Category Archives: Vacation

Finally a Travel Day

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It’s a Travel Day!

 

My long-postponed vacation to Colorado is finally off the ground- literally. I spent last week finalizing the care for my kitties for my “great escape”.  I wouldn’t be honest with you if I said I was looking forward to this trip because I’m not. The time at home has made me quite a couch potato. My travel urge is pretty low. I’ve gotten used to hanging at home with the cats. But this vacation has been planned since COVID in 2020 shut down the world. It’s paid for so I really can’t justify backing out now. 

My Travel Starts at 3 AM

Part of the reason I am less than thrilled about the travel is the hassle just getting to the airport has become. I used to fly out of TF Green in RI but somewhere along the line they got more expensive than Logan Airport in Boston.  The recommended arrival time for domestic flights is 2 hours before boarding. My flight leaves at 7 am which means arriving at 5 am. So, I bundle myself and my bags into my car for the 45-minute drive to the Logan Express bus in Braintree. It’s $7.00 a day for parking there. Much cheaper than the parking at Logan but I need to allow time for the bus trip from Braintree to Logan so another (recommended) hour there. Not much sleep to start my travel day.

TSA Pre Check

I still have my TSA pre check status so getting through security is slightly less of an issue than for those that have to go through the regular security. It still doesn’t keep me from being pulled out for a pat down. My artificial hip lights up my whole left side so even though I warn the TSA agents what to expect they still have to clear me. At least the woman I had this time was friendly and even showed me what the screen showed her. All I can say is I am quite colorful!

Delta

I’m flying on Delta and although I didn’t spring for first class, it’s only a 4-hour flight, I did get a non-stop to Denver and opted for their new Comfort Plus cabin. I really lucked out too as I was the only one in that row! The plane was brand new, just put in service in June. It had huge roomy overhead bins so plenty of room for carry-on bags. The seats are larger and lots of leg room. At least on this plane I can say the Comfort + was worth every penny!

I remember one of my last trips on Delta when we had a crazy, rude flight attendant. She was verbally abusive to a couple that just wanted to change seats to sit together and at one point threw the cabin phone against the plane wall. It was the only time I ever filed a complaint. This time it was completely different. The crew were all super nice and friendly.  In any case they worked hard to accommodate seat changes for a family traveling with a tiny infant and it was all done without any drama, and everyone was happy. Quite the change! 

If there was one negative, I’d have to say that its they made the bathroom even smaller. Hard to believe that is even possible but I barely had room to turn around in it! 

On Time Arrival

We took off on time and arrived about 20 minutes early in Denver. By the time I made my way to baggage claim our luggage was circling the carousel. All I needed now was my rental car and a map and by Mountain time it was only 10 am! How perfect was that!?

The Sapphire Valley

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Sapphire Valley

I was still climbing when I saw the sign “Entering Sapphire Valley- Registration 3 mile”. Is that my registration? I’m staying at Fairway Forest. Through the trees I began to see the groomed land of golf links. Ah, a lightbulb went off in my head. Fairway Forest- Fairway- golf! Turns out that golf is a big pastime on “The Mountain”. 

It’s customary for the concierge to contact you the week before your trip. They are trying to sign up up for your “Owner Update aka sales pitch” but they also have lots of information to share with you. This time they warned me to download the directions to check in from the website. Now as I weaved around another corner I slipped them out of my trip folder. 

Another twist and turn  and the road opened up and there was a sign for Fairway Forest Resort. It was on the wrong side of the road from my directions and nothing said registration but I made the turn anyway.

 

Fairway Forest Resort

At the top of a narrow road I made a right and looked down a one lane asphalt road. 4 Unit buildings split off to both the right and left giving each building a bit of privacy. I pulled into the first one and parked long enough to read the directions.  Apparently this was not the right place. I returned to the main road and continued toward Cahiers. Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

I spotted an Ingles Grocery Store but my instructions were to NOT buy food until I had checked in. When I reached Cashiers I figured I’d gone too far and turned around. I drove the road back and forth between the resort and Cashiers several times without spotting the registration/check in. I had no cell service so I couldn’t call for help.  On about my 3rd pass I decided to stop in at Sapphire Valley Resorts Registration. The lady on the desk laughed and not only gave me directions but walked me to my car so she could point out the plaza where Diamond Resorts had it’s registration building. It was on the opposite side of the road from my directions. Clearly who ever wrote them did not know their left from their right. 

