We are back from a vacation in the mountains. We stayed at Briar Rose Farm, a working farm outside Hot Springs with a cabin for rent. It was amazing. Four days of no cell phone, no net access, no TV, no responsibilities, no plans. Just relaxing, reading in front of the fire, walking in the woods, doing crossword puzzles, knitting, watching the local fauna, playing with the family dog -- oh, and hanging out in the hot tub.
We did drive into Asheville a couple of times for the afternoon. Actually the only negative of the trip was that the farm is on the other side of a mountain from Asheville, and we aren't used to driving on mountain roads, full of sharp turns and switchbacks. We didn't want to make that drive in the dark (especially with the roads being wet), so we had to give up plans to have dinner in Asheville. We did get to lunch at our two favorite Asheville restaurants: Early Girl and Salsa's. And our lunch at Salsa's was so big, we took the leftovers back to the cabin and had them for dinner that night. We also tried 12 Bones, a great barbecue place, on our way out of town today. It was fantastic! We will definitely add that to the list of "must-visit" restaurants for the next visit.
The cabin was cozy and comfortable, set up with a full kitchen, nice bathroom, and everything we needed. There was even a discount card for the local Ingles supermarket. There was a bedroom downstairs and more beds in a loft upstairs. We actually found the bed in the loft more comfortable so we slept up there. The cabin had a gas heater which we didn't use; it didn't get that cold at night and we found the fireplace provided plenty of heat. It was supposed to have satellite TV, which was out at the moment, which turned out to be no big deal. I had brought my computer so we had music to listen to, and the cabin had a VCR with a stash of tapes.
The farm has goats, chickens, a cat and two dogs. The goats pretty much ignored us, and they were penned up anyway. A couple of chickens had been fed by previous visitors and hung out around the cabin, trying to get in and get food. We nicknamed the red rooster "Zombie Rooster" due to his habit of standing in the doorway staring at us with his cold dead eyes. Farmer Tom warned us that if we let Zombie Rooster in, he would jump up on the table and steal food. Actually Zombie Rooster was fine. He never crowed (thank god!), we never let him near the food, and he never tried to eat our brains.
The cat didn't come up to the cabin but was friendly when we approached it. The dogs, on the other hand, were our constant companions. Katie spent so much time at our cabin that I wondered if they didn't miss her at the main farmhouse. She was adorable, and incredibly affectionate. I think her favorite part of the week was when we walked up the hill behind the farm. She ran ahead the whole way, looking back occasionally to make sure we were still coming.
The other dog, Poncho, was a pure bred border collie and though less affectionate than Katie, he was much more attentive. He would sit guard outside our door all evening, every once in a while chasing off something (or maybe nothing) with great pomp and show. I misremembered his name as Bongo, then decided I liked Bongo better and called him that from then on. Georg thought this was hilarious and started calling him something different every time. I think his full list of names included: Poncho, Bongo, Bingo, Bango, Banjo, Plinko, Groucho, Zeppo, Leppo, and Zippy. On the drive home we thought of the best name of all: Eric Estrada. Too bad we didn't think of that in time!
I think the best part of the stay was the privacy. Basically guests get as much (or as little) privacy as they want. We learned from reading the guest book that if visitors wanted to interact, Tom and Judie would give you a tour of the farm, do a demonstration of the sawmill, give a lesson in soap-making, let the kids feed the baby goats and collect eggs, etc etc. On the other hand, if you wanted to be alone (as we did) you wouldn't see them at all. We never saw them except when we checked in and out. They don't even come by unannounced, instead calling if they need anything. Also, though the cabin is fairly close to the farmhouse, they put the deck and hot tub on the other side. So you feel completely private.
More later, right now I have to plug in my computer because the battery is about to run out. Also upload the rest of my photos.
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