The most special moments

[WiseWizard]

Get ready for a long story.
My favorite moment would have to be when I went out on a Native American vision quest for three days. I went with a (kind of) youth group at my church. The administrators took us out into the middle of nowhere (south of Tacoma, the Kowichee range) in 35 deree weather. They gave us a sleeping bag, a journal and pen, two gallons of water, and a 7' by 3' piece of land that we could not leave except to go to relieve oneself of built up fluids (there were no bathrooms). We had to stay out there with no food, no music, just pen, paper, and ourselves.
Now to most people this would seem like torture (and that's what I thought it was at first) but then to be out there, completely alone, with nothing, opened my eyes to the world. It's a truly unique experience that I'll never be able to fully explain, but it was amazing nonetheless. I would do it again in a heartbeat. There was a sense of calm out there that I doubt I will ever feel again.

[Cirdan]

The day I met my son would have to be first. I had been flying for 24 hours and travelling through Siberia during the melt (very muddy and flooded). We finally reached the orphanage and he was handed to us. He had just had the chicken pox and was covered with the tar they used as a treatment. After just a day he was very bonded to us. Even though he probably didn't know what we were saying, we communicated as all very young children; with laughter. We all got very sick but stayed an extra day to see Moscow.

I've more but that's number one.

[afro-elf]

How old was he ?

[Cirdan]

We arrived the day after his second birthday. The Russian adoption was offcial on April 1. He's eight now.

[galadriel88]

That's really cool, WizeWizard! I'd like to do something like that sometime.

I just thought - another very, very special moment for me was the day I got baptized. Just knowing that God had taken care of my sins and I was starting new with a clean slate - there's nothing like it. Also my best friend was there, and it was very, very special.

[WiseWizard]

I just remembered something else as well! Although, I've done this many times. We have a cabin up on San Juan island (near Roche Harbor, if anyone knows where that is). Every time I go up there I like to go to a place called South Beach on (of course) the south side of the island. It's always been a very special place for me, though I really have no reason for it to be special. Maybe it's some kind of spiritual connection with the sea.....
But anyways, as you're going to the beach, the terrain is kind of like a valley. But once you get to the beach, there are some great cliff formations; some small, some big.
One time I was exploring along the coastline and I swear I heard thunder. It was cloudy enough for there to possibly be lightning, but it didn't seem like it was that cloudy. I looked into the sky, and heard the thunder again, and yet there was no lightning.
As I contemplated this, I realized that the sound wasn't coming from the sky, but from the sea. There was a small (kind of) chasm in the rock that led straight down to the water. I found a perfect place to sit, and listened to the crash of the waves against the rock, imitating the sound of thunder. It was amazing.
So now every time I go up there, I go to the "thunder chasm" (as I call it) and simply enjoy the sights and sounds. In it's own way it's my own small vision quest.

[Cirdan]

I have a place like that in Maine. Mount Dessert Island has a place called Thunder Hole. Nearby are isolated cliffs overlooking an ocean shelf. On the inland side of the ocean road is a small, rocky mountain called the Beehive. It's covered with blueberry plants that are wonderful. Beyond Beehive's peak is a pond to swim in. You can park the car and spend the entire day moving in totally different enviroments within a few miles.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Originally posted by WiseWizard
We have a cabin up on San Juan island (near Roche Harbor, if anyone knows where that is).

San Juan Island, in WA?


Anyway, I'd have to say. . .a lot of things, really. Like summers with my two best friends on the trampoline, Going to Wellfleet, Cape Cod and swimming in the lake or going for walks or going to the beach, or camp, also on the cape, when my friends and I would wander around in the woods, and rafting on the Sarapiqui river in Costa Rica, the zipline in the cloudforest in Monteverde (Costa Rica again), and looking at the stars when we were backpacking on the Olympic coast. . .ah, sailing West. . .okay, so I have a lot of good memories. Sorta balances out with the bad. . .

[WiseWizard]

Originally posted by Eruviel Greenleaf

San Juan Island, in WA?

Yes, you're right. If you ever get the chance to go up there I recommend South Beach and a climb up Mount Young.
Oh yeah, which reminds me, my stepdad actually proposed to my mom on the summit of Mount Young (if you can call it a summit, the mountain's not very high). That was a very cool day. I got to keep the ring in my pocket (yessss, my preciousss, it was in my pocketsessss...)*wakes up* Sorry about that.
So anyways, it was a beautiful, sunny day. The one cool thing I remember about that day was that a hawk was flying in a continuous circle right above where we were. Even though it was probably just hunting for mice, it was still fairly interesting to see.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Yes, you're right. If you ever get the chance to go up there I recommend South Beach and a climb up Mount Young.

Yeah, I've been there, great place. Well, the island, anyway. Never been to Mt. Young.
Ever been to Orcas Island?

[WiseWizard]

Originally posted by Eruviel Greenleaf


Ever been to Orcas Island?

That I have. However, I only went up there for my 6th grade trip to Camp Orkila. So, I only got to see a very small part of the island. I had actually almost completely forgot about Camp Orkila. In fact, I would have to say that was yet another of my most memorable moments.
We were playing a game in the forest where all the students were split up into three groups: carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. the rules would take a lot of explaining, so pretty much the only things you need to know are that i was an omnivore and that if I tagged an herbivore I got more "lives" but if I was tagged by a carnivore I lost one of those "lives" (represented by rubber bands).
The game was going fairly well for me. I had about seven lives and was feeling the adrenaline rush from just running down a few herbivores. So I was just lurking among the trees, looking for more prey, when, all in one moment, I realized I had stumbled into a strategic meeting between the carnivores, and in that same moment did the classic move of snapping a twig underfoot. As you can imagine, I ran for my life, and practically all of them ran after me. I don't think I've ever been more worn out with more of an adrenaline high than that day.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

oh! oh! I know that game...sorta...at some camp I went to a long time ago, we played it. It's fun

[WiseWizard]

Agreed. Though, I think that if I had been a carnivore, the game would've been a lot more fun (at least for me)!

