an adventure within an adventure

I absolutely love adventures.  Whether it involves hopping on a plane and traveling to a foreign country or curiously stumbling on a new place in my hometown, I am totally game.  I love adventures of any (and every!) kind.  I had the wonderful privilege of visiting my dear friend E for Thanksgiving... I spent about 4 days with her and so enjoyed that time with her and her family.

Well... E just happens to live in NH, about 4 hours away from where my parents live in ME.  So my parents and I concocted a grand plan that we would each drive 2 hours and meet for lunch in the middle of the great state of Maine.  I woke up early on Saturday morning (well, early for me, early for a holiday) and started out on my incredible journey.

It really was incredible.  It wasn't long before I found myself driving through the White Mountain National Forest in NH, completely surrounded by mountains-- driving in mountains, over mountains, around mountains, through mountains.  I would drive around one mountain and find another mountain in front of me, still to be driven over.  Some had snow, some did not.  Some had trees, some just rock.  So many mountains... I could have been in heaven.  I almost jumped out of the seat of my car when I passed a sign that said "Mt. Washington-- turn left."  Seriously??!!  Mount Washington--the highest mountain on the East?!  I almost followed that sign, but I had lunch and my mom and dad waiting for me.  But I looked around me and I'm pretty sure I spotted that grand mountain in the distance.

And then there were the small towns... all small but all so different.  Charming, simple, spread out, clustered... old shops, old cars, old gas pumps.  I could have stopped and explored every one of them.  But again, lunch was waiting for me... I kept driving.

About halfway there, I realized that I really needed my camera.  So I made a deal with myself that on my drive home, I would meander for as long as I wanted to, snap as many pictures as I wanted to, leave myself no time limits to see everything that I wanted to see.

So I did.  And it worked... until the sky turned pitch black and I could no longer see.  And mountainous, country roads are crazy in pitch black!  But anyway, it was fun.  I pulled the car off and snapped pictures for as long as I could.  I enjoyed documenting my journey...

so grateful to spend time with ma and pa (and Dooley) before hitting the road... 

my new moose hat to keep my head warm

huge icy, icy, FAST waterfall... in the middle of a town!

I think I have a fascination with old bridges.  I passed so many in the small towns and I could have stopped to take pictures of all of them.  But I only took a picture of this one... I'm pretty sure I drove over this one.

I asked Jesus to bring a moose across my path, but He did not... as far as I know.  I'm sure He had His reasons. =)  So I took a picture of this fake one.

I made friends with a giant lumberjack (there are many of them in Maine) =)

Ah, the Appalachian Trail.  I dream of one day doing the whole thing!  For now, I just enjoy the northern part.  

And Mt. Washington... just beautiful.

After that, it was dark.  But I still loved the adventure.  It's a great blessing be pulled out of your normal world for a bit of time and hit the road to experience what's new.  I open my eyes, take it all in, my spirit soars... I open my ears, listen for the still, small Voice... and yes, He tells me He's here too.  What a great adventure.