Magic of Traveling by bat.balien In my world of Maerd, on the planet I'm born on, we travel in the blink of an eye. Nobody even thinks of packing or bothers of arranging a place to stay or so, since we can be back home in a flash. But since I'm here on an alien mission to explore, live and walk amongst y'all... I have to experience the burden and magic of adventures. Our trip started in the end of 2012 by hunting. Our weapons were loaded, the aim was clear. Thus prepared, we entered the maze of the web for the prey of our dreams. It took hours of stalking, evenings spent waiting for the perfect moment... and then: There it was, directly in front of us. We ducked into the scrubs, aimed and... got the winged thing that would take us to the promised land. Long weeks of planning followed, and it seemed to take forever, until one day, we were ready to pack (really annoying compared to our way of traveling) and leave. The metal wings took us up into the air and we spent hours and hours in this strange room, that is so much slower than a blink of an eye. You know, aliens are not very patient... but I had my orders. Finally we reached the ground of the sacred land of Chicago. The waves of communication played some tricks on us when we tried to get in touch with the life form that would welcome us here. At this moment, the magic of traveling in this really old fashioned and antiquated way of leaving behind space and time, touched us the first time. A strange emotion filled the air, a bond, older than time – friendship, kinship... We arrived home far away from home, welcomed by Pat (life form: Passionate Affectionate Terrestrial), laughed, discussed, shared ideas and meals... and the adventure of a mini con at the race track of Arlington. Donna (life form: Double Oriented Nicest Nicest Alive) and her hubby gave us the gift of an enchanted day, sparkling with love and caring. We also met some furry life forms on 4 legs (small and purring and others quite large with soft noses and a delightful aura). They seemed to be very interested in getting in contact with me. I hope it was just curiosity and they didn't recognized me as an alien... In this strange world, it is said, that parting is such sweet sorrow... If you are used to travel back and forth in the blink of an eye, you don't have to part for long. But here the heart feels heavy and the mind clings to the moment – thankfully remembered forever... we had to leave Pat. We moved on, Harleys were visited, ancient pictured rocks explored... hundreds of miles behind us, more ahead. Lakes like the sea, sleeping bears that turned into amazing dunes. A warm wind that brought us to Oscoda, birthplace of Bubba (life form?: not identified yet – seems to appear here and there, just to wait patiently for a wonderful moment of sense or nonsense). This place is filled with the spirit of colors, warmth and heart, felt forever. Sharon (life form: Sweet Heroine - All Remembering Open & Nice) keeps the memory alive. Together we rested on the bench, that holds Chan's spell of happiness, family and a safe place. On the road again, more miles and more speed limitations (if you are used to travel in the blink of an eye, 55 miles / hour seems to be the speed of a snail...), until we reached the thundering waters. The power of the nature of this world is truly amazing! But we had to move on... more wonders were waiting... We arrived at the home of the Wizard of C&Vland! Laura's (life form: Laughter All Understanding, Really Awesome) charms transferred a week into a dream of love and happiness, cheerful moments and treasured memories. There has never been a more powerful wizard, not even in OZ! But let's not get ahead of time... we had just arrived, met the family and a fellow traveler from – you will not believe it – from Oz. Just imagine, someone coming from that far, not traveling in the blink of an eye? Skippy (life form: Sparkling Kind Interesting Planet Popping Youngster, rated: RR = Rough Red) did, what seems to be impossible... Boxes and buckeyes (I really think those should be called bug eyes – much more fun...) disappeared almost by magic. Music – thanks Ed (life form: Everybody's Darling) - and laughter filled the house, which might be the reason that Arthur and his family (furry little life form, not identified yet) felt so much at home, that they captured not only our hearts, but also the birdhouse. Wednesday, here we come! In my world of Maerd, we do things in a blink of an eye, here it's done by witchcraft. Out of thin air, helping hands appeared and – in a blink of an eye – the boxes were put away, the dealers room filled, preparations done. Friends and family arrived every minute, hugs were given and received. Nor thundering storm nor pouring rain could keep anybody away, all tunnels of the world lead to C&Vland, to celebrate love and creating memories. Has anyone ever seen C&Vland the way we did? We met some ghosts in the tunnels... walked in the sun between churches and sights. Our lunch was served on the Nautica Queen, great company - such wonderful life forms all around us! Though they look different, have different names, they seem to be the same species after all. If I understood correctly, they are connected by their o.p.