There’s a part of me that feels like the last two years are just one giant bug smear across the windshield, kinda like that opening scene in Men In Black. You turn on your wipers and fluid to clear it, but it only gets worse, and before you know it you’re driving blind. Then I swipe through my photos over the last month and I realize, Hey! I’ve done some cool stuff too! It hasn’t all been Delta variant and back-to-school fighting with angry anti-mask/vax parents and potential government shutdowns and wrangling Haitians across the Mexican border. Uhhh…okay well maybe it’s been all that too, but there was definitely some sunshine in between the funnel clouds.
Speaking of sunshine, Wendy and I took a vacation. Just the two of us. A little private get-away down in West Virginia. <cue the John Denver song…and the banjo music from Deliverance> Equal parts gorgeous, and also keeping one eye open in the back of my head because, you know, pig squeals. We really did have a great time. Our goal was to section hike parts of the Appalachian Trail in four states: West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We didn’t make it to Pennsylvania — that section of the trail was just too far away from where we were staying (a little air bnb place on the outskirts of Harper’s Ferry). We got the other states in though.
Normally we’d backpack through the Appalachian Trail on those days. But Wendy’s knee has been giving her trouble, so we day-hiked those sections and enjoyed restaurants and ice cream and hot showers and a soft bed at night. Those trails are ROUGH, let me tell you. Or show you. Here’s a pic.
We did eventually hit PA on our way home, just not the AT. Patriot Day fell right before our trip, so we thought what better way to commemorate 9/11 than visiting the Flight 93 Memorial in Stoystown. It was my first time there, and it was a very somber experience. As much as I detest the shape our government is in right now, I was very impressed with the effort they took to honor those 40 passengers and crew who gave their lives.
We also attended our first concert in years. The venue took me back to my high school days at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. The last time I was there (I think—the memory might be getting a little fuzzy these days) might have been Richard Marx WAAAYYY back in the day. This time though we saw Alanis Morissette. Garbage opened for her, and they were really fantastic. It’s an outdoor amphitheater, and the concert info said only vaccinated people could get in, or only people with a negative Covid test within 48 hours. Psht. Yeah. Right. We took our vax cards in with us, but they weren’t checking anything. Maybe the restriction discouraged unvaccinated people from buying tickets? But I give those the same odds as Cyber Ninjas discovering that *surprise!* Trump actually won Maricopa County.
At any rate, it’s been nice getting back out into, you know, people, again. And nature. Doing the things we love doing and not feeling cooped up and sequestered anymore inside our home. Everyone in my immediate family is vaccinated and healthy and we’re grateful for science and FACTS. Not so grateful for the anti-vaxxers and the conspiracy theorists and the cyber warriors who think they’ve stumbled on some secret piece of evidence previously overlooked by the entire global force of professional health care workers and scientists. Also not too appreciative of those doctors and nurses and other medical professionals who refuse to get vaccinated. I understand that everyone has their rights and freedoms (‘Murca!). Just seems very selfish to me. More than 680,000 Americans have died from this thing already. Why some people refuse to do the most basic things to prevent more unnecessary death is beyond me.
So that’s what’s been going on here. Oh! I almost forgot…I also entered the Writers of the Future contest again. I likely won’t hear any results for 10-12 more weeks, but I entered. First time in almost two years. Not only that, but I spruced up one of my favorite stories — Uncle Guido’s Magic Pipe — and sent it out for submission. That’s also gonna be @ 100 days before I hear anything back. In the meantime, I’m brainstorming a new story idea for next quarter’s Writers of the Future contest. That deadline is December 31st.
What kinds of things have you been up to? Anything on your bucket list you want to complete before Old Man Winter takes up residence on all our front porches? He’ll be here before you know it.
Enjoy some flora and fauna from the Appalachian Trail!
