a dreaded sunny day, so i meet you at the cemetery gates

It would seem that Rochester received my letter, below, and took its advice to heart. Today was absolutely pristine! 70 and unbelievably sunny. I was a little hungover from the copious amount of wine imbibed last night, but I didn't want to let the day go to waste. I wanted to stroll around outside, but wasn't sure I could handle the noise and elbows of a million people, so I decided that Mount Hope Cemetery would be ideal. I'd been wanting to visit again since I moved home, and I figured that it was the least likely place to be crowded (with living people, anyway) on the first beautiful day of the year.

The paths of Mount Hope meander lazily up and down hills, through valleys, between mausoleums and headstones nearly erased by the elements. The original cemetery is nestled essentially in a forest, with wrought iron gates entwined with brawny roots, and chipmunks scuttling about the crunchy dried leaves that cover the graves. It's also a bit marshy in some areas, so there are bugs to be battled, but it mattered little to me as my feet happily plodded along rough, brick roads and dirt paths. Photos can be found at my Flickr, comme d'habitude. Forsaken Places also has some absolutely fascinating photos of the insides of the abandoned crematorium and chapel that I certainly don't have the nerve to break into (although I'm glad they did!).

Now, however, the calming silence of the dead is replaced by the voices of the extremely loud and obnoxious people who live two doors down on the other side of the street. Just because you're outside doesn't mean you have to shout! There are, like, 10 of them yelling, and kids are crying, and dogs are barking. Grah. So much for the serenity of suburbia!

This morning, before heading to the cemetery, I stopped at a diner for brunch and had an excellent bacon and cheese omelet while I wrote a letter. My mood has lifted immeasurably with the rise in temperature... I feel as though the days will pass with a little more ease now that spring is here. Tonight, I'm going to work until maybe 8 or 9 on job applications, and then probably read with my window open (assuming aforementioned neighbors shut up at any point). First, though, I need to do a little cleaning!

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be just as perfect as today's was, so I'll have to think of how I'd like to spend my Sunday. Definitely outside, of that much I am certain.