Have Dog, Will Drive

This past weekend Grace and I took Willie on his first getaway with us! As you can see from the photo above, Lambchop of course had to come too. (Read my Meet Willie post to learn about his baby Lammy, haha!)

This weekend was really special in a lot of ways. It's a first and a last: first road trip with Willie, and last weekend getaway before leaving on our month-long road trip to Alaska. It was also our first getaway since Casper died. The weekend felt full-circle in many senses; to me this sweet time together was our redemption song after the heartbreak we experienced the last time we took a trip. Summer is normally my favorite season, but this one has been marked by loss and has just been a difficult season for many reasons. But summer is almost over. And I have seen time and time again that joy comes in the morning.

The setting for this lovely weekend away was a little town called Corralitos, California. It is in the mountains slightly inland from Santa Cruz, which is just south of San Francisco. We rented a cabin made of river rocks that was nestled in a grove of Redwood trees. It came with its own heated soaking tub and wide front porch overlooking the mountains. The interior was small and cozy but had all the amenities. I would recommend it in a heartbeat (linked above). This was also our first experience using the website GlampingHub, and we liked it! It honestly didn't feel different from renting an Airbnb. A lot of the listings on GlampingHub fall more on the camping side of things, but this one was not. Given that we had electricity, TV, running water, and a roof over our heads, I wouldn't really call this glamping--it was more of a vacation rental. Which was totally fine with us :)

We had originally planned to venture into Santa Cruz, check out the beach, and do some sightseeing during the weekend. But once we got to our destination, we just didn't want to leave. The road coming in was navigable but a little bumpy, and we decided it would be a lot more relaxing to stay at the cabin for the whole weekend. I'm so glad we did.

We played about 15 games of Scrabble, napped, enjoyed the soaking tub, ate well, and talked and dreamed about our upcoming Alaska road trip. Over fresh caprese salads and local peaches one afternoon, we brainstormed packing lists and planned our last to-do items before the trip.

As much as it pains me to say it, Grace insisted that I include in this blog post that she was the overall Scrabble champion of the weekend.

A little stone pathway led down from the house to a wooden soaking tub overlooking the mountains

This might seem like just a pretty picture, but there's a story behind it. One of my best friends, Caroline, gave me a beautiful bottle of rosé for my birthday this year. I brought the bottle with me on our Joshua Tree getaway, but I never got a cha… — This might seem like just a pretty picture, but there's a story behind it. One of my best friends, Caroline, gave me a beautiful bottle of rosé for my birthday this year. I brought the bottle with me on our Joshua Tree getaway, but I never got a chance to drink it because Casper died that day. Bringing the bottle with me to the redwoods and sipping it in such a beautiful setting, with Willie waiting for us in the house, was another full-circle moment.

Another really nice thing about the cabin was that it had a piano! Grace has an amazing ear for music and can pick out most tunes on piano or guitar. Some of my favorite memories from the weekend are me cooking dinner while Grace played us music (she brought her guitar, too).

For food, I brought a big cooler of stuff and cooked most of our meals. The cabin had an adorable, old fashioned gas stove. The first night, we decided to order in pizza from Big J's in Corralitos, which amazingly delivered up the tiny mountain road to the cabin. We LOVED it and would highly recommend it. On the way into town on Friday, we also stopped at the Corralitos Market and Sausage Company, where we picked up some fresh produce, seafood, and locally-made ice cream.

We loved this getaway. While we didn't "do" much, just getting away from it all was heavenly. Also, the much cooler temperatures in the mountains were so lovely compared with the heat waves that have been plaguing LA. On Sunday morning I woke up to walk Willie, and we were literally walking through a cloud. Even at 8 or 9am, fog shrouded the cabin and surrounding trees, making it so cozy and atmospheric.

Thanks for reading! One last photo--Willie's request.

The question I get most often after a weekend trip with Grace and Casper is: how do you find places to camp that are actually nice and not crowded/gross? Today I want to share what we've learned over a few years of getaways at different price points, distances from home, levels of rustic-ness, etc.

I have found that there are a few key questions you should ask yourself before planning a getaway, whether a year in advance or the day before leaving:

How far are you willing to drive?
What's the budget? Consider fuel cost here as well; a 6-hour trip each way will likely require at least a couple of tanks of gas
Special requirements? Such as: pet friendly; accessible; parking available nearby; kitchen or grill included?
How much do you want to rough it? Camping, glamping, or a more traditional hotel/home rental experience?
How lucky are you? Do you want to risk a walk-in only campsite, or for peace of mind, do you want to have a reservation in advance?
Finally, what gear do you have available? Do you need a tent/sleeping mat, or is that included with the rental?

