Here I am in Alexandria, Virginia with my friends, Tom and Ursula. We rented bikes yesterday and Ursula and I hit the rail-to-trail path at 7 a.m. this morning (got up early to avoid the heat of the day) and went on a 20 mile round trip bike ride from Alexandria to Mt. Vernon (to George Washington’s gorgeous estate).
This morning's bike ride from Alexandria to Mt. Vernon
Beautiful wetlands (marsh) along the trail
Tom and Ursula are such wonderful and fun friends! Below is a photo of Ursula doing a headstand. And Tom wrote a poem to accompany the photo!
Yogini Ursula in headstand!
Eating well
In the spring, when love is food,
there is no need to work at menus.
But, as winter nears,
and autumn fog slides coldly
down the ridges of your mind.
Stand on your head
and bring new blood
to the mealtime chore, because
good food helps love persevere.
Being here reminds me of when Tom and Ursula lived in Seattle. After the early morning yoga classes, Ursula would say, “Come on up and have coffee with us!” And up we would go, to the 10th floor of their urban condo overlooking Puget Sound and the beautiful Seattle city-scape, sipping our lattes, telling stories, laughing, sharing our lives. How I missed them when they moved to the east coast! But they come back to Seattle every year to visit and I get to see them in Sequim, WA every August. This year is super special because I got to see them at the wedding in Maryland and now here I am with them in Alexandria, Virginia!
Here are some sweet photos from Tom and Ursula’s home:
Birds on Branch
Sweetness
Ursua's meditative Buddha alcove
Crystal Clear Reflections
Catching Light
i lived in Ft. Belvoir for a couple of years. it’s very near where you are! glad you are enjoying your friends!
Love Tom’s poem! Best of them all! (And here’s his old creative writing teacher saying change the period after “mind” to a comma and lower-case the “S” of “stand” to keep the sense (sentence) whole.)
Love to you all,
Rick