a picnic basket

The raindrops splattered on the windshield less than 10 minutes after we were in the car. It was okay though: we were on our way home and we’d already had the picnic that had been planned months ago. As the weeks rolled by there were countless reasons we didn’t pack up the picnic basket and hit the road: afternoons often had rain in the forecast; Carm was golfing 3 days a week; visits to my brother were higher priority; Carm was visiting his mom. There were more reasons than could be counted.

Yesterday was forecast to be beautiful but I had woken up limp like a dirty dishcloth. I knew if we stayed home I would mope around all day so I took that chance that I’d perk up and we hit the road - finally that picnic would come to life. There was no fried chicken and potato salad in our basket, no, we had our usual lunch of hummus with pita and arugula. The previous night’s transgression at my mom’s had left Carm with higher blood pressure (we are guessing salt), and an uptick on the scale for both of us. We are determined to get into fighting fit shape.

It was about a 50 minute drive to our destination, but some of that was on a low speed road with beautiful homes and farms abutting the strip of asphalt. Old stone walls with stone houses hidden behind trees sparked wishful thinking (on my part anyway).

It was a beautiful day for a drive.

We reached our first destination and grabbed the picnic basket out of the car. An old white table cloth was thrown over the nearby table. Before eating we took a little walk along the lock and wondered if we’d be lucky enough to see a boat go through (we weren’t).

Lunch was eaten in the dapple shade of giant trees, sun glinting off the still canal waters. Lovely.

After lunch we drove to Merrickville, a little ‘boutique’ village not far from the locks. We wandered up and down the street, ducking into the odd shop to see their wares. Carm bought some spicy peanuts. Before we went back to the car we stopped at the locks in the village to see a boat go through. It was tall enough that they had to swing the bridge clear of the waterway. There wasn’t a clunk or a shudder as the road swung around - the mechanics were perfect.

And then we were back to the car, ready to make our way home. It was a lovely afternoon!