A Magical Hour

Sometimes it is just a moment. A small window in time that supersedes all others. A fraction of your life into seconds that could never be replaced, but will be remembered forever.

It happened for me today. It could have happened for my two year old as well, but if he remembers it as I do, then he is a lucky boy.

As we had made our trip up to the Santa Ynez Valley and been enjoying our day, there was a momentary respite, that made my soul breath again. Within the very center, of the not even close to bustling town of Los Olivos, is a small botanical, whimsical and magical little lot... A shared space, between three local shops... A tasting room, an art gallery and a hand crafted design retail shoppe. Together, they share an outdoor space of about half an acre, decorated with picnic tables, red umbrellas, and a bocci ball field that is sheltered by giant oak trees, scattered with succulents and littered with iron original art statues and bubbling fountains.
As my son and I sat together munching on our Panini, waiting for Daddy to return from a business swarey, we became lost in the magical sounds of the wind chimes, hanging from the giant oaks.
It seemed the breeze would blow a new song, just for us and we sat spellbound, staring at one another... yet lost in our own day dreams.

It truly was magical... And what was so funny to me, was that so may people would walk past the enchanted garden and yet no one would enter. They were too busy doing, whatever they were doing, to even notice that they were walking past paradise.

It was only the two of us (although I did visit the wine room at Coquelicot and grab a glass to enjoy in the magic garden) for almost an hour before the owner of the Artisans Gallery came in and we chatted for a bit.

He told me about how he and his wife, Vicky Kallens had restored the old silversmith workshop into Vicky's retail store, for her handcrafted leather accessories and handmade treasures. They loved the courtyard space, but it had been a little uncared for over the years, so together they added all the magical things that I had been admiring for the past hour. We got to talking about music and the arts and he then shared that the giant river rocks that were artfully placed around the garden were from the Santa Ynez River, that he collected them with his buddy David Crosby. (yes, the David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash and Young is one of the Valleys longtime residents.) We spoke for a good half hour and I feel that I made a new friend, a like minded artist who appreciates what is really important in life.

So what is this all about? Its about your soul... I was so appreciative of that small moment in time, where everything stopped... Even a two year old was stupefied in his hyper active tracks... In that moment I took a deep breath and disappeared into another world.

I may need to move here.