We’ve had a stressful start to 2019. The government shutdown forced Kevin on “vacation” and threatened our family’s livelihood. I know we are not alone in this. I know many people had it much worse. Even so, I found myself overwhelmed and devastated by the potential loss of Kevin’s job. Needless to say, we were longing for a real vacation.
Just after the initial end of the shutdown Kevin made a passing comment about wishing we could just “pick up and go somewhere” for a trip, spur of the moment. That same week, our sweet neighbor suggested that she could watch the farm if we ever needed to get away. The wheels started turning for me. For the next 10 days, I searched AirBnB and VRBO and googled my way through all kinds of tiny vacations. We were out of vacation time and low on money so I needed to get creative.
Then one night I found it! Tiny cabin-like houses at a campground 3 hours from home. We could drive there, we could afford it, and (BONUS) the dogs could come along with us. I have a fascination with tin houses and this one had a heater so I was sold. (this is February in Virginia after all). Kevin loves to camp and I love to stay in fancy hotels or just stay home so you can see the dilemma. But this! This was a great solution.
We loaded up on Friday, picked O up early from school and headed to the mountains. After a slight hiccup (we never received our key code to get in the cabin), we were moving in sleeping bags and snuggling in for the night. The kids were thrilled and kept shouting “Best Day EVER!!” as they jumped around the tiny space. Eventually we all settled in and enjoyed our first night in the tiny cabin. It rained all night and all day Saturday until 4pm. We played games, watched movies, ready books, and just relaxed. When the rain finally broke, we took off for adventure. We wandered through the park and walked until the rain started again.
One more night in the cabin and then a short drive home. It was just what we needed. Our smartphones didn’t work and we were hemmed in by the rain. So we just spent time together and refilled our batteries. It’s always good to be home again but I think we will be heading back again this summer for another quick escape. Maybe a yurt this time?