But I’d found it and gotten there in one piece. Registration was fast and easy. I was in Building 1 Unit 1312. I’d accidentally pulled into my building when I first stopped at the resort. They admitted that the directions I had were old and made a note to update the web page.  I headed back to the resort with a map. The amenities, club house, pool etc  was at still another  location but all I wanted to do right then was to get settled and check out my home away from home.  

My Home Away from Home

It looked nice. It looked big. It wasn’t sparkly new. The carpet inside was a bit worn but it was well kept up, clean and huge. Two levels. The master bedroom was on the lower level along with giant soaking tub/jacuzzi. There was a private deck for the master bedroom. 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

On the main level was a bedroom with two twin beds, a full kitchen, combo living room dining room. I even had  a fireplace!  There was another bath off the bedroom And decks off both the living room and dining room. I loved the decks!

 

The washer and dryer was downstairs in the hall next to the master bedroom.

Thanks to my knees I settled into the main level bedroom. I’m used to twin beds .

 

Fairway Forest and the Sapphire Valley

 

Time to go grocery shopping!

The Road to Sapphire

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The Road to SapphireAshville to Sapphire

Once I got headed in the right direction I left the road construction by the airport behind. RT 280 was a wide , well maintained highway. There was plenty of room for the crazy local drivers to pass. I could take my time and get acclimated to the drive. I felt pretty protected along this stretch because there was a church every mile or so.  Baptist, Methodist, 7 day Adventist, they were all there but not so many Catholic. All of the churches were large and well cared for. I knew I was in the “Bible Belt” but I had to wonder how a rural area like this could support so many churches so well. I guess the business of religion is very successful here. 

The Halfway Point- Brevard

My map said it was 45 miles from Ashville Airport to Sapphire but I felt like I had been driving a long time before I got to Brevard. Brevard was when the drive began to change to what I came to think of  as the half way point. Brevard is a little college town. It’s pretty and it’s loaded with fast food restaurants. There’s Wendy’s, Micky D’s, Bojangles and even a drive through BBQ place. Brevard is where I picked up RT 64. Rt 64 was to become my most traveled route while I was in North Carolina. It would take me to the waterfalls and the Blue Ridge parkway. It would also scare the pants off me until I got used to it. 

The Road to Sapphire

Rt 64 to Sapphire

I was relieved to see signs for Sapphire Valley as I was leaving Brevard. At least I was on the right track. I made a mental note to make a return trip to Brevard before my trip was over. I wanted to see a White Squirrel.

As I left Brevard, RT  64 began to narrow from a multi lane road to two lanes, no shoulders. That was ok but then I got to the mountain. I have no idea what the name of the mountain is but the locals just refer to “The Mountain”. They tell you that you’ll go down the mountain, around the mountain, over the mountain but they never name the mountain. 

Brevard to Sapphire Valley

The drive up the mountain to Sapphire Valley took about 45 minutes to an hour. Much of the road was made up of hairpin turns and switchbacks. The signs showed twisty turns with 15- 25 mile speed limits. There was no cutting corners either because there was always a car coming the other way. I began to wish I had a passenger who could take a video or at the least pictures. There was no place to pull over so I couldn’t do it. I had both hands glued to the wheel! 

The Road to Sapphire

This kind of driving is an adrenaline rush. It’s fun but I enjoy it only when I’m not being tailgated and that was going to be the bane of my trip. The locals, who are the nicest people face to face, are demanding, crazy drivers. They know the road and it’s twists and turns and they don’t pay any attention to the speed limit. I became quite adept at locating the narrowest of pull offs so they could go around me. When I’d get out of the way I’d get a friendly toot and a wave as they blew my doors off going by. 

The Road to Sapphire

This was almost as challenging as driving in the mountains of South Dakota! I was very happy to see signs saying “entering Sapphire Valley”. Now I just had to find the resort and check in. 

