Archives: Personas

This is the perfect pilgrimage if you’re traveling solo. Guests are convivial. Baja skies bring out the sunshine. It’s easy to be yourself. Along the way, someone points to a red-tailed hawk, asks my favorite class, or invites me to a game of pickleball. I arrive with a set of strangers and leave with a cohort of friends. There’s a sense of belonging, and as much quietude as I want.

The Ranch challenges my body with intense physical workouts and uplifts my mind with art, culture and conversation. I traverse Mt. Kuchumaa, climb a rope wall and bust martial arts moves. I take a watercolor class and play with imagination. Then off to the men’s spa for a eucalyptus steam and deep tissue massage. Evenings are whiled away with dazzling chamber concerts by world-renowned musicians. I follow the stars back to my casita where the linens are turned, the fireplace is laid and crickets are chirping.

After 39 visits to The Ranch, I am officially hooked. I knew I found my personal playground on the very first stay. I was immediately taken by the dazzling array of classes and breathtaking trails up Mt. Kuchumaa. The friendliness of this fabled spa helped me overcome the hurdle of traveling alone. I never knew I’d fall in love with the people.

We are both normally on-the-go. Wade travels a lot for work. I’m in marketing. We trade our phones for flip-flops and follow the redbrick road to somewhere wonderful. The hammock becomes our office, the sky our calendar. We rediscover the simple joy of being together. Where else can you roam hand-in-hand in your robes?

Jessica works for a Fortune 500 company in Manhattan. Hannah guides cyclists through the Arizona backcountry. Our mom is a photographer in our hometown of Asheville. We set aside our far-flung lives and take a week just for us. We relish the life-nourishing routine at the Ranch—rising and setting with the indomitable Baja California sun. As millennials, we’re excited to trade emojis for motion, moving our bodies with abandon. We pick from dozens of classes and some of the West’s best trails. We float, frolic, roam and piggyback down the mountain.

I wouldn’t trade my girlfriend getaway to The Ranch for anything. We step out of time and the roles we play. We slip into robes and the rhythms of nature. We hike, dance, laugh and dream. Each of us follows our own fancies — hopping on a trampoline, crisscrossing the mountains, rocking in yoga silks. We feel deeply connected to each other and ourselves.