So, You Want to Take a Christmas Vacation

Spending Christmas in the mountains seemed like such a great idea. We weren't going to take that much, I thought. We'll make ornaments for a tree that we will cut down at a tree farm so we won't need to take mine from home. That's true. But you do have to take all the presents for 13 people and three dogs. And everyone has to take their necessaries. And then there's the food. So...

The trip up becomes something akin to a pain in the ass from the beginning.

I love the cabin in the mountains. The location is just about perfect and the views are quite lovely. But it was easier when we headed up after Christmas in 2014.

Here are a few things I discovered about vacationing the week of Christmas:

1. It might be easier to just put your house on a trailer and haul it wherever you want to go.
2. Check the prices at the local grocery stores. It was less expensive to do my shopping before leaving. But you'll have to buy a marine size cooler. And a truck to haul it.
3. If you prefer a cabin in the mountains, be careful. I took the dog out for a walk on Christmas Eve, heard an odd noise and realized, quite quickly, that wildlife is great. On television. 
4. If you sleep late on Christmas morning, your adult sisters will awaken you by banging pots outside your door. Or in your ear.
5. Make everyone responsible for a meal and clean-up.
6. Take those early morning walks. Some wildlife is beautiful. Like whitetail deer.
7. Take quiet people with you. Taking someone who makes a noise  of some sort 24/7 will make you want to jump off the very mountain you enjoy viewing every day.
8. If you do have a truck and take it, don't let anyone put anything on TOP of the tarp by insisting it will be fine. Even if it is, it will drive you batty all the way home.
9. If the driver insists on staying in the fast lane and riding people's asses, get out and walk. Even if it's 200 miles to home.
10. Keep your sunglasses handy. Should the sun decide to make an appearance after six straight days of cloud cover and rain, you will need them. Seriously. It will be like a vampire seeing sunlight for the first time. But appreciate the dreary, foggy days. Because you don't have to look at the steep hill you
11. If your little pup hates riding in the car, research what you can give him to chill him out. Or call the vet.
12. If you take soap and others do not, remove your soap from the bathroom or you won't have any either.
13. If you find a rustic cabin that was built in 1900 and was the stage coach relay station close to your vacation cabin and that 1900 cabin is for sale, buy right then and there. Else someone will buy it right out from under you. (Sad, sad face. With tears.)
14. If you have girly girls with you, make sure you have enough bathrooms. Good grief they take a lot of time in the bathroom.
15. Make sure you have something on which to write or to record as you will find yourself waxing poetic whether you fancy yourself a poet or not. 

The girls and I have decided that, for Christmas this year, we will stay home. When I think of all that I had to endure on this trip, I'd rather wait until after the holiday festivities. Plus, there will be a new little girl in our midst and I would much rather spend time with her than cooking for and cleaning up after her aunties. 

After Christmas, however, we'll be back at our mountain escape. Or maybe I'll just slip away quietly. They won't notice a thing until they get hungry or have to wash a dish. Ha!

What are your thoughts on vacationing the week of Christmas?

The cabin someone bought right out from under me. 

Foggy days are great for hiding the steep hills you are walking

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...;)