Over the past week, the “future” started to creep into my thoughts more and more, but the incredible cycling and fun kept it pretty much out of mind until the 6 hour drive from Greenville OH to Nashville. I arrived back in Nashville about 715 PM Monday evening, unloaded my car and went to pick up my grand puppy for a few days of dog sitting.
The heat and humidity felt immediately oppressive. I picked up mail that had been held for 2 months and as I expected there were no more than a half a dozen envelopes that had anything of value. The amount of mail was actually less than I thought I would have to go through. I will make a recycling run tomorrow to get rid of it.
Here is the photo from July 3rd preparing for the actual holiday –
The 4th included another bike ride. from Tripp City to just north of Dayton along a mostly shaded trail. We came back to another float on the pond, followed by dinner and going into Greenville for fireworks. We sat in the back of the pickup to watch the fireworks and were not bothered by insects at all.
For a small town celebration, the fireworks were amazing. This is a shot from the finale. We were close enough that we could feel the heat from some of the fireworks that were closer to the ground.
Monday morning we visited a very large Amish market in Fountain City Indiana. They had an amazing array of outdoor furniture made from recycle products. This porch swing was appealing and would brighten up my deck.
I am partially unpacked and a bit a loose ends. I am experiencing an big emotional let down which is not at all surprising. I am so grateful for the advice from Dr. Gannon to give myself some time to figure next steps out. Dog sitting is good as it forces me to get outside. I met Derrick and his dog Lucy on our morning walk.
I am so excited that I am making my first contact with Nashville cyclists tonight at the Wed evening “meet up” ride of the Nashville Slow Riders.
Mostly over the next couple of weeks I want to take time to fully reflect on all that I experienced and learned about myself and others over the past 3 months. This trip was such a gift in so many ways.
I am home, safe and grateful.
Tamara Unleashed 