BigBruno
If you are weary of hearing about my bear visitors here in rural Virginia, I do understand. I hope you are able to “grin and bear it.”
But I must recount the latest episode. This time I was away from home with a friend.
We were out for lunch at a general store (and diner) in Natural Bridge Station, Virginia. That is only a few miles from the actual Natural Bridge (an awesome sight indeed).
The Natural Bridge is also now a Virginia State Park.
Anyway, we pulled into the driveway of the little general store and there he was – Bruno’s father! BIGBruno!
He was crossing the parking lot right in front of us. And he went loping down an embankment to a little stream, and up the other side to cross the road into the woods.
Could I get out of othe car without fear of bodily harm? No.
I was on the bear’s side!
Could I outrun the bear? No.
Still having trouble hobbling around on a bad foot, but even if it was normal……. well, you get the picture.
Was I stupid enough to get out of the car (on BigBruno’s side) and slowly make my way to the diner entrance?
Yes.
And so it was. Lunch was a breathless affair recounting the story to the hostess. She said they had been frying bacon all morning. Well, no wonder BigBruno was enamoured of the place!
And on the wall was this frightening image!
It looked just like him.
I still don’t know if it was a photograph or a painting, but BigBruno loomed out of the canvas as big and wild and beautiful as I could ever conjure up in a dream/nightmare.
Lunch was delicious by the way. A very informal setting with all natural all fresh salads and sans – everything to a bear’s liking!
Another adventure in Virginia country living.
Virginia Views 
Aloha, Dor! I love your bear story! You sure live in wild country! ~Liz
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At first I thought this was going to be an unbearable story, but I was able to bear with you on this one. Now I am off to think up other bear puns. Glad the encounter wasn’t anymore exciting nor required faster hobbling.
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Golly! You live dangerously! You didn’t lose your bearings.
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Isn’t it funny how a hungry belly wins over danger every single time?? Bahahaha :).
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Oh my…of course all bears look alike to me!
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Ack! Are you sure these bears aren’t stalking you? Too many bear sightings to be coincidental! How ever are you “bearing” up under it? And are you sure you don’t smell like bacon??? 😉 Seriously, stay safe down there, would ya?
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Ack! Are you sure those bears aren’t stalking you?? Too many sightings to be coincidental! How ever are you “bearing” up under it? And are you sure you don’t smell like bacon?? 🙂 Seriously though, stay safe down there, will ya?
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I expect VA has a very robust bear population. Just another sighting of many, I guess. Can’t say I blame him, I love the smell of bacon, too!
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Sometimes a little too wild for sure!
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Thankfully faster hobbling was not necessary. You are “a caution” Andrew! 🙂
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LOL to Andrew first of all!!! I loved your bear story and envy your sightings! Altho I’m not sure I’d have gotten out of the car myself 🙂
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🙂 Hopefully living dangerously will keep me young and fleet of foot. 🙂
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The bear’s belly or mine?
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When I see one I always desccribe him/her as “HUGE.” So yes, all bears look alike to me too.
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Bahaha :). Well, you did still go into the diner didn’t you? 😃
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You have a point there Cindy…. maybe I have a food scent that seems deliciious to these Bruno brothers!
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Since this post, I have been told most of the bear hunters in this part of the world are no longer killing them, but “treeing” them for photographs. Hence, the bear population is growing.
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Finally, someone who is as “chicken” as I am…. If I had been there alone I would have locked the doors and sped toward home. Glad you enjoyed the bear story! 🙂 Thank you.
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The population of most wild animals have grown exponentially as hunting has declined as a sport. Mixed feelings about that. For the most part, the ecosystem doesn’t have the right balance to maintain stable populations since the elimination of natural predators. Time will tell.
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Rather you than me. Not that we get many (any) bears in Wales… I’d have not only stayed in the car but would have driven off – empty stomach or not! 🙂
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I think I’d love to see a bear, but then you don’t know how you’d respond until you are facing the situation yourself. Luckily you were hungry as a bear and therefore overcame your fear! We are never bored of hearing your wild tales btw!
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It’s fun to read your bear story. I think that I would have stayed in the car – and was relieved to read that you safely got inside the restaurant.
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Lol. I think Bruno’s family members are just visiting you one by one 😉
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You should have lied and said you faced Bruno down and got the pic. 🙂
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Yes, we went to the diner and had tuna melt sandwiches. Yum! But I kept thinking the bear would like them too.
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Reminds me of the saying, “I don’t have to be fast, just faster than you.” You were so brave to get out of the car.
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