Ahhh...

That's what I was saying all weekend, as Shelly and I relaxed and reflected in luxury at the Carolina Inn and Spa at Pinehurst!
Shelly left me to my own devices Friday night, having been asked to come down spouse-less for the first day. Apparently, her and the associates had quite the time down there, though advocate/client confidentiality precludes her from telling me exactly what went on.
Saturday morning, after a trip to Jiffy Lube to get the car inspected (it passed!), I followed in my wife's footsteps south on 751, then route 1, then 15/501, until I reached the fabled city of Pinehurst.
Having been told in only in very general terms where I was going (Shelly had given me detailed instructions, such as "Its the...hotel and spa! I forget the name!" and "You can see it from the road!"), I of course took a wrong turn immediately upon breaching Pinehurst's city limits. Backtracking, I found the abundant foliage (of which, in accord with the name, pines were a significant portion) soothing, despite my lack of clear direction, although the beautiful, cloudless skies and balmy temperatures probably also contributed. Having no real idea of where I was going, I gripped the steering wheel and resolved to simply drive around until I found it. And for the first time since Henry Ford cranked out the Model-T, this approach actually worked! Somebody call Guinness!
After checking in at the front desk, I shuffled up to my second-floor room, my gait hindered the enormous over-night bag slung over my shoulder. Finding it empty (Shelly not having returned from her morning meetings), I hid my stuff in the closet and decided to surprise her. I didn't have long to wait; upon hearing her in the hall, I shut the closet door, remembering in a nick of time to set my phone on vibrate. That proved vital. Once she entered, Shelly let out a disappointed sigh at my continued absence and immediately called me. The closet door must have some sound-proofing installed, because I carried on an abbreviated conversation with her before jumping out, to her delight.
Having about an hour to kill, we moseyed over the the spa. Our appointment was not until 2, requiring us to check in at 1:30 PM, but we arrived an hour early. Have you ever had a locker room attendant show you around, making sure you know the location of everything from the herbal refreshment stand to the bathing suit water extractor? Try it sometime. Not having eaten, Shelly and I ordered lunch and ate it by the pool (courtesy of Shelly's firm), but afterwards I decided to sit a spell in the sauna, and then the hot tub. After severely losing track of time, I showered and put on my complimentary terry-clothe robe and joined Shelly in the co-ed area mere moments before the masseuses' called us.
What can one really say about a 50-minute massage?? Later, Shelly gigglingly told other female coworkers that I kept making 'noises', which in further retellings, was exaggerated to 'moaning'. Soothing music, darkened room, scented candles, skin-soothing lotions, magic hands attached to hot, young females (uh...scratch that last ;) )- what can mere words do to relay the experience?? Afterwards, I practically had to be removed by wheelbarrow to the 'recuperation room', where Shelly and I sat side by side in two criminally comfortable lounge chairs, sipping some fruity tangerine/orange drink and staring, dazed, out a picture window at the nearby forest. I'd probably still be there if...well, to tell you the truth, I don't remember why we left.
Anyway, we had dinner later with the rest of the firm, then went to our king-sized bed for the night. Sunday morning it was back to reality, but even the hour twenty drive home was somehow soothing.
In other, none-spa related news, most of the geese left the lake last week. I know everyone's disappointed that I'll now be unable to mention them in the blog every week. Seventeen are still there. I was a little sad to see that Bruce had moved on, but he and some others flew back in last night for an encore appearance. They'll all probably be flying out again soon- even the goslings are fully fledged and flying now. If you see a Canada goose grazing in a field or at a lake somewhere, and notice that he has a red spiral band around his left leg, tell ol' Bruce we miss him and that he has a sure meal here whenever he decides to come back.
Alright everyone. That's all for tonight. I'll try to post again before I hit the beach this next week, so hope everyone stays safe until then.