Hi everyone! It's Wendi here, back to updating the blog and giving Jim a much-needed break. ;-) He did an amazing job with all he did while we were away (his full time corporate job; assisting me with a part-time computer job; keeping the house ready for realtors and potential buyers to stop by; dealing with some sad issues around our dog, Julia; connecting with our hosts and those requesting meetups/talks across the country; catching up with KDcat and I for a bit each evening to hear how we were doing; collecting pictures/videos/notes from me to then go through and create blog posts for all of you; helping friends fix up their attic into a useable place; and so much more)! He missed us a lot, and we missed him a lot, too.

So, here we pick up from where we left off with our travels yesterday...

It wasn't easy leaving Arizona. KDcat and I both wished we had more time to play on the rocks in Sedona. But, we'll keep that for a time when all three of us (next time with Jim) can be there to experience the wonder of that beautiful place. So, it was off to New Mexico! Since our host in Albuquerque was going to be busy until the evening, we slept in a bit before leaving Arizona.

In Albuquerque, NM, we stayed in the home of the beautiful Darshanie, who was out of the country visiting her daughter and attending the wedding of her brother. I met Darshanie at the Peaceful Valley Ashram a few years ago (the same ashram where I held a raw food spiritual retreat). She's one of Leela Mata's beautiful and talented daughters, creating candles which she sells as well as offering intuitive readings [click here to learn more about Darshanie]. It was wonderful to be invited to stay with Darshanie during our travels, and I was a bit sad that she wouldn't be there when we arrived, but who would ever miss out on the chance to attend an Indian wedding ! If you're ever invited to attend one, consider it a huge honor and accept the invitation. Indian weddings are breathtakingly beautiful in so many ways.

Greeting us at Darshanie's place were her son, Shiva, his girlfriend, Cori, and Darshanie's friend, Jeff. KDcat was especially fond of Darshanie's cats, Daphne and Binx. We had a nice time talking with everyone, learning more about who they are and what they enjoy doing. As you'll see from some of the pictures, Jeff plays the guitar; so, he and KDcat had some fun jamming together. Jeff also runs a yoga massage and wellness business there in Albuquerque, called YMAW.

We had a refreshing sleep and then headed out to Santa Fe the next morning, where we met up with our next host, Terri Mares, and her lovely friend, Sarah Moore. We had a raw lunch there in Santa Fe and then Terri and Sarah showed us around the cute little artistic town. Just like Arizona, New Mexico was quite windy. It was refreshing and beautiful at the same time -- I love the wind. We enjoyed seeing the historic buildings and visiting some natives selling their crafts (KDcat found a hand-made, engraved brass guitar pick). We took pictures of some of the art in Santa Fe, which is filled with some truly talented artists.

When we arrived at Terri's place in Las Vegas, NM, I was thrilled to be shown to my "Hogwarts" room. Terri is a big fan of the Harry Potter series, as are we here at Pure Jeevan, and she invited us to stay in her Hogwarts castle bedroom. What fun! She had a digital photo frame (all photos in the world of Harry Potter have moving pictures) that was filled with pictures she captured from our Facebook photo pages, since she knew we were a bit homesick. It was sweet to see photos of Jim waiting there for us to see!

It seems we've been visiting a lot of musically talented people as we've been crossing the country. At this stop, Terri's daughter, Xena, and her friend, TJ, played guitar and sang songs to entertain us. We didn't capture of picture of them playing for us, but we were able to get a video of Terri sharing her success with the raw food lifestyle. You can find out more about Terri by visiting her account on sparkpeople.com.

What an incredibly relaxing and healing place New Mexico is! My morning started off with a personal EFT session with Terri's close friend, Sarah, whom we met the day before. KDcat and I both loved Sarah and Terri immediately. They are both very gentle, loving, fun people. My EFT session with Sarah was very healing. I have read about EFT, heard about it many times through friends who have had great experience with it, but never really gave it much time. I'm thinking Sarah is a gifted healer on many levels and brings to her EFT sessions something that may not always be there with other EFT practitioners. If you're ever in the Las Vegas, NM, area and you're interested in meeting a gentle healer, be sure to contact Terri and ask about meeting her friend, Sarah.

Later that day, we visited the Montezuma area, in the Gallinas Canyon, that's within ten minutes of Terri's place. We saw a beautiful place called Dwan Light Sanctuary. It's so incredibly beautiful and peaceful. We took photos of us in the rainbows that are produced by the large prisms that make this place so special. We soaked up some of the colors and then headed to some hot springs. The springs had three tiers, starting with the hottest and getting to a nice very warm temperature. We sat for a long time, soaking up the healing energy of the water. I loved feeling the warm water, feeling the cold breeze, hearing the sounds of the hot spring, the wind in the trees, the creek at the bottom of the hill. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Then we took a drive to the top of the mountain, which is called Sangre de Cristo, to see the views. I did a quick video up there, saying how I thought I was done with the snow but here I was in New Mexico (which I thought was a dry, hot dessert) with my winter coat on again out in snow flurries!

[In this video, you'll see that Wendi's not too pleased to learn that she thought she left the snow behind her in Pittsburgh forever, only to realize that New Mexico gets snow, too. She's blissed out a bit, if you notice, from a day of intense healing (beginning with EFT, followed by incredible light healing, a soak in lithium hot springs, and now surrounded by nature's healing beauty).]

That evening we had a great time eating some raw foods with new friends. I met Miguel, a lovely man who used to be raw for many years and was inspired to get back into the raw lifestyle, again. He was a joy to talk with and I look forward to seeing him again in the future. We all talked about growing nourishing plants that are local to our areas, so that we can have abundance with little work of trying to tend to plants that are having a difficult time growing in a foreign climate. It was a lovely way to end our stay in New Mexico.

NEXT UP: Oklahoma!

We hope you ll check out our generous snack sponsor for the trip, Natural Zing, who made our travels extra enjoyable! They have the best selection of raw food snacks, supplies, and appliances for a raw food lifestyle!