PILOT'S PERCH CABIN VACATION - PART 6 - JULY 21ST TO 26TH, 2019

We have been home since the evening of July 26th, and have repeated this paragraph for the entirety.  The last time as I am now at the end of this particular vacation.  It has been a great five days at the cabin.  I have been sharing its website (link below in red lettering), not only for you to take a look but who knows, you may be looking for a place to rent if you visit the area and want a neat place to stay.  It is highly recommended by our own experience.  You can see all the posts from our trip if you scroll down on the right hand side of the page, and click on the button 'Pilot's Perch Trip - July 2019'.  Now for the last day of my diary.

Pilot's Perch Cabin Vacation

From July 21st to July 26th, 2019  

Part 6  

Friday, July 26th, 2019  

An early morning send-off party and the journey home.

When Gregg was loading up our car just before we left for home, he saw these cute cottontails in the front garden.  He came back inside to tell me to get the camera. 

 They posed for several minutes and allowed me to take a lot of photos. 

but then they decided it was time for them...

and us... 

to move along.  

Just as I thought they would soon be out of sight, they found another tasty buffet across the street...

and stayed for a few more minutes as we kept them company.

Finally, however, it was time to get out of the buffet line and hippity-hop home, for all of us.

We watched them go and thanked them for such a sweet send off.  It was a welcome delay and at 
9.14 p.m. we started for home.  The Odometer reading,  8795.  71 degrees F.

A quick stop at the Fancy Gap Post Office to mail postcards from Mabry Mill to friends.  I remember mailing postcards when I was a little girl, written in my scrawled, childlike handwriting to my grandparents, Mom and Dad's parents.  This was a practice my mother started since the first time we could put a pen to paper.  I still enjoy sending postcards and so does this close group of friends I have.  There always seems to be a lot of postcards for sale at these tourist places.  Do you ever send them?  I am curious as I wonder if, like handwritten letters, it a dying art.  Just a thought that popped into my head.  

Right next to the post office was the Carolina Log Furniture company, and just because I am forever curious, I looked it up after returning home and going through my photos.  Their website can be found here.

The journey home was a good one, and though the traffic was heavy at times, for the most part it flowed.  We did have to pass a few wide-load vehicles. 

 But then there were scenes such as these...

and these.

We were happy to stick to the freeway.  Usually when heading out on a vacation, we side-tour onto country roads, but when going home we always seem to take the fastest route as our homing pigeon instincts take over.  Six hours later, with a couple of stops on the way, we were home.

We had a great time at Pilot's Perch, and I would like to thank Tannya and Blake for letting us stay at their mountain cabin.  We couldn't have wished for a nicer, more perfect place to hang our hats each night, and we look forward to returning one day.

I have a lot more photos to share from our trip, but this is the last entry in my diary.  I hope you have enjoyed it.

PILOT'S PERCH - A MOUNTAIN CABIN AND OUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Gregg and I were away from the 21st to the 26th of July, spending five of those days at one of the prettiest cabins we have ever had the pleasure of staying in.

There is a driveway at the side which leads to the garage for a car, and space for other cars if there are more people.

Even if only for a few days, it was a lovely home-away-from home, and it had a truly magnificent view. 

It was a bit drizzly when we first arrived but the cloud cover and mist rising up from the hills was mesmerizing.

We made good use of the two balconies, on the main floor and outside our bedroom below. The outside seating was very comfortable and there was also an outdoor dining area.  And I must not forget the fire pit and hot tub.

We enjoyed the use of the balcony off the bedroom we used, and there was a nice bathroom beyond the closed door.  

There were three bedrooms to choose from, all of which were a delight.  We decided on this one, so that we could wake up to that incredible view.  I saw hawks flying low and one time we looked over and there were deer out back.  Another morning there were rabbits in front of the cabin.  We saw rabbits several times driving in and out of the neighborhood.

One morning I sat on our bedroom balcony before the sun came up, still in my nightclothes.  (It is very private for I am not one to sit on balconies in my nightclothes.).  I felt at peace in this idyllic setting, and enjoyed watching the twinkling lights below.  As my eyes focused I also enjoyed looking up at all the clouds, and the view.  Oh my goodness, that view!

I will be talking about the cabin in future posts, but in the meantime you can look at this link, which will give you lots more information and pretty photos of each room and living area, and more.  

I fell in love with the comfy sofas, especially as they had built-in foot rests that popped up and head rests that lay down, like my old lazy-boy.  The kitchen met every need.  Indeed, the whole cabin is beautifully and very tastefully decorated.

Tannya and Blake are the owners.  I spoke with Tannya on the phone, a lovely lady who answers every question you might have.  There is a very large folder with things to do in the area.  Also their guest book is full of writings from satisfied visitors, all of  whom gave glowing five-star reviews of their stay, and now ours is included along with everyone else's.  

This is a place I can recommend to anyone who would like to enjoy the experience of being just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We would love to share this with our son and daughter-in-law sometime, and other family and friends eventually, but we are also looking forward to going back on our own. 

Sweet sentiments and so true!

Thanks for stopping by everyone, and enjoy your day.

   

FROGS - REYNOLDA GARDENS, WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA

 Gregg and I were away from home last week.  We took a trip down to the south-western part of Virginia.  One of the side trips we took was to Reynolda Gardens in Winston-Salem, which was just over 50 miles from where we rented a cabin in the mountains.  It was a beautiful garden and I will tell you all about the place we stayed at and the gardens we visited in my posts this week.  

 In one part of the garden we saw a small pond.  It had a few lily pads, but no lilies.  

However, there was something else that caught our interest.  

Two frogs had made a home in the lily pond.

They were fun to watch and I sat on the edge observing them for a while.

 It didn't take long to see that they were raising a family.

 There were specks in the water and I realized they were eggs.

 It would have been interesting to see the eggs turn into tadpoles, the tadpoles turn into frogs...

but if you click on this link you will be able to read about their life cycle.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you all have a great week.

TO BE GOING ON WITH, A POEM AND A CABIN IN THE YUKON

"I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence.  It's said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered.  That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood.  Slowly, no doubt.  I'm not talking about a vacation.

Of course at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am.

Are you following me?"

~Mary Oliver~

from her book of poems, 

"A Thousand Mornings"

Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets, maybe my all time favorite.


(My photo was taken at the Tagish Lake Kennels in the Yukon, on our side trip into Canada. The cabin was on their property.)