A two hour escape from Atlanta, to a tiny cabin nestled in nature. What could be better?
Postcard Cabins Chattahoochee is our first location in the South, and home to our thoughtfully designed, wifi-free cabins that can help you disconnect from your day-to-day and reconnect to who and what really matters.
What to Expect From This Location
Our cabins are located within 2 hours of Atlanta, a drive towards the Chattahoochee National Forest, in scenic Suches, Georgia. Note that during your drive, you may experience times with no cell phone coverage so it’s always a good idea to have your directions with you in case that happens.
When you book your escape, you’ll receive a confirmation email with essential information. On the day of your reservation, you’ll receive a text in the morning with your cabin name, lock code number, and other helpful information to get you situated, like frequently asked questions.
Check in time is at 3PM, and you can drive straight into the location. Park in the designated area and walk right up to your cabin, punch in the lock code, and your tiny cabin will be ready for you.
While every tiny cabin is private, safe, and secure, you will see other cabins while you’re at Postcard Cabins Chattahoochee.
What’s in a Tiny Cabin at Postcard Cabins Chattahoochee
Our tiny cabins come with everything you need and nothing you don’t. Picture a queen bed (or bunk queens if you chose a cabin for 4), a kitchenette with mini-fridge and 2 burner stove, a bathroom with a toilet and shower, provision and firewood for purchase, an outdoor fire pit with grilling grate, and outdoor seating. If you bring a furry friend with you, we’ll also have a bowl for them, waste bags, an outdoor lead, and some treats.
What to Do at Our Cabins
There’s no need to stress about making an agenda, consider this a trip without an itinerary. You can read a book (we have a mini-library in each cabin), take a walk, go for a hike on the nearby Appalachian Trail, cook a meal over the campfire, or simply do nothing at all. It’s your time to spend exactly how you want it. If you do find yourself a little jittery at the prospect of doing nothing, we have an activity booklet in the cabin for you to work your way through.
What to Cook at Our Cabins
Guests love cooking over the campfire or in their cabins. We have single-use pour-over coffee for your mornings, and other easy to cook provisions available right in the cabin. You can also plan ahead and read our campfire cooking recipes here.
While Virginia-based photographer Leah MacDaniel specializes in wedding photography, she has always had a passion for landscape work as well. As part of our Artist Fellowship Program, Leah recently took to Getaway Shenandoah for some uninterrupted time with her camera.
Leah, who owns and operates Flit Photography, she starting taking photos after she inherited a set of antique 35mm film cameras from an aunt who passed away.
“For a long time, those cameras felt too special to use, so I kept them carefully packed away and dutifully moved them with me from place to place,” Leah said. “However, when I started my journey with minimalism, I decided that I could no longer hold onto these cameras just as a sentimental token – they either needed to be useful to me or they needed to find a new home.”
Once she took the cameras out for a spin, Leah started sneaking around at night to search for new places to photograph. She began experimenting with portraiture after one of her friends let her photograph them.
“I am a firm believer that every person should have at least one portrait of themselves that makes them feel amazing,” Leah said. “I would love to be able to use portraiture in an affirming way to help trans youth feel comfortable and beautiful.”
In the short term though, Leah’s been dreaming of photographing a styled bridal shoot in a swamp. First though, she’ll have to find a client with the same vision.
While Getaway allowed Leah to be both bored and uncomfortable, it also allowed her to grow and enjoy the space she needed to create. Leah frequently craves solitude in nature, so our Outpost was the perfect place to escape to.
“As an introvert, my internal batteries get drained pretty quickly,” Leah said. “I don’t have to do anything fancy. I just need a quiet space where I can be alone with my thoughts and tune in to what I really need.”
Interested in a creative break of your own? Escape today.
One of the best parts about escaping the city is taking things a little bit slower. Waking up as sunlight streams in, stretching, laying in bed and staring out the window, and cooking meals instead of grabbing takeout or ordering delivery.
