The woods of Chapel Hill are as magical as any I have ever seen.
We had taken Sophia from Durham to Chapel Hill up to meet our great friends Cooper, Jet and Milo, we refer to as part of our ‘chosen family’ and see more of North Carolina.
It was great to see them again. They had just left California a little over a year ago, just before the Covid19 quarantine. He bought a beautiful mid-century modern home, tucked away into lush woods and ferns as a suburban prelude to the deep woods themselves.
I love woods and forests. I grew up on the edge of dense New York forests. Clearly now, the woods were calling me. Cooper and I went out down the shady street to the woods that were beckoned me with the promise of adventure.
I didn't take my camera, and I was so lost in our wandering and the great conversation that you can only have with a good friend; I didn't take a single picture.
Alive, aromatic, and full of life, they completely surround and deliver you from the road that took you to them. Unlike our Southern California forests, which you can see what's coming for miles, the woods hold a mystery that I can't see until I round the corner or crest the hill. We crossed small wooden bridges. Walked up and down hills laced with old roots. The colors are rich and muted dotted here and there with bright red mushrooms. Even though we stuck to the paths it felt like nobody had been there before us for hundreds of years and yet, I felt it was watching me as much as I was watching it.
Later on, as afternoon softened into evening, we walked back home and in rotation, one by one everyone took a turn in the passenger seat and buzzed up and down the country highway in Sophia while others stayed home and made homemade pizza.
When all the driving was done, we settled in with large glasses of Guinness, and watched the young pizza artists, Jet, and Milo, put their finishing touches on dinner. That night we ate those wonderful homemade pizzas, got caught up and laughed and enjoyed our friendship.
Check out our Woods of Chapel Hill playlist on Spotify:
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