Emme Wade spent more than 20 years working on getting away from it all, and now that she has, ironically enough, she invites everyone to come and join her.

Wade owns Water Valley Bed & Breakfast, a rural retreat just three skips of a stone from civilization but far removed from its din and glare. Close by the Natchez Trace, 35 miles from Nashville, the Water Valley B & B is both a stopping-place and a destination, an out-of-the-way oasis offering another sort of b & b: beauty and breathing room.

Emme's "little place in the country" consists of a farmhouse with three bedrooms and two baths, a converted country store with two more bedrooms and two baths, and a party room available for meetings and special events. She bought the property 30 years ago, and spent two decades fixing it up it's not in her nature to be in a hurry. She decorated with period antiques the buildings date from the late 1800s from her personal stock. "I've collected stuff since I was 12," she says.

Wade grew up in Brentwood, outside Nashville proper, when it was still country. She spent years in the restaurant business in Nashville. When she found out about some land up for auction in Water Valley, she put in a closed bid, and won it. She only wanted the property, but then she found a carpenter and jack-of-all-trades to help her work on the buildings. They renovated a little bit at a time.

"It's been restored but not over-restored," she says.

It was always a place for her family to go, for reunions and picnics and the like, and when she opened it to the public five years ago, it was with the attitude that everyone was family a very laid-back family.

"We're relaxed," she says. "There aren't any rules for early arrival or late checkout when you stay here a night you get the day before and the day after. It's a comfort zone."

The B & B can accommodate six to eight people for sleeping. Wade welcomes couples, groups and individuals in quest of rest and relaxation, quiet and inspiration, communion with nature and communication with one's self, in particular with that small, muffled voice inside that screams, "I've had enough!" She's hosted writers, artists, photographers, cyclists, canoeists, horseback riders, fishermen, birdwatchers, corporate groups, wedding parties, and ordinary travelers for overnight or weekend or stays, or longer.

Given the name Water Valley, you might not be surprised to learn that there are five lakes, various and sundry creeks

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