Where in the world... am I?

I live in Sohoe, which is a Slice of Heaven on Earth. Let me set the scene for you:

Two of the Great Lakes are joined by an historical canal. The land is fertile, and the climate is mild, so all around is beautiful agricultural land - cherry, peach, pear and apple orchards alongside vineyards, corn fields and dairy farms. There are picturesque villages, a few small cities, and one of the natural wonders of the world. The landscape offers rolling hills as well as flat, far-reaching plains. There is a Carolinian forest and several significant historical sites. Sohoe is heavenly indeed.

What endears Sohoe to me is that is reminds me of Germany. There are narrow, winding country lanes, houses set into the hills, sheep and cows grazing in the pastures of well-kept homestead farms. The weather is reminiscent of Germany at this time of year as well: the temperatures are cool but milder than much of Canada, and the rainy days are straight out of my childhood overseas. Something in the quality of light here, is suggestive of Deutschland.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to go wandering for a bit. I haven't yet done much driving around the area myself, as I am usually with the family, with BIL behind the wheel. I have a general idea of where places are, but have you noticed that things look different when you are driving than they do when you are a passenger?

There I was, navigating the windy roads and lanes, enjoying the scenery. I pulled over at one point to let a shiny black SUV pass me - they were in a hurry and I was poking along. (Good thing I was driving BoB, our family van. Nobody expects a van to break any speed limits so I was free to saunter as I wanted) It dawned on me that I had no idea how to get to where I wanted to go. Was I supposed to turn right at the gabled barn, or go straight through at the herb farm? Did I want to be on First, Fourth or Eleventh Louth Street? Or maybe 8th Avenue? They sound like significant streets, right? You're picturing 8th Avenue in New York City, but here, no matter how grand the name (anything called an Avenue has pretensions to grandeur, in my opinion) it is a country lane wandering through corn fields or following the historical canal. Anyway, the point is, I've been down many of the roads here at one point or another, but unless you really pay attention, one beautiful vineyard looks like another beautiful vineyard until suddenly you are trying to get yourself to Schmalmart without a copilot.

I sat at one crossroads after another, trying to remember if this horse pasture looked familiar because we pass by on our way to the grocery store, or when we go for a drive to the Wonder of the World, which is in an entirely different section of Sohoe. However, as I am a most fortunate person without schedules or deadlines (and because BoB is equipped with a very detailed map) I was able to just enjoy my wheeled migration through the beauty that surrounds our home. I did eventually find Schmalmart, but that was incidental to the day.

I live in a Slice of Heaven on Earth