My husband and my birthdays are 3 days apart, and to celebrate this year we decided to pack our bags and spend the weekend at the Getaway House with a few of our closest friends.

If you have never heard of the Getaway House, picture a tiny house 2 hours away (at the most), on a secluded campsite, designed to encourage rest and relaxation while “unplugging from the daily hustle to focus on ourselves, our relationships, and the wonder of nature.”

Currently living in Pittsburgh, our a Getaway House was only 45 minutes away and was very close to Beaver Creek State Park. Coming off the COVID-19 stay at home orders, we probably paid a bit of a premium, but it was well worth the cost to spend Friday and Saturday evening in the outdoors with our friends.

Now on to the details, once you book, you will receive an email that outlines the following:

• the address of the cabins,
• the check- in (3pm), check-out (11am) times,
• what each cabin includes,
• add-on provisions (s’mores kits, children’s outdoor exploration kits, or celebration kits),
• nearby grocery stores, cafes, parks, and hiking trails, and FAQs. 

One week prior to your trip you will receive another email, as well as a text message. The text message outlines check in details and opens a dialogue for any question you may have.

On the day of check in, Getaway will provide you with a map of the neighborhood, tell you which cabin you are assigned to and provide you with the code for the keyless entry.

Getaway house offers single and double cabins, and even allows you to bring your pets for a $40 fee.

Our Getaway neighborhood had 36 cabins and while the cabins seemed to be close together, you hardly heard or noticed any of your neighbors.

The campsites and houses are equipped with everything you could need; a bonfire with grill grates, firewood (for purchase), Adirondack chairs, a picnic table, a two-burner stovetop, cookware, snacks, running/ drinking water and of course a bed with a view! The houses are built for packing light and appeal to both the traditional camper and those who might prefer more of a “glamping” experience.

My husband, Kevin, and our friend, Stephen, are known for over-doing it (only in the best of ways), so naturally we overpacked our camping equipment- most of which just took up extra space in the car because the house already had it.

The cabin was smaller than what I had pictured but was not too small by any means.

Outside of the essential coolers full of beers, drinks, and groceries, three of the main things we were thankful we brought were: our fire sticks, our cast- iron pans, and our hammocks.

Dinner on Friday was Hot Dogs and Hamburgers over the bonfire; hot dogs on the fire sticks and hamburgers in the cast iron. While dessert was roasted marshmallows and s’mores. Getaway had gifted us a S’more’s kit, which was definitely a treat! We spent most of the night talking by the fire and playing cards via lantern light at the picnic table.

We slept in Saturday Morning, but when we did finally wake up, we took in the views of the outdoors while laying in bed. Eventually, we got up and enjoyed our coffees and tea by the morning campfire, which was now heating the cast iron to cook our bacon. Kevin was also scrambling eggs in the cabin so we could all enjoy some Texas style breakfast tacos, YUM!

During the day we walked the nature trail around the cabins, then headed to Beaver Creek State Park to hike 4 miles on the Vondergreen Trail. Despite getting a bit lost trying to find the trailhead, we all agreed that it was a very nice park and decided it was worth another trip in the future.

After our hike, we headed back to the cabin and made lunch. We had a typical camping style lunch of turkey and ham or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with chips and potato salad. Stephen claimed that his Cajun turkey and maple ham sandwich was one of his favorite meals ever.

By this time, it was early afternoon and we were ready for a nap; therefore, we set up our hammocks and took some time to ourselves. We weren’t the only campers who had this idea, so I highly recommend buying a hammock if you don’t already have one.

For dinner Saturday night we had steak and chicken fajitas with a side of corn on the cob. I’m not sure how Stephen’s favorite meal remained the sandwich he had for lunch because, once again, Kevin knocked those fajitas out of the park! We brought all the fixins and enjoyed some more s’mores for dessert ;).

We went to bed earlier on Saturday so that we could wake up early and enjoy the last of the experience in the morning, before we headed home.

The checkout process was quite simple; they asked that you don’t leave any trash outside, that you clean up any dishes that you used, and that you lock the door on your way out. We cleaned up, packed our bags, took our last few pictures and hit the road.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to Get Away? If so, you can in these locations:

Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, San Antonio and Washington DC.