Needed to Getaway

I have been dealing with some mental health road blocks from past traumatic work experiences, and decided to seek professional help in March. My therapist had me in her office only once before the pandemic began and we have also done sessions online. I felt these past experiences were holding me back from further professional development and it was manifesting itself as chronic stress that affected me even in my personal time; But therapy has really been helping!

Due to the aforementioned roadblocks, I had been piling more and more on my plate trying to prove to myself, my peers, and my current boss (but mostly myself) that I was worthy of my role in the company and the praise I was already receiving. I was blurring the hours that would typically divide a normal work/life balance. Everyone else working from home seemed to make it more and more difficult to turn “off” from work mode and easier and easier to open up the laptop to answer “one last email” after dinner or over the weekend. I found myself almost relieved that the coronavirus cleared my social calendar because I honestly wasn’t sure how I could possibly balance social commitments at the same time. I have barely reached out to friends—-really only reciprocating when they called/texted me first. (it’s not you it’s me——ughhhh I know but it’s true!)

My grandfather who passed away last year was set to be finally interred alongside my grandmother at Arlington Cemetery on September 9th, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his interment was delayed until March. I already had requested 3 days off work after Labor Day weekend so I could travel to be in Northern Virginia with my family for the event, so I decided it was in my best interest to keep those days and getaway. (not a typo.)

One of my best friends and I had planned to go glamping in May for our birthdays (hers is late April, mine is Mid-May) but we had to cancel due to the Coronavirus pandemic. I still want to check out that place, but this same friend had previously visited a Getaway House in the Shenandoah Valley and the same company recently developed an “outpost” about an hour away from me in Navasota, TX. They have several locations around the country—-in areas about 1-2 hours outside of major cities making it relatively easy to escape for even just a couple of days.

So Nick and I packed up the pups and away we went!

Not without first making sure we had everything we needed. We knew we wanted to get out a little and hike, but we also just kinda wanted to laze around and completely “unplug”. So we packed a puzzle, yahtzee, several magazines, playing cards (click here to find the impressive Craft Brewery deck by Bicycle I got for my hubs a few years ago), a couple of books (I was reading Daughter of Molokai by Alan Brennert) plus plenty of snacks (we stopped by the Memorial Villages Farmers market the Saturday before). I even decided to order a gourmet s’mores kit on Etsy. I also brought some canned wine, and Nick of course, brought beer from a local brewery. You also can’t forget some camping basics like sunscreen and I found these cool mosquito-repelling wipes that really seemed to work!

The exterior of our “Getaway House” AKA tiny home for a few days, named Bernadette. Every tiny home comes equipped with a two-burner stove, mini-fridge, outdoor dining area with fire pit, queen bed, shower, and real flushable toilet.

One of the major bonuses of this kind of vacation during a pandemic is the contactless checkin. The name of our cabin and the access code were texted to us about 30 minutes before checkin. The information I received beforehand warned us that we may not have cell service and that they do not and will never have Wifi. And honestly that sounded just perfect.

This large picture window is honestly the major appeal. We could (and did!) lay there for hours just staring at the trees. Jules and Arya loved gazing out too while Nick and I lazed around and read in bed.

One of my favorite things was that we were able to bring the dogs! One small surcharge, and they also provided poo bags, an outdoor lead, and dog bowls. I also brought a collapsible bowl for them to take hiking with us.

Jules felt instantly at home.

There’s a small nature path right at the outpost, but also upon checkin a map was provided that listed some local attractions. Some friends of ours had gifted me a bottle of wine from Texas Star Winery a few months back and I was excited to check it out, but we didn’t do enough research beforehand and discovered it was closed while we were near. (Try the Prickly Pear!).

We took the pups with us to Washington on the Brazos—known as the Birthplace of Texas, this is definitely a familiar spot to native-born Texans. But for those of you not from around these parts, Texas signed their declaration of independence from Mexico here on March 2, 1836. Still celebrated today as “Go Texan!” day this day also typically signifies the beginning of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo each year.

Arya standing in front of the very building where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed.

The dogs are not permitted in any of the historical buildings, of course, but the walking trail was free to the public and dogs are welcome. After, we drove out to Chappell Hill Bakery and Deli—known for their famous sausages, but also offer solid barbecue, exceptional pies, plus kolaches, relishes, salsas, and other jarred items. That’s honestly about it for the adventuring we did. The rest of the time was spent taking in the scenery, snuggling each other and the pups, puzzling, reading, and cooking/eating.

The cabin comes equipped with a radio, a landline in case of emergency, a “library” with honestly perfect reading material (although we brought our own) and “provisions” for purchase. (salt, pepper, olive oil, sugar, and creamer were complimentary). They also had a cute little handout with a campfire ghost-story ad-lib, soduku, and a few other little activities and crayons!

I have honestly become obsessed with these puzzles. The brand only works with female artists, and they are beautifully packaged. Plus the puzzle itself is matte—glossy pieces can reflect too much light and become frustrating, and each piece has that satisfying perfect fit so you know with certainty if you’ve accidentally put a piece in the wrong spot. (Not an ad- these opinions are my own and not sponsored in any way)

The only complaint I have is the mis-communication about the ability to cook outdoors. There was a burn ban in effect, which of course is not Getaway’s fault and something I wan to take seriously—however, on their website it said if a burn ban was in effect cooking outdoors in the fire pit would not be permitted. Makes total sense. But then on a confirmation email, it said specifically wood was not allowed to be burned in the pit but charcoal was ok. I reached out to clarify and was told that charcoal was also not permitted in the fire pit but I could bring a portable grill (which we do not have). I had been excited to make campfire cobbler with Nick, among other things and was a little bummed. But I planned our menu around what we could cook inside instead. Then the same day as check-in I got a text that said in no uncertain terms that charcoal was permitted in the fire pit, just not wood. Le sigh.

All in all, it was a lovely experience and was very very much-needed.

I’m kind of starting to think it could be fun to do over Thanksgiving when it’s a little cooler and perhaps other friends/couples we know could stay in neighboring getaway homes at the outpost? Any takers? I’ll make the campfire cobbler…