"Let's go on a camping trip down to Virginia. Take two weeks off from work. That will give us time to make the drive from New York to Virginia. Let's make arrangements for a campsite when we get there. We'll buy a tent, sleeping bags, propane stove and other supplies. We'll take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and see beautiful Virginia Beach and also the mountains. I've driven down the coast to Florida many summers with an uncle and aunt, and I know the way," Ed said invitingly.

I'd love to drive down and camp out. I'll request leave from work tomorrow morning," I said hugging him.

We had a beautiful drive down to Virginia via the twenty-three-mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. I watched the scenery and listened to the sounds of the seagulls lulling me into a state of complete nirvana. The color of the Bay was a most extraordinary blue-green, and the sky was azure on this hot, sunny day. As Ed continued to drive, I placed my feet up on the dashboard in front of me, settled down into the seat, and got really comfortable. The wind was blowing roughly through the Volkswagen window, so I rolled my hair and clipped it up. We sang, "I can't live without you," to the radio and we drove.

When we arrived we had difficulty finding a campsite that had a vacancy. The second campsite did have one, and as soon as we pitched the tent, cooked something to eat on the stove, and headed for the showers, Ed and I were beginning to feel amorous. We were betrothed at eighteen and twenty years old, and we had a zest for life. We sprinted toward the tent to set it up. Then we lugged the sleeping bags and candles inside.

We lit the candles, and there was a soft glow inside the tent. It was very romantic. Ed hugged me close and kissed me passionately.

He held me saying, "I love you and would never hurt you, Lydia."

His lips lingered on mine.

He told me, "Now you're my woman. You're no longer a little girl."

I didn't understand what my feelings were immediately. Why would this "intimacy" make our relationship so different from before? He held me and stroked me to reassure me of his love. Soon the candles burned all the way down as we lay in each other's arms, and soon we fell peacefully asleep to the tune of "We've Only Just Begun."

The next day I looked forward to horseback riding and said, "I want to gallop like they wouldn't let us do at Peekskill Ranch. I want to go off the trail."

I picked out a black tube top with Western-style Black jeans and a Black denim frilly vest and cowgirl boots. Ed wore black jeans and jacket and a plaid shirt.

"We'll have to find out where the best one around is. Let's stop by the campground office and find out," he said.

We were given a map of a horseback riding ranch, and headed toward it.

As we pulled into the dude ranch, we were told there was a party of five riders that just left, and there wouldn't be another party leaving for a couple of hours.

"Can we go with just the two of us? We're both experienced riders," I said.

"If you have experience and can saddle and mount your own horses, you can," said the guide.

As I picked out the Appaloosa, I was told that he was very spirited and was a lead horse. I assured the guide that I could handle the horse.

As Ed and I left the site, I felt exuberant and wanted to get the horse to start galloping. I love horses and also riding on one. It makes you feel like an extension of their powerful flanks. You feel so much freedom, as though you are one with the rare wild creatures of nature.

After the horses began galloping for a short distance, Ed's horse did not keep up with mine. As I gave a slight kick to Dandy's side, he took off at a rapid gallop! The wind blew strong in my face, and my waist length hair blew wildly all around me.

Dandy ignored my restraining pulls on the reins. I yelled, "Whoa," but Dandy still didn't stop. My horse ran across the plain and dangerously near the edge of a cliff. I instinctively held onto the horse around its neck with my left arm while tightening my thighs around his body so tightly my muscles ached, and pulled in the reins with my right hand as hard as I could. The horse finally stopped only several inches from the edge of a cliff. I was exhausted, but I turned the horse around by pulling the reins around to my side to head back to Ed.

Ed finally caught up with me a couple of minutes later and said, "When we get back to the tent, I'm going to put you across my knees and spank your behind for taking off like that!"

Ed was a handsome light brown-haired, blue-eyed Spaniard, who was much more experienced than I was at horseback riding. He had ridden horses bareback in Cuba along the beach as a child. He really taught me a lesson. When we returned to camp, he showered me with even more of his wonderful caresses and kisses.

"I love you so much, but you were foolish," he said as he stroked my long dark hair and gazed into my green eyes. We kissed each other until we fell asleep curled in each other's arms.