House Guide

Welcome to our home! Below is some information to help make your stay comfortable. If you run into any issues that are not addressed below, you can reach out to the host directly. Gregory Hendler (804) 837-3835.

Directions to the Property

Sapphire Lane is located off Route 221, about halfway between downtown Blowing Rock and Linville. If you’re coming from the east it is about 10 miles from downtown Blowing Rock and
4.5 miles from the Holloway Mountain Road Blue Ridge Parkway entrance. When you see Pilot Ridge Road and a sign that says “Hopewell Baptist Church” on your left, the driveway is 2/10 a mile away on your left. If you are traveling from the west, it’s
5 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance at milepost 305.

Sapphire Lane is a steep driveway so please proceed slowly, and consider keeping your vehicle in low gear. The road has three homes, after about 1/8 mile the first house you see is 128, it’s easy distinguishable by the red metal roof. At this point the driveway splits in three, the middle driveway belonging to 128. Please do not take the left fork as it’s an old fire road and you will get stuck.

Parking

Our driveway is narrow and there is not much room for turning around. You can park your car next to the front porch and turn around at the end of the driveway when you’re ready to leave. Please be careful as the turn around is very tight. Alternatively, you can turn around where the driveway splits in three and if you have two cars you can park one at the split as well. Please do not block either of the neighbor’s driveway.

Access to Property

Open the gate to the front porch and you will see a lockbox attached to the post on your left. Enter the code 28605 and pull down on the latch to remove the house key. Please remember to replace the key when you leave.

Important Neighborhood Information – Please read

There are two neighbors, one immediately next door and another at the bottom of the fire road. They have a lot of dogs! This is a no-leash law county so the dogs will likely come on the property at some point and bark. Don’t worry, they are all friendly and we’ve never had any problems.

Both neighbors are really nice Appalachia mountain folk so please say hello if you see them.

Trash Disposal

There is no trash pickup so you must take everything with you. There’s a waste disposal facility on Route 221 five miles east of the house that is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Please do not leave trash outside, even on the enclosed porch. There are bears, coyotes and raccoons in the woods that can easily climb over the gate.

Heating and Cooling

The property stays cool during the summer with the windows open, but we have an air conditioning unit on the main level as well as the upstairs bedroom. The house cools off very quickly at night with the windows open.

In the winter, the house may be cold when you arrive but heats up really fast. There is a gas monitor heater in the basement that should already be turned on, but please adjust the temperature as needed. The monitor heater will warm-up the entire house. The gas fireplace on the main level keeps the top two floors very warm. If you don’t want to use the fireplace there are electric baseboard heaters as a backup.

Instructions for Lighting the Gas Fireplace

Hold down the Off and Flame Up buttons on the remote control to light the fireplace. It can take up to thirty seconds to light so please be patient. There are instructions on how to set the thermostat if you choose to do so. If you choose to leave the gas fireplace on at night we recommend using the lowest setting to avoid it getting too hot upstairs.

Deck and Patio

The house has folding chairs, and corn hole that we store on the front porch. Please take them out and enjoy! When you’ll leave you should put them away because it can get windy on the deck and they will end up in the yard. Binoculars are located in the kitchen area for signtseeing, and we have Giant Jenga in the buffet in the main living area.

Entertainment, Phone & Internet

We have VIASAT satellite internet that is good for texts, emails and web browsing, but not suitable for high-definition streaming. There are monthly data caps after which the speed is slowed during peak times, usually at night. It works best during the day and when the skies or clear. Sorry, but this is the only option where we live!

The password is on the fridge. Cellular service generally doesn’t work, but if you have a Smartphone then enable wifi calling and you can make calls over the internet. On Apple devices go to Settings, then Cellular, then flip the Wi-Fi calling switch to on. For Android phones go to Wi-Fi settings, select Wi-Fi preferences, select Advanced, select Wi-Fi calling and flip the switch to on.

The television in the basement has a digital antenna with a 150 mile range, so we get channels from Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh, Knoxville and more. We have all major television networks but no cable networks. There is a large DVD library in the basement and a DVD player. The basement cabinets also have board games. The television upstairs also has a DVD player and an old-school Nintendo module with all 620 original games!
You can try streaming Netflix or Hulu on the televisions but it doesn’t always work.

There is a portable Bluetooth speaker sitting on the buffet table that you can use anywhere in the house. The device will show up as SRS-XB3.

Backyard / Firepit

We have a firepit and outdoor seating in the backyard and firewood so feel free to use! There are lighters, matches and firestarters in the kitchen to get you started. The yard is fenced in so you don’t have to worry about dogs, bears or other wildlife. There is plenty of outdoor lighting with switches located next to the patio doors on the main level and next to the basement door.

Bathrooms, Kitchen and Grilling

The kitchen should have everything you need to cook, but if we’re missing anything please let us know. We usually leave some food in the Ikea cabinets and refrigerator so feel free to help yourself to anything. Please note we do not have a garbage disposal so please do not put food down the drain.

The barbecue grill is located on the deck and connected to the outside propane tank. You may need to turn on the gas valve which is located next to the grill near the base of the deck.

The water in the house comes from a spring at the top of the mountain and is among the purest you will find. Pressure may be slightly lower than a normal faucet so please don’t put too much paper in the toilets and no baby wipes please. There are fresh towels in the bathroom on the main level as well as a washer and dryer for doing laundry.