A Zen day of peace. Carla and I have been pretty busy and a bit stressed out so I thought it was time for a Zen interlude with a surprise. On Saturday, a lovely warm clear day we visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix. Carla fed the Koi fish and the little ducklings and their mom with the food provided by the park. It had a ton of Zen feel for me and I was pretty much able to quiet my mind and leave behind thoughts of work. I say “pretty much” since I found myself drawing in the beauty and thinking how it fit with our next film idea. The mind it just refuses to let go and just enjoy a peaceful private moment of beauty.
The place is absolutely beautiful, and by special appointment you can view the tea ceremony; we didn’t do that but just walking around was enough. We saw a couple with a little boy who was almost as intrigued with the ducks as Carla was; well actually Carla was a lot more intrigued and almost as cute. Carla has this kinship with children and small creatures of nature– it was pretty cool. I took a picture of her in the shade by the image I included above, but the photo didn’t turn out so you don’t get to see Carla today. It was absolutely fantastic and it brought me some peace in a hectic time.
The day wasn’t over yet, next we drove a bit and went to one of my favorite restaurants: San Carlos Bay Seafood Restaurant on McDowell. We started with seafood cocktails (I went with octopus and she with shrimp) then we moved on to grilled fish in garlic sauce and shrimp enchiladas. The meal was great and I totally recommend you try it next time you’re in Phoenix. For that matter do our double and start with the Japanese Friendship Garden.
What a great memory. Peace.
