Extra.

"I just want your extra time and your...kiss." Prince

Deciding to take an extra day did come with decisions. Did we want to stay where we were or try another inn? After some conversation, we decided the least stressful option was to simply stay put at the Devonfield Inn, rather than worry about where to travel to, whether the hotel would be nice enough, etc. 

We did have to move out of the room where were in, which actually turned out to be a better decision. While the room wasn't as large as the attic space we had been staying in the past two days, the room was prettier and the bed was more comfortable, giving us a breathtaking view of the grounds, which we used to full advantage that night when a storm breezed in. We opened up the shades and the windows and lay in bed, watching the world thunder around us.

Before that, after a delicious breakfast at the Inn, we randomly selected a random trail from my Audobon app and ended up driving through the October Mountain State Forest. The roads were narrow and in many areas unpaved, so it was kind of a thrill actually driving up and around a mountain, with that feeling that any second, you could plunge to your doom. However, the park ranger we bumped into assured us that the road was safe and there weren't any fallen trees from the storms that would make the trip treacherous. 

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The way home.

"I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important." Nina Simone

Friday was the start of the journey home, and entering into "Week Three" of this vacation. But as has been the norm with with this trip, we decided to make our return trip last as long as possible, avoiding all highways and taking the most scenic route possible.

Our journey took us through the Jacobs Ladder scenic byway, and we think we've discovered a route we will want to visit and revisit again and again. It was filled with little areas you could stop at recapture past moments in time, such as an old cemetery filled with gravestones from the 1700s, or beautiful old railroad bridges that have now become part of nature, or stop-offs where a thirty minute hike would bring you to beautiful waterfalls with 60-foot drops.

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