My entry for the IFC Finals first round - Tie Breaker

This was one heck of an adventure, I have to say! Not only were the items in this scavenger hunt very challenging, but I had some little experiences that made me wonder if I wasn't stuck in some kind of Murphy's Law cloud of doom. Lol! However, I'm not so easily swayed (I do have a sense of humor).

Determined, I forged on and these little blips ended up with a silver lining and I'm sure that my family and I will look back and have a little laugh about it all. Yes, @apolymask, your words kept creeping up in my mind:

If you somehow get hurt doing any of our quests you can not reasonably hold us accountable. Take responsibility for your own choices and actions in life. This is a voluntary game where you choose to play. Only you can make that decision for yourself.

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FLOWERS

This was my power spot for a couple hours. A rather nice reprieve from the conditioned air and white walls of the museum. I stepped outside to this scene and I just plopped down and made myself at home in the beauty of this space. Nature and the skies have always been my absolute joy - what better way to spend the afternoon than having the skies and nature right at your feet. The playing damselflies were over the top amazing! And I had some really sweet people join me at points - discussing the beauty and also the paradox of perception - it was just a very beautiful time spent.

Hello!

SWIMMING POOL

CAVE

Photos taken at Hanging Rock in North Carolina. This cave right here has quite a story attached. Something that I would not have known if it weren't for the park ranger that hit our car on the way there! LOL These photos 'almost' didn't happen! But alas, in the fall we are going to return and get a private tour and hike from him so all is well.

TWIN PILLARS

Twin pillars always remind me of the Free Masons. Good thing (at least for the purposes of this contest) there are remnants of the Free Masons' architecture in nearly every town and country.

SPIDER

This is Rosie. Rosie is a 'working spider' for kids' classes. Perfectly content and very well taken care of and loved daily. I remember Rosie when my boys took classes with her :) I was surprised that she was still around but I guess female tarantulas can live 35 years.

SHIELD

DREAM CATCHER

This is the dream catcher my oldest son made when he was 5 :)

GRAFFITI

This was probably one of my favorite visits (although our car started smoking without explanation) ha! In any case, I love 'art' and free expression and this was wonderful to see. I was inspired by it actually. However, reading articles on this very famous "free expression tunnel" I learned that it's not so 'free' these days. Kind of sad that everything is being censored now.

MAYAN CALENDAR

There are actually 3 calendars that the Mayan lived by but mostly these were passed down through spoken word and art. They lived their life in accordance with these calendars/beliefs/mathematics/cosmology.

I visited our local Museum and found a lot of artifacts.

The following are some of the items used by the Mayans that include the same glyphs, mathematics and beliefs they include in their calendar.

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This is also considered by many to be the Mayan Calendar which made hunting down this item especially tricky and confusing. So I am including both here but I feel pretty confident that this is actually Aztec (much easier to find than the other above):

LIGHTNING

Hot diggity dog! Date night with my hubby should always be this exciting!

What's interesting about this shot is that I managed to capture a ground-to-cloud bolt!

It's full ascent to the sky!

POWER SPOT

I would have to say that my power spot is and always has been my heart. It sustains me, teaches me, inspires me, moves me and at times thrashes me into malleable form only to emerge again renewed with deeper perspective. Everything that I am flows out of this place. It is a place that I have learned over a lifetime to trust, to go to for comfort, wisdom and truth, creativity and love. And it is a place that I draw from in my writing, photography and art, relationships.

I am also energized by witnessing human kindness and compassion and of others' joy. I am often moved to tears by all the things that come from the place of the heart - whether music, art, poetry.

However, even a power spot needs a recharge. I am most energized when walking in nature and can remove myself from the noise of life and this sometimes overwhelming world. I learned this early on in my life coming from a not so functional family. I spent a lot time walking in the woods, spending time in nature and it always has that instant affect of balance and reconnection for me - when my heart and head become out of balance with one another or I am feeling depleted. It's almost like a sacred place outside of the meddling of human interference. It's life 'untarnished' in its purest form where the buzzing of silence is filled with the songs of birds or rustling of leaves, an occasional branch or nut falling from a tree or the trickle of a creek - you get the sense being in this space that all is connected with purpose for the benefit of all - there is a rhythm that you begin to recognize not only on the outside but on the inside and it's trees the witnesses. That is so very comforting to me.

Take a walk with me.....

We're on our way to the 'cloud dome' - a dwelling that has a little peep hole in the roof, but instead of viewing the world outside, the outside is reflecting on the viewer.

2 miles in - There it is!

Walking around the other side, let's take a peek! Don't you know I'm imagining little gnomes and fairyfolk greeting us at the door. LOL

Unfortunately, it is too dark to take pictures this day, let alone see inside. Perhaps another day.