Boldly Go Solo

Prologue: The heart-wrenching break up. Leslie Keough's 30th birthday was coming up and her boyfriend was going to take her to Palm Springs. Then it all "kind of fizzled."


But we don't focus on the prologue here. We move right along to the restorative part of things, where solo travel is the balm to the soul. Or comes to the rescue. Or however you want to put it.

All Leslie knew was that 30th was drawing near, the boyfriend was a goner and she didn't feel like explaining quite yet what had happened. Not to her girlfriends. Not to her mother. Not to anyone.

Off she went to The Spring, a secluded resort in Desert Hot Springs, California. By herself. She hadn't known about it before finding it during her research. Now she raves about it. 

Although it's set in a neighborhood, once you're inside the walls, it's completely secluded. Part of its beauty is the simple, clean lines of the place, says Leslie, an artist.

It has only 10 rooms, so no busy comings and goings. Just nice people, she says, wandering around in robes. "You enjoy your solitude without ever feeling lonely." 

The best part was being decadently alone. As in not
having to talk to anyone or make many decisions. Just do what she wanted to do, in a new place. "I wanted to be in an
environment inspiring to me that didn't remind me of him."

Once she
found it, she burrowed in. Spa guests are served a continental breakfast. Other than that, there are kitchens provided or people go out to eat. Which
means, very few deadlines. Or set times for things. There's all day to relax under palm trees or drift off in thought or sleep in a hammock. In between spa treatments.

Leslie's room had no TV or phone. That may not suit
everyone. But it helped her get started on a project she'd been
mulling for a long time.

Seven years ago she was in a serious motorcycle
accident and was hurt badly when she was propelled off the back of it. Without getting
into detail, she suffered hemorrhaging, burns, road rash and
more. She had no short-term memory for six months.

About three years ago, she decided she wanted to write a book about what happened. While she was at the spa, without the constraints of daily life,
work, friends and family, she finally had time to sit down and start to tackle it.

"I decided to work on my passion project." She
wrote a book proposal while at The Spring. Her stay "allowed me to
focus on my project and my personal goals. It allowed me to
reprioritize things."

She also spent her time in the mineral pools, having spa treatments, sleeping well and meditating. She lost several pounds. And she felt some of her anxieties fade away amidst the grass and the flowers of the unpretentious resort. "This spa was perfect for what I needed."

Photo: The Spring, Hot Desert Springs, California