A Band of Friends and Back Roads

So for a few months Elliott and I had been walking different paths, and decided to break up. I had been depressed for months, and really needed to get my life back on track. Thankfully, I have some incredible friends, who all rallied round and helped me get back in sync, and back to the life I'd been missing. I have 2 small groups of lady friends, and decided to bring them together for a Ladies Night Party at my house. I'd spent weeks cleaning and getting my home exactly how I wanted it, and was excited to show it off and use it to entertain again. A couple of ladies from each group showed up early, and we promptly filled some glasses with wine and beer. I could tell immediately this was going to be a successful night, everyone was getting along splendidly.

Everyone invited turned up, so we had a group of 11. The house was toured, with me relishing every 'ooh' and 'aah'. Chairs from the front porch were hauled in and everyone managed to find a spot. Carol had brought a record player with a box of vinyl, so we had superb music. There was enough food to feed a battalion, everyone had outdone themselves, and the dining room table was loaded. There were even pretty little gifts of flowers, a plant, and pottery. And of course, there was the equivalent of a vat of wine. Bottles lined the kitchen countertops, and I was surprised to see that the beer was hardly touched. We were being civilized this evening, with heavy reds, sparking whites and port. Then the lovely twins from up the road turned up, with a huge bottle of Jamesons whiskey. We could party all weekend if we wanted.

The ladies noshed and nattered throughout the evening, and I was elated to see everyone getting on so well. I was already planning a summer party for the group when we could be outside, enjoying the garden and flowers. This group acted like they’d all known each other for years, not a few hours.

Jenn had planned well, she'd brought Joking Hazard, a game similar to Cards against Humanity, but funnier, and also New Phone, Who Dis?, another spinoff, but based on text messages. We chose the latter, divided up into 4 groups, and battle commenced. The room was filled with howls of laughter, and we played a few rounds before declaring the evening should come to an end. And this was where my friends outdid themselves. There was a lot of food left, which the ladies wrapped and put in the fridge. Trash was stashed into a black bag. Some foods were taken away, bowls and glasses were stacked, and the dining room was left immaculate. I couldn't believe it, I had very little to do the next morning.

And so, I woke up on Sunday, with a thumping head and a message from Jen, inviting me downtown for a coffee. The headache was dispelled with lots of water and Advil, then after cleaning up the glasses from last night, I was downtown, sipping coffee with Jen.

Jen had mentioned that the new Ghostbuster car was in town, promoting the new movie's opening weekend, and sure enough, as we sat chatting by the coffee shop window, a posse of ghostbusters walked past, on their way to the cinema, carrying their ghost-catching equipment. After coffee, we walked up to see the car, but it wasn't as impressive as the original vehicle, which as a former hearse, had a lot more street cred. We checked out the local pottery, and then parted company. Jen was going to a winery, she has more stamina than me, that's for sure! 

I was driving down to New Market, to see if I could get anywhere near to the forest fires in the region. Rte 11 across the mountain to Luray was closed, and I'd heard reports that the old National Forest Visitor Center had burned down, as well as Dan's Steakhouse. I was sad to hear this, especially the steakhouse, a place I'd been meaning to visit, after hearing their steaks were top notch. I wonder if they'll rebuild. I'd also heard through the grapevine that about 18 houses had been burned. Front Royal residents have been offering Airbnb homes for displaced families, and meadows for any farm animals that needed to be evacuated. We'd had heavy rain overnight, but as an ex-firefighter, I knew one heavy rain would not extinguish them. But I had hoped it might at least open some roads.

The police were blocking roads they didn't want people driving on, so I headed off towards the back dirt roads. Driving through the George Washington forest I had these to myself, there was no other traffic. I had no phone signal so had to read the map on my phone like an old mapbook, constantly checking I was going in the right direction. With windows down, and driving very slowly, it was gorgeous, breathing in the fresh, crisp air. I was amazed that there was no smoke to be seen, but that was a good thing, although I was also very conscious of the fact that I couldn't see or hear any birds.

The shack above made me stop and reverse back for a closer inspection. It was hard to see through the trees, and I was a little apprehensive in case the resident strode out with a shotgun, but this was actually a small caravan, which had been completely encased with a wooden shed-like structure. There were no windows in the wooden sides, only a small opening for the caravan door. Very odd.

I spent some time circling around Short Mountain, marveling at how close I was to 'The Knob', a landmark spur, which is clearly visible from Rte 81. High up on the mountain, there were a lot of caravans, folks living off the grid, although a few had power lines. I didn't stop near any of these as the owners were mostly staring at me, and not in a friendly way. I guess they don't see much traffic up here, except other residents. There were also plenty of 'no trespassing' signs, so I stayed inside the car. 

I had driven quite a few dirt tracks, weaving up and up through the mountain range, and without passing any other vehicles, so was completely amazed when I rounded a corner to see a police car and a park ranger van, with a police lady, and 2 rangers, who were Amish identical twins, with bright ginger beards. The 3 of them stood in the road as I approached, and all 3 were beaming broadly. It was infectious, so I beamed right back at them and came to a stop, winding my window down. I would have loved to ask for a photo of them, but didn't want to spoil the moment. They all approached and ducked down, smiling from ear to ear through my open window. I don't think they'd seen any other people for a while and were all happy to chat. They let me know that although the rain had damped some of the fires, there were still hot spots and flames on higher ground. They very kindly directed me back down to the valley, and waved me on my way.

I gave up my hunt for wildfires after that very sociable encounter, and found another dirt road that wound its way alongside a creek and in the direction of home. Again, I saw very few people, but there were plenty of newborn calves and lambs frolicking in the fields, and a fabulous white sycamore brightly lit by the sunshine. I stopped for a minute or two to admire its white bark shining in the sunlight, and then slowly made my way back to Front Royal.