#69 Mind-Body-Spirit Badassity Extravaganza!

It's the 69th Badass Adventure. I have to do a quick shoutout to the relationship between Oliver and my mom. When Oliver was in middle/high school, as per many kids his age (from what I'm told), he had a weird obsession with the number 69. To the point that my mom "conveniently" told him she was 70 years old when in fact she was 69 in order to prevent an entire year of teasing.

He also went through a phase during that time of drawing male anatomy anywhere he could just to make us laugh. There was the infamous time when he drew them all over the inside of my car with blacklight activated ink. This would make the drawings only show up when a car came up behind us with their high beams on, at which time, the entire inside of the car would look like a graphic pornographic comic book.

Which was hysterically funny when Emily inherited the car and forgot about the drawings during a time when she was transporting members of the color guard team home from practice. Chaos ensued.

Anyways, I digress.

Emily and I badass adventured all day yesterday in what I call our "It Takes Two Mind, Body, Spirit Extravaganza".

Everything we did yesterday was connected to a holistic self-care practice focused on the principles of Mind, Body, and Spirit Wellness, but each thing we did was a repeat (of sorts) and direct comparison from a previous Badass Adventure.

MIND:

Compared to #65 Vegas Baby

So, in looking up "Unusual thngs to do in St. Petersburg", I found mention of The Fairgrounds.

Which is weird because I have NEVER heard about this place in the whole time I have been living here.

We headed to a warehouse off central ave in downtown St. Pete and entered into this unusual buidling that housed a record store, an art gallery, a rustic bar, and .... an immersive art experience.

So, very similar to the Meow Wolf experience that Oliver and I did at Las Vegas.

SImilar concept: You walk around this alternate world where you experience strange and unusual sights, sounds, and tactile experiences. We had a scavenger hunt to complete -- similar to Meow Wolf -- where we used a black light to find hidden numbers to spell out a code, which we used at the end to solve a Skateboard Slot Machine puzzle.

Duringo our time here, Emily discovered a secondary hidden mystery, so we spent time trying to figure it out, but also just had fun taking random photos in the funky artistic rooms.

Meow Wolf vs. The Fairgrounds: Not comparing adventure partners, Meow Wolf has to win, just because of it's incredibly large scope and size of the experience.

BODY

Compared to: #18 BadAss Established 1971

Compared to: #50 The Last Badass Adventure

Emily just turned 23 (!!!!!!) and for her birthday, she wanted us to get massages.

Ok!!! Don't have to ask me twice.

We headed to Handcrafted Healing Spa in downtown St. Pete where we each got a 1 hour therapeutic massage.

Em's included hot rocks.

Mine included air stuck in the pipes of the toilet next door, so whenever anyone flushed it, it sounded like a (excuse my french) giant long, extended rattling fart. The person next door must have been lactose intolerant because they needed to flush multiple times during my one hour massage. And every time the toilet cut the cheese, I started to giggle. Sometimes uncontrollably. Which disrupted my Zen. But also was really funny.

Comparing it to my #18 BadAss adventure when I had the best massage of my life (relaxation) and the worst massage of my life (Gua Sha body and fascia scraping), I would have to rank #69 a bit higher than #18. I was with my girl which made it automatically better. And I wasn't screaming in pain, "Really...is this something people find relaxing?" during the Gua Sha experience.

For a quick lunch and to fuel our bodies (physical wellness...you see where I'm going with this?), I took Emily to the 2D Cafe, right around the corner from the massage studio.

Comparing it to #50 when I went with the Badass Group after I got my tattoo, I have to say that it's comparing Apples to Oranges. Both experiences were fantastic!

SPIRIT

Compared to #14 Tarot Cards

Emily and I decided to get our fortune told, and I took her to the same place I went on the first adventure with the Badass Babes to Christy's Enchanted Notions on Central Ave. And, as luck would have it, we got the same psychic that I got on #14 -- Linda!

Fantastic! Because I loved her reading the first time around, and I was curious to see how it would compare to this one.

All I can say, is that she once again not only hit the nail on the head with me, but also with Emily's reading.

She asked if we wanted to have our reading together, which it turns out was a great thing to do because afterwards, we could coach each other to remember everything she told us.

Emily's was fascinating. I won't get into details because it's HER story to tell, but let's say that hers was focused on her career (she is on the absolute right path for her and really good things are coming her way shortly. Plus, she is going to influence "something that is going to prevent a catastrophe" . Which makes me feel safer knowing she is actively working to make our country and world better. Thanks Em!). Her friend network is ideal and her love relationship is a perfect fit. Everything Linda said made sense for her and she said afterwards that it made her feel more confident for the future.

And mine was super interesting too. Like #14, Linda seemed to really catch was was going on in my past and what is going on in the present. She seemed right on target with my own viewpoint that I am happy in my career, that I have some things I need to work on (like I'm working on not being so rigid and that I need to be better with accepting praise) and some crazy accurate things about past relationships that I won't go into right now. But the funny thing is that for the majority of the reading, she got more and more and more enthusiastic about the cards being layed out, saying, "Oh, this is good".....flips more cards, "Oh, wow...this is really nice for you", and "I can't believe this...this keeps coming back to this thing that's going to happen for you" and ending with "Holy crap. This is really unusual and really good for you. Wow. ". To have a psychic say, "Holy crap" was hysterical! And I left the reading feeling very happy about my personal growth and my place in the world.

So if it all is a bunch of hooey, who cares? It made both Emily and I feel better, more connected to our higher powers, our inner peace, and our optimistic future.

So comparing these readings to the #14 adventure.... sorry Badass Babes. I LOVED our #14 adventure together, but there is something really special and unique about getting readings done with your daughter and being able to discuss it with each other afterwards. I have to say that #69 wins.

High School Oliver would be really happy about that.