OK, So. I’m in Annapolis on a work trip. It is a darling East Coast town between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. I was out here in September, and that trip was my training wheels for getting back into the swing of domestic flights. I got the cobwebs cleared out, and this time was definitely smoother. You guys!!! I’m flying, traveling, going to another state during a pandemic. This is my third post-pandemic trip. Oh my gosh.
It’s so weird still. And exciting.
I respect the damned COVID-19. Yes, I genuflect. You are in charge, Oh Virus! But still, I live my life. My employer sends me to the other side of the country and I go. I wear my mask when I can. I take it off when I’m eating, and when I’m teaching.
It’s a strange world when there are people who are trying to live as though everything is like it used to be, and people who are still hiding in their homes for two straight years now, and there is everything in between. I’m leaning toward the side of getting out and doing stuff.
I realize that there are people who can’t decide to stay home. They have no choice and must go into the world, put themselves at risk, and do their jobs while crossing their fingers that everything is gonna be ok. I do have a choice. I could tell VFW “No,” and they would immediately respect that decision. They would probably even still be willing to hire me another time. But think of the people who are forced to go out there, into the risk, the trepidation, the hesitation, the fear – “what, exactly, am I exchanging, for the right to do my job and get paid?”
VFW is a great employer. They really do care about their employees, even a freelance, extremely part-time worker like me. I feel appreciated.
Wednesday my class was over at 2:50 pm. The weather was amazing. So I headed out of the hotel finally. I’ve got an AllTrails app, and it showed me a nearby network of trails. So I went. I hiked a total of 6 miles (9.6 km) from the hotel, to the park, and back, and I felt great when I got back to my room. I was ready to return to class this morning at 9 am, with bells on.
This year I’ve had the chance to photograph many incredibly awesome Autumn scenes. It’s like Fall keeps going on and on. The views on my hike were so great. Please enjoy Maryland through my eyes during an unseasonably warm and beautiful November evening.
About 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the hotel, past a sketchy intersection with no stop lights and busy traffic, then through a business park, is an entrance to Broad Creek Park. Within the park are five miles of trails, but one would have to follow them all around in circles to achieve the whole five miles. My goal was to find the most direct route to the water. Broad Creek Park borders a nice wide bay formed by the mouth of Broad Creek as it makes its way eventually to Chesapeake Bay. As soon as I stepped outside, I noted that the sun was low and I would have to hurry if I was going to catch a sunset over the water. Luckily I have experience with walking fast!!
I was hurrying along, talking to myself (as I often do), and startled a large animal that crashed through the forest ahead of me. I snapped my head up in time to see something the same size as a deer, but it was spotted white and light brown, like a cow! But it bounded like a deer. It was antelope-coloured, but I was sure there were no antelope in Maryland. I kept a sharp lookout the rest of my hike, and I did hear the animal crashing through the forest about an hour later, but I never did get another look. When I got home, I looked it up and Yes! It was a Maryland Whitetail piebald deer. How cool. I had no idea there were white and brown spotted deer. It’s apparently an anomaly localized right here. I am lucky to have seen it.
It was completely dark when I got back to the hotel, but I was walking on sidewalks on a busy, well-lit street by that time, and was completely safe from getting lost in a forest. I went directly to my room and got the water that I had been craving.
Conscious Engagement 
Ahh, how most excellent! You just step out of your hotel and start trekking and spot a spotted deer and miss the geese and get the red trees and find your way back to the light and get tempted by Coke all the way to the happy end. 🙂 Thank you for teaching me the meaning of trailblazers. And that Annapolis is in Maryland. 😀 (Between Baltimore and Washington? I need to have a look at this.) So beautiful.
Yes, it’s a quieter town between two major U.S. cities! Annapolis has quite a history for this country, as many East Coast cities do, and famous names from our founding fathers pop up in early Annapolis days. On this trip I did not head into the downtown at all, and stayed out here in the outskirts at the hotel – it was a busy week. I’m glad I was about to do this hike though! If you do see a map, pan out and see how all the little rivers around here end in wide bays. I think that is interesting. They are all part of the big Chesapeake Bay.
A well-photographed joyful post. I don’t think you need worry about the blurry photograph. The important off-centre tree is in focus and the human eye would see the background just as your camera has done.
Thank you Derrick. I knew the photo would be appreciated, even if I was not satisfied with it. I’m glad you could “hear” my joy in this post.
What a wonderful visual tour. I think every year how nice it would be to go east for fall, but I’m not quite there yet. The pandemic has been a divining rod for division for too long. We all have opinions, we all have dug into those positions almost too far for our own good. I don’t feel like I have the luxury of choice. I have an immune system that is being suppressed every day and I have to rely on the good sense and kindness of others to help me stay safe. I look forward to the day we can look beyond a vaccine to an actual treatment. I fear this isn’t going away anytime soon and the damage in its wake is really quite unfathomable.
Bonnie, I have been coming to many of those same conclusions about the pandemic. It will be with us for a long time, and I think we have not yet begun to understand how much of a disruption it is causing all around us. My blogger friend Marlene has also decided that it has been safest for her to stay away from others all this time. That’s another thing that is so different for each of us: what things are outside our control, forcing us to choose our behavior carefully. In my post I mentioned those forced to go outside, but I neglected to mention those forced to stay inside. I also know people who are simply too scared to go out, and I think that is also valid. I have heard of one pill that is a treatment, but it must be administered right away after contracting the virus, and I think it’s very hard for people to know right away if they have it! So we certainly must have better treatment options. I am glad to know that you love the outdoors and have the physical ability to get out on trails. At least you don’t have to go crazy staring at the four walls inside.
Beautiful! My favorite photo is the one with the curving road which I’m sure led to more spectacular views of autumn foliage. Thanks for the tour!
I’m glad you came along, Lenore. ❤ My phone app was telling me to continue along the very busy street I was on, but I saw that road and I couldn't pass it up. I left the route and followed it. And I found… a giant parking lot/bus station! Ha! Not so romantic. But from there I was able to reconnect to my route and I loved that curving road so much I returned home the same way.
Getting out to the fresh air is a good thing. We’ve had several days of it but now we are in the big city of Stuttgart and restrictions are so tight we are basically stuck for the week. It looks like the perfect place to walk after a day of teaching. Nature balances everything. That’s a walk even I could enjoy if the ground was more or less level.
The ground was quite level, but I still needed to be careful as the leaves carpeting the ground were quite slippery. Much of it was flat and easy to walk, if you could manage the leaves. And it was so pretty. The best thing was that it was 69 degrees out that evening! A front came through about 4 hours later and it dropped to 40 degrees and rained hard the next day. Then I was doubly glad I had been out hiking in a T-shirt. The next night the teachers went out to dinner and we all wore winter coats and gloves and scarves. I’m sorry you are so restricted in Suttgart. That is frustrating. I hope you still find something gratifying during your week. Maybe watching German TV! When I am trapped in a hotel room in someplace foreign, I will entertain myself by finding a familiar TV show dubbed in the language. In Rome, Pedro and I watched The Simpsons in Italian! And once I watched Seinfeld in Greek. It’s hilarious even though I have no idea what they’re saying.
Thanks for the idea, Crystal. We did try that once and H tried learning German from the TV. I don’t think she’s going to be a linguist. 🙂 I always have something to do. I need to get another post out soon. Lots of work getting all the photos culled and ready. Hope you are planning a good Christmas holiday. Thinking of you.