After I returned home from Canada, I yearned for solitude and retreat… Quiet forest, lit candles, breathtaking views. Googling “cabin in the mountains” gave me a snug hidey-hole in Rabun County, Georgia. After a few moments’ thought, I couldn’t see any reason not to go for it.
I bought a huge amount of books from thrift stores: Freakonomics, Christy. I checked out even more books from the library: Isabel Dalhousie novels by Alexander McCall Smith, young adult novels, and dreamy romances. This was the focus of the week: reading, reading, and more reading.
But there were also candles. Giant pillar candles discount from Marshalls in soothing neutral colors. Others were relics from Gainesville, candles I dragged out of storage.
I was a bit apprehensive about the cabin itself, since I’d never been there before. I’d only seen pictures of it on the Internet. What if it didn’t exist?
But as I drove up Screamer Mountain through the hurricane weather, more and more excited each time my ears popped, I came around the scariest bend in the road yet to find the cabin beautifully nestled right there. It looked so tiny and rustic I couldn’t help but smile.
Once inside, I set up my few belongings in a flash and took a long bath. Then I didn’t go anywhere for forty-eight hours. I sat on the back porch with my bathrobe and coffee. The rain fell tremendously, unbelievably. And it was so peaceful. It was perfect and just what I had looked forward to.
Even as my next trip to Louisiana loomed in the near future, the mountain served as a temporary sanctuary. Someday, maybe, I’ll make the long drive up the mountain again.
-The Dauntless Princess-