Every time we go to the mountains, I feel like I am travelling deeper into America. There is something about going into the country, to a place that feels old and sheltered with trees that have grown there for hundreds of years. I can imagine history taking place among the rolling mountains and landscapes steeped in tradition.
The home we lived in had a lot of red, white, and blue decor. I loved all the blue and white china that hung in the dining room area and in the master suite. The red china cabinet and red decor in the living room made the home feel cosy and warm in a mountain cabin. And that is where we were.
There is a certain ice cream shop that we go to on a regular basis, Sweetreats, where they mix the ingredients smooth when you place your order. There's nothing like it, especially in a waffle cone. I rarely eat ice cream, except when in the mountains. It seems to be a quintessentially American summer treat. Though, I know every other country indulges in ice cream when the hot days roll in. My staple order is always vanilla yogurt with banana and fudge.
We always visit the mountains around Independence Day, but this year we were a bit early, so I think back to last week as we now celebrate America's birthday. We are incredibly fortunate to live in a country where we have freedoms and rights. We have landscapes to explore and beauty of such variety among all the states and people. We should be so thankful to God for all that we have here. I am certainly enjoying a long weekend with a full and thankful heart.
Happy Independence Day, America!
Ordinary and unmeaning existence is like ten thousand thrilling detective stories mixed up with a spoon.
- G.K. Chesterton
I love when the ordinary isn't ordinary.
Like when the sunrise or sunset is so beautiful, it catches your breath.
Or when the flowers in bloom are so lovely and the scent makes you smile.
Or when a cup of coffee is so smooth and delicious.
When my journal opens to a blank page on my lap, and I have time to think and muse on paper.
When something so simple is made special with a touch of elegance.
Or when you make a really simple meal that uses few ingredients and tastes so delicious.
I am one who enjoys seeing the loveliness in what someone else might call ordinary. You might see a messy table with dishes. I see lovely remnants of a meal with someone. That is one reason I have always liked taking photographs. Even when I was little, I always had one of those old-fashioned disposable cameras with me, taking photos of all sorts of things that caught my eye. Nothing is ordinary.
Scenes of the everyday are what capture my attention. Coffee cups on a table ready to sip. Scenes of a hike deep in the woods. Books on a shelf, neatly stacked. Fresh cut flowers in a vase. Dappled light coming in the window.
Tucked within each day's normalcy is tiny glimpses of something greater. Something so beautiful even we cannot imagine. But they are glimpses I like to notice, and capture if I can, in words or photos.
I am about to make you crave this coffee. I wanted another cup immediately when I reached the bottom of my cup.
You know I love coffee shops and I can hardly contain my excitement for this one. Coffee shops are places that invite resting, relaxing, delicious drinks (and tasty treats), which tends to promote thinking and conversation. If visiting alone, it is a perfect environment for writing. If a companion is along for the ride, it is a good place to slow down.
I drove my Mum down the mountain to visit a favourite city, Greenville. I haven't been to the city in several years and I've heard some great things happening there and wanted to check it out. It is like visiting an old friend. I have lots of memories in Greenville, with family, specifically my Dad. He was the reason we went up there the first time. He took the BMW M-Driving School out at the BMW factory and test track outside of town. Some of us went up with him, to explore Greenville and also see the BMW factory and test track (and try to sneak peaks of Dad driving on the track). Ever since that trip (almost 7 years ago?), we have loved going back to Greenville, and we have very fond memories of Dad having such a blast during those several days of driving school.
Anyway, many new things have come to Greenville. One place I knew of was a coffee shop downtown that I had to visit -- Methodical Coffee.
So, we went there, of course. It was the most important stop, to me. I ordered espresso with almond milk and an earl grey grapefruit doughnut made by a local doughnut maker, Circa Doughnut. It was the most delicious doughnut I think I've ever had. So much so, that when I came back for my second cup of coffee in the afternoon, I bought another doughnut to take back for breakfast the next morning.
I loved this coffee shop because it was clean, beautiful, and simple. It was bright and cheerful. I was in love with the dishes, the tile floor, and the wallpaper. I love how they played records. It had a balcony area for a more quiet space to write. The baristas were very nice. Everything was delicious. I love Greenville even more now.
Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness.
- Psalm 55.6-7
A compilation of our many hikes. A few of them we do every year, a few others were new to me.
We visited a 400 year old tree. A tulip poplar. When I thought about how it was around in the 1600's, it brought a whole sense of wonder and fascination with the age of the living woods. We hiked to waterfalls and listened to the cold water rushing over the edge and crashing below. The constant change of waterfalls is amazing, too. The water is eroding the rocks and reshaping the land every moment.
