This past week, love and new beginnings transported me to the Pacific Northwest to attend and participate in a surprise engagement for my high school best friend, Victoria. Given that the engagement was on Friday, and I had to be back in Houston for Saturday, I decided to travel to Seattle a couple of days early to make my trip a bit more worthwhile. So that’s how I ended up on a Washington mountain top, alone, with no wifi, in a Getaway cabin. (Other lodging options were a hotel or Airbnb, *yawns* boring.)
I’m no stranger to solo travel. My first solo trip was back in 2018. I traveled to Scotland and Ireland for a 10 day excursion and had the time of my life. I had a second, life altering trip a few months later when I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah solo, via road trip. 22 hours one way. I’ll blog about these at another date but through these experiences, I’ve gained an understanding of how beneficial solo travel is for the soul.
Benefits of Solo Travel:
- Time with the self: to reflect, think, meditate
- Be in nature
- Unplug from external influences and go inward. This includes unplugging from influential voices in your life – the voice of family, friends, mentors
- Get to know yourself – what are your likes? Dislikes? Aspirations? Fears?
- Learn to enjoy your own company – if you don’t like spending time with you, how do you expect others to?
My life the past few months has moved at an accelerated pace. Between selling my first home and moving back into my childhood bedroom, and traveling to the East Coast for work, I haven’t had much of an opportunity to breathe or have a moment to myself. This transition phase of my life has completely thrown me off my morning routine, which is normally a non-negotiable staple to my day. I hadn’t done my morning routine since March – which means meditation has been a missing staple for the past few months. So not only had I been on the go, but I also hadn’t created the necessary space needed to balance the mental so that I won’t experience burnout.
I originally planned to work this trip.
I had it all figured out. I’d drive in Wednesday evening, awake early Thursday to attend my East Coast project meetings (5:30am PST), then spend what’s left of my day in nature. Great plan, right? What I instantly loved about the Getaway cabin experience is that once you arrive on the premises you are instantly pulled into the environment and atmosphere they set for you. In short, it’s nearly impossible to be on a different vibe than the one that is already set for the community, which is peace and solitude. After bringing all my luggage inside I took a seat to take in the pamphlets and personalized note that was left for me.
“…it’s nearly impossible to be on a different vibe than the one that is already set for the community, which is peace and solitude.”
The Getaway Guide was filled with “inspiration for your escape”. That’s right, they equip you with a list of things to do that are, you guessed it, not work! But at that time, I still wasn’t getting it. I initially thought “Oh cool, I’ll do this stuff when I finish work tomorrow!”, completely ignoring the second to last recommendation printed boldly on the front page:
“Disconnect from technology”
After skimming the Getaway guide, I pulled out my laptop to test connecting to WiFi and check the emails I’d missed traveling that day.
“No WiFi networks available”
Hmm. Then it hit me. “Oh y’all want me to getaway Getaway!” I could dig the concept, but I hadn’t planned for this! What about my meetings tomorrow? I already was out today, how will it look? Maybe I could find a Starbucks nearby but seeing as I was in the Washington mountains, the nearest coffee shop would be at least an hour away. After mentally exhausting all my options it finally clicked. Like, actually.
“Oh. I’m not supposed to work while I’m here.”
I got it. This was a special time specifically set aside for me to unplug. I’d been too busy and caught up in the flow of life to recognize that I needed a moment to slow down, unplug, and reset. So, life did it for me. Life took me on this amazing journey alone in the wilderness to unplug and get back in touch with me and the creative engine that drives me.
From this point forward I’ll spare the play by play but here’s the high notes about what I loved about the Getaway cabin experience:
- Nicely designed tiny cabin – large open windows on both sides of cabin makes space feel roomy. The space does not feel claustrophobic and the large feature window makes you feel like you’re sitting in the middle of the forest, while inside. It’s a true treehouse experience.
- The large feature window brightens up the cozy space. With the bed positioned directly parallel to the window it creates the perfect space for reading and cozying up with a great book (excellent addition to getting away). I read nearly 5 hours throughout the day because the window was so inviting. It practically begged me to snuggle up next to it with some of the recommended reading – Pic – “getting away book”
- Cabin resources for stay – fully equipped kitchen, wash towels and shower with hot water, flushing toilet
- GetAway book featured in cabin – this book truly equips you with the mindset needed to unplug and tap into the GetAway experience
- Cabin & community genuinely felt safe. Community rules encourage solitude. The energy of the space was designed for rest and rejuvenation. There was no room or space for chaos or busyness.
- Modern camping: “You mean I don’t need to chop my own wood?” (That’s right!) – fully equipped with everything you need to have the ultimate camping experience without all the extra effort/labor
- Met great people during my stay – while on a walk I ran into some friendly women on a walk. We hiked a trail together and had a game night playing cards back at their cabin. How fun! (Cindy, Madelyn)
What I didn’t like about GetAway experience:
- Nothing! As mentioned above, the experience was positive and helped me understand the need to getaway – I hope to have another Getaway experience soon.
“The digital age has left us unbalanced. We’re not just connected; we’re suffering from social and technological overload. We rarely experience the joy of solitude or the respite of nature. We’re always on, we never turn off.”
– Jon Staff, founder and ceo of getaway
My biggest takeaway from the getaway experience was understanding that mental balance can be achieved in our daily lives with the right practices in place. Getting away is about self care and being intentional about taking care of the mind. I can’t always escape to a cabin in a woods to getaway and clear my mind but I can build out life practices that help me unplug from tech and restore balance to my day. Recommendations from the Getaway book like “no technology while in motion” or establishing “no phone zones” in the home are ones I plan to incorporate into my daily life.
I left the Getaway house Friday morning with a free mind and a renewed spirit. The Getaway cabin was the perfect start to a beautiful weekend. Friday night progressed as planned and I was apart of a beautiful engagement for my dear friend and sister.
I shared this experience in hopes to inspire you to have a Getaway experience of your own. We all could use some “me” time.
With gratitude,
