Sanctuary Found - Where Butterflies Dance and Dreams Take Flight...

Leaving Home Early Morning

Life has an incredible way of whispering directions - sometimes through morning coffee revelations, sometimes through butterfly wings outside your window. What is your soul trying to tell you today? For me, it's usually pointing toward the next delightful discovery...

Before I go any further, I’ve had so many people asking after Pumpkin, our big, beautiful, rather chubby, orange cat, I thought it best to let you know what he’s up to now💕

Before Pumpkin was the inn cat, he was my barn cat, living on our horse farm, where he roamed wherever he pleased. Although he loved his job as the inn greeter, his heart belongs on a farm. With our unpredictable schedule and the fact that we were planning to spend considerable amounts of time travelling in the RV, it would have been extremely unfair to have expected Pumpkin to fit in with our new agile lifestyle. I was rather freaked out at the thought of losing him at some random gas station on pulling in to fill up. Enter two of our life’s blessings…. Susie and Raymond, friends that visited us often at the Atlantic Inn. Susie and Raymond stayed with us the week before we were due to move out of the inn and, on seeing that I was super concerned about Pumpkin’s ability to adapt to the travelling life, like the incredible people they are, offered to take Pumpkin home with them, to live on their family farm. It was a huge and extremely emotional decision for me to make, but I had to do what was in Pumpkin’s best interests… and I knew in my heart that he would be deliriously happy living on Susie and Raymond's family farm, a place where he could feel like he was the King he thought he was, and would get so much love and attention from not only Susie and Raymond, but also their grandson! We of course have “visitation rights” any time we feel the need for some Pumpkin time! On seeing the great pics that Susie sends me, I can see that he is one very, very happy big cat!

Pumpkin took his role as Inn Greeter very seriously!

Farm Beginnings back in 2013.....Pumpkin along with his awesome mouse catching sister Munchkin and Bailey the chubby puppy

Now it's time for a proper update, especially since I left you hanging about that Earl Scruggs Bluegrass Festival weekend at TIEC! Although bluegrass wasn't a music genre John and I were particularly familiar with, we decided we absolutely had to check it out - and oh my goodness, what an incredible experience it turned out to be!

Bluegrass Magic at TIEC

The entire resort was transformed into a weekend-long musical celebration with multiple stages featuring everything from impromptu jamming sessions to large evening sets with headlining bands - and everything you could imagine in between! Every single piece of accommodation on-site was booked solid: hotels, cabins, RV spaces, and they even had areas set up for tent camping. The entire place was absolutely alive with bluegrass music and culture.

What struck me most was the sense of community - strangers would start playing together, families gathered around stages with their picnic blankets, and the music just seemed to weave everyone together into this beautiful tapestry of shared joy. By the end of the weekend, I found myself genuinely appreciating this genre I'd never really explored before.  

So just a few days after that musical weekend, there we were with the "keys" to our new home base - well actually, door codes, since there were no traditional keys!

Nikki Sauve our awesome realtor

It was still difficult to believe we'd found our perfect place so quickly, although for anyone who knows me well, this won't come as a major surprise. When something feels absolutely right to me, I have this habit of just going for it - whether it's a home, a job, a horse, or that spontaneous trip to Iceland! 😊

In fact, this particular trait has been the driving force behind so many of my adventures, including writing a book - an idea that quickly morphed into a much larger project that I'm absolutely bursting to share with you soon!

But for now, let's talk about our delightful new place. Unlike our previous homes - it's not a sprawling horse farm with acreage or a century-old inn with decades of history - it's simply a cute little house with a character all its own. And you know what? That's exactly what we needed. With a few personalized changes, it's going to be the perfect home base for our adventures.

I honestly can't imagine buying or renting a home that would be completely in tune with my taste right from the start (which is best described as a tad eclectic and most definitely cozy!!) Homes are so deeply personal, unique to the people living in them, and I believe changes need to be made to reflect our personalities and make spaces truly our own.

There are some absolutely delightful features that drew us to this place immediately. We have this lovely large front porch, that's looking a bit bare right now, but trust me, it won't stay that way for long! (I'm already plotting comfy furniture, some plants, a porch swing and maybe even a small water feature!)

Our bare porch.....but not for long!

Right next to the porch is the most spectacular butterfly bush I've ever seen - I could seriously watch it for hours as multitudes of incredibly beautiful butterflies flutter around and through its branches. It's like having nature's own entertainment center right outside our front door!

