Today was our spa day here at The Boulders. We'd originally arranged for me to have a Golden Door Custom Facial and Al to have a Watsu Massage at 10am, but we received a letter from the spa when we checked in saying that the Watsu therapist wouldn't be available until 12:30pm. Al said that was fine with him, and I wasn't hungry after our room service snacks last night, so this morning Al went in search of breakfast at the bakery cafe, and I left for my 10am facial.
The Golden Door Spa here really is beautiful, with spacious and comfortable locker rooms that have every amenity you can think of; a spa cafe; a tea room where you await your treatment therapist and can relax, read, or even order lunch; a spa shop; a lovely outdoor swimming pool... I'm sure there's more, but those are the parts I experienced personally.
After changing into my robe and spa slippers, I took my book (I'm re-reading Pride & Prejudice) to the tea room to wait for my treatment and sat down on one of the couches to read. After a few minutes, letters started to disappear like pixels on a malfunctioning monitor—a sure sign of an oncoming migraine. It was probably partly from lack of sleep, partly from dehydration, and partly from the few sips of the champagne that the staff had left in our room in honor of our honeymoon. (Two sips of champagne have definitely produced migraines before, which is why I don't usually drink it.)
I went ahead with the facial anyway, and it was very soothing. When I got up from the table, however, my vision was still wacky—a completely new migraine experience. Usually the kaleidascopic vision only lasts for about 20 minutes, and then there's a 10-15 minute window before the headache hits. I couldn't read, so I went back into the locker room and lounged in the Japanese O'furo bath until my vision cleared. The moment it did, the headache came on. It was a relief to be able to see properly, however, so I ignored it as best I could.
I showered, sunscreened, and put on my bathing suit, then donned my robe again and went back to the tea room to meet Al before his massage. We read together for a bit on the couch, and then he went off to the Watsu pool. I read USA Today, then ordered some lunch and returned to P&P. Al joined me after his massage (which he said I really would have liked), mentioned that the massage therapist recommended Ten Thousand Waves, a spa we already have hot tub and massage reservations at in Santa Fe, and ordered lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the tea room and on the chaise lounges next to the pool. It was exactly what I needed, despite the migraine: a day without obligations.
Posted by Lori at October 09, 2002 04:13 PM