The Scenic Route, Intentional or Not

Sometimes I like to take the scenic route to get home from work. This morning I turned off on a side road that I don't usually take, just to change things up a bit. Where else would I see:

White windmills waving hello to Spring,
Weeping willows just putting on their first touches of green,
"Ready to burst" red buds clinging to the fingertips of the trees,
 Mountain sides flashing hints of yellowy-green as new leaves begin to peep out,
A small village as it stretches and greets the day,
A horse and buggy taking its time on a narrow dirt road, and
Morning doves in love.

I may have seen the same things traveling the way I usually do, but I don't think I would have really seen them. My normal way home is routine; I almost don't have to think about it. I can almost say that I could drive it with my eyes closed. (Sometimes I feel like I do!) I don't think I really notice my surroundings when I drive my normal route; the path of least resistance.

Leo and I have always enjoyed, when time allows, going the scenic route. Once, driving home from Louisville, KY, I got mixed up and we got a true scenic tour of West Virginia. This was in the days before GPS, and by just looking at the roadmap, the road we were on looked like it would cut across nicely to get us back to the Interstate.

Long story short...it didn't. That atlas did not show every winding, twisting, curvy turn in the narrow, sometimes gravel road. It also didn't show the leafy woods, the rocky ledges, and the wildlife. Taking the scenic route that day wasn't planned, it wasn't convenient, but it did end up being an adventure.

Kinda like the detour I planned, coming back from Maine on our honeymoon. I thought New York City should be a definite detour. It looked easy on the map.

Long story short...it wasn't. We barely got out of Queens alive, and we didn't even intend to go to Queens! We were running out of quarters to get us over all the toll bridges, so when we saw a way out, we took it and never looked back. I never did see Manhattan that day.

I like adventure. I like exploring. I like seeing new places.
I like seeing old places and the same old things in a new way.
I like to take the road less traveled.
I like the scenic route.

                                                              
                       


































Love,
Dianne