November is a favorite month at our house. Not only does it bring with it Thanksgiving but also my husband Mart’s birthday. For the last three years, we have celebrated his birthday at a cabin in the north Georgia mountains.
Although these are certainly not the Grand Tetons, which we visited in August, they are still beautiful. They’re “our” mountains, they are close by, and we love going to them.
Before we married, Mart would regularly go to a cabin by himself to reflect on the past year and to plan for the next one. He dreamed about owning a mountain cabin of his own one day.
But then I came along, with my little girl and my big dog, and Mart’s dream changed. We married, he got an instant family, and we bought a house in a woodsy neighborhood close to a river and national park. Our new house “checked the cabin in the mountains box,” he said. And now he had some loved ones to share it with. That was almost 19 years ago.
To celebrate these last three birthdays of his, we have chosen different pet-friendly cabins so that our lab mix can go with us. This year’s place is our favorite of all. Here’s why: it has an amazing view off the back of the house. Both bedrooms, the living room, and the covered second-floor deck look out onto the mountains.
The weather has been so warm that we have spent hours on the porch.
I’ve taken dozens of photos of the view at different times of day in different light. And I keep being drawn back to it.
Here it is late Thursday afternoon.
When we’re staying in a cabin, we spend most of our time reading, writing, planning for the next year, and watching movies. But we do go into town once or twice while we’re here.
This area, Ellijay, is known for its apples. People from all over the region come every fall to get some apples and enjoy the color of the leaves.
Yesterday, we went to lunch and a local apple store.
We always load up on apple-related products, including apple fried pies, apple salsa, bread, salad dressing, marinade, etc. And the last thing we grab at the register is a handful of buckeyes, peanut butter-filled chocolates made to look like buckeyes from a tree. My plan is to give some of these away, but we shall see whether I eat them all instead. Ahem.
This morning, as I was getting breakfast ready (those fried pies!), Mart was getting ready to take the dog outside when he told me to look out the window.
What a wonderful sight to wake up to.
A few quiet days at a cabin in the mountains is time well-spent for us. We’re already planning to come again for Mart’s birthday next year.
Do you prefer the mountains or the beach—or both? Where do you like to spend a few days away for some time well-spent? I’d love to know in the comments below.
If you like what you read on Glimsen, please sign up to get the latest blog posts in a weekly email. Just click the button below this text.
