It seemed like a good idea from the air conditioned comfort of our house. You see, Ward and I had been working on paperwork and needed a break. We needed to get out of the house (or at least I did). After tossing around several ideas and convincing Ward that we really did need to leave the comfort of our home, we decided that we would check out a manor house and part of the Underground Railroad that wasn't too far away. After consulting maps, we hopped in the car and headed for our destination.
Well, because we acted on impulse and didn't plan in advance, we ran into some problems. The manor house and grounds were being used for a wedding, and we discovered that the ranger lead Underground Railroad hike happened yesterday. My good idea was starting to look a little shaky. However, not to worry. Ward consulted a posted map, we started down the trail by ourselves.
The trail started around some fields, so the beginning of our hike had us walking in the sun. The good idea, was definitely not seeming like a good idea at this point. The sun was beating down on us and the heavy humidity was making it seem much warmer than the 90°F that the thermometer was reading. Just as I was about to say that I had seen enough for the day, the trail ran into the woods for some much needed shade.
There we hiked through hickory trees and raspberry bushes. It was quite pleasant actually. That was until we emerged into some more fields. The sun was definitely the enemy and the good idea now seemed like a bad one. Our hike was going to involve retracing our steps back to the car, so after more walking with the brilliant sun, I thought it was time to turn back. However, Ward insisted that we go just a little further around the next bend. And do you know what we found? A beautiful spot that contained the natural spring that the community was named for. Worth all of the extra time in the sun.
In the comfort of the car ride home, Ward and I agreed that we make a good team. I get us out of the house and he keeps us from coming back too soon. And that is how we usually end up with mostly good ideas.