A Beyond Here Feature travel story.
West Dyke Trail, Richmond, 2019 January 20
Perhaps we were too breezy in deciding to go
on a mid-January late afternoon three-hour walk along the shore.
As soon as we stepped out of the car to begin,
the wind chill was so bracing that the question “Are we there yet?”
immediately blew into my mind.
It was a day that prompted thoughts of how many words for windy we could come up with.
Like: wind-whipped, wind-beaten, wind-shelter-pretty-please.
The birds couldn’t get enough of it.
Seagulls barely moving in mid-air, much like cyclists having track stand contests.
The bald eagles were content to maintain their lofty positions.
Other hardy spirits — walkers, runners, cyclists, wind boarders –
completed the dazzling windscape.
Three hours later,
our tired feet (at least 15,000 steps on our counters) and toughened faces
got into our motorized wind shelters
to celebrate at a local restaurant and watch a slideshow of warm African game parks,
the only air turbulence coming from our happy conversations.
— ECruz
Beyond Here 