Here Comes Summer in the USA

June is the best month – Rick Swartz.

My Yoga World tour took me London to Boston direct and darn cheap via a new Norwegian Airlines jetliner to start the month of June. My reasons to be back in the U.S. for June included my daughter’s birthday, the start of the Wanderlust Yoga Festivals across the U.S. and Canada and the weather this month generally provides for incredible outdoor fun. For example, yesterday morning I rode my bike up and outside Hanover, New Hampshire. At a sweet 70-some degrees and sunny, the blues of the sky and the lakes just seemed bluer, the greens of the rural landscape just greener.

The day before we kayaked Grafton Pond, the most serene 300 some acres of clean water you’ll find anywhere. It’s located just a few minutes from my house in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The pristine tranquility of Grafton Pond primarily stems from a “no boats with motors” being allowed on it. This is also a protected loon nesting site. I was able to kayak within ten feet of one big loon who seemed more curious in me than I was of her/him. Eventually the big aquatic bird dove away, popping up in the distance after being under water a very long time.

I’ll be working at all Wanderlust Yoga Festivals this summer. Hope you can make one, or more! The first took place last week at Snowshoe Mountain Resort and for me required a Boston to Pittsburgh flight followed by an over four hour drive up into the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Snowshoe sits atop Cheat Mountain at 4,484 feet above sea level. This is the second highest point in West Virginia and an oddity among ski areas in that you drive to the village on the mountain’s summit, rather than at the base.

Being way up on the top allowed for some outrageous sunrise and sunset views. We had three tremendous days at Snowshoe, each starting early morning and lasting long into the night with great music. Wanderlust brings together an amazing group of yoga and meditation instructors, musical performers, speakers, artists and chefs. The Wanderlust mission is to help attendees find their true north. True north is not a final destination: it’s a path, a journey, a yearning to explore and connect to your life’s purpose!

The Wanderlust events take place indoors and outside. Next, we’re at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, June 22-25. You can get the schedule and all details here. Below please see  some photos I took at last year’s Stratton Mountain Wanderlust. I hope the weather turns out just as excellent!

I also had a chance since returning from Europe to join some friends on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. How was the lovely weather of this month down on the Cape? Some rain and wind, but also that amazing June vibe I was hoping for. Check it out:

One morning we drove all the way to the end of the Cape. Provincetown was enjoying a peaceful, picture perfect Sunday morning.

On the way back down the Cape from Provincetown we stopped in the town of Wellfleet for lunch. Wellfleet oysters are considered to be among the world’s best, and here we were right where they come from. Ever have a Po’ Boy sandwich made with Wellfleet oysters? I did – wow!

Yes, just like my friend Rick Swartz appropriately stated, June in the U.S. offers a spectacular opportunity to get outside, to bike, hike, kayak, do yoga and more. Plus, at the end of each magnificent day we can also join friends to cook and dine together, and then watch the special sunsets this time of year (e.g. above the one we witnessed two nights ago on Mascoma Lake here in New Hampshire). Share with me and others on this blog your June adventures. And please come visit me at Wanderlust Stratton Mountain in beautiful Vermont next week.  I’m packing now because this Yoga World tour keeps going with so many new places yet to see!

Love and Peace,

Dave