"Costanoa, The Holy Grounds"

January 20, 2013

Located on the central California coastline about 25 miles north of Santa Cruz,

This place gets its name from the Spanish word for, “People of the coast.”

Story and Photographs By:

Ned Opdyke

nedopdyke@gmail.com

                                            _____________________________________

I’ve already decided on my next story, which will be a book report of sorts.  I’ve always admired the Native American Indians.  Their philosophy of life… their spiritual beliefs… and their admiration, respect, and love for the land that they live on and depend on, not only for their physical survival, but also for the nourishment and the evolution of their spirits.

I met Sharon in our room at The Lodge on Friday evening, just as the sun was setting  (see picture on front cover).  She had driven down from San Francisco, leaving from work about an hour before I did the same thing from the opposite direction in Santa Cruz.  I got there about five minutes after she did, and was excited that our timing was so good.  She was sad that she didn’t have enough time to set up the room the way she wanted it.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this was going to be the first of several situations that arose that weekend, that showed us that as similar and connected as we are most of the time, we are also very different.

Not in a bad way, not at all.  Just different in certain ways that we instinctively feel and react.  More about that as the story evolves.  First a picture of some of the supplies that we both brought with us, without any planning or discussion; four different types of cheeses, crackers, bread, chips, muffins, nuts, salami, hot cocoa, peppermint schnapps, three bottles of wine, three bottles of champagne, and fresh lavender.  To list a few of the items we thought would help sustain us during our weekend visit to a place neither of us had had the pleasure of spending time at before.

I’d stopped here a couple of times to stretch my legs a bit when I was riding my motorcycle through the area, but I’d never stayed more than a few minutes.  I’d never had the chance to really expose myself to the ‘energy’ of this place like I did this time.

After a delicious dinner at The Cascade Room just a few hundred feet away, we returned to our room and settled in.   Right away I noticed it was missing something.  I looked carefully around the room and realized that there wasn’t a television set anywhere!  Normally, my re-action would have been to panic, but my mood was already becoming altered and instead, I relished the opportunity to spend some quality time with my wife.

The evening was lovely and so was my wife.  For any of you who have not had the privilege to meet her yet… please make the attempt.  She is an amazing woman of many talents and abilities, not the least of which is that she has been able to corral this stallion and make him happier than he’s ever been before in his life.

At some point during our conversation that evening, I made a comment about how this place reminded me of The Ventana Inn in Big Sur, about 100 miles or so to the south.  I mentioned to her that the Native American Indians (The Ohlone Tribe) had worshipped that area, and had considered it to be Holy Ground.  I told her that I had the same kind of ‘calming yet energetic’ feeling here, that I’d had when I’d visited that place for the first time.  I remember walking around with a puzzled look on my face, until I’d finally gotten the chance to ask one of the staff about it.  It was a feeling that is difficult to describe, but that’s the reason I decided to write this story, so settle in and be prepared to read my feeble attempts.

I slept like a baby, and woke up with a silly smile on my face that still hasn’t really gone away.  It was only 4:30am, so I turned over and cuddled up to Sharon and let out my form of a purr, (which is really more of a soft growling noise than a purr) as she squiggled back into me and asked me what time it was.  I told her it was still early, and to go back to sleep.  That was the last I heard from her for almost four hours.

I read for about an hour from the book Sharon found for me in her personal library called, “The Celestine Prophecy.”  It’s about an ancient manuscript that was discovered recently in Peru, which outlines and describes eight “insights”… the stages of the human races’ evolution towards its attainment of ultimate enlightenment… the true meaning of life… of why we are here.  I’m currently reading about the fourth insight, and am completely captivated.

The sun was starting to peek over the coastal range outside our window, so I took this picture from our balcony… quietly whispered to Sharon that I would be right back… and high tailed it down to the hot tub with a small pot of coffee, a cup, and the book tucked under my arm.

Kansas and Myra were working the front desk, and I stopped and chatted with them for a short while.  I mentioned to them that I was having a strange sensation of contentment, fulfillment, and a calming and soothing feeling.  I don’t think I mentioned the ‘hyper-ness’ aspect of the energy I was having.  This whole thing is still a little confusing to me, and makes me feel a little awkward for some reason.

