Going for a drive used to be the only form of entertainment…well, maybe not the only form of entertainment.

When I was a kid, gas was cheap and afternoons were long. My mom used to take my grandmother, sisters and me for drives around the countryside just to see the sights we had seen the prior week. Maybe something had changed. Probably not, but it was worth the gamble and there wasn’t anything else to do.

Around this time of year, we always headed for the hills, which in our part of the country are mountains, to see the leaves changing colors. These were exciting adventures because the sights did change.

In homage to tradition, Philip and I went leaf-peeping last weekend. Don’t worry. It’s legal, unlike Tom-peeping. If you see a peeper in the mountains during other times of the year, you might want to skedaddle. He (and it’s usually a “he”) probably isn’t looking for leaves to ogle.

But around this time of year, tour buses and car-loads of peepers come to see the mountains, once green, now razzle-dazzle with yellow and orange and red.

We were fortunate. It was one of those cloudy, chilly fall days. The sun popped out every once in a while to warm the car and the scenery. The day and the sights were magical.

Here. See for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 And all of this is available to me any time I care to drive a little. Aren’t I the lucky one?