Travel Experiences with Jeff Barganier:

Travel Experiences with Jeff and Cindy Barganier Out of Africa

If you have a weak stomach, don’t eat a big meal immediately before negotiating the hairpin curves over the mountain to Cashiers, North Carolina. But before enduring that drive, Cindy and I go ahead and stop at Cupboard Café in Dillard, Georgia for lunch. This friendly country café is located along Highway 441 North and serves a little bit of everything. It’s one of the few restaurants I know of that can satisfy my occasional craving for liver and onions.

Cindy found a 2-bedroom cabin on Cashiers Lake via VRBO. The sky is deep blue today and so is the water. At elevation 3,481 feet, tucked in scenic mountains, Cashiers Lake is aquatic tranquility flanked by upscale cabins on one side and shops/ dining on the other. I love that our rental is a short drive—even an easy walk—to the Town of Cashiers, one of our favorite getaways. After the 300-mile drive and hot lunch at Cupboard Café, our most pressing objective is a nap! Our typical Highlands Craftsman cabin proves to be the perfect place for a snooze, featuring a stacked stone fireplace, quirky handcrafted bannisters and railings from dark tree branches. White-washed board and batten walls exude an easy elegance and make the pine floors pop. A vaulted ceiling and exposed beams accentuate the fireplace, either side of which are French doors leading to an attractive screened porch with comfortable seating. The best part of all, the house is surrounded by glorious, serene woods. It’s all so…soporific (sleep-inducing).

After our nap, we drive to the local Ingles Market and stock up for the weekend, then return to the cabin and search for firewood. One would think the proprietor of a nice joint like this would have a stack of split, slow-burning oak supplied. Instead, we find a note directing us to get our own! Fortunately, the woods are loaded with dry wood from downed trees. I gather a supply that I can “break.” The cabin doesn’t come with an axe either. Nor did I think to bring one. While Cindy cooks a pizza and finds the Hallmark Channel on the big-screen TV, I get busy employing novel methods of breaking dead limbs and creating an awesome fire. The balance of the evening is pure bliss.

Cashiers Lake

Next morning finds me sleeping late. But Cindy arises at the crack of dawn and snaps photos of the stunning sunrise through the woods. This morning, we’re anxious to see the renovations at High Hampton Resort just down the road from Cashiers Lake. High Hampton has been our favorite getaway for years. But we can no longer justify its rates. We are, however, interested in seeing what new management has changed. Blackberry Farm bought it. See my “anniversary surprise” 2010 feature on Blackberry Farm at: BlackberryFarm.pdf (cindybarganier.com).

We turn onto the resort property and approach the guardhouse. That’s one big change. Didn’t used to be one. Cindy sweet-talks the young man stationed there into arranging a tour for us. He steps inside and makes a phone call then smiles and waves us through. We drive up to the lodge where a young lady greets and shows us around.

“So, what does it cost to stay here now,” I ask. But it’s apparent my question is tabu as she offers to connect us with Reservations rather than directly addressed rates. I sense it’s one of those situations where, if you have to ask, you’re not a suitable prospective guest. So, I politely decline. To their credit, over-the-top service is ubiquitous. You’re not allowed to touch a doorknob here anymore. The dining room has been beautifully upgraded as have been the lodge bathrooms. They’ve added three new restaurants and the golf course has been overhauled. But, at least for us, the atmosphere seems less family oriented and more snooty couples’ retreat. Cindy has questions: “Do y’all still have the stick-horse races for the children after dinner in front of a roaring fire?” Our hostess shakes her head...no. “How about the annual 4th of July teddy bear picnics on the lawn?” Again, she responds they do not. “So, all of these cherished family traditions are gone?” The young lady nods and makes a sad face. C’est la vie. We depart High Hampton with sadness and drive back to Cashiers Lake, stopping at Rustics Antiques. Rustics is tucked on the edge of the lake with several other small businesses, including a stylish lady’s apparel shop. I follow behind Cindy who’s saying, “Photo that chair, photo that table, photo that bench, photo that console, photo that lamp, photo that mirror...” Afterward, we stroll along the lake beneath the trees where we meet a couple up from Atlanta who’ve rented a cabin near ours. “We’re loving this place. It’s just so quiet and peaceful,” they say. A little farther along, acquaintances get more interesting. Cindy and I encounter a delightful and interesting young couple, Alastair and Laura Lamont, on an outing with their children. They live in Cashiers now but met in South Africa where she was with the Peace Corps and he was a swashbuckling adventurer exploring the veld in his Series III Land Rover. (Sounds like a great Hallmark movie to me.) Alastair is big fellow from South Africa who looks like he might be able to take down a water buffalo bare-handed. And he happens to be a real live safari consultant. Oh, yeah. What a BOOM! feature that would make, Jim Watkins. Hint, hint. Be sure and check out Alastair’s awesome

Jeff and Cindy at website at:

High Hampton Resort

www.AfricaAwaitsUs.com. Until next time, see you in Johannesburg?

Jeff attempting to break wood Alastair and Laura Lamont. Alastair is from South Africa who happens to be a safari consultant

Jeff S. Barganier is a novelist, travel writer and manager of Cindy Barganier Interiors LLC. He travels far and wide upon the slightest excuse for something interesting to write about. Contact: Jeffbarganier@knology.net. Instagram: @jeffbarganier. Visit: www.jeffbarganier.com.