With the weather warming just a bit the wife and I decided to just take a ride. Yes, it is a bit of a nostalgic thing. I remember when the family would go for a drive on a Sunday afternoon. It was an outing. Might stop for an ice cream or bring a picnic lunch along. The main purpose was simply to look around, travel roads you hadn't traveled before and not be in a hurry. We would be that car, doing the speed limit or a bit less. Of course we were on those back roads where the limit was thirty. And that is what we did yesterday afternoon, on a Wednesday. Well, we are retired so the weekend is just another part of the week to us, a part to be avoided if driving. Yeah, things change a bit when you are retired. But we had a nice little drive and we did stop for ice cream.
Now having been in the Navy I have been to many foreign lands, seen lots of other places. With the wife and children we went here and there, visiting various attractions in the country. We have been on family vacations, day trips, and spur of the moment outings. The one place we haven't really explored is Caroline county, the county I now live in and have for twenty some years or more. Thinking about it, probably closer to thirty years than twenty. So many roads untraveled. We have all kinds of roads in Caroline county. Yesterday we explored a few dirt roads. Apparently they are far more dirt roads than I previously thought. That is, named dirt roads. Went down Hill road and Bridgetown Road yesterday. Hill road is all dirt whereas Bridgetown Road is only partially dirt. It was a nice drive.
We did enjoy seeing the sights. We saw the largest herd of horses we have ever seen. There was a herd of goats, some cattle. and a flock of geese. That's not to mention the various buzzards and birds. The landscape is beautiful to see even without the spring plumage. We could see red in the tree tops, a sure sign spring isn't far off. There were homes for sale and homes to admire. I especially like the old farmhouses surrounded by the barns and out buildings. The house itself usually surrounded by a few trees to provide shade and the rest of the landscape bare. I think of them as an oasis. Those old homes, nestled in a small grove of oaks or Maples. Ah, what stories of triumph and tragedy do they hold? And every now and again a family cemetery will reveal itself. Some are well maintained and others looking lost and forlorn. I'm always curious about those. What has transpired over the years? Who lies there? And do they lie in rest or in anticipation?
As I listened to the news this morning and the threat of this coronavirus being spread I thought about this. I know there were plaques and such in the old days. I know that there still are. Still I know that some of these things are spread by people traveling from place to place. They carry the sickness with them. We do tend to travel farther and faster than ever before. We travel for many reasons these days. We travel just to go shopping, to go to a show, to go to an attraction of some type. Yes, we travel far , wide and often. That wasn't so when I was growing up. I lived about one hundred miles east of New York City and it just might as well have been a thousand! I did go there, on a school trip, when I was sixteen. That was the farthest distance from home I had been to that date. The big city to me was Riverhead, the county seat. It was about twenty five miles from my home and that was an outing. Not a place you went to on a whim, that was a planned journey. The truth is we, by that I mean my entire family, didn't venture far from home. We stayed within a fifteen mile radius of home 90% of the time. Funny thing is there were roads I hadn't explored even then, inside that small area. And yesterday as the wife and I rode down those dirt roads it was clear how many roads we know nothing about right here. The plan is to explore more this year, take those rides in the country. Easy enough to do when you live in the country. I'm thinking it's time to bring back those Sunday drives. Taking a ride just for the enjoyment of riding, no destination, no schedule, no plan. Just taking a drive. You know it's amazing how much more you see if you drive under thirty. A typical covered wagon only went a distance of between ten and fifteen miles in a single day! It's no wonder those folks were so familiar with the trail! They sure had plenty of time to look around and see all the natural wonders. Try driving at 2 miles an hour for ten minutes. After that drive thirty and you will think you are flying. Yes I'm thinking that is part of the problem these days. We are just too fast. People have been saying that for a long time though and the goal is still to travel farther and faster. And another old adage is true as well, speed kills! It'll kill us all sooner or later. I'm slowing down, taking a drive on the back roads. Dirt roads are my favorite.
Now having been in the Navy I have been to many foreign lands, seen lots of other places. With the wife and children we went here and there, visiting various attractions in the country. We have been on family vacations, day trips, and spur of the moment outings. The one place we haven't really explored is Caroline county, the county I now live in and have for twenty some years or more. Thinking about it, probably closer to thirty years than twenty. So many roads untraveled. We have all kinds of roads in Caroline county. Yesterday we explored a few dirt roads. Apparently they are far more dirt roads than I previously thought. That is, named dirt roads. Went down Hill road and Bridgetown Road yesterday. Hill road is all dirt whereas Bridgetown Road is only partially dirt. It was a nice drive.
We did enjoy seeing the sights. We saw the largest herd of horses we have ever seen. There was a herd of goats, some cattle. and a flock of geese. That's not to mention the various buzzards and birds. The landscape is beautiful to see even without the spring plumage. We could see red in the tree tops, a sure sign spring isn't far off. There were homes for sale and homes to admire. I especially like the old farmhouses surrounded by the barns and out buildings. The house itself usually surrounded by a few trees to provide shade and the rest of the landscape bare. I think of them as an oasis. Those old homes, nestled in a small grove of oaks or Maples. Ah, what stories of triumph and tragedy do they hold? And every now and again a family cemetery will reveal itself. Some are well maintained and others looking lost and forlorn. I'm always curious about those. What has transpired over the years? Who lies there? And do they lie in rest or in anticipation?
As I listened to the news this morning and the threat of this coronavirus being spread I thought about this. I know there were plaques and such in the old days. I know that there still are. Still I know that some of these things are spread by people traveling from place to place. They carry the sickness with them. We do tend to travel farther and faster than ever before. We travel for many reasons these days. We travel just to go shopping, to go to a show, to go to an attraction of some type. Yes, we travel far , wide and often. That wasn't so when I was growing up. I lived about one hundred miles east of New York City and it just might as well have been a thousand! I did go there, on a school trip, when I was sixteen. That was the farthest distance from home I had been to that date. The big city to me was Riverhead, the county seat. It was about twenty five miles from my home and that was an outing. Not a place you went to on a whim, that was a planned journey. The truth is we, by that I mean my entire family, didn't venture far from home. We stayed within a fifteen mile radius of home 90% of the time. Funny thing is there were roads I hadn't explored even then, inside that small area. And yesterday as the wife and I rode down those dirt roads it was clear how many roads we know nothing about right here. The plan is to explore more this year, take those rides in the country. Easy enough to do when you live in the country. I'm thinking it's time to bring back those Sunday drives. Taking a ride just for the enjoyment of riding, no destination, no schedule, no plan. Just taking a drive. You know it's amazing how much more you see if you drive under thirty. A typical covered wagon only went a distance of between ten and fifteen miles in a single day! It's no wonder those folks were so familiar with the trail! They sure had plenty of time to look around and see all the natural wonders. Try driving at 2 miles an hour for ten minutes. After that drive thirty and you will think you are flying. Yes I'm thinking that is part of the problem these days. We are just too fast. People have been saying that for a long time though and the goal is still to travel farther and faster. And another old adage is true as well, speed kills! It'll kill us all sooner or later. I'm slowing down, taking a drive on the back roads. Dirt roads are my favorite.
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