There should be a word to describe the emotion one feels leaving a place when the most beautiful day of your stay is the day of your departure. Exitalgia?

It was the way I felt yesterday driving away from the empty house we rented, staying a few minutes after the others to make sure the place was ship-shape, finding in the driveway a little green beach toy, already missing the chubby little hands that held it.

I skirted the bright lake water and took a left on Sand Flat Road, its new-mown fields rolling up to forested hills. I thought again about my affinity for this part of the world, largely unexplored on this, kid-friendly visit, but still present, there to enjoy in the future, I hope.

Meanwhile, I was soon traversing a more dramatic landscape: Route 48 through the West Virginia highlands. I snapped this shot near Keyser. When I turned the other way I had a closer look at the behemoths you see below. Hilltop windmills have become a beacon on the drive to Garrett County. When I see them I know I’m almost there.