ehowton ◾ M A Y D A Y (Reply)

BELTANE 2011

ROAD TRIP! We pulled the kids out of school a day early, loaded up the hippo and took the "scenic route" AKA Highway 82 from Sherman to Texarkana, down a two-lane highway through many small towns such as "Paris" and "Clarksville." While we took the interstate most of the way back in a quick, three-hour jaunt, the lackadaisical approach was most assuredly the way to get there.

Holiday Inn Express; No, I don't feel any smarter...

Sadly, the hotel I got with my corporate discount was a sister hotel and despite being $10 more a night than the more-than-adequate hotel I stayed at in Austin, it had zero amenities, a pull-out sleeper sofa and a *single* queen-size bed. When I had asked for their largest king suite, they'd assumed I meant "king" as in "big" and it was indeed an enormous suite...with only a single queen sized bed. The front desk girl was awesome and called the Holiday Inn Express across the street who had an even larger suite with two - count them two - queens and a a pull out sleeper sofa. We were now set for the weekend!

Maypole

The Druids opened Beltane with a ritualistic bardic fire which was really awesome to watch, then they took a step back for the remainder of the festival until it was time to open the Maypole circle, which again was in the Druids' realm. My son was partnered with Aranon, a retired Chief Warrant Officer who preached on both ignorance, and our children being the future - really neat guy and I was thrilled my son was paired with him.

The Road Less Traveled

The boy, growing restless during his mother's workshops, talked me into taking him on an exploration adventure! I haven't seen him smile this broadly in a while - we found an old "Road Closed" sign at the edge of the driving path and continued past it. Its entire surface was thickly covered with a bed a pine needles and went on for miles. It was a wonderfully bonding experience and a fantastic waste of time. It was very beautiful and the perfect weather for such a great impromptu outing. The road made a mighty fine path indeed, what with its width and straightness - very easy to follow and return - a plus when you're traversing unfamiliar territory.

Texarkana

I personally found everyone I interacted with in Texarkana surprisingly friendly - surprisingly because even when they had no reason to be, they were. I'd driven through Texarkana many times when I was stationed at Langley, but I can't remember the last time I stopped to visit. Beltane was gorgeously situated at the foot of a dam in a clearing surrounded by trees and the weather was very complimentary to the fest all weekend long. We had some magnificent storms on the way home the last day, and its been cold - very cold - and rainy ever since. Its a nice day for a day off :)