Ocala, Florida…

We were a short 4 miles from our exit and the traffic stopped.

I was behind the wheel and Hubs was being as patient as a gentleman can be.

“How come those cars are moving and we’re not?”  he’d ask of the traffic moving on our left.

“Get over onto the hard shoulder and whizz on down to the exit as that car…and truck….and car, are doing!”

I didn’t want to get in the faster lane because I needed to get off at the next exit.

I didn’t want to drive down the hard shoulder only to find the reason for our stall to be congestion on the upcoming exit ramp.

After a couple of hours of crawling I realized the reason we were hardly moving was because the cars passing us on both sides were cutting in at the exit causing our lane to creep.

“I don’t like it when cars cut in so I’m not going to,” I said in response to Hubs’ deep breathing.

In the remaining hour I suggested scenarios we could perform to entertain our fellow drivers,

“I could get out of the car, open the back door, pull out a case, slam the door and start walking!”

“Please don’t!” patient hubs said.

“We could both get out of the car, arms flailing and switch sides, a kind of Chinese fire drill,”

“Or not!” was his reply.

“You could get out and start jogging towards the exit…”

“Very funny!”

According to the receptionist at the hotel we really needed to exit a mile or so further on.

According to Hubs we really needed to exit NOW!

He won and we left the congestion and followed directions to the hotel via a back road, the scenic route, through horse paddocks.

It was beautiful, a gift from God for all our hard work of waiting!

The following day we went back to get pictures and these youngsters rushed forward for the photo shoot.

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The peacock was camera, shy, pausing for just a moment on the fence before dragging its tail into hiding.

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The overhanging trees lent this country road its English feel,

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and it was then that I realized I could put into pictures what I was having difficulty articulating.

This was my idea of where I wanted to live.

Somewhere with acreage and neighbors, only not too close.

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Vast fields and mature trees and a nearby town large enough to sport several restaurants and other entertainments that may suit the sophisticated city dweller I’d become.

And look at all that Spanish Moss, not a parasite at all but it can harbor rat snakes and bats!!

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These thoroughbred farms have training race tracks large enough to get a horse into championship condition,

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and the lakette adds serenity, as all clear water does.

On one of my dismounts from the car I heard the sound of the country:

birds, crickets, trickling water and frogs.

I knew I had found my haven.

Now we need to find Hubs’ little piece of paradise so we can blend the two for harmonious living.

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