Monday Memories: A Vacation Memory

Hey, y'all! Monday which brings us one of my favorite memes and it's all about sharing memories! Y'all know how much I appreciate memories so you can imagine how excited I was to hear of a meme all about writing our memories! 

Want to join in? Just click the button and link up to Memory Monday at Retired, Not Tired!

This week's prompt is: A Vacation Memory

I've posted this vacation memory before but I just realized that it took place quite close to the very spot of our latest vacation! I'm glad I didn't realize this before we went. Ha!

When I was growing up our family took the usual annual vacation to either the beach or the mountains but we also got to go camping sometimes just for the weekend. These camping trips were so much fun! We would go to the mountains and just have a nice relaxing weekend of camping. One weekend we went to a campground in a town where friends of our parents lived. It was only an hour or two away and a couple of other families came along as well. My parents friends had one son and a daughter much younger than any of us and the rest of the crew all had sons. Basically, it was going to be a weekend of boys what with my three brothers as well. But this wasn't a terrible thing as I was a tomboy. When we got to the campground it was practically deserted --as it was the off season—with only 3 campers in the whole place. Not a problem since there were plenty of us to have fun and go exploring. Once we were set up, it was time to explore so we headed out for a walk.

Once we hit just the right spot in the dirt road, we saw an old house looming ahead on the left.  There has never been a better haunted looking house in a Hollywood movie. This place was two stories high with a widow’s walk on top. The siding was old and gray looking with some slats hanging down at an angle from the rusty old nails that could no longer hold them in place. There were steps leading up to a porch that spanned the front of the house. Several of the boards curved up at the edge of the steps and the porch and there were holes where the wood had given up and rotted away. There was a porch swing hanging at one end of the porch and it creaked, just a little, in the breeze. Most of the windows had been broken, leaving half panes of jagged glass and, those that were intact, were covered in a film of dust and age. Through the windows, we could see old, tattered curtains hanging limp. The walkway leading up to the wide steps was no longer level and was cracked in places with weeds growing up through them. The front yard was overgrown with weeds and dead bushes and was surrounded by an old, gray picket fence that swayed in places and had more leaning slats than straight up and down ones. To enter the walkway leading to the house, we had to pick the gate, that was hanging by only one rusted hinge, up and place it to one side. Several old trees that had already shed most of their leaves were on either side of the house reaching out with their spindly arms. It was coming on dusk; there was a slight breeze; and not a sound was heard other than the ever so slight creaking of the porch swing and the occasional rustling of dead leaves.

My fearless brother

There were seven of us kids altogether and we decided that perhaps going up to the door and going inside that house was not the best idea we’d ever had. We discussed this in quiet whispers all the while keeping our eyes sharply focused on the house. Finally, my brave brother, Tony, said- in his best 11-year-old manly voice, “I’m not scared. I’ll go in.” The rest of us stood statue still in a bit of shock at hearing his words and Tony had an expression on his face that clearly indicated he, too, was wondering who the hell said that. Mere seconds passed as my courageous brother realized that it was indeed his voice and that now, because of his big fat mouth impulsive bravery, he was going to have to go into the haunted house. His steps were shaky and slow as he proceeded up the worn path to the first step. He slowly and carefully placed one foot up on the step and looked back. We were all still standing there with wide eyes and opened mouths. Tony walked up each step with uncertainty and paused to look back again when he stood, nervously, on the porch. We had not moved a muscle.  Tony took small, careful, baby steps all the way to the front door and stopped. He gingerly reached out his hand to open the old door. At that very moment that insignificant breeze that had caused only slight movement of the porch swing and a gentle (albeit creepy) rustling of the leaves became a wind. And that wind was strong enough to blow the curtain hanging at the broken windows. that ran vertically beside the front door, out just far enough to brush my brother’s arm.  

