|| Twilight at the York River

Dan Honsberger is a colleague of mine. He provided me a list of summer and local travels along the James River, and without his permission, here it is that I've kept up so far for three weeks in a row.

In Richmond:

• Belle Isle

- Park in designated lot on Tredegar St (near corner of S 5th St and Tredegar St) or on street nearby
- Walk West along Tredegar St and take the pedestrian footbridge across the river to Belle Isle
- This is a must do
- http://www.discoverrichmond.com/dis/sports/recreation/james_river/article/belle_isle/1455/

• Flood Wall walk

- Park in designated lot just south of the river at the corner of E 2nd St and Hull St (JL: the parking place itself is on Hull St)
- Look carefully for trail markings - can be confusing about where to go
- You will have to walk West along a driveway shared by a factory (for a short while) before getting on the trail (goes up on top of concrete flood wall)

- http://www.discoverrichmond.com/dis/sports/recreation/james_river/article/flood_wall_park/1457/

Outside of Richmond:

• York River State Park - beautiful mix of scenery: multiple types of forest, marsh, York River. Not very popular for walking, so it is quiet. $3 entrance fee.
• Chippokes State Park - haven't been there yet, but I've heard this is a good place to swim.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/chi.shtml

Today's I made the drive to the York River. It's fairly simple eastward along I-64, hidden inside the huge acres of ranches and plantation farms. The park takes its name along the York River border which is formed fromt he joining of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers at West Point, 10 miles up river from the park. The place is surprisingly well maintained with many newly built wooden passages, fishing poles, benches etc.

The River was the first thing that I saw. This is a very cloudy day, damp air swept on the face and skin with moist and coolness. The clouds were very low and very dark, occasionally rain came down, and there was nowhere to hide. We walked on the sandy beaches along the river, breathing oxygen as if we never had it in the city. The River scene was perfect for my taste of things, it's calm, peaceful, gloomy, quiet and clean, could be the habitat of a variety of wildlife, but I saw none. And I didn't need them, for this nature of the living suffice the need of my thought for the moment.


We then met a group of people finding fossils on the beach. Kids, siblings, parents, rangers. Rain kept pouring down, so had to leave them quickly and went on with our journey. There was marsh, ponds, and brushes dwelling along, and I walked them by. Soon I found myself in the middle of a land that looks like being stonewashed with water paints such as the blues, the greens, and grays. These were remnants of the wooden "corduroy" roads or of the background set of the Twilight saga stories, they were just like that. You think that I'm depressed, but I'm not. Of all the things, I recognize myself with a thirst for feeling the blue, because I feel comfortable being there. And then I will like the vibrant greens even better, so fresh, so outstanding. I found myself walking on these loose stony service roads with no clear directions, pine forests, leafy trees, colorful mushrooms, and no one else. Only reminded me of how much I liked it and wanted it.



There were two cultural shocks this summer. Phantom and Twilight. Twilight is the very recent love crush, was only until I saw the cast and now I only wanted to have the book of it instantly so that I read it all. The movie is so much better and amazing than my own original imagination. The film was processed with a color that's almost addictive. Everything, everybody, every expression was unnatural but beautiful, and it's not entirely in dreams. I guess I look hard enough, I should find the woods (like here), I should have expressions, and I should see the people, only hope that they do not drink blood, not the real blood, not the blood of the soul either.