Mystic Adventure Sails

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The Search for Personal Development

It’s no secret that I love spending time by the water. Whether it’s a large lake or a small creek, I find peace and tranquility in being near moving water. However, lately I’ve been branching out and exploring other areas of life as well. One such area is personal development. I was recently introduced to the website I Buy I Review, which reviews various online training programs. Some of these programs focus on personal development, and I thought it would be beneficial to share them with you.

What is personal development?

In short, personal development is the process of improving oneself in order to achieve a higher level of fulfillment. This can be done in many different ways, such as taking courses, reading books, or attending seminars. There are endless possibilities when it comes to personal development, and I Buy I Review can help you find the right program for your needs.

What are the benefits of personal development?

There are numerous benefits to pursuing personal development. For one, it can help you reach your full potential. Furthermore, it can lead to a more fulfilling and satisfying life. Additionally, personal development can help you build confidence and become more successful in all areas of your life.

Why should you check out I Buy I Review?

I Buy I Review is a great resource for anyone interested in personal development. The website buys and reviews a variety of online training programs, so you can be sure to find one that fits your needs. In addition, the reviews are unbiased and objective, so you can trust that you’re getting accurate information.

One of the programs that I Buy I Review offers is called “The Power of Now.” This program teaches you how to live in the present moment and be more mindful of your thoughts and actions. I think this is an important skill to have, because it can help you reduce stress and anxiety. If you’re interested in learning more about this program, I encourage you to check it out.

Another program that I Buy I Review offers is called “The Law of Attraction.” This program teaches you how to attract what you want in life, whether it’s a new job, a new relationship, or anything else. I think this is a valuable skill to have because it can help you manifest your dreams and goals. If you’re interested in learning more about this program, I encourage you to check it out.

I Buy I Review offers a variety of other programs as well, so if you’re interested in personal development, I encourage you to check out the website. Who knows, you might find a program that can help you on your journey to a more fulfilling life. Thanks for reading!



Lake Minnetonka (2 of 2)

My time spent at the house as a child was not…. great. My mother spent a lot of time there tending to her ailing parents, my brother and I kind of an afterthought. We’d busy ourselves quietly coloring or reading until our grandmother thought the turning of pages was too loud and we’d be sent outside with a net and a bag of molded over WonderBread to catch our dinner. We’d catch 6-8 sunfish and crappies, give them to my grandfather to clean with his sharp knife, so that my grandmother could fry them in salt and oil.  

 This must be where my connection to water began. It’s funny how unpleasant memories can shape who you become and how you relate to the natural world! I remember the time at that house in vague Vaseline-lensed moments of time.  

 When I go back to visit, it feels like a different place: my grandparents’ old run-down furniture is replaced with modern furniture we’re actually allowed to sit on; there is central Air Conditioning meaning no other children will have to suffer through a one hundred degree night sleeping in the closet connected to the bathroom; and the lake has been taken over by young millennial millionaires.  

 How fleeting!  



Lake Minnetonka (1 of 2)

No, this isn’t a fictional lake made famous when that asshole Prince on the motorcycle tricked Appollonia to strip down and jump in. It’s a real lake where both Prince and I were raised, him sometime in the 1960’s and me sometime in the 1980’s. Ultimately, not too much changed in that time or since.  

Image result for lake minnetonka

Lake Minnetonka is an inland lake about 15 miles southwest of Minneapolis. At over 14,000 acres, it’s the ninth largest lake in a state filled with giant lakes. And it is located in one of Minnesota’s most affluent residential areas hosting the likes of Jimmy Jam and Kevin Garnett.  

 At some point in the 1950s, my maternal grandparents bought a small house on a small plot of land on the north arm of Lake Minnnetonka – they used this as a family summer cabin and respite from North Minneapolis. Over time, it appreciated wildly and my uncle and dad put up a newer fancier house so that my grandparents could move there full time. Now, my uncle and his wife live there after the passing of my grandparents. It’s perfect for these two boat-lovers!  



California

California truly has some gorgeous beaches – miles and miles and miles of it. I’ve been fortunate to spend a long weekend in the San Diego area every New Years for the last five years. It may have been a little too cold to spend much time swimming, but nothing in California feels cold in December when you’re coming from the Midwest.

 

I seldom vacation without some water element incorporated!



Kribi

Kribi is a beach community in the southwest region of Cameroon. By “western standards,” it’s a pretty unimpressive beach resort town – a waterfall, a lighthouse, a couple of decent resorts – but to me it was paradise. I was a Peace Corps volunteer living about six hours away. My life was defined by having “given up” many things I had previously considered luxuries in my life. In my home, I barely had running water, I barely had electricity, there was no water anywhere nearby that wasn’t infected with schisto, and my sources of entertainment were scarce.

