The Eugene Weekend

We rolled into Eugene just hours before I needed to be at the studio to teach. I had enough time to transfer our luggage into the room, shower and eat.

The whole weekend of classes and playshops at Eugene were dynamite. I love teaching to this community. They’re so receptive and enthusiastic. I felt really good about delivering a good ROCKIN time on Friday, creating some Level Masters on Saturday and sharing my KNEE AH routine and helping facilitate some Super Humans on Sunday. 

Friday, after class, I met up with a man who answered my ad on Craigs List. He said he’d love to meet me and River and offered to make me dinner. He ended up sending me home with belly full of chicken and dumplings. He also made me a pecan pie from scratch and sent that home with me in a glass pie plate.

Funny enough, a plate is something that I forgot to pack. So i’ve been eating off of my acrylic cutting board and wishing I had something that would serve as a cutting surface and an eating surface and would be microwave safe. And, as if he had heard my request, my new friend, Bob, handed me that pie dish and said i could keep it. It was perfect. And the pie was good too. (but i didn’t eat it all myself, I shared as much as I could).

Saturday morning, River and I hit the Eugene farmers market and I stocked up on veggies and got some goat cheese. Then, after the Level Masters playshop, I met my friend, Katie at her house and we grilled up some salmon, chicken and beef and roasted some squash and ginger in the oven. We ate some of it and I packed up the rest in my cooler for the next few days. 

River tried to chase her cat, and growled at her teenage son and his friend. He was just lucky that our host was so gracious; it’s not like River wasn’t straining our welcome. But we got out of there before anything bad happened and I put some ice in my cooler when I got back to the motel. 

That night I couldn’t find my phone. I would still be able to teach in the morning, using iTunes on my computer, so I wasn’t panicked. But I was upset at myself for being sloppy and for the expense and inconvenience it will create. Especially in the middle of this trip. 

But then my friend, Amy, had the idea that I should call it. I couldn’t call it myself, because it’s long distance from the hotel room, but I put on Facebook that I needed someone to call my phone. My friend, Andrea did, and that’s when I discovered it was under the seat in my car.

Disaster averted.

This particular Motel 6 was unique in that it did not have a laundry facility on site, so my pile of stinky sweaty clothes was growing ever bigger and ever more ripe.

Sunday morning, I was invited to breakfast at the lovely home of Amy and Sara, who were also the producers of the weekend. I met Sara’s charming daughters and we had a nice fresh, egg and pea sprout scramble with home made biscuits and some veggies. And strong black coffee! 

River was being rambunctious that morning and besides chasing their three, innocent cats away from their own home, he stole someone’s chocolate from upstairs and ate some of it, and then peed in the girls’ bedroom. River’s timing was impeccable so that I had to rush to clean up after him and was barely able to make it to the studio in time for my Knee Ah Nia class. I was unable to give him the proper time to pee that morning, so the poor guy had to release his bladder again, inside his crate. While I taught class. I could tell that someone odd was going on, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. Oops.

After class, I still didn't know what was going on, but River seemed really agitated. In addition, the teacher and students for the next class were beginning to come in and a man's voice from across the studio was making River growl. I let him out of his crate and put on his head harness so I could continue to pack up and get out of there without losing control of him. As always, he responded beautifully and just walked by my side.

Some of the young girls gathering to tango seemed to avoid River as he passed them. After a few near encounters one of them finally asks, "Is he a dangerous dog?" I said, "Oh not at all. This is just a least that doesn't choke his neck." And I explained how it controls the biggest part of his whole body and I showed how his mouth can still open. Then they all petted him and were surprised at how soft his fur was.

So now, in addition to my stinky workout clothes, River’s bedding was urine soaked. Fortunately, my friend, Bob was able to have me over again. He made me another meal and another pie (lemon coconut this time) and he let me use his washing machine and dryer. He also gave me some aspirin and ice for my ankle and a quick massage to help me heal.

It was almost dark when River and I finally left Eugene on Sunday night, headed for Coos Bay. It was raining, off and on all night. The road was winding and it was dark. It was exciting. I was buzzing from the high of the weekend in Eugene and tired and ready to crash, but hopefully, not until I got to a bed. 

Obviously, we finally made it to Coos Bay.  River was acting very strangely in the room. As soon as we get into any room, he runs around and smells everything once. But in this room, he remained focused on one section of the dresser. It was as if something were behind the dresser or something that was there on the dresser had left a strong scent. And when I picked up his harness or his leash, he LEAPT up, ready to get out of the room. He is usually thrilled to go on walks, but I don’t usually see him so seemingly desperate to get out. And it wasn’t as if he had to poo or pee, because he had already relieved himself just a while before.

I have to admit, it was the first motel 6 room that I thought had a creepy vibe to it. It felt like the people who had stayed in it before, left some residual energy that we could both feel.

But I was tired. I made my food, cleaned up and just went straight to bed. I didn’t even bother packing River’s crate into the room. I let him sleep up in the bed with me. He has been sleeping in his crate every night, and except for the first two nights, hasn’t even complained about doing so. But since I didn’t have a crate for him to sleep in, I felt it was fair to let him up with me.

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