Kansas told me that she and her husband had recently moved to this area, and had noticed the similar sensations.  Her theory is that the ‘energy from the earth’ is more noticeable because of the lack of electromagnetic waves.  No televisions, no microwaves, not much of anything to speak of, as far as the western civilization’s so called advancements in this area.

 

            

      The sunrise from the hot tub.

         Kansas on the left, Myra on the right. 

When I was just finishing my coffee and thinking about heading back to the room, Sage showed up for her morning hot tub.  She said she’d ‘taken a spill’ the day before and was sore from the hard landing she took on her tail-bone.

For some reason it seemed appropriate, so I tactfully and respectfully asked her if she would like me to give her a back massage.  She consented without any hesitation, and told me after I finished about five minutes later, that I had helped her tremendously, and that she knew her day was going to be better because of my sincere and innocent desire to help her.

While I was massaging her shoulders and neck, she had told me that she was there with a group of her clients for one of her seminars that her company does.  She ‘coaches’ women who are interested in creating their own businesses.  If you’re interested, you can find her at: www.sagelavine.com/.

I ended my short massage with a technique that my mom taught me when I was in high school.  While she would massage my face, she would tell me to visualize what was going to happen that evening at the basketball game.  She’d tell me to see myself dribbling the ball, passing, shooting, running, jumping, etc., as if I was really there… all the time as she was rubbing my face.

While I was rubbing Sage’s face, she was telling me that she was visualizing her day with her group of women.  That’s when she told me how much she appreciated meeting me, and that she felt we were ‘kindred spirits’ of a sort. 

As I was drying off, I mentioned the book I was reading and she smiled and said, “I’ve read it twice.”  I just love the way The Universe works.  If I’d left only one minute earlier, we would have never met.

On my way back to the room, I was about ready to jump out of my skin with this strange, calm, peaceful excitement that I’m going to keep trying to describe to you.  I wanted to share my experience with Sharon, hoping that she would feel the same sort of sensations and we could spend the day (almost literally) on cloud nine together.  When I got to the room…

… she was still sound asleep.  She’s told me that she much prefers to wake up on her own and not be woken.  I knew from past experience that if I very gently bounced on the bed and softly panted into her ear like a puppy, she would smile and kiss me… but instead I decided to let her sleep as long as she wanted.  I ate some cheese and bread and made myself a snuggler.  That’s what the hot cocoa and peppermint schnapps was there for after all.

My next big decision was going to be what to wear down to the restaurant for breakfast.  Was it going to be no sleeves, short sleeves, or long sleeves?

By the time Sharon woke up, it was already getting warm outside, but there was still a little nip in the air, so I went for the short sleeves.

I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about some of the differences in our personalities.  Sharon isn’t a fan of tie-dye and I am.  There.  I said it.  It’s on the table, and everyone knows.  That, my dear friends, is one of the biggest and most important differences between us.

Not really, but it did make you smile didn’t it?    

Here’s about as serious as I can get about our differences (because there really aren’t that many of them, and none of them are important enough to make any difference anyway).

Sharon came up with this analogy, and she calls it the “Dog vs. Cat Energy.”  I’m a tail wagging, rampant, bounding dog, running around almost out of control sniffing everyone’s butt; while she deals with life on her own terms in an aloof manner, with a quiet questful curiosity.

Ned-Dog and Sharon-Cat having breakfast on Saturday morning. 

Jose y Elizabeth were our own personal wait staff.  They were very young, very beautiful, and very polite, poised, and… wait a second… they were Mexican!  No wonder they were so nice.

After breakfast, we strolled over to the general store and browsed their wares.  BROWSED THEIR WARES…???... Who the heck is writing this story anyway?  “Thor” would NEVER say, “Browsed” or, “Wares.”  Well… at least Honey (my motorcycle) isn’t in this story.  She just wouldn’t understand this gentle, reserved, conservative side of me.

                                                 - - - -  insert dramatic pause here  - - - - -

 

HA!  That side of me didn’t last very long did it?!  Here I was right after breakfast, hamming it up with Cynthia the clerk at the store.  Sharon found a book with my name written all over it.  It’s  “The Encyclopedia of Immaturity.”  I think I almost gave Sharon a heart attack when I told her I was going to buy her these hanging baskets and everything that was in them.

 

                                        

Cynthia:  “He’s silly.   Me:  Nuh uh, she’s sillier!”              Smores ‘til the cows come home.

