In a cabin, in the woods, a little man by the window stood... and concludes with little rabbit come inside, safely to abide. That ancient ditty and the other one about little bunny foo foo having three chances to stop scooping up field mice and bopping them on the head keep running through my head as I sit on the porch of our North Carolina home for the next 6+ weeks watching it rain. Our 40+ year old log hand planked rustic cabin is nestled among the trees, backed up to a hill/mountain side of stone and rhododendrons. Down the hill a bit is a mountain stream. It is prime for wading (until the recent storms)or catching brookies (aka brook trout). However, they may have been washed away as the 6” clear brook is now 2 feet deep and a tad muddy. After much discussion in October of 2018, we rented this VRBO place, based on location, bedrooms and air conditioning...These areas are mostly undiscovered by the outside world—-folks from Charlottesville have tried to keep it that way...as it is an escape from the city and heat...so things tend to book up well in advance. Southern Living (before it became a Real Simple want to be, blah-i miss the old SL) tended to highlight it every year or so...so, it is on a true southerner’s radar. VRBO’s tend to be in two distinct categories-condo/townhomes or older vacation homes that have been owned for at least 1.5 generations. Of course there are the additional lodges, inns, motels—-the kind where you drive up to the door and park and the air conditioner is a ductless unit attached the the outside wall by the door....no charge for the musty odors. We did the condo last year, Eddie deemed that to small and the ceiling were too low. He wanted various outside views in woods, with high ceilings. Yes, there are newer constructed condo/townhomes, but they do not have the location, location, location. Winding two lane, unlit at night, off the beaten path are a no go for this designated driver. So, after much deliberation, we rented this 5 bedroom place.(seriously, As a certified Goldilocks/Princess and the pea kind of girl-guess, Eddie was hedging his bets on a good mattress—-however, we do have company coming)
I have discovered over the years that when your rent on VRBO, the pictures are not necessarily a true representation of the actual place. Our cabin is indeed in the woods, with three different outdoor porches and patios. It does have high ceiling in the living area, 4 bedrooms with doors, and a large loft with a king sized bed and 1/2 bath. What is not pictured are the 4 sets of steep steps (two exterior, two interior) , to climb from the subterranean level, to the loft or from the brook, back patio or parking area. Glad we are not dealing with altitude. Also not mentioned is the little tan painted brick house that shares this secluded spot...to get here it is a razor sharp right turn off the main road, a truly butt tingling slow crawl around the stone wall and the drop off to the brook past said tan painted brick house...yikes! Even Eddie has said that I can drive if we have been dining out! It does have air conditioning—-judging from the thermostat it is a new unit as it is a meat locker in the bottom (3 bedroom, den, bath area). It even has a dehumidifier...so no musty funk. The main level it is a little chilly as it has floor vents instead of the ceiling vents we are use to at home. Eddie likes to be a tad on the cool side (particularly when we are not paying for electricity) we even had a field trip to get a warmer sweater for me. The deco—-what can I say, durable possibly indestructible but so stuck in a 1980’s time machine. Remember when cargo furniture was all the rage and you could purchase an entire house full of furniture as in 3 bedrooms, dining, living room for less than $1,000...well, do that twice and boom, your mountain cabin is decorated...forever. There are church pews that are cozier than this, but, hey, it is only 7 weeks. The wall deco...before there was farmhouse chic, before there was the cabin or lodge look, there was the country look-yeah, I had some of that stuff, back then—-gingham cafe curtains, angel birdhouses, quilts, wire sculptures of hearts, stencil painted clocks and wall pieces, rag dolls—-yup, they are all here..with a nice 40 year old patina. Makes me appreciate the clean lines (among other things) that the Owners of Villa Bahia use in their rental unit. To our owners credit the house has good mattresses, a little doughy for my taste, but not broken down or stained. All the appliances are reasonable new and everything including the hot tub are in good repair. The hot tub guy is here every Friday. The kitchen cabinets are a little more primitive than rustic, but after no kitchen post Harvey, it is all good. We did, however, have to purchase a few more knives (Eddie can not pass the World’s Largest Knife Store in Pigeon Forge, TN without making a purchase. Congratulations, George, you have a set of new really nice steak knives.), new dish rags, skillet, new cutting board (there are just some things you know that should not be used in rental, this was a big one-we have not had our cootie shots) a cocktail shake (this is why we do not let Eddie go to Kitchen shops alone-see part about new sweater) 3 new bath towels, 4 new bath cloths and one hand towel. The house has towels-adequate but certainly not large or plush, but Hotel Eddie has certain towel criteria (the owners of Villa Bahia know this and plan accordingly), so a trip to Home Goods for bath sheets. However, after a week here, Eddie has discussed purchasing a inexpensive recliner (seriously, as if Eddie has ever purchased anything inexpensive)...I can’t imagine us getting it up the stairs...he has settled (at least for now) on the 1980’s glider that was in our bedroom. At least we are not moving furniture up and down stairs. That ship has sailed. In fact, the night before we left, George came over for dinner and rescue things that would not survive two months in our refrigerator. We (we all know who “we” is) had already packed our large suitcases, laundry basket with our favorite bed pillows, some kitchen knives (not our first rodeo), non chemical soaps and cleaners and rags, spices, fish basket, Eddie’s needlepoint stuff, 25 pounds of hard copy books-guess who, a port a crib and limited kid equipment, two iPads, one laptop, charging cords, fishing items (there will be at least one if not two post coming on that) into the back portion of my SantaFe...all of which was covered with a queen sized black sheet so that people will not notice the things that we have place in the back of my vehicle....what can I say, our pre-game is strong. After dinner, I told George I would need help putting Ed’s recliner on top of the car and lashing it down. My literalist, George, even paused, even blinked...he know his dad’s love affair with recliners...but I could see him trying to decided if I was serious or should he start trying to figure out how to hoist a 150 pound recliner on top of my car.
As I have already written tons last year about the Blowing Rock/Boone/Blue Ridge Parkway area, I guess I will have to opt for Eddie stories and his discovery (rather rediscovery of fly fishing).
As it has stopped raining, and the crowds will be light at the local watering holes, we will venture out like the birds and tree frogs do here in the mountains after a good rain storm.
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