The Road Less Travelled
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go (Dr. Seuss, “Oh The Places You’ll Go”).
La Mirage Garden Hotel & Spa hosts God’s Reconnection event. Upon arrival, the manager greets us and escorts us to the Pandora Lounge for a glass of wine. We visit with friends while we wait for the other guests to arrive. My wine glass is still full when one of the staff escorts us to a shaman. The shaman clears away negative energy by smudging each guest with a variety of herbs and smoke to capture the negative energy particles in our body. Then we receive a glass of a delicious beverage with pure gold particles floating inside. The drink completes the purification. We are led into a room with a variety of artists presenting their creations using gold as the accent medium. The artists include Ecuadorian world-famous Eddie Mosler. Another artist dresses like Cleopatra in a seductive dress and of course, the men are spellbound. So I encourage Billy Boy to let me take a picture of him with the enchanting Cleopatra.
After visiting with the various artists we locate our table with friends and receive a glass of Trapiche sparkling wine from Argentina. The wine glows golden with delightful little bubbles and it is a favorite of mine. The dinner includes a delightful salmon appetizer and the main course is a TENDER T-bone steak dinner. The chef pairs each course with a specific wine. Edible gold dust sprinkles are on the food. Even the bottled water has gold particles floating inside. The entire event was in typical La Mirage style. Please click on the youtube link in blue to get a brief glimpse into our magical evening The God’s Reconnection.
During the dinner at La Mirage, I began to reflect on my life and what if I took a different path instead of moving to Ecuador? I am sure everyone has the experience of jobs and bosses that you either love or hate. So when a door closes is it was because another door will open? During this golden dinner, I realize the true God’s Reconnection in my life. Simply moving from Arlington, Texas to Cotacachi, Ecuador. Away from family and friends and everything, I am familiar with but wow what happens is truly amazing. The move, people, language and new culture revitalize my spirit.
Now, if the gold-dusted dinner is not enough we switch gears to the annual L&S Artisan Meat Chili Cook-Off. The owners Shawn & Lindsay along with their 3 children are the heart and soul of the L&S Farm creating a farm to table food product that serves the expat community as well as Ecuadorians. They are both from the United States and built their business from the ground up. To learn more about their farm click on the link in blue L& S.
This year there are 14 chili entries so the competition is tough. Last year Billy Boy won with a version of Bacon, Bacon, Bacon Chili stating “who does not like bacon”. However this year his entry of Old Buffalo Breath Chili did not win. Wonder if it is the name? Not winning did not dampen our spirits. What’s to dampen with 14 different chilies to sample along with great beer including a local draft artisan beer. A shout out to Shawn & Lindsey for creating this great community event. We had a blast! Please review the youtube slide show below by clicking on chili cook-off.
I hope you will reflect on the roads that you travel and maybe just maybe you might consider a different road you never know what you might discover.
