Those of you who I’m connected to via Facebook or Instagram know that I love my (almost) daily nature walks and I take them wherever I can. Being in nature helps me reconnect to my spirit. When I’m home these walks are usually along the Potomac river on the tow path of the C & O Canal. I use this time to commune with Mother Nature and The G*ddess, to pray and meditate and get inspiration.  My routine includes saying three good things I’ve done for myself that day and five things for which I’m grateful. The three good things include things like earning my living and even taking exercise which I’m doing when I walk. The gratitude list can easily be more than five things and includes everything from clean water to drink, to having a vehicle to living my vision.

But, sometimes doing a list of my blessings morphs maniacally into a to-do list or looking at what I don’t have or worst of all I sometimes find myself comparing myself to other people and invariably finding my life lacking! I know that I should not do this and I know that focusing on gratitude is the magic antidote to this perception of lack so the other day when I found myself comparing I put my focus back on my blessings. The discontented feelings that accompany my perception of lack began to lift.

After this I stopped to cool myself at the stream that runs under a sort of covered bridge. I was greeted by a kaleidoscope of tiger swallowtail butterflies puddling in the mud along with one little violet colored butterfly. As I approached, the butterflies flew up in a cloud and danced around me bringing a broad smile to my face and evaporating any remaining traces of my discontent. My heart was filled with gratitude.

After this I realized how amazing my life is; that I get to see things like this on an almost daily basis, that I have created a life for myself where I can work AND have time to take care of myself by going for walks, sitting by streams, meditating and getting to play with butterflies and other beautiful creatures. So life is good when I practice gratitude and stay out of comparing!

Disclaimer: I don’t have a degree in film. I’m just a chick who loves action adventure movies, watches a lot of films and has a passion for helping women see and live their lives as a heroine’s quest. 

Like many women and especially as a woman who loves action adventure movies, superheroes, and is obsessed by the heroine’s quest, I was excited to see Wonder Woman. Also like many women I long for more movies starring female action heroine’s and super-heroines. This longing is in large part why I wrote my first book The Adventures of Isabelle Book I about a strong adventurous princess.

So,  when my friend Tenecia Brown invited me to see the movie last weekend with a group of other women I said “YES!” We saw it in a stadium theater in IMAX 3D. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the special effects and the fact that this movie depicts a heroine’s quest. It was also a visual treat. I especially loved the scenes shot on the Amazon island of Themyscira an idyllic paradise populated by many strong, athletic, beautiful women of many hues. I enjoyed the fight scenes (again especially on the island) and the costumes (yup on the island again).

BUT there were a four things that kept me from LOVING this movie as I had expected to…

FIRST:  You can accuse me of being shallow, body shaming or looksist, but this is just a matter of personal taste; the look of our lead Gal Gadot’s body. She was very pretty indeed but she did not  do it for me. She was just too SKINNY! It was not believable to me that this skinny Amazon could train in secret then end up being the best warrior among all the others who had trained longer and looked way stronger! I felt distinctly like the “male gaze” was at work again. Of course she has to be attractive and feminine for the movie to sell but c’mon! Couldn’t we put some meat on those bones and some toughness in her face and still have her be sexy?? She would have been to me. There is a scene where she stands, legs spread and arms akimbo (supposed to be a tough pose) on the cliff’s edge on Themyscira in her little short tunic and I remember thinking “She’s too skinny! Why can’t we have a heroine with some muscles?” Why does she have to look like a fragile princess?

SECOND: The relationship between her, her powers, and men. She is SUPER HUMAN and could save all the men but the way they had her go about it was clearly orchestrated to not damage the egos of the mortal men. Really?! Who has time for that? I’ve never seen Superman hold back so the men around him don’t feel inferior. He’s picked dudes up and flown them through the air! She’s not a real woman who often really does have to do this in real life to cater to the male ego. She’s a goddess. Gods and goddesses do not bow to humans but the movie depicted her treading carefully maybe so the men in the audience could better fall in love with her. This left me a bit flat. I go to movies like this for an escape from real life, not to see this stuff repeated! I wanted her to just do her damn thing! Instead she often seemed to let the weak male mortals try something first, so as not to “emasculate” them, then after they failed or weren’t doing it so well she’d step in.  The fate of the world is at stake and she’s gotta soft pedal super powers!? Warner Bros Please!! Ain’t nobody got time for that!