Below, I am going to talk about my top tips for planning an amazing getaway on a variety of budgets and advance planning time. Overall, I hope this post encourages you that it IS possible to plan a great getaway a week or less in advance, and also inspires you to consider the incredible one-of-a-kind destinations you can experience if you plan a little further out.

Camping a couple of years ago in California wine country

Regular Old Tent Camping

This is the first type of camping or getaway that Grace and I did together, and it's still a favorite. Most campsites are government-owned and can be reserved through reserveamerica.com and recreation.gov. Some states (such as Utah, I recently learned) have their own version that's pretty easy to find. The biggest tip and resource I can offer regarding government campsites is to check out campsitephotos.com. On that site, you can see a picture of every campsite at any government campground! So for instance, if you see site #62 on the campground map and you think it looks good, you can go to campsitephotos.com and see whether it's actually nice or offers shade, etc. Also, most campgrounds have a Yelp and/or TripAdvisor review page (a lot of people think it's just hotels and restaurants!). If you're thinking about booking a campsite, I recommend searching within the reviews for the word "site." In my experience, this usually brings up a ton of reviews like "Site #21 is the biggest!" or "Avoid Site #10, it's right beside the restrooms." I have found some great sites within a campground by searching reviews.

Pros of camping at a campground: very cheap (almost always under $50, sometimes as low as $15/night); amenities such as restrooms, water, and firewood are usually provided; rangers and campsite hosts are around if that makes you feel better about safety.

Cons: sometimes crowded and some sites are better than others; you may sacrifice privacy; often fill up fast and it can be nearly impossible to snag a last minute site.

"Glamping" Using Private Land and Rentals

This category is the sweet spot that is probably Grace's and my favorite overall. We use two main websites to find private land to camp on and rustic cabins, treehouses, vintage trailers, etc.: Airbnb and Hipcamp. Many people I talk to think that Airbnb offers only houses and apartments to rent, but it actually has a decent amount of private campsites and more rustic accommodations! Tip for finding them: put in your preferred location and dates (along with any other filters such as Pets Allowed) into the Airbnb search function. Then click the box for "entire home/apartment" and lower the maximum price to $100-$200. This tends to pull up more rustic options as well as raw land to camp on. We have found some really cool places using this tool.

Hipcamp is lesser-known and often has last-minute availability. Quick example: a couple of days ago, Grace's friend from work (hi, Norma, if you're reading!) asked Grace for advice on planning a trip to Joshua Tree for Memorial Day weekend, which is only one week away. She would also be bringing her dog on this trip. Joshua Tree is an incredibly popular destination in Southern California, especially for a holiday weekend. Almost everything seemed booked. Enter Hipcamp--there were several places available within a mile or two of the park gates! In my experience, it's always possible to figure out something if you have the desire to get out of town and a willingness to try something non-traditional.

I recently found out about another website called GlampingHub, and I have also been wanting to try VRBO and HomeAway. If anyone has experience with these sites, I'd love to hear about it!

The adorable living room of an Airbnb we rented a couple of years ago in Joshua Tree.

More Traditional Hotel/Home Rentals

Sometimes you just need the comforts of a hotel and all its amenities. Exhibit A:

Relaxing at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa was heavenly after several days of camping prior.

As much as camping and getting out into nature is our thing, it is nice to treat yourself to something a little more luxurious every once in a while. It's especially fun when you can stay somewhere that combines being close to nature with access to a comfortable bed and all the amenities. For these places, a little more advance planning is usually necessary. Believe it or not, I booked some of the spots for our Alaska road trip a whole year in advance! Below I have listed a few examples of this type of accommodation (both hotels and home rentals) that we have enjoyed in the past or would like to go one day.

A few places we've stayed and enjoyed: Ojai Valley Inn and Spa; Hotel Cote Vert (a little hillside country hotel in Waterloo, Belgium); this home rental in the San Bernardino hills; and this home rental outside Yosemite

Places I have booked and am excited to visit in the coming months: home rentals in Joshua Tree; Helena, Montana; Anchorage, Alaska; Portland, Oregon; and Berkeley, California (my Airbnb upcoming trips list is stacked, haha!); Opus Hotel in Vancouver; and this adorable cabin in the wild Yukon Territory in Canada

Places I dream of staying one day: this Airstream in the Malibu moutains; the Resort at Paws Up in Montana; Double Eagle Resort in June Lake, California; L'Auberge de Sedona in Arizona; and Sundance Resort in Utah (all dog friendly!)

Best of luck planning your next getaway! As always, feel free to leave a comment or use my Contact page--I'd love to hear where you're going next!

Grace and I are going camping in Big Bear, California, this weekend--stay tuned for an update next week :)