And yet the retreat pictures continue...

Here is the labyrinth I mentioned. It's right next to the river, so the rushing and burbling is all I could hear. The labyrinth itself is obviously very simple which makes the act of walking it the center of attention. At the same time, it obviously took great care and effort to carry all the river rocks to this place and arrange them, so it also feels like a present.

 

There are three different buildings that anyone can use at any time of day for whatever practice you like to do. This one is called the sanctuary and around the edges of the room there are mats, cushions, drums... anything someone might want. At home I try to meditate every day, but it doesn't always work out. Here, I sat every day twice a day. It was very encouraging.

 

Here's the window I stared out of while I sat. I know that little sapling trunk in the middle distance better than any other part of the whole place.

 

The food at Breitenbush is just fantastic and delicious and nourishing. If you want food to take with you on a hike, all you have to do is tell the kitchen staff the night before and you get a brown bag lunch. I was eager to have some good food for the ride home (you can stay and use the facilities and eat the food until 3 the day you check out. I was leaving early, though to make it home at a decent hour.) so the night before I took off I went to the kitchen (through the wrong door) and asked for a lunch. The guy asked my name, and when I told him and spelled it, he smirked and said "We have a Kendra who lives here. I know how to spell it." (There is a community of people who live across the river and staff the resort.) The next morning when I picked up my meal (right door this time) there was a different guy who asked my name. He smiled a funny sneaky smile when he heard it, too, and said almost the same words. (I get the feeling that she must be something, this other Kendra, from their expressions!) Here's a picture of my lunch bag.
Not sure if the cook was being playful, or if that's how they've been taught to spell my name.

 

It was delicious.