In Praise of the Back Ways

Never mind the jammed up Expressway leading to the crowded Parkway.  Forget about the $4.75 savings in tolls.  Those aren’t my primary motivators for taking the back ways.  I just love exploring.  Discovering.  Experiencing something that may one day be lost. 

It’s not every day that you pass a peaceful brown barn.

Or feel the serenity oozing out of a little white church.

And, can’t you just picture a sweet couple sitting around a red-checkered tablecloth when there’s a knock on the door from someone wanting to buy a dozen eggs….

I wish I knew the Farmer’s Daughter when she was in her prime.  This is kind of sad and beautiful at the same time…

In the long run, I may not save all that much time or money, but I feel a sense of duty to give a nod to the Wilson boys, who were lost at sea in 1882 and buried at the Union Cemetery (yes, a cemetery originally built for the union soldiers after the civil war).

I love exploring the back ways so much, that now my back ways have back ways. 

That’s how I found Makepeace Lake.  I’m not sure if it’s named after a person, but I like to think there was a historic peace treaty on that spot.  It would be the perfect place to meet if you ever need to extend an olive branch.

Like the Rodney Atkins song says,  “put a little gravel in my travel, unwind, and unravel…get lost and get right with my soul.”