A day at the Spa.... the birthday gift

Everyone should drive to a Spa in a snow storm. My appointment for the birthday event was at noon with the instruction from the Spa manager that I should be there at 11:30.. to relax. Car were traveling too fast for the conditions, I was trying to remember when I last bought tires while feeling how strange will I feel in this environment.To make the most of my wonderful birthday gift, I had selected the to of the line Spa Package which would be as three and a half hour event and give me $420 worth of services for $275. When the woman called, she said I might want to have a bathing suit for the bath, but that was up to me, the service provider would be fine either way. I had pulled out the old suit and while it was a stretch, I could get the top and the bottom or at least most of both covered with the suit. I checked several times to be sure I had the suit and the gift card and as I went down the road, I was looking for an old and discarded St Christopher metal to see that I got there alive. I arrived safely, left my cell in the car, pulled myself up and went toward the glass door. You know you are in a high end place when they have solid inch thick glass doors. The receptionist was friendly and when I said my name, she said, oh your going to be with us a long time today and led the way down the hall. I brought the camera, but once inside, I thought of the Beverly Hillbillies and decided to just pretend that I do this all the time. https://www.delmontespa.com/delmonte.html If you follow the site and click on photo gallery you will see the front door as slide 3 and the “staging area” slide 2. This is where you pick up your tea, which is now served in cups and saucers, an extra towel if you need it and then the sinks for gazing at the results of your day. At the far left of the sink area is a magnifying mirror which has a woman tweezing her eyebrows when I arrive. I didn’t use the mirror. There is a sauna and showers in this area. The locker room consisted of half lockers which could be locked with your own 4 digit code. I was assigned a lower locker which as it happened was below a woman checking out and who was having a protracted conversation on her cell phone. (this is in bottom row 3rd picture). There were only two hooks on the wall for coats and both were taken so I put my jacked in my little cubby took off my thai pants and put on the robe and slippers and then went to the bathroom area to change the rest of the clothes. From what I had seen, while there were all sizes and shapes of women, most appeared more comfortable undressing than this only child chubby older woman. When I came back to my cubby, I stood with my clothes and my “relaxing” tea and I had to wait until the phone conversation was over to get into my locker. I wasn’t sure what to do with the suit but since I thought the facial was first, I left it behind and went to do more “relaxing” in the waiting area. If you are following the pictures, the room does not look like the one on the lower row, fourth from left. There is no coffee table in the center and there are more chairs. The fireplace was going and the lights were on 25 watt power. I glanced at the magazines.. with such articles as finding the exclusive Carabean vacation etc. and decided they probably did not include $18 a night sleeping rooms so I sat and tried to look like I do this all the time. Several of the women were talking quietly about why they like this or that treatment and others were either just sitting (me) or reading what looked like War and Peace thick books. One by one folks in black serving outfits came out and with nodded or greeting a waiter, they got up and left the holding area. They had small cups of something and appeared to know the customer. One by one they got up and left like Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange..... I was the last one in the room when a friendly young woman came out and said, Bonny... why are they always young thin women.. but I tried to slowed down by focus on breathing and stood with care. I was to walk first.. (not knowing where) being told to go to the end of the hallway (2nd picture from the left in the top row). I drank my elixir and the provider explained that I would have a sugar scrub, bath and massage during the next several plus hours, hang my bathrobe there, glassed there and up on the bed.. there and she left me. At this point I thought so much for the suit. The room, (bottom row first pic in row from left) was very large and while there was light, it was very muted as was the music which played throughout the building. I was not sure what the sugar scrub was going to do since Sheila has her eyebrows sugared – which means put hot sugar down, a brown paper and rip off the hair. I also could not remember if she said face up or down. Relax.. this is going to be a nice thing. I was covered with a towel.. not super big, but then I had decided, to quote Kinga “get over it”. I knew I would never be back unless I won the lottery which is hard to do if you don’t buy a ticket and I could not think of any place I would run into what’s her face.. name had left when the robe was hung. I am not sure what really happened since I could not see, but she slathered moist sugar (with Vichy) on my body (“do you want your abdomen done?”