Last week was the trip Josh and I had been waiting a while for: our Getaway House in Moodus, CT. As I explained in my packing post, I had come across Getaway on Instagram and asked Josh if it was something he’d want to do. We booked the trip back in August for our final trip of the year.

So, how do we think Josh and I did in a 140-foot cabin with no TV for 44 hours? Read on and you’ll find out at the end.

Wednesday, October 19

Check-in was at 3:00 p.m., and I got a text from the Getaway folks around 2:00 p.m. with the cabin name and code for the door lock. There’s no formal check-in, so we could just show up after 3:00 p.m. and go inside.

Josh came to my condo after he got out of work at 2:00 p.m., and we packed up a cooler and re-useable grocery bag with the food we were bringing with us. By the time we got everything packed up in my SUV and got gas, we left around 2:45 p.m. The outpost was about an hour away, and we got there after 3:30 p.m.

Our cabin was named Franklin, and he was super cute. There was a small hill that led up to the landing where the cabin was, so we could park there and just walk up to the cabin.

In the box off to the left was bundles of firewood and fire starters that we could use. We’d get billed after for anything we used. The cabins were pretty spaced out but you could see our neighbors through the trees. There were cabins on each side of ours, along with a few across the road, and they were far enough away you didn’t really hear anyone else.

It’s basically like a tiny house but out in the woods. This is the closest to “camping” as I’ll get; Josh did a lot of camping as a Scout, and I’m like, “Nope. You’ll never get me in a tent.” This cabin was much more my jam. It’s also worth noting that the cabin has AC and heat; the heat was already on when we got there, so it was nice at night when the temps dropped to the mid-30s.

I just couldn’t get over this view from the window! It really made you feel like you were one with the trees from the inside.

After we got all of our stuff inside—well, most of it; Josh left his suitcase and a few things out in the car since we were parked so close and limited on space in the cabin—we walked to the nature path on the outpost grounds. It was a short loop, but we were able to walk by some of the other cabins and see who our neighbors were.

Since we were going to be by ourselves, I brought my phone tri-pod with us to use to take photos. There’s a little remote that connects to my phone via Bluetooth. I set it up inside so we could take a picture in front of the big window before the sun went down that first night there.

In one of the cabinets above the kitchen area was a radio, which we put on to have something to listen to. Since I already live in Connecticut, I know most of the location radio stations so it was just trying to find one that came in clearly. We first listened to country but then settled on a classic rock station.

So, getting back to the s’mores bag. Getaway has a new partnership with Walmart, so they left that little bag as compliments of Walmart to make s’mores. When we booked the trip, I knew s’mores ingredients were included, so we didn’t bring anything with us. Well, I opened up the bag and was disappointed with what was inside: two small individual graham cracker bags, one of which was broken; two small pieces of chocolate; and vegan vanilla-flavored marshmallows.

We both agreed that we needed actual s’mores ingredients, so we found a small grocery store about five minutes away that we drove to so we could get proper graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. It was 100% worth it so we could have 2-3 s’mores each night. (Of the whole trip, that was the only thing we were disappointed by. Thankfully we were able to just run out and get our own stuff.)

We did use the sticks they supplied, though, and Josh got a fire started while I prepped the ingredients. We decided to bring some Downeast Ciders with us to have around the fire.

I found an activity for us to do, a list of 36 questions to ask someone; we went back and forth answering them, and I think we learned some new things about each other. After 10:00 p.m., we decided to go to bed; thankfully there were shades we could pull down over the windows because there’s no way I could sleep with that big window open.

Thursday, October 20

However, once we woke up in the morning, we pulled up the shades so we could enjoy the view from the bed.

Before we left for our hike, I set up the tri-pod again so we could take a picture in front of the cabin.

The hiking trail was about 15 minutes away. At the entrance was the Comstock Covered Bridge, one of three left in the state of Connecticut. We looked at a trail map before going and Josh downloaded an app on his phone that would track our process on the trail. The entire trail is over six miles long, which. we weren’t doing to do; we ended up going 1.5 miles in and then turning back around.

Mostly all of the foliage was yellow and still some green, but it looked so pretty in the woods. We passed a few other people, but for the most part, it was really quiet and nice on the hike. And I don’t hike, so Josh was excited to get me to be “one with nature.” It took us about an hour and a half to complete the three miles.

The most ironic part of the whole hike was that I got the best cell reception I’ve ever gotten up on the mountain. I get one bar in my condo, but I had all five on the hike. Guess I’ll have to go back there to make all of my phone calls.

Then I tried to sit outside and read, and it was fine at first, but then it got really windy and I ended up back inside. That afternoon I just wanted to hang out and read, so Josh and I sat in the bed under blankets and read next to each other for a while.

For dinner, we went to nearby Chester—about 15 minutes away—to Otto Pizza. It was small inside, but we sat at the bar where we could watch them make the pizzas. Josh and I each got sodas and split a Caesar salad and margherita pizza. Everything was so good.

Then we walked down the street to Little House Brewing. Our first round was the same: Charm Alarm New England IPA, and then I got a plum fruited sour and Josh got Otto’s Cream Ale. We really enjoyed the beers and the atmosphere.

And, of course, we went back to the cabin to have another fire and more s’mores.

Friday, October 21

We reluctantly woke up Friday morning, knowing it was our last day in the cabin, and opened up the shades again to enjoy the view of the trees.

Check-out was at 11:00 a.m. and we planned to leave by 10:30 a.m. After three sweeps of the tiny cabin to make sure we got everything, Josh and I said goodbye to Franklin and headed to one of our final destinations of the day. All we had to do for check-out was lock the door and make sure we took everything with us.

We drove about 20 minutes to Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam. I went with my parents years ago on a day trip. The castle was originally built by William Hooker Gillette, who was best known for playing Sherlock Holmes on stage. It was designed by Gillette himself in the late 1910s and was purchased by the State of Connecticut in 1943. Aside from the castle, there are hiking trails, an area to river camp, and plenty of picnic tables. The castle is usually open for tours, but there are renovations going on so it was closed to the public. However, the grounds were still open to walk around.

We spent about an hour walking around and exploring a few of the hiking trails. The foliage was just as pretty there, and it would have been cool to go on a tour of the castle if it was open.

Our final stop was lunch at Pattaconk1850 in Chester—located between Otto Pizza and Little House Brewing. I got the chicken tacos and Josh got a BBQ chicken quesadilla. The food was pretty good and came out quickly.

We were on the road back home after 1:00 p.m. and were sad to go back to reality. It was such a great Getaway—literally—and yes, it does look like Josh and I can survive in the woods by ourselves. Overall, we were both impressed by the cabin and the Getaway experience, and we’d love to do it again next fall—but we’ll definitely bring our own s’mores supplies.