Saturday, July 09, 2005

Take me home country roads

After spending the night outside of Nashville, I was in for some heavy driving through Tennessee. It was the longest, most boring stretch of highway yet. I think it was because I had no more cities on my agenda, just home.

I finally hit the Virginia border and when I got to Roanoke, I got of the interstate and on the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most scenic drives in America. All the monotony of the last 6 hours of driving ended and I was left to enjoy the views overlooking the Appalacian Mountains. The road has twists and turns, and without guardrails, I had to be on my guard navigating. It was difficult because I wanted to see all around me, not just the road ahead.

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I stopped for dinner at the Peaks of Otter lodge and got dessert to go. There was so much to see and sunset was approaching. I stopped often at overlook points and came upon an area where the Appalachian Trail is accessable. Someday I'll hike part of it, but not this trip.

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If every part of my journey was a symphony, then being here is the perfet encore. This is the music that existed before time.

The mountains looked like ocean waves, crashing out to the horizon, and nearing sunset, the firey pink sun followed me for a while defying grafity until it was satisfied that I would be ok. Instead of setting, it simply faded away.

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I descended into a dark valley where the road twisted and turned violently. When I exited the forrest, I saw that the sun has sent it's friend, the crescent moon to be my evening sentry with a crooked smirk.

This drive was the most beautiful from my whole trip. Part of me wanted to curse the men who laid this asphalt, destroying the original beauty of this mountian range, but the the othe part of me praised them because without it, I would never had got to see this.

I would be home tomorrow. Back to the job search and responsibilities. But right now I would hold on to this moment and be thankful that I had the courage to do this in the first place.

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