The Butterfly bush is simply covered in these beautiful creatures

To the back of the house, there's a wonderful sunroom overlooking the yard, completely surrounded by towering trees with nothing but gorgeous greenery as far as the eye can see. Like the front porch, it’s also a tad bare at the moment, but that's about to change this week when some new furniture and rugs arrive. It's so peaceful and private - the perfect spot for my early morning coffee or evening wine....and yes we've done both!

Bodie quickly claimed his spot in the sunroom

But here's my absolute favorite part of the property: the separate little carriage house attached to the garage! It currently has two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom, and guess what - this is going to be my new Sanctuary and creative headquarters!

One bedroom is already morphing into my office/study/command center for my writing and business ventures. Although I'm using a makeshift desk and chair until my own furniture comes up from Hatteras. The other bedroom will keep a bed for when special friends come to visit, but it has enough space left over to serve as my meditation and yoga area. Having that small kitchen right next to my office means an endless supply of coffee and snacks when I need sustenance, because when I get a little caught up in my writing… time has no meaning, and I forget to eat 🍕

The best part? Since this building is separate from the main house, it creates this lovely courtyard effect, and I can completely sequester myself there to work on my next book... or two! (Yes, you read that right – there’s more than one in the works!)

My new Sanctuary

Although still a tad makeshift.....it's already my Sanctuary 💕

Like me, Bodie is a little water person and loves the sound of my tiny waterfall 💕

So apart from multiple trips to hardware and furniture stores, what have we gotten up to since we last spoke? Well, quite a lot actually!

Our new home being just minutes from Hwy 74 is absolutely awesome - it gives us this perfect gateway to reach so many different places. Often, we'll have no plans, just a sudden desire to explore somewhere new, and off we go!

Highway 74 - Our Travel Gateway

One of those spontaneous adventures last week took us to the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area. As frequent visitors to that region whenever we'd come to Tryon in the past, we'd been wanting to return to these incredible places, especially since we hadn't had the opportunity to visit since Hurricane Helene devastated the region.

John and I had actually been up to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure just three weeks before the hurricane hit, so we knew intimately what these places had looked like before the storm. It's only about 15 miles from our new home - a simply beautiful 20-25 minute drive up through some winding mountain roads with spectacular scenery.

Although incredible work has been accomplished in the past 12 months since the catastrophic flooding, it was still quite a shock to see some of the devastating damage, particularly in Chimney Rock. It was both heartbreaking to witness the obvious destruction of what had been a picture-perfect mountain town, but also deeply inspirational to see what the community and the wonderful people supporting it, have been able to accomplish in rebuilding and recovery in such a short time.

Where Mother Nature carved a new path

In Chimney Rock some businesses have been able to reopen and are welcoming visitors back to this resilient little town, while others are still in the painstaking process of rebuilding.

Some of these businesses are actually the ones currently set up temporarily at TIEC in the WNC Main Street area that I mentioned in my previous blog.

WNC Main Street, Tryon International Equestrian Center

When it came time for a spot of lunch, we happened to know of a fantastic pizza place…. “La Strada at Lake Lure”, and we certainly weren’t disappointed - the food was excellent! However, looking out over the lowered water level of the lake, which had been drawn down to enable the cleanup process, served as a stark reminder of the damage Hurricane Helene had inflicted. Where water used to lap along the edges of the beach, there is currently waist high grass, homes that had docks reaching into the beautiful Lake Lure waters, are now sitting high and dry, just waiting silently for the waters to return. From what I’ve read recently, the town of Lake Lure has a timeline of May 2026 for the lake waters to be back to their normal level.

La Strada at Lake Lure

I took two profound lessons from our trip to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. First was a reminder of the awe-inspiring power of Mother Nature - the way those churning floodwaters had carved through the landscape was absolutely jaw-dropping. The second was a beautiful reminder of the resilience and community spirit of the human heart - that no matter how devastating a situation may be, we can always find the will and the way to come together and make things better.

If you're planning a fall trip to the mountains, please consider visiting these incredible North Carolina mountain communities. The scenery is simply stunning, and the warm welcome you’ll receive from these wonderful villages and towns is absolutely worth the journey!

