Thursday night, Amanda and I flew from Austin to Oakland {a Southwest, direct flight to San Francisco hack}, met up with Lex who was meeting us from Tampa, and took the metro to Lauren’s apartment in the Marina District. We hit the road early the next morning to Squaw Valley, all of us unsure of what we’d signed ourselves up for. But we used the ride to catch ourselves up with our schedules and, 3-1/2 hours later, we successfully planes-trains-and-automobile-ed our way to this year’s Wanderlust Festival.
First on my Friday schedule was SUP yoga in the middle of Lake Tahoe. What a way to get into vacation mode! It was a tough class, balancing on a paddle board in the middle of boat season on a choppy lake. Difficulty aside, breathing in the fresh lake air with my fingers dipping into the cool water during final savasana was one of the greatest experiences of my life and was the perfect festival kick-off.
Other than a super informative chi running course {which I’ll be putting into practice when I return to Austin}, I didn’t have much on the books. I wandered around the festival scoping out where my Saturday classes would take place, sampling and re-sampling all of the delish treats from food sponsors, and looking through lots of fun yoga gear from clothing vendors.
Saturday was a different, jam packed, story. I woke up bright and early and headed to the fest to grab avocado toast and coffee from a food truck that Amanda said was a must {which it was}. But by the time my breakfast was ready, my first session had already begun {oops!}. I decided it was in my best interest to stay put, enjoying a slow-paced meal with friendly strangers rather than rush to a meditation class.
And when my next class started, I was glad I fueled up. A powerful core AiReal Yoga practice taught by the founder of aerial yoga – I must not have read the description! But with Carmen’s instruction, I flowed in the air for the next hour, paying more attention to how unique this experience was rather than how difficult. At the end, we prepared for final savasana by cocooning ourselves in our hammocks. Although gently spinning through the air in the middle of mountains was my second favorite savasana {in life}, this session was my favorite of the fest.
After AiReal Yoga, I met up with Amanda and Lauren for a hike up the Granite Chief Trail. The hike took us from 6,200 to 6,700 feet which made us sea level dwellers huff and puff. I’ve never spent any time skiing, so it was incredibly shocking how much the altitude affected us.
The hike was filled with ah-mazing views. The scale of the surrounding mountains was so grand that, every time I looked up, it was hard to believe I was there, in the middle of it all, and that everything was real, not perfectly painted backdrops.
After hiking, I spent some solo time by the pool, listening to tunes, thinking about my future, and prioritizing the whats and whos that mean the most to me. This has been an incredible experience for reflection!
And then we topped off our day by being lifted to 8,200 feet, where our dinner was waiting for us. And then headed back down for Thievery Corporation.
My Wanderlust Saturday was a mix of every single thing you could hope for a Saturday to include. There are already talks about which fest we’ll attend next year. But in the meantime, I’m off to enjoy a few more classes before heading back to the city tonight and my city tomorrow!