DC-based food blogger Mattie Hanley headed out to our Outpost last month and made two recipes for breakfast which are “delicious, and also don’t need any kitchen gadgets so they’re easy to make in a kitchen away from home.” Utilizing some of the same ingredients across dishes makes for an easy shopping list before your trip, with some very tasty results.
Dive into her stuffed breakfast arepas and butternut squash and goat cheese shakshuka below.
Campfire Cooking: Stuffed Breakfast Arepas
Ingredients:
• 2 frozen arepas (the kind with Mozzarella recommended)
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado
• 6-8 strips of bacon
• crushed red pepper
Directions: Cook the bacon to desired crispiness in the provided frying pan (for crispy bacon, start with a cold pan, use medium heat, flip often). While the bacon cooks, halve the avocado and cut into slices. Once bacon is cooked, set aside on a paper towel lined plate, do not dump the bacon grease. While the pan is still hot crack two eggs directly into the bacon grease (this will get you a really nice fried and crispy edge on your eggs!). Cook to desired firmness. While the eggs are cooking, use the pot to cook the arepas. Drizzle some of the provided olive oil in the pot and place the arepas directly onto the bottom of the pot. Cook according to package or until golden brown on both sides. Assemble: arepa, avocado, bacon, egg. Season generously with crushed red pepper and the provided salt and pepper. Enjoy while hot.
Campfire Cooking: Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Shakshuka
Ingredients:
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato pasta sauce (fun flavors recommended, like mushroom or garlic)
• 4 eggs
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cups of diced butternut squash
• 1 4 oz pack of fresh goat cheese or 1/2 cup of feta
• 1 bunch of fresh parsley
• 1/2 lb of breakfast sausage or ground meat of your choice
Do a little at-home prep for this one. Since you don’t need a whole butternut squash, you can peel and dice the squash at home to cut down on prep time at the cabin and eliminate the need to bring leftovers home! Depending on how involved you want to make it, you could buy breakfast sausage and crumble it, or you could pre-make some kafta at home and bring it with you. You can find various kafta recipes online, but a simple version is ground beef (or equal parts ground beef and lamb) seasoned with generous amounts of dried parsley, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, cayenne or crushed red pepper, salt, pepper. The generously seasoned meat, and the spices in the tomato sauce will eliminate the need to bring your whole spice rack with you to the cabin.
Directions: Drizzle some of the provided olive oil in the pot and turn the heat up to medium. While that heats, dice the onion. Add the diced onion and diced butternut squash to the pot and let them soften for 2-3 minutes. Add whatever crumbled meat you chose. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook thoroughly. Dump in the whole jar of tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Use a spoon to make four “wells” in the sauce mixture, crack the eggs directly into the wells. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover with the lid. Monitor the eggs and watch closely until the whites turn white, be careful not to overcook the yolks. Garnish with more crushed red pepper, goat/feta cheese, and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Whip up these recipes and more on your next Getaway. Book an escape today.
Getting away should be about relaxing and recovering from hectic city life. Recharging doesn’t have to mean lying in bed all day- although it certainly can. Sometimes the best way to disconnect is by exercising and keeping yourself healthy.
We caught up with some fitness experts to ask them how they stay in shape when traveling. Whether you’re escaping to a cabin nestled in nature or you’re flying to a new city, these tips are great ways to put your mind at ease through fitness.
Tips for Staying Active on the Road
CorePower Instructor Calli Pappas says her favorite part about travel is time to focus on what makes her happy, so exercising is a must. Calli goes on walks or runs without any music or distractions. That way, she can get a feel for her new environment, while keeping herself fit. She says this routine, along with her mindfulness practices, keeps her grounded when she travels.
“I’ve always had a pretty strong and solid fitness routine, but I found something was missing,” Calli said. “It wasn’t until after college when I discovered yoga and then, overtime, meditation, among other mindfulness practices. Incorporating these practices into my lifestyle has helped to increase my overall awareness, intuition, gratitude, and overall quality of health and well-being.”
