When the Accommodation IS the Destination
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-”
…took the one that led to THIS amazing cabin!
VRBO listing here
95% of my trip planning looks like this:
Step 1. Decide where we want to go
Step 2. Book an accommodation in that area
This time I did the exact opposite. I scanned the listings on Airbnb and Vrbo within about a 6 hr radius from our home (the distance we were willing to drive) to find an accommodation that was an experience in itself. I didn’t care where it was located because, if it was truly awesome, we probably weren’t going to leave the house until it was time to check out anyway.
We ended up in the most unlikely spot: The Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Drone shot. Our cabin is on the right.
A global pandemic is the perfect time to make the accommodation the destination. Chances are that as we close in on one year of seeing the same people day in and day out, in the same space (that feels tinier then it ever has before), you and your family are probably ready to mix things up a bit.
But I get it. Planning a trip can be a daunting task. Will there be enough activities open to really make the trip worth it? Even if there are, do we feel safe doing them? Does wearing a mask on vacation really feel like vacation?
Renting an awesome space is the perfect solution for breaking up the monotony and not having to stress about Covid exposure.
Ahhh…
Our first cabin was the quintessential cozy cabin with huge log beams and a beautiful wood-burning fireplace. And honestly, the coziness of the place probably would have been enough to delight our two boys, but the fact that there was ALSO an indoor swimming pool, hot tub, sauna and tiki bar...well, that officially put this stay at the top of their list.
They were little prunes at the end of the day!
Parent tip: If you book an incredible cabin, don’t show the kids any pictures ahead of time. I snuck in the house a couple of minutes early under the guise of “taking photos” before they cluttered up the place, so I was ready to capture their stunned faces -followed by shrills of delight - when they discovered that “THERE IS A POOOOOOL IN THE CABIN!!!!!” Trust me, the secret is so worth it.
Whitman crafted a “mocktail” menu for the family. He is obsessed with tiki bars!
The second place was an industrial design (open concept, reclaimed materials, concrete floors) near Rapid River, Michigan on Little Bay de Noc. Our children weren’t as initially enamored. It’s funny what ‘industrial’ looks like to kids: “chicken coops,” “rusty,” “old,” but the disco ball and HUGE pool in the adjacent barn won them over. They actually ended up declaring this their favorite stay “because of all the fun we had together.”
Industrial barn style = lots of great spots for hide-and-go-seek!
View from the sauna…
We found two amazing cabins within a couple hours of each other in northern Michigan, but you can, of course, do this search anywhere and for a shorter distance. Maybe the house doesn’t have an indoor pool, but there is an amazing sunroom streaming in natural light, or it has bunk beds built into the wall that your kids will go crazy over, or there’s an outdoor hot tub where you can sip wine and watch the sunset. Honestly, ANYTHING that isn’t home might be just what you need right now.
So pack up some special snacks and groceries, grab a few board games and just escape the routine. Shop around for that perfect quarantine house! Even if it’s only yours for the weekend.
Not our typical Wednesday ❤️
***If you don’t already have an account with Airbnb, sign up using this link to get $50 off your first booking!