Colorado City, TX

After our stay at the Southwest Vipassana Center, we headed into West Texas to rest for a night in a little town called Colorado City. There we stayed with Ava, our couchsurfing host. When we arrived, she whipped up some guacamole as well as cucumbers flavored with lime juice, and it took us no time to dig in. Then she sautéed some squash with her favorite sauces and seasonings. Before eating, she had to sneak out to make a shift change since she’s a paramedic and was on call.

Gainesville – Gators, Grease, and Gift Gardens

While in Charlottesville, we met Connie’s lovely friend Jamie, and she told us that we could contact her friend Beth if we passed through Gainesville on our way to Clearwater. So we did just that, and Beth kindly agreed to have us spend a few nights at her place. Unfortunately, we never met her husband, who was away, but we were more than happy to meet their awesome dog, Murphy! Beth was a wonderful host and great company. The night we arrived, she made an amazing vegetarian dinner… YUMMM! And she also informed us that there was a volunteer opportunity the following day with FOG – Florida Gift Gardens. Florida Gift Gardens builds free raised-bed vegetable gardens for underserved and low-income Alachua County, Florida residents and the institutions that serve them, helping them become more self-sufficient and increasing their ability to provide for some of their own food needs.

Deez Beez

We had the great pleasure of meeting Blaine and Melissa who own Deez Beez Bookstore in Hillsville, VA. We have been staying with our great friend David in the very, very hilly area, and he introduced us to Blaine. As fate would have it, just after our arrival at the store that day, Amy grabbed a book off the shelf and handed it over to me. It turned out she found a book about Kali “The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar.” So now I wondered if this is some kind of sign because, not only did I name our truck after the Mother Goddess, but we had been having discussions about naming the vehicle after a goddess of death and destruction. So is this a sign, or a warning? Well, according to the book, it will help clear up some misunderstandings of the Goddess Kali. We will see, and perhaps I will let you know.