Despite my battle with a headache this past weekend, I packed up the car and drove to Highlands, North Carolina. It has always been a favorite place, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to revisit this area for a couple of months. Other obligations did not allow for travel—even this short distance. I can tell you it was worth the wait. The weather was cool (37 F); and in some places, there was snow on the ground. But I refused to take a single photo of that. After all, winter will come to the mountains soon enough. Instead, I used this time to enjoy what was left of fall and then to turn my thoughts to Thanksgiving and being home with family and friends.