I clicked on Brittany's Facebook page to message her about playing some tennis.  When I saw her profile photo it punched me right in the face with some imagery that I couldn't really make sense of.  I can't really grasp the words because it speaks of so many things that are beautiful about life, but I still put down some words in a vain effort to try to capture what this image spoke of...

**Photo by Natasha Thaesler

"The Radiance She Shines"

She smiles with a radiance
It is penetrating
A beautiful being
On a forested road
Language of her body
Speaks of a loving soul
Free with passion
Embracing life in essence
Emittance in substance
Of a light touch
In a light sense
Caught in stillness
In a moment of happiness
Suffused in wonderment
Infused in astonishment
Symbolizing everything right
In a simple expression
She gives purpose to gratitude
The gratitude of hope
Hopeful in its depths
Dispelling chaotic notion
With beauty in simplicity
The simple notion of optimism
That is elated in contentment
Thoughts stripped down
To their purest formative meaning
Like eternity bottled in rhyme
Her image in this time
Symmetry of perception
In the gratitude of hope
Luminously found within   
The radiance she shines

I saw this photo of Kimberley about 20 minutes after she posted it with these words: 

*insert inspirational song lyrics here*

I wrote this in about 5 minutes.  The words fell out quite easily...

"A Girl Named Kimberley"

She is a girl
As kind as they come
With her smile
She lifts you up
Melting mannerisms
Softening hard rock stone
Comforting hurting souls
With an essence of beauty
Inviting in her kindness
Embracing in her warmth
She makes you remember
Everything that is good
Forgetting everything that ails
Living in such a way
To see freedom in oneself
Illuminating a path within
Through the way that she walks
In strides made up of balance
Written in the pages of harmony
Penned in the ink of her heart
The beautiful words of life
That make everyone remember
And everyone to see
The natural wonders
Such rippling kindness can hold
Effortless in giving
In doing nothing
Just from being
Her beautiful self
A self of warmth
A self of radiance
A self of worth
Given unto us
The lucky ones
Fortunate to have known
A girl of this magnitude
A girl of this kind
A girl named Kimberley
A girl so kind

Winter really held on in the back end of the season this year.  It sure took its time saying good bye for another year to say the least.  After some hit and miss days towards the end of April, it finally seems like we are in the clear for the warmer weather to stay upon us here in the west.  

(The east sure might have some disagreeing thoughts about that as they are still getting hammered by mama nature.  Haha...suckers!)

It's an early start to today, and as I look out the window I can see it is a gorgeous day in the making.  I have time to spare, so I decide to take my curiosity up to the rooftop patio that is advertised here at The Savoy Hotel in downtown Nelson, BC.

There are 12 rooms in their boutique hotel.  I had the Junior Suite

I leave my room and make my short way to the stairs at the back end of the beautiful guest common area on the floor hotel floor.  Nobody is stirring in the hotel yet, so everything is nicely quiet.  It makes me feel special, like I am the king with a whole floor to myself.

One of the nice things about The Savoy Hotel is that it is completely dog friendly in all their rooms, otherwise I would not be here because my doggie comes with me everywhere I go. 

When you open the door, this is what you see...

The two of us head up the stairs to the roof.  I could say I simply opened the door, but really I opened my expectations, because as soon as the door swung wide it revealed a gorgeous first sight for my doggie and I.  She led the way, and I followed her outside.

The patio is much bigger than I had pictured in my mind.  It is very spacious, but feels intimate at the same time.  A nice balance!  The views all around are spectacular.  They kind of just hit you right upside the head and force their way into your mind, taking over all your thoughts. 

My timing was perfect too as the sun had just crested over the mountain ridge sitting behind the top end of town.  Clouds were non-existent, so the crystal clear blue sky was wide open.  A blank canvass for another day of possibility!

As I walked around looking at everything, and taking it all in, the early morning air was filled with songs from the birds of spring.  The springtime birds sing the best songs because it just seems like so long since they have been soundtracks of the day.  Their voices were quite predominant too as the town was still barely waking up, and without the real traffic sounds to start the day.  It was all too peaceful.  What a great setting to start the day!  I was like a king on top of the world in my own little utopia.

Fan-freakin'-tastic!!

I went to look at their hot tub in the corner that faces west.  The railings are made of nice planked wood on two sides of the patio, but they had they good foresight to make the railings out of glass for the hot tub area so as to not obstruct the view...and what a view!

Knowing Nelson as well as I do, the hot tub is in the perfect location for the end of day sunset down the valley above the river.  Just absolutely sensational!

Thinking about that, one might assume I am on the wrong end of the day for that experience, and although true as far as the sinking sun, and the way it will colour the sky, seeing the sun crest over the ridge on the other side in the quiet morning is equally spectacular.

There are changing areas and showers at the bottom of the stairs in the back end of the common guest area, but they also have a washroom/changing room right off to the side in the hot tub space.  There is a water fountain too for those moments you might be a tad bit thirsty from soaking in the hot water.  It is a total gem of little spot for sure.  

(The water in the fountain is all on the same building system that has a high end water filter for all the water in the rooms, restaurants, as well as down in the Bloom Nightclub.  All of it!

**As a side note, off of the guest common area there is a beautiful sauna as well.  It is the traditional kind as far as being able to pour water over the hot rocks to let off steam rather than an electric sauna.  I love those kinds infinitely more than the electric ones.

There is also a BBQ up here on the patio that is good to go for any guests who wish to give 'er on that and Q up a feast!

Their tables and benches are all hand milled wood from their farm down at the Salmo River Ranch about 50 minutes south of Nelson.  (The ranch is also home to their Shambhala Music Festival, which is coming up on its 22nd year this coming August.)

shambhalamusicfestival.com/

Grains of wood on the handmade tables

The patio is only open and available to the guests of the hotel, so it really embraces that intimacy for its guests.  They have pretty good hours too as it is open from 6:00am until 10:00pm.  I believe they made the opening hours to benefit skiers in the winter time so they can have time for a nice little soak before they head up to Whitewater to catch first chair on the fat powder days, and pound some fluffy white pillows of winter bliss.  (Shhhh...keep it a secret!)

All in all, just from the sunset hot tubbing alone, there is no place like this rooftop patio in all of Nelson.  They really crushed it on this for sure!  I'm glad I came up here to start my day.  Such a beautiful way to ease into the world for another go at it!

Back down to the common area, and on with my day...