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Yeah, being on top of the food chain is always more fun

[Laurelyn]

Let's see . . . most memorable moments . . .

Definitely my friend's (Okay, she's my science teacher, too) smile. Her smiles are just . . . special.

Being at camp . . . it's in Maine, and it's really beautiful, and everybody's friendly.

I know this sounds kinda wierd, but --- swinging. It was the closest I've ever come to flying, and it's something I'll never be able to do again (I get dizzy really really really easily, but it wasn't that way as a little kid. To swing now would only be useful if I wished to rid my stomach of its contents.)

Hey, Wisewizard, that Native American Vision Quest thing sounds like fun. What happened if you filled up all your notebook pages? (Yes, you're talking to someone who lives, breathes, eats and sleeps to write).

[WiseWizard]

Originally posted by Laurelyn

Hey, Wisewizard, that Native American Vision Quest thing sounds like fun. What happened if you filled up all your notebook pages? (Yes, you're talking to someone who lives, breathes, eats and sleeps to write).

Since we couldn't have anything more than what we brought with us, if you ran out of paper (which no one did, including myself) that would be all you could write.
I, like you, am one who will just write and write and write until I can't write anymore. However, I found that there were a few factors that simply stopped me from finishing my journal.
One was that once night fell, the paper was getting very hard to see, and my writing was getting very messy. So once my eyes started hurting from the strain, I just had to stop. The second thing was that, in that place, at that time, somehow, actually looking at everything around me and (for lack of a better word) experiencing it was more important than writing about it. Now this may seem impossible (heck, before I went through it, I thought it was impossible!), but that's how it felt.
If any of you out there ever get the chance to go on a Vision Quest, I recommend doing it. It'll change your view of the world. In fact, it was about a month after that quest that I began acting, of which I would never had tried before it.

[WiseWizard]

Originally posted by Laurelyn

Hey, Wisewizard, that Native American Vision Quest thing sounds like fun. What happened if you filled up all your notebook pages? (Yes, you're talking to someone who lives, breathes, eats and sleeps to write).

Since we couldn't have anything more than what we brought with us, if you ran out of paper (which no one did, including myself) that would be all you could write.
I, like you, am one who will just write and write and write until I can't write anymore. However, I found that there were a few factors that simply stopped me from finishing my journal.
One was that once night fell, the paper was getting very hard to see, and my writing was getting very messy. So once my eyes started hurting from the strain, I just had to stop. The second thing was that, in that place, at that time, somehow, actually looking at everything around me and (for lack of a better word) experiencing it was more important than writing about it. Now this may seem impossible (heck, before I went through it, I thought it was impossible!), but that's how it felt.
If any of you out there ever get the chance to go on a Vision Quest, I recommend doing it. It'll change your view of the world. In fact, it was about a month after that quest that I began acting, of which I would never had tried before it.

[TinuvielChild]

You know, this thread reminds me a whole lot of "Little things that make you happy" a while back. Vision quests sound like they're incredibly cool! Note to self: Go on a vision quest sometime.

Hey, anyone ever been to Assateague Island, in Maryland? (Out of the book Misty of Chincoteague) I went there with my two best friends over Memorial day break, it was like spending 3 days in heaven. It was incredible. We went in an RV, and parked almost on the beach. We stayed out late on the beach and watched the waves under the moonlight and had enlightening conversation. I learned how to bodysurf, and we made s'mores and saw wild ponies. It was absolutely indescribable in its beauty.

[Jadera]

My favorite moments...hmmm....

Definitely being in downtown Chicago. We go there about once a year (to visit family) and to me it's the best place in all the world. Just the amount of life there, and I feel so protected within the heart of the city. I love being there.

Being with my friends, definitely, but more than that, really connecting to them individually. I'm more of a one-on-one person, and I love getting to know what makes people tick, what makes them as a individual human being and clicking with that.

Getting lost in music or a really good book. You know what I mean, that feeling of being totally swept away into a new place and time.

Being with my family, when all is calm in our structure.

Can you tell I'm a bonding type of person?

Seeing my bestest friend in the whole world, whom I only get to be with once a year. Those moments are special.

[BeardofPants]

Don't all take off to the hills, but I had a special moment today. I dragged myself and the BF off to Devonport (on the ferry) and we climbed up Mt Victoria (a dormant volcano), only instead of taking the path, we just climbed up the side of the peak (it was almost vertical)! It was hysterical... he was tripping and I was giggling... And we finally reached the top and just collapsed down onto the seat and looked out over the harbour and city views. Magnificent! Breathless, and giggling, and talking about all the crap under the sun. We sat there for hours! And then we wandered around the summit and I pointed out all the archaeological bits to him - the summit has a history of over 500 years and you can still see all the pits, scarping and terracing that the maori people carved into the mountain in terms of both defense and agricultural forms. Next I plan to drag him to One Tree Hill (another volcano with archaeological features)... it's considered to be up there with the pyramids of Giza in terms of sheer man power... *sigh*