North Carolina

Growing up in New England, I have always loved autumn.

The crispness of the air, the blaze of color as the trees

shout out one last song before giving up their leaves.

Even after 30 years, I still miss it.

The closest I come to experiencing it is in North Carolina.

I have been blessed with having a dear friend live there for the last 20 years.

Two years ago I brought Isabel up there for the first time.

We did a lot of exploring,

Went apple picking,

ate hot apple donuts,

saw how tall we were

played in miniature houses,

fed ducks

and laughed ourselves silly.

Last weekend we returned.

It was glorious.

I was in heaven.

We stayed on a farm this time and woke up on Saturday to a morning in the 30s with frost on the ground. Isabel was in her glory.

She was surrounded by chickens, cats, and dogs.

She visited her first hen house and gathered eggs

She had wide fields of golden grasses to run in

and huge piles of leaves to run through.

We went back to the apple orchard

and saw how tall we are,

and played in miniature houses

and saw amazing foliage,

We discovered a small bamboo forest

We drank apple cider slushies,

ate hot apple cinnamon doughnuts.

and picked flowers

We met up with good friends,

laughed,

walked,

and ate well.

In all, the trip lasted less than two days

and yet it was enough to tie us over...

at least until next year.