Set the frequency of your home to Sanctuary

December was all about spending time with family and that meant leaving our beloved RV and staying in various homes. It had been a few days shy of a month, since we lived in our home on wheels and as grateful as we were for that time with our loved ones, we really missed our own space with all of our familiar smells, feels and energy.

Speaking of homes.... we set out the next day for our first adventure in South Carolina. This part of our blog almost deserves to stand alone!

I would title it:

The car got us in.... and the car got us out!

We had googled things to do nearby and up popped a Frank Lloyd Wright Plantation only 14 miles away. That's all I needed to know, to be sure that this was how I wanted to spend my birthday. I am a huge fan of FLW's work and it was nearby, which was perfect since we had traveled the day before.

As I drove our White Mouse and Doug navigated me there, we approached the address and saw two trucks parked on the left side of the entrance. In order to not stop in the middle of the road, I slowly turned in and paused to the right of the trucks.

The first thing we saw was a FLW designed metal gate that was closed. I said to Doug, 'oh, we didn't check the details, maybe it's closed today, darn.' and as I was finishing this sentence, we noticed a group of guys working to the left side of the gate,

Without a word exchanged, almost as if someone said 'Abracadabra' the beautiful metal gate slowly opened and in we drove. We slowly proceeded along the red rock driveway or shall I say, road, for it was never ending and had offshoots in both directions. All along the way, our jaws gaped open at the understated grandeur of it all. The property drew us in and went on forever.

We wondered aloud where we were suppose to park, why there wasn't any signage and at what point do we get out and walk around. Meanwhile, there were horses to the right of us, just past the amazing garden sculptures. To the left it looked like the behind the scenes maintenance area, so we shrugged our shoulders and continued forward. I stopped and took a couple of pictures of the beautiful weeping willow trees, dripping with Spanish Moss.

I looked ahead and saw that there was only one way to go, straight forward, through the artsy arched entrance that will lead us into the portico. Still in first gear, as we crept along, we felt as though we were driving into the heart of the home.

I remarked, 'is this the way to go? It feels so intimate.' Doug said, 'maybe it's a self guided tour - let's keep going.' I thought back to our effortless entrance and replied 'yeah, let's keep going'.

We went past the house that blended into the landscape so wonderfully, as only FLW can pull off. There was a porch that stretched out on one wing of the house with rocking chairs lined up side by side. I could picture people rocking in the afternoon with their ice teas on a hot summer day.

Once past the house, we took a left which brought us past a lovely lake. Then, we came upon a distinguished looking man with a white beard holding a nice camera with an extended lens on it. Just beyond him, the road took a sharp left making it impossible to see any further.

Again, without exchanging any words, for we were both very surprised to see each other - actually he was possibly feeling more of a shock based on his expression, something comes hauling ass around the corner. The reason why we know this, is because the man that was in our line of sight was pumping his hand, palm facing down to the ground, vigorously as if to motion to the unseen car to slow down and stop. It turns out to be a G-class Mercedes Benz SUV. We are grateful he did this, as it's quite possible he averted an accident.

The man talked to the driver then walked in front of the shiny burnt orange vehicle and promptly jumped into the passenger seat. Then, the vehicle crept forward a bit, meanwhile, I had reversed ourselves into a little niche, in order to prepare to drive out the same way from which we came.

The driver shouted out, 'who are you?'. By now, my sunglasses are on top of my head and both hands are visible, I replied 'We are tourists' which prompted him to ask, 'where do you think you are?' with which my reply was 'at a tourist attraction'. If you know me at all, you know my gift of gab not only follows me, it usually precedes me. But I also know when it's time to give the facts mam, only the facts.

He in no uncertain terms let us know that we were trespassing on private property and needed to leave immediately. He said that he would escort us out. Yet he took off abruptly and by the time we went to follow, he must have had a change of plans and was nowhere in sight. We are guessing that he dropped the distinguished man off at the house, who ended up being Joel Silver a renown movie producer, before proceeding to the now infamous gate. We left without saying goodbye, per Doug's wise request.

I didn't learn about Joel until we came home and I surfed google, so I guess a chat on the spot would have been quite brief and contrite. It's too bad things didn't unfold differently, for we shared some topics of interest.

Turns out that Joel is an avid fan of FLW's work and it shows. Both of his residences, in Yemassee and Los Angeles, are FLW's works of art. He is working with Frank's grandson Eric, to restore them back to their original condition, along with a couple of Lincoln's that FLW owned as well. Ah, a fellow old car nut!

I also learned that Joel and two of his high school buddies invented ultimate frisbee that my childhood friend, Corinne excelled at in college back in the late 80's and later coached. When I asked her if she knew of him, she immediately said yes but had no idea that he went on to make his way in film.

We also shared at least one friendship, possibly more, for Hollywood is a small town.

My childhood friend Johnny, is in the same industry, so when he had wished me a happy birthday on social media we figured out that he'd been to this home several times. I didn't attempt to figure out who else knew him, from my handful of friends in the industry, for that would be weird.

This rare and serendipitous adventure made for a memorable birthday ! I later learned that our only other chance to see this remarkable property would only come up one weekend every two years, to the tune of $350! I guess it was my lucky day!