Spending a daylong journey to Kribi was my escape – and I escaped often.  I probably spent every eighth weekend at Kribi, for my entire two and a half years of service. Sometimes I’d stay at the fancy resort with a pool and a restaurant and air-conditioned rooms. Sometimes I’d stay at a hut a short motorcycle ride away with no amenities, but comfortable beds and fans in the rooms.

But every time I would post myself up at the seafood market where mommies would set up grill stations and grill seafood to order. I would sit and gorge myself on prawns, lobster, fish, octopus, all freshly caught, beers, prunes and plaintains and mysterious microgreens. When I’d get the bill at the end of the day – for about $15 – I’d make my way back to where I was staying to swim and nap.

It was truly the best escape. I’m so lucky to have had it!



Swamps

The Lafitte Swamps in New Orleans showed me an entirely new kind of water. These massive, peaceful swamps are home to feral little swamp pigs, gators who look just like modern dinosaurs, and natural elements that one can see moving as one. As the green algae and grass atop the swamp moves and grinds, so too do the branches hanging overhead. I could almost feel the swamp come alive, a beating heart, lungs.

 

And to see the gators slowly moving about within this body, eyes the only part visible but ominously foreboding about the body beneath, is breathtaking. They rise up from the water, straight up, powered by that thunderous tail. And the wild little piggies climbing over one another greedily snorting towards anything edible.

 

These waters represent danger and caution rather than the passive clear waters of Minnesota.



Minnesota

I grew up in Minnesota, tagged The Land of 10,000 Lakes when really we have like 50% more than that, and I attribute my love of being on water to that. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, my grandparents and later aunt and uncle had/have a house on Lake Minnetonka where we’d spend much of each summer swimming, boating, and fishing.

 

Eventually my parents bought their own lake house. “House” is perhaps too generous of a term – it was more of a double-wide trailer but on a huge double-lot right on a beautiful little lake in Central Minnesota. Eventually, many years later, they built their dream house, donated the trailer, sold the house near the city, and became full-time lake folks. So now when I visit home, it’s actually a visit to my childhood cabin.

 

So maybe water is just my element because of concentrated times spent in or at it. But I’ve spent a lot of my adult life travelling to and by water. It offers me clarity, the ability to focus, and nothing is ever as clear to me as it is when I’m underwater.



Greek Isles

I spent a month in the Greek Islands with my cousin when I finished undergrad and she finished high school. We each brought a backpack, we had first night accommodations and return flights booked but not other plans. We felt young and free and excited!

 

We spent a few days in Athens before heading to Santorini and Mykonos. My god these places are breathtakingly beautiful. They are also incredibly crowded. The streets and homes and plants are gorgeous, such a stark white bold canvas. But they are infested with party tourists – the kind of tourists who get up around noon, hungover and sunburnt, and spend the afternoon kicking the effects before rallying around dinnertime and getting ready for another party night.

 

Techno dance music pours out of every bar on the island, drunk Americans and Australians poured into them.

 

The boys loved it and continued planning their trip aiming to hit all of the most popular islands. My cousin and I politely let them know we would be breaking off from the group to find something more our speed. In a travel agency, we opened a map of the islands, pointed to the smallest most remote one, and the agent arranged the full day of travel it would take us to reach the island.

 

We exceeded the two nights we planned to spend on Schoinoussa and stayed for four nights before returning to Athens to meet the boys. We woke up early each morning, visited the island’s small market and god that day’s snacks before heading off on a hike. Because it was such a small island, all hikes ended at the water where we’d sit, chat, eat, and take turns swimming before hiking back to our hotel to take dinner. We were the only people staying at the hotel and the only tourists we saw on the island.



Calanques

I travelled with some friends from Marseilles’s main port to the nearby Calanques. The Calanques are narrow inlets on a tall, rugged, limestone island. We took a ferry from the port of Marseilles to the island’s port and spent about twenty minutes hiking over stone, no shade, on a hundred-degree day and still, somehow, the view ta the end was worth it.

We sat for a couple hours, the boys swam, I sat on a towel under an umbrella looking out at the sailboats as they pulled in and dropped anchor, those aboard laughed and swam and had drinks and looked free of troubles. My feet and hands were sore from using them on the hot jagged ground on our journey up here. And I was uncomfortably hot but not comfortable getting in the water.

 

It was beautiful, truly beautiful. And worth the long journey.

 

The day started with a stroll through Marseilles, stopping in shops, spending almost two hours in one huge homegoods shop, and finding some little sandwiches for lunch. We then spent several hours getting to and enjoying the calanques before returning to the main land to drink many beers at a public square.

 

I love it here!




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