News from the Rocking Chair
So, what's new at Solitude?
Baby bears and deer!
June 21, 2023
Things have returned to more “normal” in the Blue Ridge mountains and we have had a chance to catch our breath in 2023. We have spent the extra time doing some landscaping and unseen but necessary maintenance on the property.
- A brand new Trane AC/Heater for the cabin. This replaced the original from 2006 so it is much more efficient and has an Ecobee thermostat with remote sensors that help keep the temperatures on each floor more even.
- Fully re-screwed metal roof. This should keep leaks away for another 10 years!
- We have added all new mulch around the entire cabin.
- The driveway has been widened and drainage rocks were placed (french drain) on the sides. And of course more gravel!
- We had to cut down several trees on our uphill side lot that were falling down. The wood is being dried in a shed for a few years and will be sold as firewood by our trimmers. (We may just buy some back for the fire pit!)
We were very excited to see a mama bear with 2 tiny cubs this spring. She has been roaming around our area and the cubs have been getting bigger but still follow her closely. We also saw a very tiny (a day or two old) deer calf stumbling around with her mother several times. She (He?) quickly found her feet and have been seen frolicking in the woods often. There is a lot of beautiful undisturbed nature around Solitude. The experience never gets old for us and would love to share it with you!
If you’d like to come for a stay please click on the links to our Airbnb and VRBO listings to book or send us an inquiry.
We hope to hear from YOU soon!
Lynne (owner)
Even more upgrades in 2021/2022!
April 20, 2022
Wow! We were extremely busy during Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021! Many people wanted to be a little more away from crowds on their vacations so we hosted a record number of guests. We feel it is very important to invest in our cabin so we tried to make even more improvements to Solitude since our most recent post.
We love sharing all the new features and things that we think will make our guests’ stays the best ever. Yes, 2020 (read below this post) was a big year for upgrades but we have really outdone ourselves in the past year and a half! It was hard to fit the upgrades in but we felt it was worthwhile to pause bookings and do it! We know it will make a difference.
- A brand new 8 person hot tub with LED lights which is wi-fi connected and helps us to keep the temperature hot and ready for guests’ arrivals right from our phone. The new hot tub is much more energy efficient than the old hot tub as well. Win Win!
- We have new kitchen appliances including wi-fi connected dishwasher and refrigerator (which actually has two ice makers!). Also a new microwave.
- We newly refinished the wood flooring on the entire main and upper floors and both sets of inside staircases. The floors were sanded down bare and re-stained and sealed over the course of several weeks.
- We now have freshly sanded and stained decks. The previous owners had painted the decks but they are now back to their natural state and stained to match the rest of the cabin. Exquisite!
- Vista pruning has improved the already incredible view! This is something that needs to be done every 5-6 years as the trees around us grow. We also cut down a couple trees that were a little too close to the cabin. And yes, we saved the wood and it is in our wood pile for everyone to use at the fire pit!
- New split log fencing around the driveway has helped to finish off the look of the north side of the cabin. We placed solar lights on the upright fence poles to add to the beauty at night.
- We have completely rebuilt the hillside steps to the fire pit along with extra solar lighting right on the steps. This makes it a breeze to walk down the hill again any time of year. And we again added more gravel to our driveway. The gravel seems to travel away with the rains so we will probably need to keep replenishing that every couple of years it seems!
- We have purchased the lot above us as well as the lot below us so there are now more than 5 acres of space around Solitude to keep it as quiet and private as possible. We take the name to heart!
We continue to work to make Solitude the best place to stay in all of Blue Ridge! Contact us any time to inquire about a stay or click on the links to our Airbnb and VRBO listings to book.
As always, thanks for reading and we hope to host YOU soon!
Lynne (owner)
We've made some awesome upgrades!
June 29, 2020
We are always striving to keep everything at Solitude in great working order and also make property improvements to make the cabin more comfortable than ever for our guests. With these goals in mind we wanted to share some of the exciting upgrades we’ve made since last fall.
Fireplace inserts–Both fireplaces now have new gas logs and timers. These are much more efficient, problem free, and just look great!
Televisions–We have a beautiful new 60 Roku television on the terrace, added a television to the master bedroom and put a larger 50 inch tv in the living room. All tvs get Dish network which includes local channels and America’s top 120. Streaming is also available using guests’ accounts (netflix, amazon, hulu etc).
Terrace furniture–A brand new leather-like sofa with pullout queen sized bed and matching love seat are on the terrace in front of the fireplace. We added new pillows as well to make it the most comfortable place to watch that new 60 inch tv!
Hot tub cover–The new hot tub cover is nice and light to make it easier for one person to lift off of the hot tub. It is also better at holding in the heat when the tub is covered.
Washer/Dryer–Two new front loading units with all the bells and whistles have replaced the old one piece stacked laundry. This has made our cleaning crew very happy and will mean shorter runtime and less water and energy consumed.
Grill–3 burner gas grill will make grilling much easier, hooked up to our permanent gas tank so no one should ever run out of gas.
New steps constructed–We are really excited to have built a much needed gated stairway to go from the lower terrace deck (hot tub deck) directly to the firepit. No more going upstairs, through the cabin, and down the path from the driveway!
We’ve made other outdoor upgrades like aditional gravel in the driveway, all walk paths and fire pit. Also some beautiful solar path lighting around the cabin that looks very inviting at night. We are providing the wood for the fire pit so nobody has to bring their own.
We are committed to making every stay be the best ever for our guests!
Thanks,
Lynne (owner)
Short term cabin rentals are back!
May 11, 2020
As we all deal with these uncertain times of Covid-19 we at Solitude know it has been a difficult 2020 for everyone. Short term rentals were closed down by the Governor of Georgia for much of March and all of April.
But there is good news!
As everyone emerges from their self-quarantines they will find that cabins in North Georgia are open again and ready for guests! Really, what better place to go with your friends or family than an isolated cabin in the mountains?
At Solitude we have intensified our cleaning process to ensure total disinfecting of every surface in the cabin. This means we use only quality disinfectants and make sure not to miss things like door handles, remotes and light switches. If you can touch it then we have cleaned it (more than once!).
Yes, it takes our team a little longer to prepare the cabin but we want to assure all guests that we are doing everything we can to give them a worry-free stay with us.
We also guarantee at least 24 hours (usually longer) where the cabin is empty before we rent to the next guests. In fact, we often leave two days between so that our cleaners can wait a day to work as well. That keeps everyone happy and healthy!
Everyone here at Solitude is anxious to welcome you to our beautiful spot in North Georgia. We want to help you enjoy a relaxing vacation or weekend this year.
Come on out and enjoy the mountain air and spring temperatures at Solitude!
Thanks,
Lynne (owner)
