Divine Intervention-Direct and obvious intervention by a god in the affairs of humans. (taken from...a dictionary.)
I am a very spiritual person. When Southern Comfort Cabin Rentals recommended a cabin for the weekend with the name "Divine Intervention", I knew I had to stay there. This cabin more than lived up to it's name. I know I have a flair for the dramatic, but I am completely serious when I say that this adventure, and this cabin, made a huge impact on me. The last time I was in Blue Ridge, I stayed at the Blue Ridge Suite, and my city girl appetite was sufficiently whetted (I looked that up, it IS a word!). This time, I was excited and apprehensive about staying in a real, honest-to-goodness cabin in the woods. The drive up from Atlanta was beautiful, as usual, and once Alison (yes, I dragged Alison along with me, again) and I picked up our keys and headed out to Cherry Log Mountain, it was almost 11pm. I wound my car up and around the windy roads up the mountain, and eventually came to the cabin. CJ (GM of SCCR) had mercifully left some lights on for us, and we dragged our tired bodies into the cabin, exhausted.
The first thing I noticed was the bi-level porch and deck. The top part was screened in and had a myriad of comfortable chairs and glass tables. The bottom section was my favorite. Not only is there a grill with a tall table and chairs, but there's a HOT TUB! I was beside myself with excitement, and so glad I had brought my swim suit. Upon further investigation of the inside of the cabin, I immediately ran up the stairs and claimed the spacious loft as my own. Hey! I'm the writer, I get the good room! Okay, fine, Alison can have the master next time... The loft was furnished with a queen sized bed, and even had room for a throw rug and a couch. Not to mention it's own little bathroom. Oh! And the built-in heater in the bathroom was the "cherry" on top. And did I mention that this is a log cabin? As in, the whole thing is made out of... logs. It's rustic at it's best.
The kitchen reminded me of a real-deal, people live here and cook a whole bunch, kitchen. There were plenty of utensils, pots and pans, and even spices! The other two bedrooms were cozy and quaint, and Alison picked the one with the tv. She had her own bathroom (and her own bathroom heater!) as it was just the two of us, and we happily went off to our rooms to unpack. The first night, being as late as it was, we sat in the two story living room for an hour or so, lounging around and watching tv. We even started a fire. We finally turned in, as I was getting up at 7 to attend the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Center's Writer's Conference.
The one thing I didn't notice about the loft the night before was the window directly across from my bed at the top of the outer wall of the cabin. When I woke up around 7 to the faint light streaming through those windows, I sat up in bed. I really almost cried. Looking out those windows at 7am on a Saturday morning, in the surreal quiet of the mountains was possibly the most spiritual, serene,and shall I say it, divine moment I have ever had. I can close my eyes right now and see and feel it all over again. I spent a few more minutes in bed looking at the tops of the majestic trees and watching the sky change colors above them, and then realized I didn't have my camera. "Oh well," I thought, "I'll just have to come back!" Once my day at the Writer's Conference was over, I stopped in at the local Food Lion and bought all the fixin's for the dinner Alison and I had planned. We were going to make steak and burgers on the grill, and of course I stopped by Harvest on Main and picked up two sides of macaroni and cheese (yes, it's THAT good). I don't think I'll ever be able to go to Blue Ridge without eating that mac and cheese. I acquainted myself with the glorious kitchen and got to work. Alison was the grill master, and I handled the sides. When we finally sat down to eat, we looked at each other in awe of our masterpiece. And then we dug in.
About a half hour later, we languidly moved over to the couches to digest our meal. About a half hour after
that... we were giggling as we ran to our rooms to change into our swimsuits. Under the cover of darkness, we crept out into the night and submerged ourselves in the 100 degree hot tub. It has been years since I've been in a hot tub, and I had forgotten how relaxing it can be. This is when my second moment of "divine intervention" happened. I.looked.up. And saw the sparkling blanket of stars that stretched across the sky for miles. We don't get views like this in the city, people. I don't know where else but the mountains you DO get views like this. So I stared, and stared, and stared. Until my fingers were pruney, and Alison had long since abandoned me. I just could not stop staring. Seeing the stars in the sky like that reminds me of how truly small I am, and what an amazing, exciting world I live in.
So, vacation enthusiasts, I am here to tell you, once again, how grateful I am to get to do what I do. And I highly recommend you spend some time in this vacation cabin rental, and have a divine intervention of your own.
Always with you in spirit,
Jacqueline