Companion - Number 1

aww ~ december 4, 2013
non-subject: something appeared

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I don't talk about it with anyone except my husband, John.
And even then, I rarely bring up the subject.
Until last week when I opened up to my good friend, Leah.
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I vacationed alone again this year. John was supposed to go, but he ended up having to work. I'm thankful he has a good job. At least he isn't in the armed forces where he'd be physically away for months at a time.

John helps me load my traveling gear into the 1999 gray Ford Explorer for my week-long trip in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia.

In order to fit my bicycle into the Explorer, we lay down the back seat so that the cushiony seat-back that supports passengers' backs kisses the cushiony seat that supports passenger's buttocks. John helps load my bicycle. I direct him that the rear tire of the bike goes in first, then to tip the bike at an angle to the right and roll the angled bike backward toward the front of the Explorer, then to lay the bike on its left side so that the chain faces the vehicle ceiling, then to turn the front tire and handle bars toward the ceiling so that the back hatch of the Explorer will close. After the bike is stable, we load my other gear: a box of food, a couple small coolers, various size overnight bags, a toiletry bag. I had divided my toiletries and clothes in smaller overnight bags so we can place them around the bike and not disturb the gears or the chain. I'll get someone to help me unload after I arrive at the resort condominium where I'm staying.

I leave that afternoon on the five-to-six-hour drive north. It's a pleasant drive. But, like so many times since our kids have become adults, I am solo in the vehicle.

It's okay Carol. This is just the way it is. You are used to being alone. Maybe you'll enjoy yourself more without John on the trip. You'll be free to roam as you please. You can write. You can meet people, strike up conversations about their lives. That's what you do.

And that is what I did - venture alone and talk with some folks.

On Monday I visit Luray Caverns and the Garden Maze. I decide to walk the Maze before I enter and tour the Caverns.

The Maze paths are about 4 feet wide. On each side of the path grow eight-foot-tall evergreen hedges that resemble cypress or cedar type trees. While walking the one-acre maze, I meet the Maze owner and designer. His name is John. John and I talk for about 20 minutes as he shares how he moved to Virginia from the northeast in the latter 1990s. He took up residence in the Shenandoah area and designed and landscaped the Maze. He shares, giving me directions to a place I could ride my bike down by the Shenandoah River. It's not a bike route per se, but rather country roads, a place the locals know about.

Next, the Caverns. I've toured Luray Caverns at least two times in the past. It's always an awesome walk; the majestic stalactites and stalagmites mesmerize my soul and intellect. They grow one cubic inch every 120 years; some of them are over seven million years old. Wow, just wow.

Within this belly of earth, Dream Lake mirrors the ceiling and looks like an unreal 3-D city of limestone castles. The appropriately named Cathedral has been the sanctuary for some 450 weddings. The Catherdral houses the world's largest musical instrument, the Great Stalacpipe Organ. Stalactites covering 3-1/2 acres from the surrounding caverns act as the organ pipes. I ask the young man who is our group's tour guide lots of questions; he's very knowledgeable and seems to enjoy sharing the history and facts.

As my eyes examine nature's limestone sculptures, I wonder if others notice how much the sculptures look like human body parts and organs...penises, the labium and folds of a woman's vagina, tongues and tonsils and the digestive system. These seven-million-year-old growing rocks are like the inner organs of the earth and its reproductive system.

I can think of nothing in nature that consists of straight lines; it's all curves and swirls and folds and dips and mounds. Straight lines are man made.