Of Fall Colors, Lake Burke, and Spiders

*Insert surreal Shahrukh-Khan-level caption here*

*Also add Kal Ho Naa Ho level background music*

Ah, what can I say about this picture ... it is surreal on so many different levels. The gorgeous trees parading in the vibrant warm colors of Fall. The lake rippling past gently with utmost peace. The trees swaying in the ever so light breeze which teases the cold weather lover in me. The leaves, crunchy under my feet and yet soggy - the doings of a rainy morning. *Sighs* There's just so much beauty in this picture (of course, me being the leading contributing factor for it) ... Such was my very Fall adventure at Lake Burke in Virginia, one fine Fall afternoon.

Fall is my favorite season of them all so naturally, when I attended a Fall picnic by the lake, I was very excited. However, a mishap happened. (Narrator: A mishap always happens) ... Spider attack. So I was expecting - (Narrator: As she always expects) - bugs as part of the deal because ... duh! But I wasn't expecting Aragog's entire family to be there waiting for me. I assure you, this picture and the others I took there, do not speak the thousands of words I had that day to describe the fear in my heart thanks to those spiders!!!

They were huge. Daddy long legs. They weren't the flat on-the-ground spiders I'd seen before in my life; these had long legs and were hovering above and off the ground - like a spider six inches above the ground thanks to those killer legs. They were walking like Thing walks in Addams Family. Crawling - no, walking - EVERYWHERE. On the ground. On the leaves. On the trees. On the fallen branches. EVERYWHERE. All around my poor innocent soul. Even Ron Weasley wasn't as badly petrified as I was that day. I was dying a million deaths inside me. On one instance, when a spider just crawled from beside my foot, I almost cried. My eyes welled up and I screamed at Abbie for help. It was really scary. It was a near death experience. But an experience nevertheless - and today I'm sitting here, laughing at how horrid it was. Because that's the thing about adventures, isn't it? It's just like Tolkien said ...

"Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.”

Somehow, I survived the walk up to the lake and back. In fact I did it twice because Abbie went again with a friend. I swear, the only reason I did deal with it was because of all the good pictures I got to snap. The lake was beautiful - it was poetic. It was an opportunity not to be missed, not even for the spiders trying to kill my poor soul. Once I was back though, I just had one thing on my mind: food. Truth be told, I'd come just for the food and the Fall pictures for my Instagram! Not even kidding!!! 

Lunch, however, was served very late. I was starved by the time the scent of all that food whiffed through the air, making its way to me and making my already rumbling tummy ache with hunger. Food, once it finally got in my mouth, was good. The menu that afternoon was Biryani, Cholay, Chicken saalan which I think was Karhai, and Tikka Boti. Life's all about that biryaaaaaaaani though. I did not enjoy the cholay too much but the rest of the food was good. Oh and whoever ordered the pizza ordered way too late so I never got to eat any because it arrived after dessert! Dessert was cake. Also, there were Jalebis that were such few in quantity that I feared a Black Friday level stampede might occur over them. Thanks to mama though I got to taste a bit of Jalebi. But, the Biryani was the main deal. It was a good Biryani. Not the best I've had, but yummy and delicious enough to make me extra happy.

It was a picnic with nice food, pleasant weather, scenic Fall vibes, and good fun. And spiders. But overall, I enjoyed! I got some really beautiful pictures for my Instagram which is always a big deal for me. I also got some pretty shots of myself taken (special thanks to Abbie for being the camera woman and dealing with me fussing about my picture side). I got Biryani. I repeat, I got Biryani. And I got a gooooooood Fall adventure with my Abbie. What more could I want?

My adventure buddy and I!

Special thanks to the genius friend who took this classic picture of us walking into the woods to get to the lake. This picture speaks a million words. A million words of sisterhood and friendship and a bond - a very special bond, a very strong bond ... besties for life! *Insert a million hearts here*