14 Nov USA: Autumn in Shenandoah

They say that after the storm comes the calm, but in my case, after Hurricane Sandy, what came was my mother, accompanied by my aunt Lola and my sister Paloma.

Three great scouts, who have left me so crushed, that I feel that next to them the Sandy was just a soft summer breeze.

The last time they came to see me I had to follow them through the swampy, alligator-infested waters of the Everglades....

and this time we rode up and down the Appalachian Mountains, through Shenandoah Park.

Well, we didn't just go up and down mountains, we also went outlet shopping, toured the Amish lands, went outlet shopping again... We even had time to board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise before doing some more shopping.

And when I got home it was non-stop, as soon as they made me a potato omelette so that I could recover, as soon as they started to tidy everything up (how they left it!!!). Now I'm going to have to spend at least a couple of days tidying it up...) I don't know if they were grandmothers or marines, they were aunts...

And all this with the excuse of my mother to bring cocoa to her child (and I'm getting rid of it...!!!) Well, let's go back to the Appalachians, I'm getting scattered. The best time to visit Shenandoah is undoubtedly autumn, when the falling leaves turn the landscape into an explosion of colour in a thousand shades of red and yellow.

I know it's cheesy what I just wrote, but autumn, grey skies and dry leaves trigger that hormone of mine again, which goes crazy and makes me romantic as well as melancholic, and makes me want to tell everyone that I love them, that they are my second best friends, etc, etc....

But don't worry, as soon as I see that I'm getting "very womanly" I rush to the Hot Tuna (which is something like a disco beret) to have a nice gin and gin and tonic, and the horny-eyed meathead in me resurfaces.

Sandy also took most of the leaves off the trees, so instead of the famous hatching of colour, this is what we found for most of the park.

and the last photo of leaves, which I am aware that there is not enough for more,

Well, another one, I love this photo. It is because of my passion for cemeteries, I collect photos that I have taken on my travels. They tell me a lot about their people, their customs, their beliefs, their attachment to life, their fears, the gratitude and respect towards those who deserved it...

But don't worry, all the cemeteries in my school have one thing in common, and that is that I still don't feel like taking a long nap in any of them, because I still have a long way to go.

I know, I'm a mess, but if someone is as bad as me and asks me I can make a cemetery entry.

I almost forgot to tell you that in addition to Shenandoah, we also passed through Pennsylvania, the land of the Amish. I had such fond memories of a recent trip, I was sure you were going to love it.

The Amish are a Christian religious group, originally from Switzerland and Germany, who settled in Ohio and Pennsylvania and are distinguished by their special way of life.

Those of us who are a few years old are reminded of La Casa de la Pradera. I remember the series and Laura Ingels, with whom I was madly in love. I can now confess that I used to cry in secret in almost every episode (it's because of the hormones, I've had one...).

They live according to very strict and austere rules, renouncing modern conveniences. One of the most visible customs concerns their appearance and clothing: they have to wear dark suits, no buttons, no moustaches, etc. In the end they seem to be stuck in the fashion of 200 years ago.

Even so, they can consider themselves lucky, it would have been worse to have remained anchored in the era of shoulder pads and bell-bottoms, imagine...

When they turn 16 they have a period called runspringa and for a few years they are allowed to go out with friends, travel, go to parties, go to the petrol station, wear jeans, try to eat something, etc... So when they give it up at the end of this period, they do it with full knowledge of the facts.

And that is precisely what I like most about them, that they are able to make a difficult decision to follow the life they like, even if no one outside them understands them.

And that is exactly what I am going to do very soon, take a decision that few will understand, but that will allow me to get closer to those I love and to Africa and to lead the life I want (as I have done all my life, but more).

Well, as I was saying, my family has already left and I'm alone, what a peace...., I mean... I'm already missing them, I'm getting confused.