Calli recommends packing resistance bands and sliders on your next trip, so you can do a quick core and glute-strengthening exercise anywhere you go.
Personal Trainer Alicia McKenziealways scopes out the gyms, or lack thereof, before a trip and she makes an exercise plan before leaving.
Alicia loves making the most of what she has around her. She usually focuses on bodyweight exercises when she’s away from home. Her on-the-go fitness routine always includes running, air squats, lunges, burpees, and plank holds.
Fitness and Mindfulness
Fitness guru Aly Raymer does a little bit of everything. When she’s not working at B/SPOKE Studio or teaching yoga at Exhale Spa, she’s organizing wellness retreats.
“Mindfulness is the key to a fulfilling workout,” Aly said. “You must take care of both mind and body in order to really reap the benefits of fitness. You can workout all the time, eat all of the healthy things, but if you have a negative mindset or are totally disconnected for your body, it’s for naught.”
Aly loves exploring cycling studios in new places. When those are unavailable, she tries to go on walks and explore on foot, as well as use dance for exercise. Aly says it’s important to always listen to your body. Remember that it’s okay to use travel time to relax and recover from your frequent workouts.
The Light Phone is a divisive concept: it’s a beautiful phone that has all the sleek design and appeal of an iPhone, but features none of the intelligent capabilities of internet browsing, emails, or downloading apps.
Its purpose is to allow people to roam free, unfettered by the distractions of technology, but also to allow its users to be reachable by phone if needed. Ironically, this product was born out of an experimental Google incubator for designers. Brooklyn-based artist and designer Joe Hollier felt instructed by the program to “find a sticky idea, something users will get hooked using for hours a day, make it free so it can scale, collect data and sell advertising as revenue and package it together with a pretty bow.”
Joe thought to himself that the last thing the world needed was another smartphone app. Along with his co-founder Kaiwei Tang, who was in the same program and had a decade of experience with cell phones, the Light Phone was born. While The Light Phone was originally designed to be a second phone, the Light Phone II has a couple of added features, such as an alarm clock, making it conceivable (gasp) that we could all return to non-smartphones full-time.
Read on to learn more about Joe, his thoughts on work-life balance, on the noise of the internet, and where we are headed.
How did your program react to a product that inherently can’t have any apps? The reaction has always been pretty polarizing, which as an artist I love. There isn’t a lot of non-reaction, people tend to love it or hate it. In the program, there was a lot of initial skepticism for sure. The very real and deep conversations that arose from pitching what was at the time just a piece of plastic, some photoshop and a little imagination were powerful to me.
What occupies most of your time during the day? The short answer is The Light Phone. I spend most days at our office at NewLab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I’ll oversee customer service, interacting with a lot of our current and future users. I enjoy talking about the ideas that inspire the Light Phone with a variety of press outlets or other interested thinkers who cross our path. Designing the experience of the Light Phone II has been my main focus lately, which includes following the hardware and software engineering, lots of conference calls and required documentation, as well as lots of tinkering alone, sketching ideas and then presenting them for feedback with trusted friends and eventually to the engineers that make them real. I take lots of walks, either while on calls or preferably just to think. Walking is great for thinking. What occupies most of your time during the weekend? I never really had “weekends” before the Light Phone in that I never had a real job. They have become sacred to me now that I have a semi-9-to-5 feeling life these days. I do whatever I want on the weekends. I don’t always get weekends and that’s ok too. That’s certainly the toughest part of creating something of your own. What do you wish you had more time to do? Personal projects. The Light Phone is amazing and I feel truly lucky to be working on something I am passionate about, but I’m so used to much shorter projects, usually overlapping, covering a variety of my interests at a time so sometimes the idea of doing ANYTHING but thinking about Light Phone seems so much fun. The grass always seems greener.
The thing about the Light Phone, and maybe the whole “digital wellness/mindfulness movement”, is that there is not some magic pill that automatically creates balance in your life.
