Country roads....

....take me home ... to the place ... I belong.

Shenandoah Valley Sunset. 7-9-11.

This weekend we drove down route 340 into Virginia for some camping in the Shenandoah Valley. What a beautiful drive. 81S was the other option, but the right decision was made and we enjoyed the 'scenic' route through Main Street stop lights in tiny country towns, a Harpers Ferry drive-by, hundreds of vast farms with red tin roofs & silos, smoking road-side BBQ stands and, of course, J's fave --- DINOSAUR LAND! No, we didn't stop. He was grumpy but soon got over it.

Entering VA. Gotta get a shot.

Entering WVa...

J's Happy Place.

Do you have a place that brings your heart a sense of peace and calm when you're there? Do you have a place that brings that sense simply with a thought passing through your mind, or a glance at a picture? I do. Take a look at the first pic above. It requires few words to explain it, mainly because it's hard to even try. Mountains, as I've grown older, bring incredible grounding to my soul. That's all I can say...

Tourist-maximist.

Why don't we live there you ask? Maybe one day we will, when life can return to some level of simplicity and I can convince J. For now, Baltimore holds our address (& our love) on a day-to-day. But the mountains are always on my mind and I look forward to every opportunity to head South...toward the Blue Ridge.

XOXO
-ERSM