THIRD: I wasn’t really feeling the romance between she and Steve Trevor. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t dislike it (and Chris Pine is nice to look at and funny) but to me the romance can kind of slow down an action movie. What I did like about this relationship was that he was not central but more of a tool to her self growth. He played the role that the women often play to our male heroes. He’s on the side and we like him and we want her to have a boyfriend and all that but let’s get back to saving Earth shall we? In short I’m glad he blew himself up and that there’s no way he can return in a sequel.  I want Wonder Woman to focus on her mission. I don’t think she has time for a long term monogamous relationship. In case you think I’m sexist I don’t really like when 007 gets too serious with anyone either. I’m like, “Yaaaawn! Get back to work!” It would add to the adventure and fun for me if she met a bunch of hot men and/or women and just dated. I know every movie can’t have everything for everybody and this is why my princess is bisexual. Yes, The Adventures of Isabelle Book II: Journey to Orphalese (coming soon) is going to heat up a bit.

FOURTH: While I dug the multicultural representation in Steve Trevor’s crew and the women of color on the Amazonian island, I wanted more women of color in larger roles. If we had spent more time on the island we would have probably seen more of this as we had been introduced to some high ranking officers and stateswomen of color. Again a good reason to not leave the island and again why sometimes we have to write our own stories and make our own films. In Book II of the Adventures of Isabelle there is a band of female warriors of all hues, colors, shapes and sizes and they are all Bad B’s!

So there you have it. My two cents. Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts???

P.S. I can’t wait for Black Panther

Coming soon…

I hope you enjoy my travelogue!

Written 10/10/16 in Ship’s Library aboard the Norwegian Getaway (at sea).

I really wasn’t sure that we would even get to go on this trip. With Hurricane Matthew and Tropical Storm Nicole threatening the Caribbean Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the South Eastern coast of the U.S. it seemed inevitable that our Friday morning flight to Miami would never take off. After a few stressful months of work I was more than ready for a holiday. I had also been desperately searching my schedule for an open week in which I could get away and do a final review/edit of my manuscript of Book II of The Adventures of Isabelle: Journey to Orphalese. That opening had not come up until now. I had conducted a women’s writing retreat to the Chesapeake Bay at the end of September but as a facilitator I had not had time for my own writing.

After anxiously watching the weather and obsessively checking Flight Tracker for the past three days by Thursday night it seemed that our plane was actually going to take off and head to Miami Friday morning. I had a speaking gig Thursday afternoon and didn’t dare to start packing until after 10 that night. By the time I headed down to D.C. it was almost midnight.

Bags packed and passport in hand we headed out for National (I never call it Reagan) around 8:30 Friday morning. Still not daring to believe it after the hurricane had closed all FL airports just the day before I more than half expected to reach the airport and find that our flight had been cancelled. I don’t think I breathed a sigh of relief until well after we were airborne. After two nights in Miami we were to board a ship that would take us on a cruise of the Western Caribbean; Honduras, Belize, Costa Maya and Cozumel. Splendidly all places I have never been before!

The white sun shone in a hot blue sky as our taxi raced down the freeway to the little apartment on South Beach which we would call home for two days and two sultry nights. As we drove past the colorful art deco buildings lining Ocean Drive it was clear that Hurricane Matthew had not touched one frond on the head of the palm trees that swayed above our heads in the humid air. I felt very grateful for this but at the same time wondered at it hitting Haiti, a country that can ill afford another disaster. I was reminded of how blessed my life is and acutely aware that I should take none of this for granted (link to Haitian relief fund).

