Reading, Walking, Rebecca

In early August, I took the vacation I was dying to take all year: my Common Grounds Pilgrimage themed around Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. Do I like the book? Yes. Do I love it as much as I love these experiences? No. In April 2022, I did the Frankenstein/Mary Shelley Pilgrimage, hosted by the same company and with the same faculty and came back with a system reboot. I felt nourished, replenished, ready to take on the world. This time, I came back a little less ready but still incredibly nourished and grateful for the experience.

After spending a few days in London sleeping, eating almond croissants, and exploring museums, I met up with the group of 17-ish pilgrims at the Plymouth Train Station After a name game I dominated at (being a former camp counselor), we headed to the beautiful estate of Erth Barton where we were staying for our 5-ish days together. It’s a beautiful estate, where they regularly hold retreats. There’s a beautiful barn to eat meals in, a 12th century chapel on the grounds, and just the most cozy comforting feel. There’s greenery everywhere, beautiful stone-work on the house, and a comfortable interior that feels like you’re asked to be at home, versus the sterility and impersonalness of a hotel.

The core of the pilgrimage was reading Rebecca, discussing it toghether in twice-daily class settings (that could have been longer and I would have loved it) and engaging in long walks in Cornwall. We had a lovely nature-based guide who loved to point out the beautiful flora long our routes. We had some amazing sites in the countryside and seaside, nourishing food provided by our on-site chef for the week, Caroline, and talking amongst ourselves. The community of the pilgrimages is really what makes it shine: it’s so cool to see how tight you can become with 17 random strangers within hours, and the deep conversations you’ll be having at the end.

I always love the class time the most—I read all the time, but I never read as deeply as when I’m in these classes, breaking down the text not in an academic way, but related to a specific theme or topic for the moment. We talked a lot about haunting with Rebecca, and spent classes specifically focused on the narrator, on Rebecca, on Mrs. Danvers, and on Manderlay itself.

The walks were lovely—but Cornwall is a lot hillier than you might think! The weather wasn’t bad, but it fluctuated rapidly based on where we were. I spent a lot of time taking stuff off and putting it back on.

One night, we had dinner at Jamaica Inn and got to tour the very er…interesting mini-museum to Daphne du Maurier and smugglers. The walks were beautfiul, the food was nourishing and the conversations were great.

Every pilgrim gets “chaplain time” with Vanessa, which is a great opportunity to talk through a question you have and try to get to something in your life—your worklife balance, your relationship, your job, etc.

When I come home from something like this, I want to find ways to continue it, but not in ways that create more work for me. I don’t need to audit an English class to discuss books. I don’t need to get a Divinity degree.

This time, what I’ve come to, is giving myself PILGRIM DAY once a month (ideally.) It’s going to be a day a month (again…ideally…) where I have nothing on my calendar, and I do things that would fit into a pilgrimage or some sense of that for myself. I imagine this being making my own smoothies and taking a really long walk, going to a museum, sitting on the National Mall and reading a book, etc. I am fully aware that eventually (I suppose) it will be winter, and I haven’t really thought about how Pilgrim Days in winter look. Maybe curling up in a hotel coffee shop? Going to see a movie in theatres? To be determined! But I want these to be days where I don’t check things off my list I just…exist, and float, for a day.

So yeah…that was my pilgrimage. It was a great chance to relax, it’s got me thinking about what to do next, and I’m not ready to go back to work. Sigh.