Ralph's Place

We went to a little hideaway in the hills near Travelers Rest, SC one weekend about a month ago. It is named Ralph's Place and is named after a previous owner. It is a great place for a weekend getaway. It is not that hard to find (especially in the daylight) and it is a very quiet, picturesque setting on the edge of one of the forks of the Saluda River. We were able to steal one night to ourselves and with the exception of Molly making her presence known every time we turned around, it was the weekend we needed to get away from normal life before it gets very hectic. I had to take Molly for a walk about 2:30 one morning, mainly because she insisted. Ralph's Place is surrounded by trees but there is a clearing in the front yard of the property. At 2:30 in the morning, the clearing was the only place that allowed some of the moonlight to come through. The little bit of light gave the trees and surrounding scenery a midnight blue haze that you can only capture with your memory. The faint light outlined our cars and the driveway but left the rest to my overactive imagination. I kept seeing bears and bobcats and other creatures of the night stalking me from within every shadow. The only regret I have about the entire weekend was that there was a journal that was laying on the table in the den of Ralph's Place. Previous guests from as far away as Michigan and Missouri had written entries that told of the serenity and comfort that could be found at Ralph's Place. I did not take the opportunity to write in this journal (and journaling is my thing) to articulate what Ralph's Place came to mean to me but hopefully I will have a chance to in the very near future.