Monday, April 11, 2011

Country Church. Consignment Store. Bliss.

A big part of the joy of last week’s road trip was getting to make the drive home at a leisurely pace, enjoying rain-freshened breezes, sapphire skies and spring festooned hills all along the way.

As much as I love living in our beautiful coastal region, I was raised in a hilly area of Wisconsin and sometimes I really miss meandering through a rolling landscape. (Which is a little hard to come by living five minutes from the ocean.)

And so when I checked out of my hotel room late Tuesday morning, I had just two objectives:

1. To drive down any ol’ side road that looked interesting, especially if it was sporting this wonderful sign:

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2. To find a country church/cemetery to take pictures of. (I just have a thing for quaint country churches.)

And so off I went, happy as could be, inhaling contentment and sunshine and fresh air in equal measure. I puttered along my way, constantly on the lookout for loveliness around each corner. And thankfully, there were plenty of lovely (and interesting) sights to see.

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And then—oh, happy day!—I found my country church! The instant I drove by I squealed, “There it is! There it is! I found it!” (Thankfully, no one was lurking around the corner watching me as I talked so animatedly with myself.)

I hopped out of the car and was immediately immersed in quaint, country beauty and a clean country breeze. It was beyond blissful.

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And then as I was driving through Carthage, NC, I saw this house and immediately made the decision that our family needed to sell everything we own so that we can move to Carthage and buy this house. (I eventually reconsidered the wisdom of sharing that plan with my family. But it doesn’t mean that I can’t request this house when I get to heaven.)

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And finally I came across the most beautiful sight of all—a consignment store! Hurray and hallelujah!

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A country drive, sunny skies, lovely sights, bargain shopping, quiet time alone, a family (and doggie) waiting to welcome me home—it was truly a trip that renewed my soul.

(Today’s road trip to Greenville, on the other hand, will involve one plastic surgeon and one oncologist. I keep saying that I think each appointment will be my last and yet it seems like another trip always has to be made. At least I have the memories of last week’s lovely trip to sustain me on today’s not-quite-as-lovely journey.)

13 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Sarah said...

Gorgeous pictures. I love the church too. Beautiful!

Jan said...

Beautiful photos! The church looks like ones I've seen on many a church bulletin over the years.

MaryH said...

Love, love the photos - you and your new camera are becoming quite accomplished - also, the photo of the building with "Royal Crown Cola" painted on the side, took me back to some great childhood memories in a flash - thank you for the trip. I side road is always better than the highway if you have the time. Glad you took it - both the road and the time.

Is Sarah feeling better now? She was under the weather a few days ago.

Anonymous said...

Becky: I love country churches too! Took a lot of pics on my trip to the South a few years back. I also have a thing for old (sometimes new!) graveyards. I felt like I was there with you! PS, Calif. has quaint country churches too, but getting out of the car all alone to explore could get you mugged..depending on where the church is!! Jojy

Ann Martin said...

Beautiful pictures. The house is absolutely gorgeous! I would need a maid to live in in order to keep it clean if I lived there. Guess if I could afford the house I could afford the maid.

Anna said...

Have you ever heard of the website findagrave.com? You should check it out - it is addicting! It is a graves registration site with over 59 million records. We could definetly use your help entering graves.

LizW said...

Wonderful photos of the church! Hope all went well at the appointments today.

Anonymous said...

Just out of curiosity, you say that you love "quaint, country churches"....does that mean you consider Mateo to be the "big city" now? Just teasing, the pictures are beautiful :-)

Bridget from Canada

Debbie said...

Beautiful pictures Becky. Out of curiosity, did you find anything at the consignment shop?

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