What I wanted was time away with my best friend whom I hadn’t seen in-person since January 2019, to breathe deeply in green, tree-laden landscape, to see fireflies, and experience a thunderstorm.
What I got was all that plus so much more.
This is Bilbo, my friend Camille’s puppy. Bilbo is the son of a rescue dog and a mysterious stranger (I could make up stories). Now nearly six months old, Bilbo came to live with Camille when he was but eight weeks old. Bilbo is funny, charming, and eighteen pounds of pure love. He didn’t hesitate one minute to anoint me with puppy kisses when we met outside the Charlotte airport where Camille picked me up, a blessing he continued to shower me with whenever we were within tongue-licking distance. I’m in love.
For one beautiful week I got puppy-kissed morning, noon, and night as Camille and I explored the stunning landscape and charming small towns in the Blue Ridge Mountains area of North Carolina.