Marjorie, Erwin, and Laura.

These are the names of the three Getaway cabins I’ve rented. Getaway has a campground outside of Glenwood, WA. The cabins are named after employee’s grandparents.

Getaway rents tiny modernist cubes in the woods. Our Getaway is across the river from Hood River, OR, about an hour’s drive from the bridge.

Each cabin holds a king bed, a kitchenette with a cooktop and a tiny fridge, a small bathroom with a shower, air conditioning, and a tiny dining table that should really be able to be folded and hidden.

The cabins include kitchen basics, knives, flatware, salt and pepper, a corkscrew, metal camping plates, a skillet, a saucepan, and a tiny goosenecked kettle – the kind baristas use to make pour-over coffee.

Each cabin is situated on a small campground. One end the cabin, facing away from the road and into the trees, has a giant picture window - about 8’ square which opens onto trees and silence. The cabins are placed quite far apart and oriented such that you can’t really see your neighbors. Picnic tables, fire pits, and Adirondack chairs situated the left of each cabin as you drive up are invisible to your neighbors.

The effect is solitude. Unless you choose to walk around, you’re unlikely to encounter other campers.

There is no cellular service here. The cabins offer a twee little box with instructions to put your phone inside and unplug during your stay. No need. Outside of cellular range my smartphone becomes a pocket camera and alarm clock.

I woke around 6, late for me. I clambered over our dog, Jonah, and my wife Caroline, asleep in the bed. I found a banana and a glass of water. I quietly fed our poodle and then through on shoes and a jacket and took him out for a walk.

The campground has about a mile of gravel road - a small loop followed by a larger loop. Jonah and I walked the longer loop back around to our cabin. Jonah jumped back into bed. I took a shower and started coffee. I packed our french press and my hand grinder. I stood in the bathroom to grind coffee, to let sleeping wives and dogs lie.

The smell of coffee stirred everyone awake.

For breakfast this morning I griddled English muffins in butter on the cooktop and covered them in cream cheese and smoked salmon. Boiled eggs on the side.

After breakfast, Caroline left with Jonah to find a hiking trail nearby. I stayed behind. I did the dishes then finished rewatching The French Dispatch. Just because there’s no internet, doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead and bring a movie.

I walked the campground road again by myself while taking photos of daisies and other wildflowers decorating the meadows between the trees. I arrived back at the cabin to make a cup of coffee and write.

I banged out most of this entry and then took advantage of the time to do a little painting. Another portrait study from a Uniqlo ad. As my hands relax and my brushwork gets looser, these start to take on the feel of mid-century advertising illustrations and I’m into it.