Did I tell you it was hot in North Carolina? Oh my goodness! After leaving Hendersonville, we met up with our realtor, Katie, who drove us around showing us potential properties. Potential being the operative word. Meanwhile, I called Dione at Deerwoode to see if any cabins were available. As a matter of fact, there was one we could rent so rent it we did.
Sunrise it was, the closest one pictured. What a different view of the property from this location! On our last morning, this happened making me very happy indeed. Not only did we see this deer, the previous day on our hike we saw three!! But, I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's go back a day.
Adjacent to our cabin there was a trail that took us up Sugarloaf Mountain, a somewhat arduous trek for these Floridians! So not only can you hike around the valley, you can go up a mountain too if you so fancy.
Although there were some rhododendrons blooming,
it was nowhere near peak as I saw gobs of buds ready to burst open. How glorious it must be to be in the midst of the cool forest with blooming flowers everywhere.
I will admit we lost our way for a bit, but all is well that ends well, and we eventually came back down on the main road. "How about we hike the river trail honey?" Holy Cow, he said yes!
The French Broad River must be mighty long because, well wait a minute...I have Google for that! 219 miles, as it turns out. Anyway, it circles the property making for a peaceful walk, albeit warmer than we would have liked.
On this visit I was able to show Bruce the hidden cabin in the bamboo forest.
As you have probably already gleaned, there is a lot to keep you busy at Deerwoode! Perhaps I have not even mentioned that they are part of conservation lands?
That said, we decided to visit downtown for lunch and exploration. And here we are arriving when the digital thermometer atop the cute movie theater reads 91 degrees.
Oh honey, let me see what this is!!
On this visit, we decided to have lunch at Mayberry's and were not disappointed. We sat at the counter, after ordering our food, and it was just wonderful, both in atmosphere and food. It's the kind of small town place with desserts under glass domes.
With a name like Mayberry's you just knew it had to be good! Because I was seated with an easy view to the outside, I realized that it was raining. Well, that was an understatement! Making our way to the door this fantastic small town scene unfolded.
Yup, a sheriff is giving some folks a ride! So, it was raining hard, followed by
strong winds and hail. Eventually it slowed just enough for us to move down the sidewalk where I saw this sign that would seriously ring true for me! I also noted that the rain was coming down the sidewalk because, well the ground is not flat! Duh!
Keeping with the reading theme, we popped into a four story store that caters mostly to men with antique stuff. Forgive me the simplistic description because that is exactly what it is...simplistic, however, it is a hard place to describe as it is filled with all manner of old things, including this:
There are a whole host of readers who will find the above very, very familiar. That illustration!!
Exiting the store we saw that although it was still raining, it was growing darker so a run-for-it moment occurred and not a minute too soon.
Pretty ominous clouds, right? As holds true here following a storm, the temperature dropped a bunch.
Remember I said not a minute too soon? Indeed, blinding rain began falling making for some nervous driving conditions in an unfamiliar location.
The nearer we got to Deerwoode, which btw, is way closer to downtown than you might think, we began seeing foliage debris on the lawns. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, it began hailing way hard again and Bruce pulled under the covered entry of a super cute place called
The Sunset Motel. Soon thereafter, the owner arrived and we had a chit chat, learning that he is from, you guessed it, Florida! A very common theme in Brevard as you may recall that Deerwoode is owned by a couple from Lakeland.
Eventually the hail stopped, allowing us to continue on to Deerwoode where we discovered, as we drove down the private road, Scott and Bill using a chain saw to remove a large tree blocking the road. That was just the beginning of the damage caused by what they called a small tornado coming through the property. The saddest of all was a huge limb came down from what they deem a 400 year old oak tree. We were parked right where part of it fell before leaving the property!
Calling it a limb, which in reality it is, makes it seem as if it might be small except it was bigger than many whole tree trunks.
The fall was so strong it left it's mark on a neighboring tree!
Because Scott's brother was in Florida, he had to call upon Bill, the 83 year old former owner to help with the clean up, including another large tree that fell in front of one of the cabins. The sound of a chain saw filled the still air.
Amazingly enough, all the cabins were spared! Bruce picked up and secured all six of the kayaks, one of which had blown 75 feet away from the stand, while I piled up tree debris. We couldn't just stand by and watch while they worked! This little guy found a new perch just above ground level.
According to Ann, another guest whom we spent the evening with, it was super scary indeed. And just why did we spend the evening with Ann? It was our good fortune to have picked up a pizza in town before coming back allowing us to have something for dinner that did not need heating up because
the power went out during the storm. Sitting on her front porch, she with a gin and tonic, while we had a glass of wine, the discussion began about being Floridians in search of somewhere cooler. Except on the few days we were there it was anything but!! Anyway, at 9:30, as we were chatting, the string lights festooning her porch came on as we sat watching the fireflies. Wishing her luck, we made our way back to our cabin for a restful sleep before beginning our morning's journey back home.
Also according to Ann, she has already fallen in love with Deerwoode. As her job can be done anywhere there is internet, her day begins with a hike, followed by work, followed by another hike, either along the river or up the mountain. I told her I totally get it for sure!
And you know what? There are even apples on the trees.
And more of that cool fog stuff.
Cool plants,
In other words, my idea of heaven!
your friend,
Gail
p.s. I would be remiss if I forgot to pass on two excellent novel recommendations.
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