-ness. As much as I can tell by now, I really have to be careful, it might be quite contagious. Back at the place we stayed – yes, since traveling here takes quite long, you can't go back home to sleep there – we had a swim and a chat and fell asleep quite soon... ...just to wake to a wonderful experience. Breakfast with lovely o.p. life forms, being welcomed by our lovely host wizard officially, welcoming the virgins (they had been warned...), getting to know each other better at a great game “What's in a name”. Finally the dealer's room opened, and we had the chance to spend some money. As soon as you enter this place, like we did, questioning, if you should really buy something, just keep in mind, you are not doing it for yourself, you are doing it for charity... forget about packing for a moment – there will be a solution (who needs clothes anyway??). There was only one way to lure us away from all that temptation... a very special life form called David (life form: Divine Actor Vivid Individual Delightful) was granting us an audience. So many questions, so many answers.. time flew by in the blink of an eye... I really wonder if the magic of my world of Maerd finds its way here – maybe Cons are a special enchanted time when the walls between the worlds grow thin and we walk freely in both worlds... One wonderful moment follows an other – we were presented: The next miraculous week of wonders will be in the twin city of Minneapolis... things that have never been will surprise the visitors, unicorns have been seen there before... Don't wait! Sign up for the adventure! Before the planned lunch time (who has time for lunch here???) we got to know about Soujourner House. This special place gives shelter to women and children who are in danger. They are given a moment to rest and help to create a new life (this reminds me of something... maybe... the tunnels?). Our most wonderful wizard picked a worthy charity. We all didn't know then, what we know now... $12,000 were raised at this con, and this money will safe people and give them the chance to a new life, to hope and happiness. Isn't it wonderful to know, that we all bought too much in the dealers room, played Beast Bingo... and had fun, and all this fun can add up to something so powerful? But let's go back in time. Play with us Beast Bingo, enjoy a bridal shower make some tunnel tog... fun, fun, fun!!! Thanks to those who organize all year for us to enjoy every moment! To use the question Winter has asked: Isn't it a bit like summer camp for grown ups? In the evening creative souls surprised us with costumes and talents. On my planet we are not blessed with a wonderful voice and there are times I really miss to be able to even hit one note, but here... isn't it delightful to sit in the audience and be touched in the heart? Sigh.... But... no, wake up... there are dangly bits we could get our hands on... grab them, and if you are lucky you can get them exactly on the right spot on Stiff Vinny... This might have been the moment, when you questioned, if there had been time for lunch or dinner today... and you got what ever snack you found and met others in the hospitality room, to laugh, chat, eat, have a rough red and smile... and suddenly it was Saturday... … more fun, more time to shop, more craft projects... We built our own Beauty and the Beast book, made a nice bracelet with white and red roses or, as I did, with little teapots, since I share the passion for a nice cup of tea with the tunnel dwellers... Isn't it amazing, that thanks to very patient and talented members of the family our craft projects turned out quite nice, even the ones I made??? We had another audience with David. From the keepers of the wisdom of the Crystal Rose Lending Library, we learned of the hidden treasures there, waiting to be explored by everyone. The baby shower gave us the chance to make Vincent's baby... This was very exiting, and we needed to chill at Beast Bingo, visited the dealers Room... and got ready for the banquet. Oh yes, you heard right, the time flew by again, in the blink of an eye... The banquet room was breathtaking romantic, and the company beyond words. Who else had the chance to share dinner with the Beatles and laugh without a break or end...? Who needs cabaret, if you can have an auction? There is no way to describe the beautiful things and the incredible