Happy Fall, mi gente! We are right smack dab in the thick of this glorious season, my favorite season, and I thought que it’s time to share con ustedes my pick for a perfect Autumn getaway: A cabin in the woods! Ya se, I’m not the first person to suggest this idea, but that doesn’t make it any less rad. In these crazy times, vacays can and should be seen como una forma de selfcare… and because our travel options are limited these days, a secluded retreat can be an excellent option.
Especialmente if that retreat is nestled in the woods, or in the mountains, or by a lake.
The last of which is what we chose last month when we spent a week in Anderson, South Carolina right on the shores of Lake Hartwell. Fue una maravilla. It was the right choice, because well… Fall, views, nature, hiking, intentional family time, and best of all—- NO OTHER PEOPLE! 🙂 Still not convinced? Allow me to share with you, through the lens of mi experiencia on Lake Hartwell, why I think a cabin retreat is the ideal Fall trip! And maybe, just maybe, I’ll convince you to book one of your own! Órale pues!
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the Autumn tree.”
-Emily Bronte
I Do What I Want
On a typical day, my to-do list is hella long. I hate that I’m a slave to it, pero asi es mi vida… busy. So when I finally get vacation time nowadays, the only thing I wanna do is nothing. “Nothing” could be any number of fun and relaxing activities, the trick es que they stay “optional”.
When I vacay, I DO WHAT I WANT… and it’s downright delicious. No hay “have -tos” on a cabin getaway; that’s the beauty of it. During our October trip, I spent my time sitting and watching the leaves fall off the branches con mi amor by my side.
I took long solitary walks around our adorable Airbnb and it’s surrounding woods. I did yoga cada mañana, and fell asleep during shavasana because I was just THAT relaxed! HA! I even started AND completed a Golden Girl’s puzzle. WINNING! Lo importante, is that I enjoyed shutting off the world and just doing lo que me dio la gana (whatever I felt like). That right there is what getaways are all about.
What is your go-to activity when you finally get the chance to do whatever you want?
“El Otoño es una segunda primavera, cuando cada hoja es un flor.”
-Albert Camus
Lake Hartwell, SC
Tengo una confesion! This city girl loves a good cabin getaway. I am scared to death of wild animales, but the views and serenity just can’t be beat! I mean, we have tried to retreat to into a secluded spot in nature at least once a year (like when we went to the Olympic National Forest), pero we had never stayed on a lake before this trip. It was algo diferente, but the good kind of different. There’s just something about being by the water, amiright?
Lake Hartwell itself is HUGE! Tiene como 87 Square miles of lake front and its South Carolina’s north-western gem, with hundreds of boaters and tourists coming to visit every yr.
I know why now; it’s beautiful!
Surrounded with lush evergreens, peppered with cute little isolated islands, and bursting with vibrant colors (orange clay, bright blue water, red and yellow leaves). We saw people, I mean, por supuesto we did, but there was enough lake to go around and no one got within 50 feet of us the whole time we were there. Whether it was in our own neighborhood area or whether we spent the day at the lake via Sadler’s Creek State Park, we were pretty much left to our own devices.
Es un lugar ideal; it’s really an ideal spot for a getaway, guys. The town of Anderson is nearby y es super charming, with lots of good food options, and if you wanna hit up an even bigger city, Asheville is only 2 hours away. Definitely don’t sleep on Lake Hartwell!
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
Lauren Destefano
All things FALL
El Otoño is the best season que hay. I’ll fight anyone on this! HA! No, seriously though, Fall is the only season I get giddy about. Autumn brings with it cooler weather, glorious leaves in every color, pumpkin spice lattes, fun fashion options, and a slew of “breaks” that you can use to escape normal life! It’s fantastic! But I will say, Fall en Florida can be lame in a big way… so we travel to other places to appreciate the season fully. Our little cabaña en el bosque gave us all the vibes we were searching for last month.
The weather was 50 degrees and crisp- perfect for a campfire and smores. Maple leaves were littered all over the ground, providing us with con una excusa perfecta to jump and crunch as much as we wanted. And pumpkin patches, scarecrows, and corn mazes hit us in all the Fall feels. Es una cosa to witness the changing of the seasons from your suburban home…. or not to notice it at all because you are too busy. Es otra cosa entera, to be in the midst of nature and watch it unfold.
It’s soul stirring. At least, I think so. That’s why I try to get away every year at this time, so I can just stop and experience it…with all 5 senses.
Do you love Autumn too? What’s your favorite part? Where do you like to enjoy it best?
“Let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater.”
-The Neighbourhood
Sweater Weather
Fall = style! There’s nothing better for me than when the temperature drops and long sleeves can return to my life! When sweaters and jackets make their yearly debut, when jeans can be worn without perspiration, and when boots get dusted off and shined! El Otoño es mágico, if for no other reason than the fact that we get to look FRESH again! Haha.
