The Adventures of the Blind/Low Vision/Visually Impaired (BLOVI) Girl- Volume 70: Girls Just Want to Have Fun (on their birthdays)
This year I took a much needed vacation on my birthday week. Originally this was supposed to be the Costa Rica Chickation (note that the OC Housewives took a trip this season to Costa Rica, which mas entirely my idea). So instead of Costa Rica I went to North Carolina (Asheville and Charlotte), to hang out with old friends and possibly meet new ones. I had a great time and realized I can still party and relax. So, forgoing the usual blog format, below is a list of stuff one should do on a birthday vacation (at least this is a condensed version of what I did).
1) Convince a childhood friend to go with you to someplace beautiful, Asheville, and stay at the best place there, The Grove Park Inn, just to be indulgent. Then spend a day at the Grove Park Inn Spa. It is amazing how many hours you can spend in the wet and dry saunas, going from the hot whirlpool into the cold dip poll (tingly) and relaxing in the eucalyptus room (which I am trying to recreate in my home). Then there are the many indoor and outdoor pools. I managed to get a tan, float while listening to relaxing underwater music and have jets and sheets of water hit all parts of my body mimicking deep tissue massage. And of course I had to get in a bit of exercise and swam 35 laps in the lap pool, which no one else was doing. But for me, swimming is relaxing. We were there about 7 hours with no phones or distractions or worries or cares.
2) Eat some good food like the fried green tomatoes at Tupelo Honey, the fantastically huge shrimp at the Grove Park Inn, the super fresh sushi at Wasabi (where I drank my first cold sake), Turkish food around midnight at Intermezzo in Charlotte, and an awesome home cooked meal at the Gittings home. . We ate well and clean for the most part and no one had to cook.
3) Shop for something awesome. I did some vintage shopping and bought a great long Carol Brady polyester skirt. I love the late 60’s look, so the skirt was a score. Having fun is trying on outrageous things and somehow thinking that you could rock them. A few days later I bought a super sexy dress from Bebe that I plan to wear on special occasions (with high heels).
4) Listen to some great music and dance. At the Orange Peel we saw too fabulous but very different acts. A punk mariachi band called Mariachi Del Bronx and a group called the Tune Yards. The lead person in the Tune Yards sings over her own loops while playing percussion-mostly a base and snare drum. This gave me some ideas so there may be experimental music going on in my garage with the electronic drum set. Check them both out. You can do some good salsa moves to the Mariachi and some classic rave twirls to the Tune Yards. And of course the orange Peel in Asheville is a stellar place to hear bands and watch people.
5) End up at an interesting Tiki Bar where you could not predict what will happen. We witnessed an almost fight which turned into a Bromance in less than 10 minutes (oh the joys of alcohol and the complexity of the male species) and met some singer/songwriters that had come over from a gig around the block. Part of my birthday present was having a conversation with a smart, no BS and passionate about his music singer/songwriter that you should definitely check out named Shane Cooley. I did not hear him play but when I got back and listened to his music and watched his videos I found that he was super talented and makes great music.
6) Go for some perks using your birthday as an excuse. We managed to get a free indulgent buffet breakfast because an alarm went off at 2am the first night at the hotel and ruined my birthday (not really, but this was the speech my mom calling as her travel agent self gave to the hotel to score us the breakfast). Being that several drinks were consumed the night before and someone was up until what seems like 5am there was not as much gusto and overeating that usually occurs at buffets, especially those that are free. But the food was good.
7) Extend your birthday into a birthday week and hang out with longtime friends in Charlotte. We did both the family stuff at a cookout and the going out stuff in NODA. That night we ended up at a pool hall/karaoke bar with some barely tolerable singers. I really wanted to do karaoke as it is on the bucket list and I was all ready to take the mike. But the book of songs was lengthy and I realized I would have to pick a song to which I knew all the lyrics because I could not see the screen with the words. Now, that was a challenged and we tried to devise ways to have someone feed me the lyrics when I got stuck but could not find a way to make it work (mostly because it was almost 2am and our brains were not so sharp). It was almost last call so alas the search for a song ended and no karaoke for me. If they would have had what I am currently singing in home karaoke, like Video Games by Lana Del Ray or Last Day of Magic by the Kills or Terrible Love by the Nationals I would have been up there. Next time I am there I am doing We Belong by Pat Benatar.
8) Have some unexpected bizarre events happen. I had a weird out of town run in in a bar with someone-in this case the ex-wife of an ex-boyfriend. I got into at least one late night crazy argument with my soul mate who has been connected to me in several past lives that ended up with an I just want to punch you moment and what are we trying to work out here. Them I missed a step at a pool and twisted my ankle while being surrounded by surgically enhanced 20sonethings in string bikinis. And I had at least one conversation discussing past lives astrals and avatars. These are the things that make life interesting.
So what did I learn here, when I reflect on the week. First, I have great friends. Thanks to Leonore, Amy and Rusty (who drove 4 hours from the beach to meet me in Charlotte). I found I like to kick back and have a good time and have some adventures. For a week I get to step out of my role as single mom, business owner and somewhat upstanding member of the community to be the other parts of myself which are fun and free. And I could have pushed it more. There was definitely one adventure I backed out of, regretfully. But I like being in places where no one knows me and there are no cameras recording what I am doing because I do want to be in some kind of politics later in life and don’t need skeletons in the closet. The week also reinforced that I need to commit to planning adventures (as much as you can do that) or just times to let loose and have fun into each week. The week convinced me, a person often described as unapproachable, that the right people with the energy I am looking for will want to hang out or talk or be with me in general.
Half my life is probably over, but I still feel really young and vibrant and energetic. I think fun, freedom, creativity, and taking risks in a kind of “oh, what the hell” attitude keep me that way. Age is a number and that is about all it is. And there is nothing more powerful than being young at heart and open to new experiences, while having the wisdom, self-awareness and confidence that come with age.
Party On and Keep Moving Forward,
Beth (BLOVI) Medlock
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