a week away

2003-08-23 - 4:13 p.m.

One week off doesn't seem like such a long time. But it's certainly been a help. I am in a much better frame of mind than I was this time last week. Much of that is thanks to you and some thanks to you and some thanks to my own doing. An awful lot thanks to lots of time in the car to think.

Bummed around home for a few days. Went to an outdoor concert to see Entrain with some friends of my housemate, some of whom I've met several times, some of whom were new. Nice folks, all. The music was great and the evening was beautiful.

Wednesday headed off to West Virginia. I saw vast areas of Pennsylvania I'd never seen (okay, most of them were connected by the turnpike). Stopped and wandered around a little town called Friendsville that was hopelessly quaint and reminded me of my family's town in the mountains in Washington. Locals stared at this stranger wandering their streets munching on an apple from the market. I bought cheap books in another town, always a beautiful thing.

Thursday I went whitewater rafting for the first time. Some of the rapids were class V+. Somehow we managed not to lose anyone overboard, though some of the other rafts did. The guide taught us the ways to stay in the raft including a foothold, a strap and a method he calls the "vulcan butt suck"...one cheek on either side of the raft's edge, then you clench tight as you can. ;-) Said he had a crowbar in case anyone got stuck on. hehe

Met two women from Indy who invited me along to dinner. We met up about a half hour south of where I was staying at a restaurant overlooking a beautiful gorge. The sun was setting and turning the sky a variety of pinks and violets while the fog settled over the river and slowly climbed its way up to fill the gorge as the evening wore on. The view far outshone the food, but we were hungry enough to manage some real damage on the buffet. They went off to their cabin and I drove back towards my hotel, but decided to stop across the street for a drink. Talked to some odd locals and visitors before deciding to take cover back in my room.

Friday was a half-day horseback ride. I'd been on a horse only once before, and that probably 12-14 years ago. I owe my backside a big apology for the abuse it took, but it was a lot of fun. About an hour into the trip, we got caught in some huge storms and utterly drenched. I could hold my hand far above the horse's neck and feel the moist heat rising from his body. Very cool. We rode trails along the top of the gorge and in places could look down and see some of the rapids I'd rafted over the day before. When I got back I spent some time with two of the horses. Mine kept coming up close to me and pressing his head up against my chest, just like a cat does for affection. I peeled off the soaking clothes that smelled of wet horse and set out on the 7+ hour car ride home. Best sighting from the drive: a sign that pointed the way both to Cheat Lake and Fairchance Road. Runner-up: roadkill in front of the taxadermist shop.

I may have only been gone a week, but i've been missing for years.

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