I have been just a little bit down lately. I am trying my very hardest to kick off this blanket of negativity and sadness that I seem to place myself under every time I return home, but it is proving pretty difficult this time around.
I spent this past week at a beach house with my grandparents, dad's four brothers and my cousin Ryan and her boyfriend. It was really nice to be out of Virginia Beach, and my uncle's crude jokes and matriarchal grandmother's clever but biting criticisms kept me laughing. I spent a lot of time in my room that week, studying and watching and reading far too many news programs, becoming red in the face with anger most days because of our country's stupidity. I have never been very political, but with my generation's current reactions to the turmoil our economy is facing and the despicable greed and depravity that allowed it to happen cannot remain a passing headline for me. I certainly don't know enough about the way Wall Street, and our economy in general works, but I do know enough to be certain that the way its being run now is not at all acceptable or just.
I don't want to harp on depressing current events, but the condition of the Outer Banks (where the beach house was located) is still pretty disasterous after the hurricane. All throughout Salvo there are gigantic piles of pieces of houses, fridges, toys, cars, trash, etc - remnants of Irene. Much of Rodanthe is still underwater, and the towns are eerily vacant, even for this time of year.
But, here is something beautiful that was happening not too far away:
It was really wonderful to spend some time with my cousin Ryan. Though we are vastly different, we managed to find a lot of common ground and had many great conversations and laughs. I mentioned that we are different; Ryan is a domestic goddess. She spent a lot of time cooking and preparing elegant alcoholic beverages. She spent the majority of her downtime with her nose in home decorating magazines, every once in a while murmuring something like "Wow! Crown molding really does make a difference!"
Some other highlights of last week include a hilarious rendition of 'Under Pressure' performed via skype by Tim Berryman, Uncle Eric's cheesecake (the most delicious cheesecake I have ever eaten), and a beautiful collection of shells gathered during my many walks on the beach.
After the beach I left straight for Shepherdstown, West Virginia. After a six hour drive I arrived at the Prillaman farmhouse and Liesel and I went straight to the garden where we chatted while picking beans and pumpkins. That night Liesel, Lars, a few of their friends and I went to this really incredible little hippy-ish commune-ish place called 'Folly' where we listened to some really beautiful music being played from a stage surrounded by creepy marionettes and gigantic painted Tarot cards. It was a really great night.
The next day Lars had to go off to the Farmer's Market, and Liesel and I went to Harper's Ferry for a hike. Harper's Ferry is a neat little town with a lot of history and natural beauty. It's where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet, and the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers combine. We hiked the Maryland Heights trail with her doggies in tow.
We were very exhausted that night. After seeing Lars' finger dance, laughing too much for my sunburned lips to handle, and eating delicious food from their garden, I went to sleep all the while dreading my return to Virginia Beach. I really love those two and Shepherdstown. I will hopefully return for one last visit before New Zealand.
Here are some pictures of the farm and other cool things (like cute babies).
Rachel and baby Jude
all of Graham's mushrooms from my mushroom photoshoot, such beautiful little things
Liesel's Birds
a really cool caterpillar
the creek in the Prillaman backyard
a great old barn on their property
ha!
That is all for now. 24 days til New Zealand, and in a couple of days I will be 24 (eesh).
