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| Friday afternoon, view from our condo at SugarTop |
I didn't realize how much I needed to get away until I had been here a day. Our condo is rented by owner and he fulfilled my request for a place cleaned with only vinegar and water and no use of air fresheners. I didn't think to bring my own linens, so I had to go out and buy sheets, towel and wash cloth. The linens that were on my bed had been washed and dried with scented detergent and dryer sheets.
We opened the doors and windows when we arrived, turned on some fans, and we have been very comfortable. The kitchen is furnished well, but we did little cooking. Mostly breakfasts. Banner Elk, the nearest town has many good restaurants and nearby grocery stores.
Sugar Top sits on a ridge and is considered an eyesore because you can see if from any direction and it breaks up the beauty of the mountains. I would hate for someone to build this huge place on top of a mountain in Clay County where I live. After the resort was being built, the NC legislature passed a law preventing anyone else building on top of the ridges. But it was too late to stop the building of Sugar Top.
In spite of all the controversy surrounding the resort in the beginning, I am happy to have found this very reasonable condo on VRBO. We are on the seventh floor with easy access by elevator. No stairs to climb. My bedroom has a king size bed, private bathroom, flat screen TV and double windows opening to the beautiful long range views. We overlook a ski slope, some smaller rental units and at night the lights from Banner Elk, far down the way, shine like a Christmas village. I can imagine how fantastic it must be when snow covers the ground.
The staff has been nice to deal with, but it would be great to have had someone help bring up our luggage. Gay says we don't need help, and she handles it very well. She and I are so compatible that sharing a place with her took me back in time. We shared a bedroom growing up from as far back as I can remember and for a year in college. On some days here we didn't get dressed until late afternoon when we went out to eat. I almost hate to go home. One afternoon I used the heated pool for exercise. No one else was there and I loved that experience also.
The past two days have been extremely foggy. At times we can't see the ground from our deck. We are enclosed in a cloud, set off from all the world, like being in a floating apartment high above the earth. The silence is comforting and leads to thinking about all I am so grateful for in my life.
I also thought about my future. I will be cutting back on classes at Writers Circle next year. I plan to only hold three workshops at my studio. I hope that NCWN West will bring in some good instructors to teach in our rural area.
I will be home by the time you read this post. Thanks for reading my blog. I love to hear from you.
