There's No Place Like Home

No, the house did not land on us. We are alive and well, and just back from a fall trip to West Virginia/Maryland, celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary.

We spent the last week hiking, fly fishing, and even playing golf (twice!). This morning we headed home after exploring the Spruce Forest Artisian Village, near Grantsville, MD. It was here that Ed spotted the wicked witch's legs and ruby shoes sticking out of one of the historic log cabins. I know what happened to this poor witch is tragic, but it makes me smile.

I have to tell you fly fishing for wild trout is difficult. Even with a guide (two separate days) our total catch was miserable. But that didn't stop us from enjoying being outside, working our way upstream, casting and recasting, trying to think like a wild rainbow or brown trout.

We were high enough up in the mountains to notice a real change in the leaf colors, especially on maple trees.

I loved to hear the leaves crunch below our feet as we hiked the trails of Canaan Valley State Park in northeastern West Virginia. Crunch. Crunch.

We stayed three nights at the state park in a cabin. It was nothing fancy, but suited us just fine. We stayed in for our meals, kept a fire going in the evenings, and did some serious reading.

From there, we moved on to western Maryland to a riverfront cottage on the Savage River. I would have been happy to sit by the river all day, but we fished, hiked and played golf.

Photo from Savage River Outfitters website.

It was a lovely time away. On the way home, we stopped off in Lexington to have dinner with Mary, and then headed down I-64 for home. There's no place like it.