I write this from the bedroom of our lodging for the first full day of vacation. We were forced into executing ‘Plan C’ this year. Our first choice, a long-planned trip to Toronto, became yet another victim of the pandemic. ‘Revenge travel’ scuttled a fallback to our usual destination when everyone decided that the Outer Banks was the place to go for Summer 2021. We ended up in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky for a long weekend just under three hours from our house. Ms. Boss, a most excellent travel agent, booked us the second floor of a building at a remote crossroads over a ice cream/pottery/coffee shop and across the street from a bar and grill. We’ve already consumed some excellent barbecue and beverages at a very reasonable price. It doesn’t hurt that this area feels very much like where I grew up. I read and hiked yesterday afternoon and am writing this morning. It’s safe to say that all my needs are met.
We have more than one reason to celebrate this weekend – Bosslets 2 and 3 turn eighteen today. I can scarcely wrap my mind around that. What’s even harder to comprehend is that Bosslet 3 applied for a job at the facility where I work. Her boyfriend has made the trip with us. They certainly aren’t the small babies I used to haul around two at a time in pumpkin seats anymore. I feel it necessary to point out that Ms. Boss does not look nearly old enough to have two eighteen year-old daughters, much less one that’s twenty-two. Time flies…
Best vacation ever? Our honeymoon in the Outer Banks . We had a house on the beach during the off season and had the entire development to ourselves. We drew… actually the newly-minted Ms. Boss drew and I tried to… we ate, we explored, and we loved one another. Ms. Boss keeps a picture of me on her dresser wearing a maroon hoodie standing in the kitchen of our house that was taken that week. She says it’s her favorite all-time picture of me. That particular hoodie was placed in storage for a long time because… well… I outgrew it. A year or so ago, I pulled it out of storage while doing some cleaning. Somehow, it founds its way into Bosslet 3’s wardrobe. She wears it quite frequently, including when she took her senior pictures. The layers of sentimentality found in that circumstance cannot be overstated.
I’m obsessed with the Appalachian Trail. Despite the fact I’ve never backcountry camped in my life, I would love to say that I hiked at least a sizable part the trail. My plan to dip my toe in the water and test my mettle revolves around tackling the longest climb on the trail from the Nanthala Gorge to Cheoah Bald – a climb of over 3,000 feet in five miles. Yesterday’s hike here at Red River Gorge consisted of 362 of vertical without a backpack or anything else. I hit my heart rate cutoff of 150 bpm and was forced to rest twice in the 0.75 miles of our excursion. I, obviously, need more work on my fitness.
My goals for this trip? A little bit of reading, a little bit of recreation, more than my share of eating, and a whole lot of love for the life Ms. Boss and I have built together.