Our time in Miami was a lovely time to go on the beach and swim in the warm water, take walks, people watch and have dinner with my cousin on Lincoln Rd at one of my favorite Cuban restaurants; Havana 1957.

We boarded the ship yesterday around 1:00 in the afternoon in preparation for our 4:00 departure. We spent the day getting oriented to this gargantuan vessel with its million eateries, bars and entertainment. Really it’s too much. I quickly realized I’d be spending a great deal of my time trying to avoid the crush of humanity and seeking out peaceful spots from which to actually enjoy moving through this gorgeous ocean. This brings me to my current situation on this couch in the ship’s library looking out this large window watching the cobalt sea drift by as the ship gently rocks from side to side. I’m sleepy after waking early this morning for “sunrise yoga” at 8:00 in the gym but I’m determined to make a start on a “final” edit of my manuscript. My two writing goals for this trip are A) review/edit the first 100 pages of my manuscript and B) keep up with my travel blog.

DAY 2: ROATAN, HONDURAS

10/11/16 Ship’s Library 7:15 p.m.

I’m not sure we weren’t drugged last night! It was a beautiful day at sea, just relaxing and sunning that culminated in a couple’s massage that evening in the ship’s spa. We stumbled out of the spa then ate a ton of food at the buffet then returned to our state room. There we lay down and there was talk of a nap. I awoke around 3:00 a.m. in the morning, went out on the balcony and admired the amazing clouds in the sky before going back in and back to sleep. I awoke groggily again after 8:00 a.m. to find us approaching Roatan an island about 40 miles from the mainland of Honduras. We entered the port around 10:00. Low hanging clouds hung over low lying lush green hills ringing the port with its crystal clear water like glass. After coffee and a lovely breakfast we went ashore for our planned excursion; a tour of the island via bus, a stop at the iguana farm then on to the beach. The rain started as we left the parking area and entered the little town which looked much like any Caribbean seaside town if not a bit more bedraggled.

As the bus splashed through the streets our guide pointed out mundane sights like the bank and the airport and the energy plant. Believe it or not I still found it of interest. It was just kind of nice to be seeing a new place. The iguana farm was pretty much what you would expect, but because it was rainy the large scaly creatures stayed up in the trees. I always enjoy wildlife so it was cool to me. After this we drove to the beach at the Las Palmas “resort” where there was a restaurant and bar at the end of a series of wooden walkways. A typical seaside eatery serving semi local fare. A nice touch here where the hummingbird feeders around which buzzed the amazing little emerald and gold creatures.  After a quick lunch; half a grouper sandwich I went for a swim.

The day was still overcast but no longer raining. The water was very calm and a bit chilly as I entered it. I dove into the quite shallow water and swam out to a little lone mangrove tree to examine its roots. Tiny tiger fish swam around it and under the floating blue wooden sunbed that was anchored to the tree. Not much to see here. I kept swimming out past the rock ringed fish enclosure. The bottom was now covered in all manner of interesting coral and the fish were more interesting. The water was deeper here but still only about 15 feet. Bright blue parrot fish swam among the coral and rocks along with other sizable fish. I was a long way from the shore now and the water was only a bit deeper. Suddenly I encountered a drop off into murky bright blue water. The visibility wasn’t great but it was clear enough to realize how deep the bottom now went. Seeing such a deep bottom and not being able to see too far out ahead of me I decided it was time to turn back. It was a lovely long way back and I enjoyed cutting easily through the calm water stretching my arms as far ahead of me as I could and keeping up a steady strong kick to give my arms a break. It was good exercise and I was breathing hard as I walked up out of the water onto the beach.