To this day I do not think that my fearless brother’s feet touched any part of that house or the earth as he spun around and took off! He was beside us and then past us within a millisecond and there was dust behind him as he flew down the dirt road. The expression on his face illustrated scared shitless terrified quite well with the eyes bugging out and the extreme paleness of his color. As soon as we realized what had happened (and it took a few seconds), we laughed hysterically- half from my brother’s reaction to the curtain and half from sheer relief. Of course we had to go off after him because he was running in the opposite direction of our campsites. Along the way we met our parents’ friends who were driving out to visit- complete with Tony on the hood of their car.     

My fearless brother and his lovely wife, Christmas 2014. 

My Little Mountain Getaway, Part 1

I got a little idea in my head that traveling as an empty nester might be an enjoyable thing. So, I found a cabin rental in the mountains of NC and sat back waiting, excitedly, for my first vacation in nearly 30 years.

Finding the cabin was easy via VRBO- (and the fact that my cousin owns the place but I promise this review is honest.) Getting to go alone was not easy. Nor did it happen. Before I knew what hit me, every single one of the lovelies was coming with me as well as SILextraordinaire and DrummerBoy. AND, Dad and my wonderful step-mom said they would come up for a day to celebrate Christmas since we would be there the day after for 7 days. Not to mention Tucker. But he was going anyway.

The cabin is located in Lake Lure, NC. Did y'all know that part of DIRTY DANCING was filmed there? And THE HUNGER GAMES? Yep. Deanie, who LOVES the movie, DIRTY DANCING, wanted to see where, exactly, they filmed in Lake Lure. So, Breezy asked Siri: "Where was DIRTY DANCING filmed?" Siri replied: "I do not see any theaters showing the movie DIRTY DANCING." Siri was NO HELP.

I took this one on one of our little sightseeing trips.

It's a good thing that the cabin could sleep 8 people (technically, 6. But there is a pull out sofa so, 8)

The first two words that came to mind when we walked into the cabin were, clean and cozy. Which meant this vacation was off to a perfect start. Even if I would be sharing it with 6 other people and had to ride up in a clown car (which is the subject of another post entirely.)

This is the view upon entry---

And, when you turn around, you see this (it was much more orderly before we unpacked):

Though some less selfish folks might have given the master bedroom that housed the king size bed in it to those who would be sharing a room, I am not one of those types. I took that one for myself. And Tucker.

The others had to fend for themselves. Not that it was difficult- there was another bedroom next to the master.

And yet another bedroom downstairs.

Then there was the pull out sofa.

There were two full bathrooms. One upstairs---with a bathtub/shower.

One downstairs with a shower stall.

The main room upstairs was cozy and had a lovely view. I bet that, during the summer, you truly feel like you're actually living in a tree house. Except at night. Because night time up there gives dark a whole new meaning. Take a nightlight.

Downstairs was another social area that included a fireplace and second television. (Though I'm not sure why anyone would want to watch it with all the gorgeousness surrounding them outside.)

There is a washer and a dryer in that closet.

The fireplace is behind me in this one.

And then, here's one with the door behind me. The view from the sliding glass doors is lovely. And there is a cement patio out there.

The patio ends and a path around the side to the front begins.

The patio runs the length of the cabin.

The upstairs deck wraps and runs along the side to the front-- my cousin will be making this section into a grilling deck this year.

The back deck will be extended to make it easier to dine outside. Many an hour was spent by all of us on that swing with a hot cuppa and a good book or just some quiet time. The sounds of the birds and the rustling of tiny animals was so relaxing. There was one time when I felt that the rustling might be from a larger animal but I never saw anything. Of course, I had moved to the inside so...It was probably just that bobcat that DoodleBug saw on our last day up there. YIKES!

Some days, the mountains were covered by clouds. It was lovely, regardless. It gave me a nice, peaceful feeling watching the clouds move in and cover the mountains. But then, the whole vacation gave me that feeling from the cabin to the scenery. When I took Tucker for walks or sat out on the deck, and was very quiet, the birds, the rustlings, the wind through the trees...all of it, was like a soothing lullaby. It was quite lovely.

