Thursday, September 3, 2009

Fall and Winter on the Mountain




As the days and nights have become cooler, I've begun to look forward to a colorful fall and at least one good snow this winter. This has been a good summer, temperature wise at least, not too hot. The rain has been scant, though. But autumn is the best for weather. Fall up on Lookout usually means some crisp nights and invigorating days with deep blue skys and light breezes. The Cottages in the Clouds is the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful fall color and weather. It close enough to Chattanooga (just 25 minutes to downtown) to partake of all the wonderful activities in the city and its just far enough up and away to be a great retreat. It's a wonderful get-away, just not too far away. Make your reservations soon. October, Thanksgiving and Christmas are booking up now.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Advertising

Finding the right advertising for our property has been the most challenging part of running this business. The offers are numerous and some are more expensive than I believe valuable. I had a call today wanting me to purchase the service of providing the "best" words to put us on the front page of a google or yahoo search. If this can be done, why can't I do it for myself? If any one knows how, let me know. In the mean time, the salesman mentioned phrases like, "Chattanooga vacation rentals", " Chattanooga Cabins", "family reunions in Chattanooga",
"corporate retreats in Chattanooga", "weddings in Chattanooga". Maybe putting them in this blog will help.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Wedding at the Cottages, almost

The plan was a good one. Plan A: Small wedding in front of the gazebo. Reception set up by the fire pit. Friday evening at 7 pm. The grounds and cottages were spruced up, pollen washed away, sticks and rocks raked up, and grass cut. The tiki torches filled and ready to light. Then the RAIN started. Not just a little drizzle, but a blustery deluge starting early in the morning and continuing through out the day, off and on. Every once in a while a break would come and the thought that Plan A would work out. If not, Plan B: try to fit the wedding party on the porch of Dogwood Cottage and the wedding party inside- or visa versa. As we pondered the green, yellow and even red on the doppler radar (thank you Weather Channel), we decided that our friends needed a Plan C: Water Wheel Barn. Stan made the call to offer this option. Our friends accepted (I'm sure with a sense of relief) and we set out to get the barn ready for the happy event. More pollen to face. After dusting, sweeping, spraying off the decks, wiping down the kitchen and bathrooms and making up the beds, we were ready. The sisters and a dear friend of the groom arrived and began to set up for the wedding around 5:30 pm. They loaded down the large kitchen table with a lovely spread for the recepton and bows were hung above the french doors where the wedding would happen. Festivities started around 7pm. Just one small hiccup when the minister was lost on the trip from the cottages to our farm. The ceremony was quite personal and very touching, the message brought was inspiring. The reception was enjoyed by all as old friends visited together and new friends became aquainted. Congrats and best wishes to Will and Amy Garret as they begin their new marriage. May they always feel they joy that we shared with them on Friday evening.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Power Outage- No problem











The huge storm that came across the mountain last week caused a large number of trees to fall, some across the power lines over on the west brow. The resulting power outage at our cottages lasted several days. Fortunately only one cottage was occupied at the time, but we had to find a place for our guests. Good thing we have a barn. But its not just any barn. Nice living quarters above our stables. It was really a treat to get to meet and even spend time with our visitors. I even took the parents, Ernie, 84, and Marcy, 80, down to our creek on our golf cart. Several bought some of my pottery (see http://www.waterwheeldesigns.blogspot.com/) and they all agreed that the power outage had been a happy turn of events. They stayed on the rest of their week long visit in our barn rather than going back to the cottages.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Mapquest link for Cottages in the Clouds

Our address is listed as 5266 Lookout Mountain Scenic Hwy, Rising Fawn, GA 30738. We are not in the town of Rising Fawn, GA, but our mail comes our of that post office.

To find our cottages on an internet map try http://www.mapquest.com/mq/10-70MfylFt


Another link is from google map. at

http://www.empowermint.com/Maps.aspx?HotelIDs=4842

Saturday, March 14, 2009

COTTAGES IN THE CLOUDS


























For those of you planing to visit the Chattanooga area and wanting to stay in unique lodging, I recommend our "Cottages in the Clouds". These are 5 log-sided cottages up on Lookout Mountain, a great get-away but not too far away. We are about 25 minutes from downtown Chattanooga and a short drive to the attractions on Lookout like Rock City, Ruby Falls, The Incline Railway, Cloudland Canyon State Park, Lookout Mtn Flight Park, and the Canyon Grill (great food). Chattanooga has much to offer- see http://www.chattanoogafun.com/ . Our cottages has either 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and are fully furnished.

MAPLE COTTAGE











Maple Cottage is one of our 3 bedroom/ 2 bath cottages in the Cottages in the Clouds. Downstairs are 2 queen bedrooms,(linens furnished) living room, eat-in kitchen, full bath and laundry closet. Upstairs is a king bedroom, full bath and small loft over-looking living room. In the living room you will find a tv (DISH Network), dvd/vcr, cd player, gas log fireplace, and sleeper sofa. The kitchen is fully furnished with standard size appliances, pots & pans, dishes, glasses, etc. The door out from the kitchen leads to the back covered porch with a hot tub and gas grill. Maple has the comforts of home just a short drive from the beautiful and energetic

Friday, March 13, 2009

OLD HICKORY
















Old Hickory is one of our three bedroom / 2 bath cottages in our Cottages in the Clouds. The living room, dining, and kitchen are in the main room downstairs where there is a TV on Dish Network, VCR/DVD player, CD player, queen bed sleeper sofa, fully furnished kitchen and dining area. There is one queen bedroom downstairs and one queen and one king bedroom upstairs. There is a laundry room and full bath downstairs and a full bath upstairs. The front porch has a gas grill and overlooks the pond. You can call for availability and rates which are based on the number of visitors. We take cash, cashiers checks, money orders, VISA, Mastercard, and Discover. Our number is 706-820-9400 or my cell 423-593-2586

DOGWOOD COTTAGE







Dogwood Cottage is our 4 bedroom/ 2 bath cottage located in the Cottages in the Clouds. On the front porch which overlooks the play yard, you can relax on the bench or enjoy to bubbling water of the hot tub. The first floor of Dogwood has a great room with living area, dining area, and kitchen, plus a bedroom with king bed, a full bath and laundry closet. On the covered back porch is a gas grill. The living room has a TV with DISH Network, a dvd/vcr player and a cd player, and a gas log fireplace. The sofa unfolds into a queen sleeper sofa. Upstairs are three bedrooms, 2 queen and 1 king and a full bath. All linens are furnished but you should bring extras to use with the hot tub. The kitchen is furnished with full size appliances, pots, pans, dishes, glasses, etc. There is always at least 1 full roll of paper towels and several of toilet paper to start you out.