One-arm William

Wonderful day today. Set out from Massanutten, in the Shenandoah Valley, to visit a very old friend and his wife at their country place near Culpepper, Virginia - 30-odd years since we last saw them. It was a beautiful drive and I just couldn't stop jumping up and down (in the driver's seat) and getting excited about the fall colours along the route.

The reunion was great and their place, tucked in among the trees and overlooking the lake that they made themselves - well, I'm running out of words for beautiful...

Excellent lunch in Culpepper, followed by a visit to a shop with an eclectic selection of ornaments, gifts and Rather Nice Clothes. Resisted temptation, assisted by the fact that I fell neatly between two sizes.

On the way back to Massanutten, made a couple of detours to try to get some decent shots of the trees and countryside. Met William on the first detour, sitting on a mini-tractor of sorts, outside a mini white house with a far-from-mini sized tree in full autumn regalia. Went over to explain why we had stopped (to get a shot of the house and tree) and got into conversation, first with him, then with his mother, who was raking leaves outside the house. Reckon I'm pretty much up to scratch with their life stories now. William has been off the drugs and booze for six years now, but had a pretty wild old time before that. Mom figured she shouldn't have been raking the leaves, with her arthritis, but we both agreed it was probably better to keep moving.

They were warm and welcoming and I really liked them.

Altogether, a day to remember.