We seem to cram a lot into our days at the moment, but honestly, it doesn't feel overwhelming - we just take each day as it comes, always ready and open for another adventure. Here are some delightful discoveries we made this past week:

-Tuesday night is trivia night at The Silver Spoon Saloon at TIEC   

No, we didn't compete in the Star Wars trivia (there were some folks there who most definitely knew their Star Wars stuff!). I’m just sorry I missed the Harry Potter trivia quiz - I think I might actually have had a fighting chance at that one!

-We discovered we're literally 15-20 minutes from the South Carolina border

So, what better way to experience South Carolinian hospitality than to pop down to Landrum for breakfast at “Southern Manners” – Wow, is all I can say about this delightful place! The breakfast was phenomenal, the coffee delicious, and the service outstanding. They even have a couple of incredible little shops - one filled with fresh baked goods (I could feel the pounds finding my hips!), fresh meats, eggs, and all manner of delicious local foods. The other is more of a gift shop, which John had to practically steer me away from before I did some serious damage with my credit card!

-We attended the Harmon Classics Pink Day Show

This event included the "Jump for Hope" hunter derby, that honors the memory of an incredible horsewoman Megan O’Brien, who sadly lost her battle with breast cancer last year. It was a wonderful, moving event with TIEC absolutely buzzing with horses, competitors, and spectators all enjoying themselves. Even the flag entrance to the complex flew pink flags in support - it was beautiful to witness such a meaningful tribute!

-And of course, there are my morning walks with Bodie...

Met this little chap

We're still very much in the moving process - all our belongings currently in storage down on Hatteras Island won't be moved up here until the end of the month. Combined with some immediate projects we want to tackle around the house; it'll probably be a couple of months before we venture out on the road for any extended periods.

For now, we're planning shorter exploration trips to discover more of these gorgeous surrounding mountain towns. We might pop over to Tennessee (which is incredibly easy, since we're only 50 or so miles from the state line!), explore more of South Carolina, and of course Virginia. And can I just say how excited I am about driving the Blue Ridge Parkway as soon as the leaves start their fall transformation. One of the beauties of living here is that it's such an easy drive to visit the Parkway multiple times as the colors change throughout the season.

I am so looking forward to fall this year! I really did miss experiencing the magnificence of autumn trees and foliage during our island years. Already I'm dreaming of lazy Sundays by our stone fireplace (did I mention we have a gorgeous stone fireplace?), curled up with one of my favorite books, a mug of hot chocolate in hand, watching the leaves dance outside our windows. Simply blissful!

Another of my new cozy coffee spots.... 🍵

But I have digressed a tad, as usual! Let me give you an update on the book project I've been mentioning. The manuscript is completed with just some final edits to be done - I can hardly believe it myself! Obviously, all work on the book, and everything associated with it was put on hold while we prepared to sell the inn, moved off the island, and found our new home. But now, apart from time spent settling in and taking those short exploration trips, much of my time will be devoted to bringing this project to life.

Over the next week or so I'm hoping to finalize the website design and creation, which will serve as the landing spot for all activities related to this exciting new venture…and as soon as this is completed, I’ll be more than happy to share with you🥰.

Along with the new website, there will be a separate blog from this one. Yes, you read that right - there will be two separate blogs! I know that might sound a bit confusing, but there are very good reasons for this approach.

"Restless Adventures" (what you're reading now) will remain primarily a touchpoint for those interested in following John, Bodie, and my travel and life adventures - what we're up to, where we're going, where we've been, lots of photos, and all the fun details as we write new chapters in our life story.

The other blog will be completely devoted to my book project and the larger vision that's grown from it. I know I'm being a bit mysterious about all this, but hopefully some of you will find it worth the wait. I've got the initial blog written, and I'm even trying my hand at recording a podcast to go with it...and with my quirky Scottish accent (or as John prefers to call it, my demented Scottish pixie accent), this could be challenging!!!

For now, I'm savoring these early days in our new mountain sanctuary, watching the butterflies dance outside my window, discovering hidden gems in our new community, and feeling incredibly grateful for how, so far, everything has fallen into place. Sometimes the universe has the most wonderful way of delivering exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.

Until the next Restless Adventure, keep dreaming, keep exploring, and keep saying yes to the unknown.

With love and hugs from my little tree-wrapped Sanctuary,

Pam, John & Bodie 💕💕💕

P.S. – Did I mention that I’ve just landed an awesome little job at TIEC? Well, I’ll just have to tell you all about it next time 😉