June first: on the way to the rivah

though i’ve done several of The Daily Post’s post challenges, i haven’t yet done one of their photo challenges, so here goes this month’s first! this week’s challenge:

In-between moments can be just as memorable as grand finales. This week, share a photo you took on the way to something else.

a long, long time ago, it seems now, before Georgia. before rings and vows. before the rise of Miss Girl and the demise of Miss Maury. before Lily and our amazing home, and generally everything we know as our life at the current moment, there was The River.

Spy’s parents used to have a place on the Potomac at Sandy Point, just short of where the river met the Chesapeake Bay. where the water was deep enough for a boat, salty enough to taste like the beach — and host stingy nettles in season — but peaceful enough that you could relax all afternoon on the floatie of your choosin’. where there were holiday weekends and random overnights over the course of the decade or so i was involved. where there were too many late-night, cocktail-infused conversations and games of Taboo or Spades with our very best friends (and a couple random stragglers) to count. where there were lazy, boozy marina jaunts on the Sea Ray and cross-river (to Maryland) rides when we thought we might not make it back before a storm.

it’s the place where Clara became an inextricable part of our family after getting rescued from Libby Hill Park one Memorial Day weekend Friday and we didn’t know what else to do but bring her with us (the beginning of a completely charmed doggie life, for sure). it’s where we had our wonderful wedding photos. it’s where i always thought we would be spending weekends raising Miss Girl or whoever came along, because that’s what you do in Richmond. at the rivah.

fast forward to life not ever happening exactly as planned. we’re in Atlanta. it’s a good 10 hour drive to Sandy Point for us, so holiday weekends there are kind of a bust. Spy’s parents sold the house a few years ago and we (nor our friends) were in a position to buy it and keep up the 50-year legacy. this time of year, what could have been always crosses my mind. and i always kind of do a moment of silence to stop and remember all that we and our friends shared there — and the moments we all thought would go on forever.

this photo is of the one room schoolhouse that marks the last major turn to get down there. whenever we gave friends directions — including on our wedding invitations, since the church was down that way as well — that was the last turn off the main road. and every time we drove down, the schoolhouse served as the red-topped, iconic point where you always knew you were almost. there. it was as good as a sign saying “enter weekend mode.”

happy June to everyone! hope y’all all have a beautiful view on your way to something even more wonderful!