What do you wish you did less of? Blaming myself and taking full responsibility for any of the many large-scale problems of the world, typically overwhelming myself into hopelessness and paralyzation. What is your favorite non-digital activity? Drinking piña coladas. Do you use any technology or apps that help you balance your life? The thing about the Light Phone, and maybe the whole “digital wellness/mindfulness movement”, is that there is not some magic pill that automatically creates balance in your life. There’s no answer to your stress or problems, like almost every product claims to be. The Light Phone is an attempt to be the hard questions if anything. What will you do now that you don’t have your smartphone? How are you spending your life? It’s an initial withdrawal almost, but it hopes to be an existential reminder that we are responsible, and therefore in control of our lives. We can choose to find balance, which for me means finding and loving the healthy outlets I have for my anxiety often and to avoid the toxic parts of the internet world of narcissistic, click-baity, ad-driven feeds as much as possible. If you could have a day off to spend anywhere with anyone, what would you do? Hiking and camping with my lovely girlfriend Rachel. What would you pack in a suitcase if you had to live with only those items for the rest of your life? Camera, notebook, skateboard, laptop, headphones and my cat. I wouldn’t actually put her in a suitcase, but she’d make my list of things I can’t live without.
What do you think you’d be doing in a world without technology? I think in many ways, the same stress/struggles/pleasures/joys would exist similarly without technology, but maybe not to the overwhelming degree we currently experience. I imagine I’d be exploring what it means to be alive through storytelling, music and the other timeless arts that have always inspired me and everyone else prior to technology.
What will you do now that you don’t have your smartphone? How are you spending your life?
Who are your favorite writers? Kafka, Camus, David Foster Wallace, Noam Chomsky, Joan Didion, Richard Feynman, Oliver Sacks… in no particular order and apologies to the tons of other authors who have truly changed my life that were not mentioned. When and where are you happiest? Walking the Williamsburg bridge has been a solid go-to happy place since I moved to NYC about ten years ago.
How do you create balance in your life? Turn off and tune out often. Don’t take myself or the Light Phone too seriously. Laugh often, cry often. I need my regular outlets, playing music, skateboarding, painting, cameras, walking, camping, reading… Which living person do you most admire? I appreciate the ordinary heroes. Humble, hardworking, smiling folk. They inspire me.
What’s up next for you after Light project? I try not to think too much about it because I know how excited I can get thinking about the possibilities. I try to instead ask what can I do next with Light, this platform that I can’t take for granted. If I do think about it, I’m fascinated by the idea of having more physical space to create, play and live closer with nature. The idea of making a home. I’d like to be there sooner than later. I wish I could go to school forever. I’m happiest I think when I am in that student/learner mindset, but you can also get there when you’re in your studio too.
Interested in spending some time offline without a light phone? Book a Getaway with us— all cabins have landlines in case you need to really call someone.
In our fast-paced lives, it can be challenging to find time to connect with nature. Most people work long hours during the week, leaving only the weekends for relaxation and outdoor activities. However, taking a midweek escape to nature can be a refreshing and rejuvenating experience, providing numerous benefits for your mental and physical well-being.
Here are some of the reasons why you should carve out free time for a midweek escape to nature:
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Spending time in nature is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. The calming effect of nature can help you relax and unwind, allowing you to escape the pressures of everyday life. A midweek escape to nature can give you a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, providing a peaceful and serene environment for you to unwind and recharge.
Increases Creativity and Productivity
Studies have shown that spending time in nature can boost creativity and productivity. Being surrounded by natural beauty can stimulate your senses and inspire creative thinking. A midweek escape to nature can provide the perfect opportunity to disconnect from distractions and tap into your creative side, enabling you to return to work with a fresh perspective and renewed energy.
Enhances Physical Fitness
A midweek escape to nature can also provide an excellent opportunity for physical activity. Whether it’s hiking, biking, or simply walking, being active in nature can enhance your physical fitness and overall health. The fresh air and natural surroundings can also help you to breathe more deeply, improving your lung function and oxygen intake.
