Ever since we started building our house this spring, we haven't really had weekends. In fact, we work twice as hard on the weekends, because Tyler isn't busy with his job then. The concept of taking a break… it just doesn't exist. The House is all that exists. Generally speaking, life in the camper has become so unbearable that we can't stomach the idea of spending time on anything that doesn't get us measurably closer to escaping it. Still, I long for a weekend.
We're house-sitting for Charlie and Becky, and it's Saturday morning, a precious weekend day when both Tyler and I are free to work on the house together. But as I peer out the window at the bright blue skies and golden leaves, nearly October's bright blue weather, I roll over to Tyler and nudge him awake, moving my eyebrows up and down enticingly.
"You know what we should do this morning before we start work for the day?" "What?" he asks, amused. "We should should drive to Manchester, slowly, on back roads, to look at the fall foliage. And then we should get cider donuts. And then we should start working on the house." To my utter amazement, Tyler agrees (saying something along the lines of "fuck it"), and together we pack our belongings and head back up to our place to get dressed and ready.
Before we leave for our short excursion, we stop over at Jeremy and Hercilia's to drop off some garbage (we share garbage pickup service). They wave at us through the window, looking happy in their bathrobes with their morning cups of coffee. Waves turn to beckoning motions as they urge us to come inside.
In what is turning out to be quite the festive morning, we all hover around the kitchen island and chat. Jeremy offers us coffee, and Hercilia toasts us some English muffins. And so, over breakfast, we tell them about the short little drive we have planned, and invite them to come along. To our surprise, they say yes!
Jeremy raises our Manchester bet by suggesting that we head over to Kelly Stand Road, a rural river-side drive that recently opened after being closed for repair since Hurricane Irene washed it out. With a plan set, they busy themselves getting ready to roll. Water bottles are filled, camera batteries are charged, Roscoe is helped into the car. Then, off we go, into the glorious, glorious day.
Our excursion turns into a multiple-hour autumn extravaganza. We drive slowly, with the windows open and the heat on. Around every turn is the most beautiful fall postcard-worthy scene. We stop often, getting out to putter around rocky rivers and take many, many pictures. Finally, there are stops for cider donuts and ice cream before we drive towards home.
We didn't wind up accomplishing much of anything on the house today but the distraction was worth every minute.