MISSING THE MOUNTAINS
I promise this site isn't going to dissolve into a place I only share pictures of destinations (real or dreamt), but lately the mountains have been weighing heavy on my heart and I needed a place to share my thoughts. So let's talk about missing the mountains.
As a teenager I was forced to leave behind my suburban/urban upbringing in Ohio for what felt like the most desolate place on earth, the southwest corner of Virginia. My mom had to drag me kicking and screaming into the Appalachian Mountains and for years I held this against the region, telling people that it wasn't really my home, that I was a displaced northerner imprisoned in the south. Immediately upon graduating high school I moved across the state to the big city, and just knew my new shiny life was going to be 100x better.
Two weeks into my new life I knew I'd made a mistake and suddenly those rolling mountains didn't feel so much like a prison, but where I truly wanted to be. I moved home and that's when my intense love affair with the mountains began. I became passionate about hiking, and the change of the seasons, Sunday drives along the Blueridge Parkway, and wildflowers growing along roadside fences. All things I still relish now.
A decade into my Appalachian life I was finally ready to call it home, but it wasn't meant to be. A year and a half ago I said goodbye to the mountains once again, in favor of a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity in Philadelphia. I sit here now knowing it was the right choice for Ryan and I to move, but with that yearning still in my heart for Appalachia. Thankfully it's only a day's drive away. Roadtrip? - b.
The images above are not the Appalachian Mountains but their light and melancholy made me feel right at home. Check out the amazing site Polanoid for these images and more.