Saturday, April 4, 2015

Departures

It was a spring morning Thursday in Mt. Airy,  North Carolina, the boyhood home of the late actor Andy Griffith (and the inspiration for the fictional town of Mayberry the "Andy Griffith Show" took place in).  The birds had started to sing around 4:30 am and one finally woke me up.
Purple Bush flowering in Mt. Airy, North Carolina
We had to get up early to depart for home, as our vacation was over.  I knew early on that this morning departure would be the topic of my D post for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  (Tomorrow is an off day, and I will continue my Civil War Sunday feature.  Monday I will be back with a post starting with the letter E.)

The Southern air reluctantly gave up its sweet smell of spring to my Northern nostrils.  In the 5:30 am dark, I could not see the line of blooming Bradford pears or the flowering purple bush that had gladdened my heart the evening before.

The birds sang even more strongly as sunrise approached, some of their tunes unfamiliar to me.  Was their song a promise that spring would finally come to New York?  I don't speak Bird, so I don't know.

We headed out after a quick breakfast.

Mt. Airy is close to the North Carolina/Virginia border, near an area called Fancy Gap.  It is scenic, but early morning fogs can be deadly - over the years there have been several deadly pileups.  The most recent ones I know of were in March and May of 2013 - three dead in a 75 car pileup in the March incident.

The Interstate (I-77 heading north into Virginia) is heavily lined with reflectors and signs warning of fog.  On the edges of each exit, we saw lines of tractor trailers which had parked there for the night, glowing in the reflected light.  Their lights were on and they were getting ready to head out, too.  There was to be no fog this morning.
Not long after, the eastern horizon started to redden.  The display went on for what seemed to be forever, as the rolling hills lined with farms slowly became visible.

The sun finally rose.

It was time to head home to upstate New York.
at

9 comments:

  1. Tyrean MartinsonApril 4, 2015 at 11:17 AM

    Beautiful images and thoughts. We just came home from a week long vacation yesterday, and departure is always hard. We want to cling to our vacation just a few hours more. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. peppylady (Dora)April 4, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    I like the Andy Griffith show

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoanneApril 4, 2015 at 6:35 PM

    lovely pics and meander. Those are such pretty states

    ReplyDelete
  4. AJ LauerApril 4, 2015 at 8:02 PM

    That's so lovely! I agree that leaving for home after being on vacation can be really hard. But it is easier when nature gives you such a lovely sendoff!
    ~AJ Lauer
    an A-Z Cohost
    @ayjaylauer on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rawknrobyn.blogspot.comApril 5, 2015 at 1:58 AM

    I love the streams of soft, faint colors in this last photo.

    I was so excited to see another follower, Bookworm. Thank you so much! I'm happy to return the favor, especially for someone who understands the relevance of chocolate.

    Hope you get lots of chocolate on Easter Sunday.
    Great to meet you thru the A-Z. I suppose I have Martha Stewart to thank, though I really don't care to thank her for anything.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ClickApril 5, 2015 at 7:47 AM

    This is a lovely post and some fantastic photos. It can be hard to leave to go home when you've been away somewhere, but at the same time, it can be a bit of a relief to know you're homeward bound. :-)

    Cait @ Click's Clan

    ReplyDelete
  7. PaulaApril 5, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    Beautiful photos. Sometimes departures can be great! And sometimes so sad!

    Smidgen Snippets & Bits

    ReplyDelete
  8. B~NatrelleApril 5, 2015 at 8:47 PM

    Hello there.
    Awesome photos! Thanks for sharing.

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

    ReplyDelete
  9. SuzyApril 5, 2015 at 9:52 PM

    Sometimes departures are the first steps to arrivals and beginnings. Stunning photos. I love sunrise and sunsets. Thanks so much for dropping by my posts and apologies for taking so long to drop by.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me. Due to a temporary situation, your comments may not post for a day or more-I appreciate your patience.I reserve the right to delete comments if they express hate or profanity, are spam, or contain content not suitable to a family blog.