February 24th

Dear Mom,

If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in the last few days, it’s that Virginia is truly the south. Like what we think of when we think of the true south.

Not to slander the states further south, but the history of Virginia is firmly rooted, not only in the Revolutionary War, but the Civil War as well.

The number of battles fought here is astronomical.

I’ve always loved studying the history of the Civil War, but having never been here it’s been a bit difficult to imagine what happened and the outcomes of the different battles.

Do you remember when I started that ridiculous book, determined I was going to be the next great novelist? All about the Civil War and a girl who was a nurse?

I believe the story petered out right around Manassas and the First Battle of Bull Run, which just happened to be the first major battle of the Civil War.

I don’t need anyone to point out being the next great novelist is not in my future.

Virginia seems almost like it’s in a time capsule. There are boats sailing on the rivers, country clubs, yacht clubs, and people who go fox hunting.

In the older parts of most cities, the sidewalks are paved with cobblestones instead of concrete or pavement. Lanterns glow in the dark of night. It seems haunting yet there’s a peace about the brick buildings, the river flowing by.

Like history came to rest here.

Another thing that surprised me and probably shouldn’t have, is the fact the Shenandoah Valley is in Virginia. I suppose I never really thought about it being a real place.

Do you remember singing it around the campfire in the dark? How we would try to make our voices as soft as possible to seem to be at one with nature?

The Shenandoah National Park has some of the most amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains I could ever ask for.

I’ve been here for a few days and have already sent Dad more than twenty pictures of the waterfalls. There’s something about hiding in the mountains, almost out of cell range, experiencing the most beautiful scenery on earth.

It’s peaceful, even with the full amenities of my teardrop and car. It’s still cold here, but nothing like the -40 degree nights we experience back home in January and February. Still, the humidity does make extreme temperatures either way harder to avoid.

Having grown up around mountains that can go for miles in either direction, the mountains here in Virginia throw me off a little. Of course, they still have foothills, but the way they run in gentle curves, almost completely in a single direction is not something I even realized mountains could do.

Yesterday I drove up to Luray Caverns and took a stroll through them. You’d think I’d be tired of exploring caverns, especially ones that are paved and don’t need you to bring your own flashlight, but no.

I can’t get enough of the cool air and interesting formations.

The Luray Caverns have another attraction that perhaps puts them at the top of my list for easy access caves.

It has what’s called The Great Stalacpipe Organ. It was designed and built over three years, starting in 1956. It uses rubber mallets that tap against the different stalactites, and is capable of playing quite complicated music.

Mom, I stood and listened, watching this organ built into the rock, and I cried as it played Moonlight Sonata. I could hear water dripping at a distance. It was haunting and beautiful.

I cannot imagine anything more soul transforming than being in these enormous caves, listening to the world’s largest musical instrument, and experiencing what really must be the most copacetic combination of nature and human ingenuity.

I think my heart is changed forever, having heard the notes ringing from the stalactites, even the deep thrum of the base notes.

I don’t know how this is possible. I don’t know what kind of man walks into an enormous set of caverns, starts tapping on stalactites, and thinks to himself “This would make the perfect organ”.

I can’t imagine even having the creative process to get there, but I respect it.

The care that’s taken for the caves and the organ is great to see too. They have a whole team of people who make sure it’s all how it should be.

The mirrored pool is also beautiful. I made sure to send Dad several more pictures of it, so he didn’t think I was just mooching around waterfalls for days on end. (I totally was, but he doesn’t need to know it.)

It’s not very deep, though it looks like it could go for a few meters at least. It reflects the ceiling of the cave, covered in stalactites, with perfect clarity.

Apparently, the water and air in the caverns are the cleanest around. There used to be a sanitarium built on top of the caverns, and they piped air up from the caverns for the patients to breath, which made it the first air conditioned building in all of the US.

I did throw a coin in the pool at the end of the tour. They vacuum it out once a month and donate it to charity. I’ve never been a person who could think of what to wish for with wishing wells and fountains, but I wished for you back even though I know it won’t happen.

Dad sent me a picture of the urn he bought for your ashes, and he did a really good job picking it out. He also asked when I would be ready to let you go, and I still haven’t answered his text. How am I supposed to let you go when I should have had decades left with you?

I still don’t know when I’ll be able to turn my car around and face the trip home, the inevitable return of the hollowness in my chest.

I wonder if I’ll ever be brave enough.

I love you so much it hurts.

Bo