En serio though, it may sound so trivial or even vain, but it’s more than that. Its a beautiful thing when you have the option to express yourself in the clothes you WANT to wear and not the clothes you HAVE to wear due to oppressive heat. Es el tiempo when your style options are limitless… because its not too hot or too cold. I’ll admit, I took full advantage of this fact during our Fall vacay, and so did the niños.
We were stoked to select outfits every single day; it was actually FUN to get ready. Obvio, we didn’t get dressed to the nines to lay around our cabin (that would’ve been overkill), but we did bust out our dope jackets, our cheetah print wedges, and our cozy sweaters for the occasion. We relished every single minute of Autumn style before we had to return to the FL heat. It was short-lived, but DAMN we looked good!:)
What’s your favorite article of clothing to bust out in the Fall?
“In the quiet moments, the discoveries are made.”
-Vera Farmiga
Moments of Solitude
As I get older, travel changes for me. It used to be about sightseeing, first and foremost, y more and more over los anos, I feel it shifting to be about self care… renewal… refreshing my soul. No se porque, but I bet it has to do with life moving so quickly these days. I travel for my mental health. Asi es. I actually wrote a previous blog post highlighting this point, check it out!
A trip to the mountains, or to the lake can be wonderful for solitude… for self care. It shuts off all of outside noise and leaves you still for long enough to appreciate the little (but actually BIG) things in life. Tu salúd, Tu familia, Tus sueños, Tu felicidad. We’ve had a pandemic to deal with and divisive elections to go through; that’s enough to warrant a getaway to the woods. Isn’t it?
I spent a lot of my vacay time offline, with my Iphone quietly playing instrumental music… just observing my surroundings. I watched the way the sun illuminates the forest over the course of the day. Mire a birds making their nests on the treetops. I even witnessed several lone leaves making their way to the ground on the wings of a gentle breeze. Cosas muy simples, pero cosas bellas. Every single moment was nourishing to me; each one brought me back to life.
Do you use travel a form of selfcare? What’s your favorite way to unwind while away?
“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.”
-Anthony Brandt
Tiempo en Familia
If you’ve followed me for a while, tu sabes que my family is everything to me and I am a BIG proponent of intentional time. It’s one of the reasons we escape and travel so often. Nosotros encontramos, we’ve found, que travel enables us to connect to each other in a way that no other activity does. Our cabin in the woods provided us with a location (both physically and figuratively) to go off the grid and actually SEE each other.
We did a lot of splendid nothings. Tu sabes. The whole family watched moves on Disney+ after breakfast in our jammies… because we had no where to go and nothing else we HAD to do. We kayaked at the lake and laughed as El Marido got stranded out in the water with no juice to make it back to shore. HAHA, classic. All four of us watched our camp fire light up, and then burn down to embers over the course of hours, because we didn’t want that moment to end. Lots little of moments that compounded to create a beautiful memory.
Una bella memoria AND closer bonds. It’s one of the main reasons we will probably always try to book a cabin in the woods for our fall break. It’s vital for us.
What kinds of simple, but important, “nothings” do you like to enjoy with your families?
“These woods are lovely, dark, and deep
but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.”
-Robert Frost
I’m a Hiker Now
In all this talk about family travel, I think I’ve failed to mention an important member of the crew… nuestro Nachito lindo. Nacho (Ignacio) is our 5 year old Goldendoodle and this trip to Lake Hartwell gave us our first opportunity to bring him along for our adventures! He was SO damn feliz! We were too, to be honest. I think our favorite activity to share with our Nachito was hiking. Our boy was in heaven, y’all.
Nosotros no tenemos “woods” and “hiking trails” in Florida quite like the ones you get up north… we’ve got a lot of swamp land and barely any shade. No bueno. So, yea, hiking turned out to be our favorite family activity because every single one of us could enjoy it. Now, no te voy a mentir, I hate creepy crawlies and wild animals, so I preferred the trails that provided beautiful views with the least amount of woodsy immersion. Haha, tengo mis limites!
I enjoyed wide, flat (even concrete) hiking trails so that I could see every potential danger beforehand. Los niños, however, kept trying me… running into the brush and digging in the mounds of leaves with Nacho. I had to work on my deep breathing quite a bit! 🙂
All in all, though, exploring was our favorite family pastime.
Do you hike? Are you all about roughing it? Or do you, like me, enjoy “nature lite”?
“Deep in the pure wild woods I run;
where my heart can breathe
and my soul finds love.”
-Angie Weiland-Crosby
A Fall getaway is pretty dreamy, amigos. There’s so much to enjoy, so much to take in, and so many benefits to simply breaking free for a short while. Definitivamente, es un gift that you give yourself before you settle in for the Winter season. I highly suggest a cabin in the woods, it’s a destination unlike any other.
Holla me fam, have you stayed in a perfect cabin, or a perfect location during the Fall season? I ‘d love to hear about it! I may even add it to my list of future possibilities! In the meantime, keep your head up, my loves!
Con mucho carino,
Joana
