Weekend Getaway Retreat

I'm completely smitten with the little hideaway we found on HomeAway! If you were to talk to me in person about our weekend trip this week, you would certainly hear excitement come through in my voice. It was completely perfect in all the ways that I was hoping. It was isolated, in the woods, charming, simple, and close enough to home that if Hubster was called in to work, we could have driven separately. We were also close enough to a few small cities for gas stations and grocery stores when we needed them.

The cabin's backyard!!!!

To give you an idea of our seclusion, the dirt driveway that took us back to the nestled cabin itself was 1/2 mile long. Oh yes! And one night, the road and ditches were lined with deer galore.

The property came with a grass airport landing strip, which we were allowed to roam, and miles' worth of walking trails. Ponds, abandoned buildings, assorted birds, animal tracks, deer trails and all kinds of things greeted us on our hikes.

abandoned outbuilding

The cabin itself was the cutest little log cabin. We slept up in the queen-sized bed in the loft while Peanut camped out on the pull-out couch. We had a small kitchen at our disposal and a little bathroom. Just enough creature comforts while still feeling like we were truly getting away from it all. Just imagine the smell of bacon and eggs on the hot plate every morning...

View up to the loft

Loft ladder

Our queen-sized bed and skylight

Cutest little rustic details

Small cabin kitchen

Even the 12WBT series that I'm participating in had many recipes that were suitable for microwave or hot plate cooking, which was all we had, and all we needed. Turkey dogs, sandwiches and eggs with mushrooms were on the menu and completely 12WBT approved--and approved by my guys!

I soaked up hot chocolate and woodpecker watching on our balcony...I mean seriously, a balcony off of our loft bedroom! Can we get any closer to heaven?

Can you spy our two little birdie friends? I was laughing

watching them play through the birch trees like teenagers.

We even had a little screened-in side porch with a fireplace, grill and table that seemed so ideal for a summer barbecue. We didn't bother getting the fireplace going though. We just kept toasty warm with the space heaters inside the main living area.

Although it's easy to grumble about the lack of Wifi in this day and age, I was happy to be completely unplugged. Even though I don't spend a whole lot of time on social media and surfing the web, aside from work-related stuff, I do feel so replenished from not constantly thinking about what I should be accomplishing or uploading or taking care of online.

Bright spots of color in a leaf-less forest

We had a little flatscreen TV with a handful of channels, but we hooked up Peanut's protable DVD player and snuggled in for a few movies each night, then bedded down with our books until it was light's out. So peaceful. Soooo what I needed.

The owners live on the same property as the cabin, but they were great hosts and not imposing whatsoever. It really felt like we had the place to ourselves, but that they were nearby in case we needed anything, which was quite reassuring.

They also had a small jungle gym and the most adorable play treehouse with toys in it that Peanut was allowed to soak up.

This boy sure enjoyed the place

Sunday, Peanut and I were up by 5:30, so we took in the sunrise together, wrapped up in a knit vintage blanket.

Backyard sunrise

This past weekend was Hubster's birthday weekend, so we were celebrating him along with building upon our own fall family tradition. I explained a little last year about this tradition. As a kid, we used to go to a big family reunion at a cabin in the woods with all the food you could ever want in the world--turkey, ham, fish, mashed potatoes, and every other side you can think of. We would walk the trails and peek into the abandoned trailers and campers on the property. I remember the leaves were always changing and the cacophony of colors could make a person cry, they were so beautiful. Those weekends were hands down the best memories I have from childhood, so warm, so full of love, so relaxing. Due to family illness and other things, the reunions stopped one year and that was it. I miss that so badly!

Celebratory birthday spirits

Then, I thought, I can either be all "those were the days" nostalgic about the past or create my own family tradition to carry on since this was something I knew my heart really needed. Hence, the fall getaway weekend was born. This little hideaway nearly replicates those reunions with its rustic charm, tucked away location, room to roam, captivating scenery and relaxation factor. This year, I think we found our landing spot!

I have not edited this photo in any way. Gorgeous!

Small weekend trips have always been enough to completely recharge me, and this trip was no exception. We have no more travel plans until long after the holidays, but I plan to do a lot more of these small getaways next year.

If you'd like to read about how we travel so often on a budget, check out this post. I think I would add a bullet point about trying sites like HomeAway too for a good deal.

How was your weekend? Do you have any longings for the woods like I do?