a day of rest

even more than going out to tea, i love me some spa time.  duh.  the teen shares my enthusiasm for pampering, having had her first facial not long after she transformed from "the kid" to "the teen."  and a few years ago on an outing to glen ivy hot springs spa to buy a gift card for a friend, i promised to take her back when she was old enough to partake.

this weekend she finally got to go beyond the entrance gate and check it out.

after paying the admission and scheduling an appointment at "the grotto," we headed out into the bright sun and 95-degree heat (at 10:00 in the morning, ugh) to start our day of relaxing.

first stop:  the bath house to put our stuff in a locker and strip down to bathing suits.

we sat in a couple of chairs and peoplewatched for a while before heading to the lounge pool to cool off a bit.

i didn't get a ton of pictures for obvious reasons, but it makes me want to get a waterproof case for my phone.  i miss out on snapping pics of too many fun activities that involve getting wet.

we floated around the lounge pool for awhile, just chatting and giggling about nothing, and then we got bored and tried out one of the mineral baths.  the smell of the sulfur and the 100+ degree temperature of the water didn't sit too well with the teen, so after a few minutes of soaking we headed over to "club mud."

first we got our skin wet in the muddy pool and then ventured to the giant ball of red clay mud in the center.  it was fun to smear the stuff all over ourselves and each other and then sit on another lounge chair to let it get all dry and crackly.  and ha!  you can't even really see the mud because it totally blends in with our skin.

after rubbing most of the dried mud off with a towel, we stepped into the showers to rinse it all off.  this was the best part, with those big rainfall-type shower heads directly above us and and endless supply of lovely, fresh-smelling shower gel to use.

by then we were pretty hungry.  after perusing the menus at the two cafes on the property, we decided to indulge a constant craving at sunflower sushi.

it was yummy.  starting with edamame and moving through a california, mexican, and firecracker roll, we left full, happy and ready for our trip to the grotto.

after checking in, we took a ride down in the elevator and stepped out into the cool, moist darkness.  a couple of attendants brought us to a little corner where they proceeded to slather us down with a warm green goo using wide, soft paintbrushes.  it felt lovely.

they led us into the next room, where it was warm but not uncomfortably so.  we were instructed to rub the aloe vera-based lotion into our skin for the next ten minutes before heading into the showers to wash it off.  each shower stall offered several different showerheads, placed in several positions, and i wanted to stay in there forever.

the last stop was a cooler room to close our pores and lock in the moisture, and there was hot and cold tea and fresh green apples for munching.  well, for other people.  heh.  still full from our sushi lunch, the teen declined but made herself a cup of tea as we relaxed in the mist.

we took another dip in the lounge pool and then joined an aqua aerobics class before hitting the showers and getting cleaned up.

a salted caramel mocha frappuccino capped off a fabulous day.

i really enjoyed the bonding day with the teen, just the two of us, and i hope we get to do it again soon.