With some direction from a friend we have made during our stay at Manatee Hammock, we visited the grounds of the White Sands Buddhist Center north of Mims. It’s tucked away in an oak woods with no indication from the road of the treasure that lies within. Signs along the driveway guide you to a sense of peace and then you see the huge statue of the seated Compassionate Buddha. A walk around the reflecting pond takes you past a reclining Buddha around to the standing Buddha flanks by columns reminding us that “The Way to Nirvana is Nirvana” and “Every Step of the Journey is the Journey.” This calm and peaceful experience is just what we are in need of in the moment.
By deliberate choice we were in Medina for all the winter holiday festivities from Candlelight Walk in the days before Thanksgiving through A Christmas Carol and A Celtic Christmas as well as an Alex Bevan Concert and a historic house tour all the way through Medina’s 31st Ice Festival but perhaps the highlight was the town hosting hundreds of folks whose homes and lives were devasted by Hurricane Helene at the A Promise of Christmas Event the middle of January. It’s an honor to be a part of this amazing community!
The warmth we anticipated when we headed to the Caribbean in mid-January didn’t really materialize but the fun we had with our dancing friends and the great crew of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander more than made up for the not so favorable weather.
Aboard Jewel of the Seas, a favorite ship of ours, we enjoyed a foray into the history and geology of Canada’s Atlantic coast while enjoying the joys of friendships, longtime and new. Now we’re looking forward to returning to the same ship for further adventures!
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