Practically a Backyard Vacation

The Mr. had four days of vacation this week .. so we ventured less than 200 miles away; a mid-day start .. and at our destination by 4 PM.  Traveling with our special needs son AND staying in a hotel .. eating out .. and trying to take in a hike or state/national park are a bit much .. add driving and sitting in a car for hours on end .. and you have a bunch of cranky people.

This year we opted to rent a private cabin that was our little home away from home.  It had a full size kitchen, two bedrooms,

 great room, 1-1/4 baths, laundry room .. mud room .. and a wrap around porch, fire pit, hammock  ... Oh .. and lake/forest views. 

Two boxes of food supplies and a cooler were easily packed.  I brought my 12 inch cast iron skillet cuz I never travel without it (; 

For some reason, I really enjoyed cooking.  The Mr. helped by washing the dishes each night.  We watched movies, popped pop corn, drove to town and walked around a museum village .. even took a stroll along a riverbank.  The sun set about 9:45 PM .. so the extended sunlight made for some good reading on the wrap around porch.

Who needs a fancy vacation far away when you can practically have one in the backyard? 

This by far was a thrifty way to spend our days.  The rental was less than staying at a moderately priced hotel.  Bringing our own food saved us even more.  Our time at the cabin was more enjoyable than sitting around in a single hotel room.  This type of traveling will hopefully be repeated (often).