After some shopping on and around Pickering Wharf (she helped me select the wand) we went to Capt’s Waterfront Grill for a late lunch/early dinner and a couple of drinks. I got a totally yummy plate of twin lobster rolls. It was just sweet cold lobster with a little celery and only a dollop of mayo in the middle. I scarfed both of them down. This trip really was all about family, friends, fun and… food. I can’t think of when I’ve had so many of my very favorite kinds of food in such a short time.

Here’s a few of the photos (more here).

Jan showed me a Pavlovian shortcut that I’ll implement to move into a meditative state more quickly. She had also made me a special vial of essential oil fragrance – mmmmmm. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know I’ll always love you.

Such a wide variety of practices and groups springing up in Salem – of all places – is really fascinating to me. I enjoyed meeting and talking with the different kinds of practitioners. There was a surprising organizational loyalty for some, although the idea that “we are all magicians” – each her own way – was also expressed more than once.

As for the rest of my time there, probably the less said the better – there was some anxiety surrounding my blogging. I will say that we had an absolutely magickal time (grin).

Along my way out of the area I stopped at a great waterside restaurant. Yeah, anyone who knows me well would also know that there is no way that I would ever leave New England seaside without stopping for some steamers. I ate almost two orders, and got my “steamers glow.” What is it about those things?

Everywhere I went, there was a particularly meaningful and often amusing “soundtrack” playing. That was true for the whole trip.

Another aspect of the trip, one I have never even thought of as a factor, was the importance of smells. As you might have been able to discern from my Salem shopping, aromas are very powerful for me.

This trip is memorable in terms of the scent-landscape as much as anything else. From sandlewood to musk to lemongrass to the ocean – even the city smells around the airport – everywhere I went, there were scents that enthralled me. When I got home, I noticed that everything here was somehow flatter, less rich in aroma. I’ll have to light a candle and try some of that incense…

I’m not really sure how to express the way this whole week resonated in my soul, but it’s still reverberating.

Being near the sea, seeing people that I love, and all of of the rest of it really recharged me. I feel so happy.