Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite

Yosemite! The word instantly brings back memories. A little girl looking forward to camping with her family. Watching the magic of falls made of fire after listening to "Let the Fire Fall" ring out through the valley. Wet hikes beside torrents of sparkling water. Mesmerized in a fairyland called "The Happy Isles" wondering what it would be like to jump into the water and let it take me along on all of the secret places it explores.

Other memories of waking up on a rainy night to hear and smell a bear in our tent. Hanging on to the tent pole to keep the tent from collapsing while our visitor noisily ate up all of our food and its containers. Cleaning cabins in the summer and on weekends at Camp Curry while I was a college student.

Nineteen-fifty-one was the year my friends and I visited the Ahwahnee and made the wish; some day I want to stay here overnight. That some day happened two weeks ago when my husband and I joined a Sports Leisure two day tour to the Ahwanhee Hotel in Yosemite.

It was just as magic as I hoped it would be. No snow, but enough rain to put on a great waterfalls and river show, new falls competing with the famous old ones. We could see Yosemite Falls from our hotel window.

We sat by a roaring fire in the giant lobby fireplace, ate in the magnificent dining room, admired Indian handiwork, took the hotel tour, this time as guests! All of this was arranged and managed for us by our tour director, Ramona Goodge who shared stories about the people, places, and history of this beautiful National Park.

To top it all off, when at dinner my husband, Everett, requested our song, "Indian Love Call", the pianist knew it. We had had to adopt a new song because musicians would tell us they had never heard of "Indian Love Call." Looking into each other's eyes, listening to "our song" we both agreed crossing off getaways on our bucket list excites us.

Sex and Intimacy

Nine out of ten men believe intimacy means sex. Interestingly, when women complain about lack of intimacy, men don't understand what they want. For intimacy to occur, there must be interest, respect, warmth, acceptance and trust. It involves understanding, talking, and listening. It requires an awareness of being loved and feeling loving.

The dictionary definition of intimacy: "intrinsic, innermost...marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity, marked by warm friendship, suggesting informal warmth or privacy, of a very personal private nature." Is it any wonder relationship is difficult for everyone? The huge differences in perceptions of what love is and how to show it, lead to hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and the often spoken comment, "If you really loved me, you would........" We can't even agree on what intimacy is.

The challenge to those looking for a soul mate relationship is to accept the fact you must learn from your partner. That means spending time together sharing your stories, beliefs, and perceptions. What are your dreams, passions and concerns? You can open my book, "Becoming Soul Mates" at almost any two pages and find something to talk about. Little by little you will create the intimacy that leads to becoming soul mates.