Healthy, Healing and a little Humiliating

My mom and I decided to escape and regroup on a mini vacation this past weekend. Neither of us had been to Hot Springs, AK but had heard great things so we drove from Texas to Hot Springs (about 5 hours but took us more like 7 due to traffic). We stayed at the Arlington Hotel - one of the oldest - in fact, they still used actual keys for the rooms.

We booked the deluxe mineral bath package at a bath house down the street called BuckStaff Baths - also very old - in fact many of the gangsters including Al Capone used to go there. They declared it a no fighting zone so all the gangsters left all their guns/weapons at the door - figuring everyone has the right to partake in the "healing" waters.

I followed my attendant to a cubby type of room with a big tub in it like the picture to the left shows. She told me to climb into the tub and then turned on that little machine that made the water bubble up. After soaking for 15 minutes, she came back in and started scrubbing my arms, legs and back down with a loofa - just a little humiliating.

We had about an hour's worth of getting into some kind of water device (steam chair, small tub just for your backside, shower, etc.) and getting back out again. At one point, I was covered in hot towels with one really cold one on my face - this felt fantastic and I think I could've slept like that for a while. As if this wasn't relaxing enough, I then went in for a 20 minute massage - Heaven!

My mom and I had a great time and may some day try it again now that we know what to expect. However, it reminded me that I need to continue taking care of my body - besides the better diet and exercising, pampering is a good thing too. Massages, skin care, hair care - I figure they all make a difference in the long run and although they can be expensive, there are always good deals out there to find. We didn't spend too much money and besides the baths and massages, we also got a paraffin wax treatment on our hands - made them SO SOFT!! Next time, I'd like to do this in a more private atmosphere though...it's tough trying to relax knowing that complete strangers just saw more of me than I usually do.