Solitary yoga retreat - Boca Raton, FL - December 2014

I am writing this post at the end of 2018 (four years after this trip). I think I needed that amount of time to "heal" from this experience.

First, a little history about why I went on a solitary yoga retreat. I had been having health issues for over a year. I went to every specialist and had every test. No doctor could figure it out as every test came back negative. I was at my wits end so I figured it must be in my head and I needed to destress, relax and try something other than western medicine.

So I found this yoga retreat center in Boca Raton and booked a 4-day experience. It came with a massage, an acupuncture session, and the beach nearby. Perfect, right? [I am not going to mention the name of the center because my experience was absolutely horrible. I just looked it up and it is still operating. I can only hope that 4 years later it is better.] I did end up relaxing at the beach and soaking up the sun, however. Want to know if this time away worked? Read on past the water towers.

I flew into Palm Beach and drove down to Boca Raton. I got a water tower in Lake Worth, FL and then these 2 very modern towers in Boca Raton.

Boca Raton, FL

"Lake" of Lake Worth

"Worth" of Lake Worth

So did my yoga retreat help? The short answer is no, although I think yoga and meditation are wonderful. I flew back to DC, went to bed that night and woke up in the hospital the next day. Thank god I made it home. My "issue" finally showed up on an emergency room CAT Scan and subsequent transvaginal ultrasound - uterine cysts. But they were small and the doctors told me I shouldn't be having such pain with them but I was in MAJOR pain. I pushed for a hysterectomy (versus a lifetime of being on pain meds which was one option being given to me) and I am glad I did. They biopsied my uterus and I actually had adenomyosis. This is when the inner lining of the uterus attacks the outer lining. It is undetectable by tests other than a biopsy after the uterus is removed. Thank god some small cysts showed up otherwise I would have never figured out the "real issue".

Work Trip - Tampa, FL (And a visit with Leigh) - July 2012

I love it when work and personal collide (well sometimes). In July I got to visit Leigh and see her new home. We took a walk with her dog Rotunda to get this great water tower picture. Rotunda is in the lower right corner.

Plant High School. Tampa. FL. 

Work Trip - National Conference to FL - December 2010

My new job with Keep America Beautiful requires me to travel also, but I am not often in a car going places so it's hard for me to take pictures. However, one of my first trips was to our National Conference in December 2010 to Orlando, FL. I took the weekend to drive to Tampa, FL to see Leigh and some manatees! I didn't have much time so I took some very ugly, far away pictures out the window. I don't even know where I was besides on Interstate 4.