Improves Sleep Quality
The calming effect of nature can also improve sleep quality. Studies have shown that exposure to natural environments can reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, increase the duration of sleep, and improve the overall quality of sleep. A midweek escape to nature can provide a peaceful and quiet environment for you to get the rest you need, enabling you to return to work feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Boosts Immune System
Being in nature can also boost your immune system. Exposure to natural environments can increase the production of white blood cells, which are essential for fighting off infections and diseases. Spending time in nature can also reduce inflammation and lower stress hormones, further enhancing your immune system.
Provides a Sense of Connection
Spending time in nature can provide a sense of connection with the world around us. It can remind us of our place in the universe and our connection to all living things. A midweek escape to nature can provide the perfect opportunity to connect with the natural world and appreciate its beauty and wonder.
Taking a midweek escape to nature can provide numerous benefits for your mental and physical well-being. It can reduce stress and anxiety, boost creativity and productivity, enhance physical fitness, improve sleep quality, boost your immune system, and provide a sense of connection. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life, consider carving out some free time for a midweek escape to nature. You’ll be amazed at how refreshed and rejuvenated you’ll feel!
We met Leila Marchbanks, founder of A Book at the Table, back in June when she was nominated for our 100 Nights of Rest offering. As a team of book lovers, her passion spoke to us; as a brand striving to provide a safe space in nature for people of all backgrounds, her mission inspired us.
Leila started A Book at the Table to share her extensive research with educators and bring diverse literature to classrooms across the country. The mission is simple: every child deserves to see themselves and their complex interactions with the world in the books they read. Her language arts curriculum intentionally expands past the traditional protagonists and encourages kids to invest not only in their own unique experiences, but in the experiences of other people and cultures, too.
As kids head back to learning—whether it be in the physical classroom or virtually at home—here are two inclusive reading lists curated by A Book at the Table. The first is aimed at preK and kindergarten age, and the second is for 6th graders.
According to A Book at the Table, “If the titles reflect the diverse groups of people in the world around them, children can learn to respect not only their own cultural groups, but also the cultural groups of others. Multicultural children’s literature will help a child understand that despite our many differences, all people share common feelings and aspirations.”
The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson
We all feel like outsiders sometimes, but often when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
All About Families by Felicity Brooks
This glorious celebration of family diversity shows little children that families come in all shapes and sizes.
Listening with My Heart by Gabi Garcia
We talk to kids a lot about how to be friends to others, but not much about how to be friends to themselves.
I Am Enough by Grace Byers
This is a lyrical ode to loving who you are, respecting others, and being kind to one another. We are more than enough. We just need to believe it.
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
A story that teaches the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love one another.
Round is a Mooncake; A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong
A little girl’s neighborhood becomes a discovery ground of shapes. Many of the objects are Asian in origin, other universal.
Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
A blue crayon mistakenly labeled as “red” suffers an identity crisis in a book about being true to your inner self and following your own path.
Mary Wears What She Wants by Keith Negley
This bold, original picture book encourages readers to think for themselves while gently challenging gender and societal norms.
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns by Hena Kahn
A book that magnificently captures the world of Islam, celebrating its beauty and traditions for even the youngest readers.
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi
With bold art and thoughtful yet playful text, Antiracist Baby introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism.
For even more suggestions for preK and Kindergarten, see here.
6th Grade Reading List
According to A Book at the Table, “Sixth grade is a time of major growth and self-realization; a year of significant transition for students as they use the skills they have previously learned and apply them to more complex learning in deeper and more rigorous ways. Students improve their ability to make inferences, recognize underlying themes, and gain an understanding of figurative language. Novels studied in class need to reflect experiences of the students themselves to make an impact.”
This Is My America by Kim Johnson
Every week, seventeen-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X, asking them to help her father, an innocent Black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time. Then the unthinkable happens.
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
The story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself.
Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga
A lyrical novel about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States. This story is affirming and hopeful, exploring what it means to lose and find home, and most importantly, find yourself.
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
A celebration of the healing that can occur when a group of students share their feelings and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world. Together, they can grow braver and more ready for the rest of their lives.
Born A Crime (Young Readers Edition) by Trevor Noah
This fascinating memoir of The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah blends drama, comedy, and tragedy to depict the day-to-day trials in a country where racism barred Black people from social, educational, and economic opportunity.
The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
A powerful portrait of a boy teetering on the edge—of adolescence, of grief, of violence—and shows how Lolly’s inventive spirit helps him build a life with firm foundations and open doors.
Ivy Aberdeens Letter To The Word by Ashley Herring Blake
In the wake of a destructive tornado, one young girl develops feelings for another in this stunning, tender novel about emerging identity.
I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina
The first graphic novel for young readers to focus on police brutality. As in Hamlet, the play Alfonso is set to star in before his death, the dead shall speak—and the living yield even more surprises.
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone? A gripping novel about the mystery of one teenage girl’s disappearance and the traumatic effects of the truth.
The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Riviera
Set in the South Bronx, this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel explores dysfunctional families, the consequences of good and bad choices, and courage it takes to question everything you ever thought you wanted
For even more suggestions for 6th grade, see here.
Catskill local Megan Montenaro started her business, Relax It’s Flowers, to combine her love of flower arrangement with her focus on mindfulness. According to Megan, arranging flowers creates the perfect environment to focus all your energy on the present. Relax It’s Flowers offers 90-minute classes to learn just that. Megan unplugged and relaxed at our New York Outpost earlier this month. Now, she’s sharing one of her favorite mindful practices.
Learn to Listen: Your Mind (Heart, Blood Pressure, and Joints) Will Thank You
In the morning, do you reach for your phone and check email before you’re even fully awake? In the evening, do you fall asleep as you scroll through Instagram?
When you have to wait in a doctor’s office, for a friend who’s running late to your brunch, or for a meeting to start, do you fill these moments with mindless scrolling as opposed to mindful thinking?
If you answered yes to any – or all – of these, I have a hunch you would benefit from this wonderful listening exercise. I used to do this every morning, before I got out of bed. It would remind me that being mindful, in any situation, can shift aversion to indifference and you can control your reaction. I sadly stopped the practice a few months ago, but spending the night tucked away in the woods of Catskill, in the Eleanor cabin at Getaway, was the perfect time to begin again.
It doesn’t take long, no one will notice if you want to do this in public, and I promise it will help on many levels (just google “physical benefits of mindfulness” if you need more convincing).
Are you ready?
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and as you finish your exhale, begin to listen for 5 different sounds. At first you might hear nothing at all, or everything might blend together to form “noise.” Breathe again, relax, and keep listening. Don’t describe what you’re hearing. As soon as you identify a sound, move on to the next. Let the sounds come in and out of your ears, rising and falling, like waves in the ocean. If you get distracted and start thinking about what’s in your inbox – take another deep breath, feeling how it’s cold on the way in and warm on the way out.
Just listen. That’s all you have to do. When you reach 5 sounds, take a deep breath and begin again. This time, count only four different sounds. Do it again, but count three sounds. Then two. Now one.
What did you hear? Did you always hear the same sounds, and in the same order? Was one of them annoying at first, but then it didn’t even bother you? Did you even hear it anymore?
Being mindful is the exact opposite of multi-tasking. It is doing one thing at a time, on purpose and with purpose. If you’re doing that – in this case if you’re just listening – it should be impossible to do anything else, and your mind will be quiet. Only when your mind is quiet will you have the space to avoid automatic reactions and decisions made from a place of fear or panic. Soon you will find, the problem isn’t your problem, it’s your reaction to the problem that’s your problem.
The next time you have a few minutes and you find yourself reaching for your phone, don’t. Just listen.
For more info about Megan’s work, you can follow Relax It’s Flowers on Instagram or check out their website.
