Back from Rec Plant
Apr. 27th, 2003 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbournIt was a nice, relaxing weekend with some of the best weather Texas has to offer for camping. The Council of Magicakal Arts pagan group here in Texas holds an event for Beltaine and another for Samhaign, and I went to it regularly since 1995 or so when I lived in Austin. I was going to come back for one last Beltaine before Angela moved to NM for graduate school, but it seems that the CMA has had a political explosion of late (which frankly has been a long time coming due to the pressures of the organization buying and trying to manage their own land for their exclusive use). Therefore, I came down for the 'not CMA' Beltaine instead of the actual 'CMA' event.
It was small (about 80 or so people; CMA gatherings run in the 500-800 range), at the original campground where CMA was before they bought land about 3-4 years back, and consisted mostly of friends and members of one of the two political factions at work in the latest dust-up. For me, it was a return to a place with a lot of ghosts of the past (CMA was one of the very few places where Kim and I could be together for extended periods of time without feeling like we were impinging on our primary relationships), and pretty much all the 'players' in the drama of that period (~1997) were present except Kim: Greg (Kim's ex-husband), Janice (girl Greg dumped Kim for), Angela (my ex-wife), and a few others in smaller supporting roles. I was even sleeping in the same damn tent.
All in all, it was enjoyable although steeped in connections with personal history. Really, that describes my whole trip to Austin. Fascinating experience really, although it is interesting to note how distant all those events felt. The campground is still there, the tent is still there, the people are still there, but the thing I was fighting so damn hard to keep is gone for good. I know I lost a lot of myself in the process, but it has been a long damn time.
We were camped next to the UT Pagan Student Alliance, and found it amusing to see that the many traditions of poorly planned menus, piling into a single tent, obsession with drinking, and general goofiness that we took part in when we were in the PSA as college students. Yes, I really was that naive at one time.
Not a lot of people I knew well, but the few I did were enjoyable to talk with. Had a good share of cute chicks (half-naked and otherwise), good food and company, relaxing warm sun without being too hot, cool breeze, comfortable cool swimming pool, and awesome bonfire/fire-twirling and drumming.
Oh, and I've managed to hit all my favorite Austin restaurants except Serrano's, which is scheduled for lunch tomorrow. Even made it to Chuy's Tex-Mex twice!
It was small (about 80 or so people; CMA gatherings run in the 500-800 range), at the original campground where CMA was before they bought land about 3-4 years back, and consisted mostly of friends and members of one of the two political factions at work in the latest dust-up. For me, it was a return to a place with a lot of ghosts of the past (CMA was one of the very few places where Kim and I could be together for extended periods of time without feeling like we were impinging on our primary relationships), and pretty much all the 'players' in the drama of that period (~1997) were present except Kim: Greg (Kim's ex-husband), Janice (girl Greg dumped Kim for), Angela (my ex-wife), and a few others in smaller supporting roles. I was even sleeping in the same damn tent.
All in all, it was enjoyable although steeped in connections with personal history. Really, that describes my whole trip to Austin. Fascinating experience really, although it is interesting to note how distant all those events felt. The campground is still there, the tent is still there, the people are still there, but the thing I was fighting so damn hard to keep is gone for good. I know I lost a lot of myself in the process, but it has been a long damn time.
We were camped next to the UT Pagan Student Alliance, and found it amusing to see that the many traditions of poorly planned menus, piling into a single tent, obsession with drinking, and general goofiness that we took part in when we were in the PSA as college students. Yes, I really was that naive at one time.
Not a lot of people I knew well, but the few I did were enjoyable to talk with. Had a good share of cute chicks (half-naked and otherwise), good food and company, relaxing warm sun without being too hot, cool breeze, comfortable cool swimming pool, and awesome bonfire/fire-twirling and drumming.
Oh, and I've managed to hit all my favorite Austin restaurants except Serrano's, which is scheduled for lunch tomorrow. Even made it to Chuy's Tex-Mex twice!