After another quick trip out into the blue and back it was time to go so we boarded the bus that took us back through the humid streets to the port. After boarding and changing into dryer clothes we went back out to walk around the town. We had lunch at a little rundown local place on the water’s edge. Our server, an older man named Wellington made us feel very welcome and wasn’t shy to express his gratitude for tourists. The lunch was nice; cracked conch in garlic sauce with onions and grouper prepared pretty much the same way but with sides of rice and peas and pieces of fried green plantain. I tried their local banana soda which was bright orange and tasted an awful lot like Kola Champagne. Wellington agreed but pointed out that Kola Champagne isn’t banana flavored. Indeed I could read “Hecho en Honduras” printed right on the side of the bottle. Oh well there is enough room in the world for two yummy tropical sodas that taste an awful lot alike.

After this we walked back toward the ship and walked around the little souvenir shops ringing the harbor in the shadow of our behemoth of a ship. We stopped at a little coffee stand serving Honduran coffee and I got a double espresso. We sipped our coffee on the water’s edge admiring the quiet harbor and dark green mountains before boarding the ship for the evening and the overnight journey to Belize. We dock early and will be on a long tour so I plan to make it an early night after a bit of time editing here in the library.

DAY 3: BELIZE

10/12/16 Aboard Ship 8:30 p.m. Belize and Cozumel

Today was a long hot day in Belize. We awoke around 6:45, had a hasty breakfast and coffee then headed ashore for our excursion to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai. The ship can’t dock at Belize City so we boarded tenders for the 20 minute boat ride to the shore. The sky was slightly overcast as we boarded a bus to take us along the Northern Highway to Tower Hill. Here we boarded a river boat to take us to the ruins. The hour trip took us past mangroves and many little creeks. The sun stayed behind the clouds and the air was not yet hot as we took this lovely ride south. We saw very little fauna save for one iguana, about four bats and a few jacanas walking atop the broad lily pads. We did see an interesting epiphyte or air borne cactus that wrapped its plump light green arms around the trees earning its name; snake cactus a.k.a. devil’s cactus.

The sun had made her full appearance as we docked at the small rickety pier at Lamanai and the day was hot and unbelievably humid! Following our guide along a gravel path on the forest floor we made our way to the first site a small pyramid to the Maya Sun God also known as the Mask Temple. Huffing and puffing and sweating not just a little bit we climbed the steep steps on the pyramid’s face to the top. From here we looked down the three story face that we had just climbed and into the trees. After climbing down we stood sweating in the shade while our guide Adrian told us the history of this particular pyramid, how it had been built and rebuilt over the centuries. Visiting the following pyramids would follow the same protocol. After traversing through the forest we came to the second temple of the day which stood three times the height of the Maya Sun God. It was aptly named the High Temple and when I looked at its steep face had no intention of climbing it. However after being challenged by my partner I had to. To reach the top one did not climb the face but instead took several long flights of wooden stairs built around the back part of the edifice. This was some relief but not much! After catching my breath at the top of the stairs I followed him to the top of the pyramid climbing up the steep uneven rocky steps. From the top the panorama was pretty amazing. To the left we would see the river up which we had come and to the right nothing but lush trees and land. The view and the sheer drop off reminded me of a pivotal scene in Journey to Orphalese (that I can’t tell you about).

Last we visited the largest temple at Lamanai, the Jaguar Temple. It was lovely but after the first two temples I was quite content to admire it from the shade of the trees while our guide told us of its history. After this, exhausted and drenched in sweat we walked about eight mins back to the starting area. A quick visit to the sparse museum then back to the boat for a fast forty minute ride back to the palapa where we had begun the river boat tour. The wind on our wet bodies felt delicious and the sound of the boat cutting through the water and the motion threatened to lull me to sleep.

Back at the palapa we were treated to a Belizian lunch of chicken, rice and peas cooked in coconut milk and coleslaw. It was delicious and I ate too much. The bus ride back was hotter than the ride there I was sticky and uncomfortable. This however did not stop me from taking a little nap. After this back at the pier we joined the line to board a tender to return us to the ship. After this 20 min ride which seemed interminable in the hot crowded boat we made it back to the ship where I practically ran to our stateroom to undress and take a lovely shower. Recovered, I’m enjoying the rocking of the boat while I write this while my partner is gently snoring away.