There is a gym RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR. When you leave the cabin and head to the right, you almost immediately embark upon a steep climb but, instead of being cooped up inside a stuffy, stinky gym, you are outside in the fresh, crisp air surrounded by lovely scenery. AND, if it's more scenery you want, there are more steep inclines not that far away. :)

Doesn't look that bad from the top looking down. Only we aren't at the top yet. 

A strong and very important reminder: IF you go down in the mountains, you MUST, at some point, go back up. One morning, on our morning walk, Tucker and I took a different route. It was steeper than I thought going DOWN hill and then, it got worse because I saw the up hill dead ahead. It was at this point that I remembered that IF YOU GO DOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN, YOU MUST GO BACK UP. Ok, the question quickly became, "Do I continue forward or turn around and go back?" When I looked back, I decided to keep moving forward. That hill was KILLER going down. I was NOT climbing back up. But I should have. Because the hill ahead of me, which seemed less steep, seemed so only due to the deceptiveness of the curve at, what I assumed was, the top. Nope. And then, when we FINALLY reached the top and I was able to breathe normally once again due to a leveling off, there was the steepest hill yet right in front of my face.

Should you come to stay in this lovely cabin, AVOID walking on Pheasant Street. A.V.O.I.D.

That entire walk logged only 1653 steps on my Fitbit. But it logged 6 flights of stairs. SIX, people. SIX. I've never been so glad that Tucker has to stop to sniff and pee on everything as those were the only times I could catch what little breath I had left.

All of the roads are steep up and down and curvy. You can get motion sickness in the car. And stop breathing when you walk. Ha! But no matter how you go, EVERYONE you meet greets you with a smile and a wave. Lake Lure is filled with nice, friendly people.

The location of our mountain getaway was perfect. It's pretty much dead center to fun places to visit such as Asheville, Rutherfordton, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Chimney Rock...Lake Lure itself is a charming little place.

There are nature trails, zip lining, those cute little roadside vendors, river walks, adorable shops in the towns, golf courses...and if that's not enough for you, there are tons more things to do while surrounded by stunning scenery.

This nature trail was closest to the cabin. Don't bother looking at the trail options. They are ALL strenuous. The board lies.

I started the 25 degree morning with a lovely (and by lovely I mean KILLER) walk on the nature trail with Tucker, DoodleBug, and Alex (a friend of DoodleBugs who lives in Asheville). Holy Crap. The Fitbit registered that little walk at 4033 steps and 12 flights of stairs. TWELVE. In about an hour. It. Was. Brutal. B.R.U.T.A.L. At one point they took the strenuous trail and I took the moderate trail. The first up was ridiculous. This was followed by a level out and curve. When I looked ahead (because you really have to pay attention to your steps due to all the exposed roots) I see the next hill. It looked like this:  

Y'all think I'm kidding but I'm not. I didn't take a picture because I wasn't breathing at the time and I might have been a bit pissed about seeing that steep of a hill. 

Nope. Not going to happen. Tucker and I turned around to go back. Much to my mortification, we were pretty dang far in there and had to walk up some more because, come to find out, most of our hike in had been more of a down hill jaunt. Terrific. Let me just say that these people don't know a damn thing about level ground. Nothing. 

The beginning of the trail look easy enough. That was deceiving. 

See? The whole time, we're going at a downward angle going in.

Those signs are misleading. Nothing was easy and, their idea of moderate means that they do not know the definition of 'moderate'.

There was a golf course running alongside the trail and I notice a few idiots enjoying some ice golfing. 

Seriously. 

I will say, proudly (and gratefully because none of this killed me) that, by the end of the week, the Fitbit was registering nearly 6000 steps and 15 flights of stairs. Of course, I was also so sore that I wondered if I'd be able to get in the car for the trip home.

As it must do, the sun set on our sweet mountain vacation. Tucker and I enjoyed our last sunset from the upstairs deck one last time. It was bittersweet. Mostly bitter as I was not ready to give up this little piece of paradise.

I know this was a long post. But just think how long it would have been had I not decided to split it into parts! LOL And I probably left something out of this first one.

Thanks for reading and looking! And stay tuned for Part 2. And Part 3. And...;)