Monday, April 12, 2010

Saturday morning in the car

I didn’t want to come home. And although it feels so good being here as I’m writing this on Sunday evening, I didn’t want it all to end and have to return to reality.

We stayed an extra day just to be near our friends. Three of us are cancer survivors and if it’s one thing that’s a by-product of the awfulness of the disease, it’s the knowledge of how precious the time is when it’s spent with those you love.

And sometimes those you love are so very far away.

We began the return journey just before 6 am on Saturday and I’m going to be showing you the sunrise we witnessed through the windows of the car. Please excuse any dried bug splatter that I didn’t manage to clone out.

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About every 10 minutes or so, I’d lift the camera to my eyes and take photos as best I could in the darkness as we headed east on Route 10, first through Mississippi and then Alabama before picking up Route 65 at Mobile.

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As we drove, we talked about coming back soon. We can’t afford to wait too long.

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And every 10 minutes or so, I’d lift the camera and snap a couple photos.

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Driving is infinitely more interesting than flying and with a dog, for us it’s the way to go. Especially when you have extra time to do so.

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After being on the road for about an hour, something familiar appeared on the horizon. My husband pointed out the bridges in the distance. A friend I met blogging told me last year that the locals call this the Dolly Parton bridge. It crosses the very northern part of Mobile Bay.

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And as we went over, I photographed the wonderful morning colors. It wasn’t quite 7 am and it had taken us an hour to get here.

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Only 15 more to go.

~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~      ~

Just wanted to share the beautiful sunrise with you. I hope to begin playing catch up with the posts I shared over the past week, and to actually read your e-mails and comments as well as visit my favorite blogs. One thing I didn’t do while I was away was to check my e-mail and visit blogs. And I missed you.

Until tomorrow then . . . your friend,

38 comments:

Mary Lou said...

Beautiful photos. Sure makes the trip worth the time.
I, too, am a cancer survivor. We're both blogging survivors. I knew I liked you!!

Julie Harward said...

I missed you...wonderful pictures even if they were in a car..loved them! Good friends, with such a thing in common is awesome. glad you could do that. Have a good week my friend...come say hi :D

Marla said...

Wonderful pictures... It looks like a great ride.

We are fans of driving too. Flying can be so stressful and isn't near as pretty.

I look forward to hearing ALL about your trip. :)

Marla @ www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com

Gail said...

Stunning sunrise with loads of color.

Glad you had a great time, maybe you can return more often.

Mary said...

Oh my, simply beautiful! So glad you enjoyed yourselves!

Hilary said...

Sounds like you had a great time.....when the sun came up this morning, we were on our way home from Va, and I took a picture out of the car window.....we were just miles from your exit.....I saw the sign....and I said, hey that's where Kate lives!!!
My husband said, "Who is Kate?"

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Georgeous shots, and you're so right about doing things sooner rather than later.

None of us knows how long we're here for, and we need to push ourselves to do the things we want/need to while we can.

Sounds like you have a wonderful trip.

Cheryl said...

Wonderful pics. Glad you had a safe trip.

Welcome Home !

BB said...

Hope you get home safe and sound... looking forward to hearing and seeing more of your journey.
Hugs
BB

Ellen said...

Welcome back. We've missed you. Glad you had a safe trip. Looking forward to more pictures from your travels.

Unknown said...

How beautiful. We haven't been on a road trip for aawhile, but I love the early morning views and new scenery. Of course, with five kids, rides are never quiet - lol.

JO
www.teensandtriplets.com

Jen at Cabin Fever said...

Love your collection of sunrises! I love sunrises and sunsets, especially through my camera. And you're right... when you have a dog, the car is the way to go. Plus, I hate airports. Glad you had such a great trip!

Low Tide High Style said...

We've missed you too, but love the little updates you've provided along the way! That sunrise was beautiful and it is sad how it can sometimes take an illness to make us realize what is really important in life!

Safe travels!

Kat :)

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

Happy return! Glad you're home safe and sound:) Beautiful sunrise pic.
Thanks for sharing.

S. Etole said...

What a beautiful series ...

Hilary said...

What a wonderful collection of on the road images. I'm glad you're back safe and sound and that you had a good time.

Cloudia said...

We missed you too; but I enjoyed this road trip - something I really can;t do as I'm on an island :)



Aloha from Waikiki


Comfort Spiral

Holly said...

I don't fly anywhere anymore. You miss too much when you don't get there under your own power.

Welcome home, it sounds like you had a good time, but are still glad to be back.

Give that fabulous dog a scritch from all of us here.

Anonymous said...

What a magnificent sky, that first shot. Wow. And.. great post, as always, kate.

I love driving, you see much more of the countryside and get a better feel for a place than if you arrive there in a plane.

Kerri Farley said...

Glad you are home safely!! My favorite time of day is sunrise ~ I try to enjoy every one of them.
Lovely captures!!
PS ~ We missed you :)

Valerie said...

Love to watch the sunrise - especially when driving. We always leave about 3 hours before sunrise when we have a long one ahead of us - something about morning dark that is so different than the dark after the sunset.

Leese said...

There is something special about watching the sun rise. It always makes me breathe better!
As always, beautiful photos.
Travel safe.

wildbanshee said...

Kate,glad you had a good time, and if I read correctly, George went to?
My dog Bandit loves to ride, my late husband and I took a vacation with a friend to Cherokee, North Carolina, and Bandit went with he had such a good time and really traveled good. We stayed in a cabin. I really have some awesome memories of that trip.

Tess Kincaid said...

I love a relaxing little road trip. Glorious pics!

Mental P Mama said...

So beautiful...love that part of the world, too.

abb said...

Welcome home! Love that first photo.

Nurse Nancy said...

Love the photos...there is nothing more beautiful or peaceful than a sunrise. Glad you are back and had a great time.

Country Girl said...

Just to clarify: My husband is the one that's the cancer survivor, not me. Reading this back it looks like I'm talking about myself. But we're a pair. Of mismatched book-ends!

~ C.G.

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy an early morning drive before the roadways get crazy. Just the truckers and the sunrise. :-)

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

Daryl said...

I love early morning photos .. the light is always just glorious .. missed your posts but I knew you were there I could feel you .. xoxo

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

Missed you too! I am glad you got back safely.

The JR said...

Glad you had a great time. Luved the photos.

Unknown said...

Welcome back, I'm glad you had a safe and wonderful trip. I love your sunrise pictures. I'll have to make sure I get some when we go to Maine this summer for our honeymoon. He wants to leave at 4.

Kay in Oregon said...

Welcome home Kate. You had a lovely trip,and that sunrise was pretty awesome... It's always nice to travel and equally nice to be back at home too. Wishing you well. and a big hug to George.
Kay in Oregon

Wayfaring Wanderer said...

Views like that make driving much more enjoyable!

Lori said...

Your sunrise pics are stunningly beautiful! and I agree driving is the way to go. Think of everything you would miss if you do a fly-over!

Country Girl said...

Thanks, all. It's so good to be home. Glad you enjoyed the photos. And wildbanshee, we actually stayed in Cherokee too.

~ C.G.

Anonymous said...

Hope you have had a marvelous time!