Our next outing, we ventured out to see not only a home, but an entire African Village! Oyotunji opened in 1970 and is a historical landmark in Seabrook, South Carolina. We had an amazing guided tour from one of the 22 residents that live there. This is the only African Village in the US and it was really fascinating to explore.

After our tour concluded we wandered over to the small outdoor market to shop for some treasures. We met a mom and her grown daughter who were hanging out there. They come up from Savannah to spend the day there and be with the people who live there. The lady who was running the market was wonderful as well. She was from the Florida Keys and was full of life.

Another day trip was to check out

Savannah and we fell in love. From

the river walk to the numerous squares throughout the downtown area, we

have nothing but love for this town.

The squares were our favorite part. They had mature trees that offered ample shade, which must be so nice

in the heat of summer. Statues and plaques throughout, teaching us of

the history that is in this town. We

had a nice chat with a man from Senegal about finding contentment and being love in the world. We bought

a rose quartz bracelet from him,

which was fitting, since it's the

stone of unconditional love.

Our next adventure was to Hilton Head to visit another home, of my dear childhood friend Pamela and her hubby Damian. This time they were expecting us! They had just moved there last year, we are so happy for them. They live in a beautiful setting where not only is their home a sanctuary, their entire neighborhood is!

Their backyard sits on a small body of water that is lined with trees on the far side. Too bad the alligators were hibernating, for it would be fun to have seen them. The entire area has bicycle paths just off from the road. There are numerous common areas that have eateries and shops, along with activities. We had a delightful lunch, walked up the neighboring lighthouse and checked out their garden amidst a community garden. It's always food for my soul to connect with friends whom we've shared a love for over the decades. She is very dear to me.

We've come to learn that finding a place to do yoga while camping can be a bit of a challenge. Most camp sights are made of dirt or gravel, making them muddy or rough. There is usually a common room in the campground, so we decided to try setting our mats up on the outer edge of their common room. It was better than nothing, but since it's a multiple use room, we had our work cut out with being in our zone and not getting distracted by all of the surrounding chit chat.

The other benefit of the common room and office is that we are able to receive a package there, if we time it right! We found a guy in Phoenix who sells LED light kits for 356's. It has been a little unnerving driving along the roads with our teeny, tiny, 6 volt lights and taillights amidst all of the modern cars and their drivers.

Doug was able to switch out the exterior lights and it has made a huge difference in both our actual safety and how it feels to be on the road. Plus it has expanded our range, for we feel safer about being out after dark, which afforded us a nighttime trek to go visit a wildcat rescue. (More about that in our next blog.) It was fun to be out at night and a new experience getting back to our RV in the dark.

I have come to understand that my home is my sanctuary, a place to relax into and recenter myself. As I journey along in life, what that means - grows and changes, as I do the same.

When I married my first husband at 22 years of age, I had a lot of audial and visual clutter in my life. Thankfully, he taught me about being mindful as to what I was putting into my soul. He would say, 'there are so many better things you could be doing with your time', in regards to daytime tv and being a gatherer of stuff. I get that more now than ever. Of course this is a generalization. There's a time and place for lazy days and bringing home more seashells, yet overall he was onto something and thankfully I listened.

During the 15 years I raised my girls as a single mom, I was keen to carry these lifestyle choices over - from our time living aboard our sailboat, onto land. We continued to only have one TV and we would wait until our day was done; school sports and clubs attended, homework finished, communing over dinner to hear about each other's days as a family sans electronics, before we sat down to enjoy a show together.

This is what we affectionately called our family hour. From 8-9pm, we would choose a show that we collectively wanted to watch. The one that is dearest to me was on Tuesday nights, Gilmore Girls. Fortunately someone told us about it early on and we were glued to the tv for the 6 of the 7 years it ran. Lorelai is my parenting hero and her life paralleled mine to an uncanny level.

Since Doug and I married, we really enjoy the peaceful energy in our home. We choose our audio input, including sitting in stillness at times. Something he's been a natural teacher of, purely by his example. He is the most content person I know who can truly just be.

I have learned a lot from Doug by seeing how he naturally accepts life as it ebbs and flows. His level of contentment is a gift for himself and those around him. I'm grateful to not only be privy to his inner workings, but to benefit from his mellow ways.

Thankfully, I had already learned how to minimize chaos and clutter, so when we met, I was able to see and support his naturally zen energy in our home instead of drowning it out.

How do we set the frequency of our homes? I believe it starts with our relationship with ourselves. We need to find our own inner peace. Whether that be from reading books, being guided by a therapist, working 12 steps, finding a spiritual community or practicing forgiveness in your own way, healing and finding self love that brings us peace, is an important element to our foundation.

How do we sustain a peaceful environment, day in and day out? This time of year more than ever, we hear about setting intentions. When I hear people talking about our diets, my focus has thankfully shifted from calories and steps - to how does this serve me? What is the tone of my self-talk? Who do I spend my time with and what is the content of our conversations? What activities am I doing and how do they serve me? I've come to learn that these are the things that I choose to be measuring and weighing. If I'm mindful about my daily walk, it will be second nature to step into a sanctuary when I return home.