After lounging in our room for a while, we head out for our big adventure of the day.  Sharon and I both have bad knees, and neither of us can walk very far or very fast.  The oldsters hobbled about a mile up a slight incline, and had a picnic, sitting next to some pompous grass.

Yes dear, I know… it’s pampas grass, but I like my way better.  Now hand me my crown and sit subserviently there at my feet like a good little wifey.

The view from our butts was royal, and our mood was rich with love and gratitude.

Ok, now I’m back.  This is not our kingdom; we are only guests here.

As we started back down the hill to our Camelot, we stopped a few times and exchanged tender and loving embraces.  Gazing lovingly and romantically into each other’s eyes.

 

                                     

Obviously, Sharon’s idea of making a funny face is much different than mine.  Jeesh, another difference to add to the very seriously mounting list of things to complain about.

             

                  

                                 

             God I love this woman.                                                  God I love this planet.

              (View from my heart)                                                (View from our balcony)

After more lounging in our room, post hike… we once again hobbled over to The Cascade Room for another very adequate dinner and a much more than adequate view of the sunset.

Just another shitty day in paradise.

Sunday morning arrived, and I had now officially made it 56 times around our sun.  The day began for me the same way the previous one started and ended… with the same sort of positive, happy, joyful, silly, conscious, appreciating feeling that I felt ever since the first couple hours of arriving.

Sage and her gals even posed for me outside our room, to exemplify this energy that seemed to be affecting everyone we saw here the whole weekend.  Everyone was walking around with very happy, almost goofy smiles on their faces.  Well, everyone except Sharon.  For some reason, she was reacting to the energy at this place much differently than the rest of us.

My guess is that she reacted to the energy at a different level than I did, and it manifested itself as uncertainty and/ or discomfort.  I really have no fucking idea.  I can’t even figure out how to explain the feelings that I was experiencing, let alone have any idea what she might’ve been feeling.  Maybe she’ll write her own story about it someday.  I hope I hope I hope.

If any of you are interested, she does write, and does it very well.  You can find her musings at:  www.candyonthecouch.com/.

Sage and the women she was helping to empower.

Sharon decided to stay in bed, while I went down for my birthday breakfast.  Please don’t feel any sadness or distress about this.  Sharon and I are very comfortable and secure; with ourselves, and with each other.  Like I’ve been trying to explain (probably with too much jest), the differences between Sharon and I are like opportunities for us.  They allow us to delve into self-retrospection as well as trust-and-honesty bonding exercises.  The more we open up to each other, and share things that are uncomfortable… the more love we feel and have for each other.

So… back to my birthday breakfast!

  

            

                  

             

                               Round 1                             and                             Round 2

Sharon came down as I was finishing, and we sat by the fireplace while she ate hers.  Dry whole-wheat toast, and granola with skim milk.  Not really, but it was a lot less food than what I ate, that’s for sure.

We spent a few more moments soaking up the sun on our balcony, and then took a short drive to Pigeon Point Lighthouse, and soaked up more sun and some ocean air.  What a life we have.  

              

 

                                       Thank you so much Sharon, for the best birthday ever.

Love is Life.

The End

Epilogue:

I know this is a strange way to end this story, but it’s important, and I couldn’t seem to fit it in.  On Sunday morning, as we were laying in bed before I went to breakfast, I did something I haven’t done in a long time.  I took a pencil to paper.  Usually… I write at the keyboard, but since I didn’t bring my laptop, I made some hand notes.  Here they are exactly as I wrote them:

Q:  Why am I afraid of developing my spiritual side?

My goal is to reach thru the veil, then step into the next realm of happiness.

Most of us want to find Nirvana, so why am I afraid?  Afraid of Joy?  That’s ridiculous!

So, after deciding not to be afraid… the next steps are nothing more than repeating that step.
One step at a time; one level of happiness and joy after another.

So, eventually the time will come that I will reach the Pinnacle of my journey.
Side note:  Is that really possible while your body is alive?  A:  No.  Or at least that’s where I am now.

At the Pinnacle is my real fear.
Thinking about my soul, my existence vaporizing into infinity... is terrifying.

Therefor:  This is my journey.  To become aware of the reason I am afraid.

To stop being afraid of finding out why I am afraid.