'm sitting in front of my computer. Dull, but necessary.