The Arrival – Ashville North Carolina

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Ashville Regional AirportThe Arrival - Ashville North Carolina

Our plane made a smooth landing at Ashville Regional Airport right on time but no Jet Way for Ashville. Nope, we left the plane down a combination of ramp and stairs then walked across the tarmac. Once in the terminal it was a short walk to baggage claim. My knee had locked up during the flight so I was the gimpy” old lady in everyone’s way. But I soldiered on.  The Budget Car Rental Counter was right next to the baggage carousel so I could watch for my luggage while I arranged my rental car. 

The Arrival - Ashville North CarolinaBudget Car Rental

I’d heard quite a lot about the rental car shortage so I reserved my car rental when I booked my trip. To be sure they didn’t give my car away I even paid for it in advance and did most of my check in online. The price was outrageous. I’ve rented SUV’s on Maui for less than $700 for a week and thought that was expensive but with the car  shortage it appears that rental car companies are taking full advantage. My Toyota Rav4 was $1300 for the week. By paying for it at time of booking I had it all paid off  of by the time of my vacation. No big bill waiting for me when I got home. 

I was glad I did it that way when 3 other people were turned away while I waited. The reason, no cars, sold out. 

I passed on the GPS add on. No service in the mountains so why pay for something that doesn’t work. I picked up a map instead. About that time my bag came tumbling off the airplane so I grabbed my keys and bag and headed into the rental car parking garage.  They were right. My car was easy to find because there weren’t very many there.

The Road to Sapphire

As I left the parking garage I followed the signs to RT 280. What I didn’t know was which direction I needed and the signs weren’t much help. They just said  “to 280”. Of course I went the wrong way. Now that wouldn’t be so bad. I drive in Boston. I’ve driven in Honolulu. If I can survive those traffic disasters I should be fine in rural North Carolina. Right? Nope, wrong! Maybe I’ve gotten rusty with the lighter traffic from COVID or maybe I’ve just gotten old but it was a hair raising start to the drive. 

There was construction on 280 so there were barrels everywhere. As I tried to get my bearings there was no slowing down. Cars came flying from all directions. It was like being dropped in the middle of a NASCAR race. Ahead of me I could see a strip of fast food places so I began to work my way across several lanes of traffic so I could pull off into one of them and study my map. At that point I saw a U-turn and a sign that said Sapphire. I pulled the U-turn and floored it. Breathing a sigh of relief I settled in for the rest of the drive. Or so I thought. Little did I know what was still ahead.

My New Tool- A Travel Map

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My Travel Map

I’m excited. I ran across a new way to keep track of the places I’ve been. A Travel Map! It was an impulse buy and I was prepared to hate it. I ordered it from a link on Facebook. Not the smartest thing to do but it looked really interesting. As followers of Aroundustyroads you know I periodically run through the states I been to and the ones I still need to visit. The original goal was to visit all 50 states. 

As my age has climbed and I repeat travels to my favorite states, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Hawaii to name a few, the odds that I have enough travel years left to get to all of them  has started to work against me.  

I needed someway other than a list to keep me on track. I’m a visual person so a map seemed like a good idea, especially one I can update neatly.

The Travel Map 

On a website called thunderbunnylabs.com I found a framed map of the United States. There are other maps too but I’m concentrating on domestic travel right now. The borders of the states are raised and you add pictures from each trip.  They even provide a template for the photos and a link to Walgreens to print your pictures.  

The map came really fast. I had it in only a couple of days which certainly put my mind at ease. It wasn’t a scam. I was even happier when I opened the package and saw the map.  

Of course I had to start adding pictures right away. 

A Work in Progress

The nearest Walgreens is only half a mile away so getting the pictures printed is quick and easy. I’m finding the hard part is picking the pictures to use. Since I travel alone a lot I’m not often in pictures. I’m more likely to be behind the camera so I gave up trying to find a useable picture with me in it. Oh I have some but not enough for every state. Then I have to be sure the picture I select can be manipulated to fit in the state outline. So far I’ve added Washington State, Arizona, Florida, Maine and New York. I just sent off another batch of photos so I can add more. 

This is fun. It brings back memories and when I have all the pictures added I’ll be able to see where I still need to go at a glance. Pretty cool, huh!