.. “sure why not”) and then polished me with a loufa for about 30 minutes. ($90). Srubbing the bottom of your feet gives you another opportunity to “relax”. First I wanted to shiver, then laugh and then I got a cramp in my two toes. Not a good thing. The last thing I wanted to do was jump off the table and hop on one foot in front of some young thin woman with an excess of 50+ pounds. So while saying relax.. I push my foot and stretched etc with the scrubber saying, do what you have to do. Hanging the foot off the bed finally relieved it and I was again back to relax. As she finished I was prepared to walk in my birthday suit to the tub, but they have this hold the towel up so they can’t see you process and I moved to this large $25,000 porcelain clamshell looking tub. I got in and was told to keep my feet on the bar so I would not get sucked toward the return water. Ok... she was going to fire it up and then leave and then comeback. Ok.... there were lights and a count down timer and the water woshed and the colored lights came on and I planted my feet on the bar and then tried to figure how I could get my breast under the water at the same time as my knees etc.. there was a pillow on the back of the ledge. Using the pillow, would have brought my torso out of the water.. boom.. the entire apparatus stopped.. no lights and not motor.. fortunately the provider was still in the room and said.. someone must have changed the timer.. and then I must have set it for 2 minutes not 20. Back in business.. breasts in.. knees in.. breasts in... lights flash...20 minutes? I am a 5 minute conserve the water shower person... After 10 minutes I looked at my hands and could see how one wrinkles like a prune ... but I remembered this was the anti-aging process... and I relaxed. ($55). It would be just nice to come and take a bath once in awhile. This was more than the Jacuzzi. The water stream almost had me suspended in the tub. I thought that tall folks might not enjoy it as much, but it was terrific and I could feel the results of the sugar. I was sitting there relaxed.. when my body reminded me that I am mind course on antibiotics. I wondered what was going to occur with the sugar on the body, the salt in the water, and yeast production. These are the times I think of Lucy Ball.. Envisioning a large cake pushing me up to the ceiling. Didn’t happen.. the lights and motor stopped and I emerged smooth and silky. Back across the room and a nice easy cruise ship type aroma massage. It was very pleasant and I did not almost cry like the Thai Massage or deep tissue. As I laid there I tried to remember what four numbers I had picked for my clothing locker so that I would not be in a permanent state of nude under a SPA bathrobe until someone could come an rescue me. I went to private schools with lots of women who did this regularly and I also go my hair done every Thursday at one time in my life.. but this whole being serviced thing felt like a foreign experience and more foreign since I was in the country of Pittsford and not Thailand. I also wondered if anyone of the other patrons felt this way. I think my provider and returned to the waiting area with the loufa that she gave me for a home scrub. This gave me a chance to see if I had used my birthday 1113 as the number in honor of the birthday present.. bingo. I had a 10 min wait and it was past lunch.. so another elixir and some tea.. and another sit with the women reading the novel and travel books.... Finally the door opened and Sarah came in.. she was stunning with great complexion. She had worked there three years loves her job and it showed. It was the signature facial which somehow starts with scrubbing your feet with sugar. I will tell you, I have happy toes. She massaged my head, shoulders hands and feet.. and I just layed there and smiled. I ended up with some lotion in a plastic case and some very warm mittens and booties. She then started on the face. Not exactly like the cucumber even on the street with 20 other people. She slathered and scrubbed and slithered and stroked and dabbed and dobbed and steamed. She did poke at my pores but not forever, told me I had good skin for my age and suggested as much water as I can remember to drink. At about 3:20, almost 3.5 hrs after I came in ..it was more elixir and back to the resting area. A few were eating lunch which I could have ordered. I changed, took and apple and pocked a fancy package of tea for Sheila.. paid my bill with tip and went back out to the street. It was an adventure. I also thought, most of the folks in the place were there because they doing all the time.. I was there as something very special and unique as a gift from folks also very unique and unique for an experience I will rembember for a very long time.