"Let's go."
Two words uttered in thirst for adventure. So we drove north. Out of the city, out of the smog, out of the life-piercing chaos.
But not too adventurous. Even as adults we like pretend adventures. Backyards kingdoms and playgrounds become apple orchards and a drive away from reality. Grown-ups become children. It's good for our souls.
That day we intentionally escaped.
We drove. Past white churches, run-down barns, cricks and creeks and horses. With every bend away from traffic, life became simpler and easier to digest.
We forgot life scared us.
The further down the road we went, the more our little green car rang with laughter. Worry melted and was abandoned somewhere along roadside.
Finding the apple orchard was our treasure hunt. We consulted maps and followed rain-rotten sign posts. Until it appeared.
It was real. In frenzied delight, we struggled to slow our pace and take in the beauty around us. Escaping takes intention. A purposeful slowing down. We let the trees engulf our arms, legs and hearts.
Crunchy, crisp rubies. We gathered them up as quickly as we cast out reality. There was no where to be, no one to see. Just the two of us hunting and munching along the hillside.
When life gives you apples you never say no.
We looked out and saw Georgia was beautiful. A place that represented newness, challenges, sometimes loneliness and change, suddenly transformed into pages in our books. We couldn't see we were writing them until we left their papery sheets. But on top of that hill we could see it clearly. We had been gathering the threads of existence. Like the young trees around us, we hadn't quite dug our roots. Our fruit was small and feeble and we were learning how to brave the Georgia rain.
It drizzled and we ran for cover under an empty gazebo, looking at our haul in wonderment.
At the end of our escape from the city we realized this was our life. This excursion out of the ordinary was simply that, a highlight in a very real reality. Our apple orchard wasn't make believe like the castles we imagined when we were younger.
We came home bearing proof of our adventure.
Photos taken by Emily Hedstrom Photography. You can view her beautiful work on her personal website.