Kentucky {50 States of Yoga}

I was picked up at 5:30 in the morning at Nashville Airport by my college friend Nichole and her daughter, Victoria.  I hadn't seen Nichole for 16 years.  I can't even believe I am that old that college was 16 years ago!  We headed Northwest towards Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.  En route, in Bowling Green, we blew a tire!  It was shredded.  Fortunately, as we began digging through the trunk for the spare, a Kentucky State Trooper rolled up and offered to change the tire for us.  A Southern gentleman, indeed.

We went to Walmart, got a new tire, and headed back onto the highway -back towards Mammoth Cave.  We couldn't have asked for a lovelier day.  It was warm, humid and we were quite lucky with avoiding random rain showers.  We arrived at Mammoth Cave just before noon and had a quick picnic lunch before meeting up with our group for the cave tour.

Nichole and me!

Nichole and her daughter, Victoria

At Mammoth Cave National Park we took the Domes and Dripstones Tour.  3 shuttle buses took our large group to a separate entrance to the cave.  We walked down 300+ steep stairs, through narrow passages and sink holes to the floor of the cave.  We saw countless giant spiders - everywhere!  It was terrifying in some parts...  so dark and so many spiders crawling overhead!  Near the end of the tour we went through an area called the Drapery Room with large, impressive stalactites and stalagmites.  The tour was about 2 hours long and well worth the $15 a head.

The lighting was incredibly dark in the cave...
I would guess 95% of my photos did not come out well!

I don't know what this is... but it looks neat!

 After the tour we did a little shopping in the gift store and headed back down the highway to Bowling Green, KY.  We were running a little early for my yoga class, so we stopped in at the National Corvette Museum!  I've never really been a sports car person {my dream car is a Jeep Wrangler!}, but I have to admit they were quite a site to take in!  The Corvettes from the 1950s were amazing.  

After gawking at the Corvettes we headed to 4Yoga - my 15th stop of 50 States of Yoga.  4Yoga is located in a second floor space overlooking Fountain Square Park.  I took the Basics Yoga class with Susan.  I can't begin to tell you how welcoming the ladies in this class were.  So kind and curious.  Towards the end of our practice Susan shared chanting with us... and included the English translations - which was a welcome change for me.  Typically I have no idea what I am chanting {or what is being chanted to me}, so it was nice to hear the message in a language I understood.  Besides enjoying the flow of the class, I got a special treat - a thunderstorm rolled through during savasana!  Their space has a large bay window overlooking the square.  Hearing the rain patter on the side of the building and the thunder in the distance was magical.  Living in Northern California, where we don't get many thunderstorms, it was a beautiful reminder of our summers at our camp home.  Being indoors during thunderstorms and hearing the rain on the metal roof.  I was transported to New Hampshire for a short memory of summers spent with my grandmother.  After class I chatted a little with Susan and Angie {the owner of 4Yoga} about my journey around the country and with yoga.  The more states I travel to, the more I appreciate these spaces.  The space to share with people I might have never met and to share in their lives.  I didn't realize when I started on this adventure how blessed I would feel at each and every stop.

Susan, my yoga instructor, and me!

Selfie with Susan, Angie and me!

My friend Nichole and her daughter waited patiently for me in the car, in the rain, while I finished up my class.  We stopped in Bowling Green to have dinner before starting our long journey back to Murfreesboro, TN - Nichole's home.  Once home we all went right to bed.  I was exhausted.  Not just from the cave adventure and yoga... but from not sleeping on my red eye flight from LAX to Nashville, and having done a "kind triathlon" the day before in San Francisco.  The Wanderlust 108 was a 5k, 90 minutes of yoga and 30 minutes of meditation.  It was fun day - but made for a long weekend.  Before bed, Nichole treated me to a blissful experience.  She is a doTerra Wellness Advocate and has an essential oil diffuser/humidifier that she used the Serenity blend in to help lull me to sleep.  It was divine.  I slept like a baby all 3 nights in TN.

Other states on this adventure?  Tennessee and Georgia!

Or visit all my 50 States of Yoga posts here.