We first met in college in Honolulu – a mutual friend introduced us and we quickly became best friends. We ended up spending all of our time together before we realized there were some “more-than-friends” feelings there. We started dating in 2014 then eventually moved out to New York City together – now we’ve been together for almost 8 years!
We were living in Queens when Covid hit and, like a lot of others in the city, the anxiety of living in one of the first epicenters of the pandemic took a toll, even months after. Between the lockdown and constant stream of information we were consuming 24/7, we were feeling burnt out. We started looking for a safe way to get out of the city, away from all the people and concrete, where we could escape reality for a weekend. A Getaway checked all the boxes.
We set out for the Catskills with our pup, mostly excited to breathe some fresh air. When we got to our Getaway, we immediately realized this weekend was exactly what we needed. The entire experience was designed for us to disconnect, unplug, and be completely enveloped in nature – literally, we remember looking up and seeing nothing but trees and sky.
We found out that I’m a better fire starter, but my boyfriend is a better grill master so he was in charge of the mountain of food we brought along. We spent the weekend eating, drinking, playing games, exploring the nearby trails, taking far too many photos, and just absorbing the fact that we were in the middle of the woods where the nearest people were barely in sight. It was basically the exact opposite of NYC and the best kind of socially distanced vacation.
This pandemic has taught us a lot about the things that are really important to us, like being outdoors, taking moments to separate from the constant content, and cooking a meal together. This trip helped us to do all these things and more. Our advice to other couples looking at a Getaway is to really absorb the essence of staying in a tiny home in the woods – disconnect, unplug, and take some deep breaths. Oh, and just go ahead and bring that extra bottle of wine, you are on vacation after all!