We took to the woods, drank deeply of the fresh air, and listened to the mountains sing all around us.
The trees are so tall here. They have room to grow upwards. They sway and bend with the wind. The sunlight penetrates through the leaves creating a perfect dappled light.
The birds are awake and the woods are dense. Green is abundant. Green is on the limbs of trees. Mossy rocks. The trees have grown here for a long time. The air has a sense of age that you can breathe when you walk into the woods. Tales of history and stories dwell here, and the deeper you go, the more the imagination runs into possibly myths of the ancient days when woodland elves roamed these moss covered landscapes. The skyward looking trees towering above them even in those young days. Now these woods are old, and we got to walk the trails among beautiful sights.
The light and layers of green shift with the breezes above the tops of the woods. The leaves gently fall, soft and moist from the rains of summer.
In my imagination, these are the places of beauty and simplicity. A loveliness of old. A story still moving, but steeped in the past.
The best thing about travelling is finding really great places to stop along the way, and when at last, reaching the destination, having a cosy place to rest your head (with fresh flowers that lovely friends gave me, which I had to bring on the trip so I could enjoy them). This is what I was able to experience on recent adventures to the mountains.
The drive is a long one. About 7.5 hours if the traffic is kind, and the traffic is never fully kind, especially around Atlanta. so, my theory is that if I have to drive 7.5 hours in one day, I have to make a few stops that are fun (like a bookstore) and that revive my weariness (like a coffee shop for caffeine!). Sure, this may add some time to the total travel time, but it is worth it.
For coffee shops, the essential criteria for stopping include amazing coffee and a diverse local scene. I like to see a little bit of what is going on in the neighborhood where the shop is. Since I was driving my car on this trip, I had the ability to find the places to stop. On the way through Atlanta, both ways, I drove my Mum and I to Octane Coffee. There are three different locations around Atlanta, and we were able to visit two of them.
I love to experience these ultra hip coffee shops that I don't feel cool enough to be in. It is really fun to see how each coffee shop does things differently. Of course Atlanta has a diverse scene with a mix of college and young career folk. There is also, obviously, a huge creative movement with these coffee shops. Each place has an industrial feel, because they were in a revitalized factory, complete with tall ceilings, brick walls, big windows, and steel beams. Warmed up with wood tones, hipster tattooed creative people, and the scent of coffee, I could certainly hang out for a while. And that's what we did. Sure, I could get my cappuccino to go, but I like to sit and enjoy my coffee from a real ceramic cup (or a glass, as Octane does for their latte).
How do you take on long drives?
The leaves rustle, blowing down the narrow lane. These ancient paths riddled with pieces of the past. Birds flit to and fro across the path as the crunch of walking adds to the melody of song.
A flat path suddenly climbs and curves up into the trees, a trail rising higher above the forest floor. The sun rises higher in the sky, but the temperature stays cool as the last summer days hang onto the day. Soon, the early frosty nights will melt in the day and the walks will be quickened.
A tiny yellow flower catches her eye, perfected by nature. She picks it, holding it carefully in between her fingers, and continues walking. It will be a lovely bedside bud to brighten her clean room.
She continues to walk on top of the fallen leaves and hears the bird song changing. The morning has waned and it must be getting close to lunchtime. As she reaches the summit, she stands on the rock clinging to the side of the mountain. The huge rock reaches out over the land. Far beyond are more peaks, more trails, more scenery.
This is life in the mountains, among the ancient trees in the old woods. And endless scenes of beautiful peaks.
There is something different about the mountain air. It swells with oxygen. It sways in the breezes at all hours of the day. The dappled sunlight streams through layers of leaves as tall as the trees down to the ground. Different birds chirp at various intervals of each day. Sometimes they sound like small birds, and sometimes like larger birds. The leaves rustle against each other up high in the trees, rising in falling in volume like sounds of waves.
The quiet tones of nature produce a relaxing environment, to me. As I sit outside on our large living room porch I can be amidst the sounds and feeling of nature all the time.
On a hike to Glen Falls, I can see multiple views of nature along the way. What are all these varieties of trees? Each one is different. Tall, thin, light green leaves, dark green leaves, moss, far-reaching branches.
Some more birds have joined the chorus. It is warming up. The longer I am outside on the hike, the warmer it gets. The air grows heavier with humidity as the noon time approaches. But the breeze is cool.
I am beginning to clear my mind. My imagination starts to wander. Can I ignore the rest of the cares of the day around me? Can I think of poetry, language, meditations, and words? Can I dive into this quiet space I have tried to retreat to?
