Sunday Stroll

The day was nice – a sunny, summer day in central Virginia – so I drove down to the river that flows past my little city. There are several places where one can walk along the river on a paved trail. I could get exercise and enjoy nature at the same time. Win-win.

Soon I came upon a large stone set within a septagon of 6” x 6” timbers.

It’s evident that the stone once bore some kind of plaque. I surmised the plaque was made of bronze and a thief had stolen it for the few dollars its metal would bring.

I hiked further down the path. The terrain was very green. Central Virginia has received a lot of rain this summer.

Several times I encountered small wooden bridges that crossed streams. At times the river was out of sight.

And sometimes the path meandered close to the river.

The day was quiet. I hadn’t encountered anyone on the trail, though I saw people on the river. In the photo below, a man and a woman sit in a rowboat with fishing lines in the water.

After a mile I encountered an overpass; it carried the northbound lanes of I-95. A couple of men were fishing there. They wore black jeans, black T-shirts, and black cowboy hats. A young man and a young woman sat on sloping cement under one end of the bridge, up high near the abutment. The woman held her phone in front of her, evidently taking photos. I took one, too. (Those massive columns supporting the roadway are called piers.)

I decided to return to my car. Activity on the river was increasing. There were even people on jet skis, though when I took this photo they were hardly moving. Later they opened their throttles and roared off down the river.

Activity was also increasing on the trail. I encountered a number of people on the way back to my car: young people, old people, girls walking dogs, couples, men on bikes, kids on bikes. At one point two young boys racing their bicycles appeared from around a curve. They were going fast and one bike was aimed right at me. The boy riding that bike wasn’t looking where he was going. Just before he would have hit me, I put out my hands and hit his handlebar. He had too much momentum for me to stop the bike, but striking the handlebar with the palm of my hand caused the bike’s front wheel to turn enough to deflect the bike past me – barely.

I got back to my car and drove home. The next time I’m on that trail, I plan to be riding a bike. A large bike, possibly armored. Walking has become too dangerous.