auctioneer... Sunday morning started by sharing food – an incredible way to connect... brunch... yummy... followed by more fun at an art auction. We were dared to make a word picture, mine with everything about New York... as this family was started in the tunnels there, that spread out into the whole world. It was a bit tricky, but soon we had some very decorative art. We missed geocaching, but maybe next time... So we visited Larry (life form: Lovely Alien Really Rescuing Y'all) in the dealers room for a last time... a little bit of sorrow appeared somewhere deep within... the “lasts” started to appear... A last round of Beast Bingo followed... Time to share the light and complete the circle, time for love and hugs, for joy and sorrow. The closing ceremony lets you know, that you are part of a wonderful family. It lets you know, that you share the love and the spirit... but it also makes you feel the sorrow of parting... Lucky ones that are staying til Wednesday... Lots of hands appeared to pack up the stuff that had to be sent on to Minneapolis, Bubba had to move, Manny traveled on with lots of boxes and the promise to meet again... Let's rock the Monday in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum! Sooo much to see, sooo much to explore, one day is not enough. Rolling Stones, Elvis, Michael Jackson... should we go this way or the other? Did we really spend the whole day here? No doubt: C&Vland rocks! One more day... one more highlight! Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens surprised us with its beauty and stories, though we wished for a breeze of cool air or to dip into the pool, when exploring the manor. The garden is full of wonders, and we discovered more than just flowers in it. We shared the most wonderful moments in the life of a family and are thankful for our providence. We visited the butterflies when it suddenly started to rain... and we were lucky again, since we just came back to the gift shop and had a bite at the cafe. Another last... this last trip of the con week... And there it was... Wednesday... family members were leaving, lots of hugs given and received. Parting is such sweet sorrow! The promise of another day was in the air. We were not losing each other, just changing our meeting point to the tunnels of the web for another year. We had do go too. We were on the road again. When we left C&Vland, we did (like everyone) leave behind a bit of our heart... touched by the spirit of the family. We turned on Vicky's (Life form: Voice incredibly clear, knowing youngster) music and our minds flew back in time and space, relived the beauty of the moments and love that was shared and grew by sharing it. In a big outlet center we shopped until we dropped – at least back into the car. We just hoped to be able to fit everything into our suitcases... We headed towards the beach of Lake Michigan, and stopped for the night somewhere near Holland. Thursday morning we went to the Dutch Village in Holland. This little theme park is cute, but has stopped developing in the 80s... It was nice. In the evening we watched the sunset... the giant golden fireball almost melted into Lake Michigan. The light grew softer and warmer, the air became cooler... what a magic evening. Since Maerd supermarkets are not open at night, we enjoyed a little midnight shopping, still just hoping there might be enough room in our suitcases... The final last... last day. We went to the sugar-white sanded beach, splashed in the turquoise water under the bright blue sky. We had to get back to the motel, to pack our stuff... who was so optimistic to think that all those beautiful things could fit into our bags??? We started fitting one thing after the other in the suitcases, and after a time, we surprised ourselves, by being able to close the zipper. Saturday morning... we arrived at Chicago airport quite early, took the car back. At the check in, we found out that we had a problem – our suitcases were too heavy. We had to re-pack. It took us a while to figure out, how to arrange our heavy load to our carry on luggage... We were lucky, nobody weighed those bags. Again we had to stay hours and hours in this flying thing, wishing to travel in the way we do in Maerd... in the blink of an eye. But... Traveling in this strange ancient way seems to be addictive. I will go on traveling in the blink of an eye in my own world of Maerd, visiting the deepest tunnel and the highest star, mirroring every dream of the world. If you want I can teach you, fly with me, to the moon... But as a famous fellow man of me said once, ages ago: I'll be back. I will never give up traveling on the wings of this family. There is no mountain high enough, is no river deep enough... to keep me from my family! Thanks to our wizard! Thanks for the memories and moments! |