I added this memory last year after getting a taste of the beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge mountains when I played at a softball tournament in Tennessee. When I compiled my original Memory List, renting a cabin in this area easily found its way onto it.
With all the precautions last year, however, this memory didn’t come to fruition in 2020. I certainly didn’t want to let another year go by without having this experience, and luckily, I have friends willing and excited to make the trip with me.
My friends in the upstairs condo are quite the avid hikers of the Appalachian Trail, so they’re very familiar with the Blue Ridge mountains of northern Georgia and Tennessee. It seems as though all I had to do was simply mention the fact that this was a memory I wanted to have, and they started the planning process.
We decided that we’d take advantage of the long Easter weekend, and escape to the mountains with our doggies to enjoy the fresh Spring air. They had a bunch of possible cabins researched, different hikes we could take, and already thought of a meal plan for the weekend. It felt like all I had to do was show up.
The cabin was incredible. It was situated right on the banks of the Fightingtown Creek, which given the flash flooding that had occurred earlier in the week, was a rushing river. We spent our two evenings huddled around the fire pit to keep warm in the chilly, near-freezing temperatures. The stars and half-moon were bright. The lack of cell service and internet forced me to unplug, and although I felt slight pangs of withdrawal, I know it was good for me.
On our morning and evening walks on the dirt roads along the ridges, Toby and I enjoyed the sights and sounds of nature. The highlight for us was, by far, seeing 3 white-tailed deer on Friday evening.
Our day trip into the quaint town of Blue Ridge on Saturday was also wonderful. We window-shopped, ate a delicious lunch, and got plenty of vitamin D from the glorious, humidity-free sunshine.
It was a fantastic weekend! In hindsight, I would have preferred to spend at least one more day there to make the long, 8.5 hour drive more worthwhile. It felt that as soon as I had recovered from the drive up to the cabin, we had to turn around and make our way back home. I guess this all-too-short trip proved to me that I’ve got to go back when I’ve got more time to enjoy it.
Memory made!
My Memory List 