Seven

Our stay at Greenleaf State Park was as relaxing and restorative as usual, despite issues with Cabin 11 that we did not have last year.

This was our second year in Cabin 11, which we had wanted because it is all the way at the end of the main cabin area road, up along the back row, around a loop, so there would presumably be less traffic or people going by.

Because of where it sits on the back of that loop, it has a large "front yard" with a drop off down to the main cabin road, and, nicest of all, it has a view of the lake (over the top of the cabin down below).

The only real traffic we get in that cabin is people on bikes going around the loop, and bypassing the parked cars, or people thinking that the loop goes through, when it's actually just access for two cabins, and our cars are parked there, so they pull up, and have to turn around.

Anyway, there was in insect infestation this year. The bugs looked like small cock roaches, and there were some kind of tiny things (termites?) INSIDE the microwave.

By INSIDE, I mean you could see them behind the glass in the digital display, back lit by the numbers.  *shudder*  Fortunately, they weren't in the cooking compartment, which we only used to warm up left overs on Friday.

Also, the fridge makes constant rattling noises, so it has to be turned off at night; there is a loose tile behind the sink that the roaches are behind; the ceiling has been covered with ugly, white-painted plywood (which was there last year) that is now stained from a leaky roof; most of the windows are missing screens,  and the wasps that nest under the eaves come buzzing in; and the "comfy chair" is broken.

We don't remember it being that poorly maintained last year.  All we remember was that the chair was broken.  I need to go back and read my blog post from last year to refresh my memory.

This was our sixth year going to Greenleaf, and we have spent two years in each of the cabins we have had, Cabin 6 (the tiny one), Cabin 13 (the really big one), and Cabin 11.

This year, there were FAR more people in the park than we have ever seen before, but it was fine. They were well behaved!

One thing that was a bit alarming was the sweet little gray cat, who we named "Graystar" because she has a white star on her chest.

She and her strikingly striped baby live under a stone outcrop behind Cabin 7.  We named the baby Seven.

This gray cat was dumped in the park by someone.  She is sweet, affectionate, and quite obviously an abandoned house cat who was never fixed.

(Last year, it was a yellow lab someone had dumped, who was constantly running frantically through the park, looking for his family.  The staff said he'd been there for weeks.)

Graystar came to visit us as we were packing in, and again as we were packing out, and we went to visit her and Seven at their place a few times, too.... Graystar really appreciated the left over turkey we shared with her.

She is still nursing, and Seven appeared to be 6 to 8 months old.  We got a little glimpse of the kitten's "back end," and surmise that Seven is female.

We discussed how we could possibly take them home, and could not come up with a plan.  We would have to get them to the free spay neuter clinic 4 hours away before 7:30 am on Saturday, OR let them go in the back yard, in the CITY, and hope that they didn't get killed by the existing feral tribe or a car.  Not knowing what diseases or bugs they might carry, we could not bring them into our house.

Nope.

3 hours in a car with terrified cats stuffed into boxes would have been unacceptable for everyone concerned, so we left them there.

They have shelter, and they have PLENTY of game to hunt.

As we were visiting the kitties one time, the maintenance crew was in Cabin 7 (they had been working on the TV in #8, so they were looking at how the TV in #7 was set up), which had been empty all weekend.

We asked if we could see the inside, and they let us come in.

We liked it a LOT better than Cabin 11 on the inside.  One thing that is better is that it has counter space, newer appliances, a newer shower stall,  but the biggest deal is that it has an OPEN FIREPLACE, as opposed to an insert.

There are only two cabins with open fireplaces.  The other one is Cabin 13, our all time favorite, but #13 is far more expensive, being down the hill and having a water view, an enclosed front porch, and being among the largest cabins.

The bad thing about the insert fireplaces is that they are supposed to have glass doors, so you can see your fire, but they were installed in the 1930s and most of the glass has been replaced with metal (#11 has one glass door, and one metal.).   If you don't close the doors, the cabin can get quite smokey.

Cabin 6, the other cabin we have been in with an insert, does NOT tend to fill with smoke, so there's something imperfect about the way the Cabin 11 fireplace draft works, because it FILLS with smoke.

We have to keep the entrance door and the windows open while getting the fire going.

We had a lot of trouble with that last year and this year, and, and add to that the bugs, and the other things that are wrong with Cabin 11, we inquired about Cabin 7 for next year, and GOT IT!

It IS right on the main road, so there will be traffic like there was in Cabin 6 next door, but, once everyone is checked in, the traffic mostly stops, so we can put up with it in order to have a nicer interior.

There used to be a big family who would rent Cabins 5, 7, and 8.  They would walk back and forth between cabins a lot, especially on Thanksgiving day, but they have not been there since 2015, so we probably will be FINE in terms of people going by.

Last year, we HAD thought that we would keep #11 from now on, but after this year, no way.

We handed a list to the lady at the desk when we checked out.  I doubt seriously that it went any further than the trash can.

She just said "gosh, sorry," and that she hoped we'd come back.  It was then that we told her we'd been coming for many years (ALL of the staff was new to us this year), and wanted to inquire about a different cabin for next year.

She was probably thinking "it's a cabin in the woods, what do you want?"

Well, we want it to be as nice, clean, and well maintained as it always has been!  We pay for that!!!

On the way home, we stopped at the Cherokee Heritage Museum, and took the 1700s village tour.  It was really cool!  Unfortunately, the art museum area was empty.

Anyway, we have today to get errands done, and for me to cook a little bit.  Must get in the shower and get myself motivated!!