Off The Grid

I recently did something very unlike me. I chose to take time off in the winter and just get away from it all. I normally reserve time off for warmer months, but I was kind of burnt out. I also realized I had not had a vacation where I did not do some amount of work—even if it was only email—in more than 20 years. Yes, I was long overdue.

I didn’t want to go far for fear of bad weather. I also knew I needed a nature component for the getaway. I decided to go about an hour and a half away from my home to a wonderful recreation area known as Red River Gorge. It is said to have some of the best rock climbing east of the Mississippi. It also has a state park and wonderful trails. I don’t rock climb due to my intense fear of heights, but I love to hike.

As I started to look for a cabin, I initially focused on being totally off the grid. I had met some folks a couple of months prior who own some cabins in the Gorge and took a look online at some of their smaller offerings since it was going to be just me.

They indeed do not have Wi-fi, which I was down with. However, when I came to the part about an outhouse, I reconsidered. I can miss Wordle for a week, but I’m not doing my business outside in January. Fuck that.

I ended up on VRBO and found a lovely small cabin which was cheap since it was the off-season. I was initially torn because it actually had more amenities than I wanted, such as Wi-fi and TV. I thought about it hard. I wanted to be able to get in touch with my husband and daughter, so it would be fine. Still, no work was allowed!

Originally, I was supposed to stay from one Saturday to the next Saturday. However, as my departure date got closer, the weather forecast kept getting worse and worse—snow, ice and crazy low temps. We don’t handle that kind of action very well in the south.

On the Wednesday before I was due to head out, the woman who owns the cabin told me if I wanted to come on Thursday, she would not charge me for one of the nights. I did not want to cancel my trip. So, I decided, “What the hell!” and went on Thursday.

Sure enough, it snowed and got crazy cold. Being a good Southern girl, I knew to let my water drip to keep the pipes from freezing. Ms. Minnesota (who is used to great insulation) staying at a cabin nearby did not. Guess who lost water? It was not me. My toilet did freeze once, but they thawed it out for me in short order.

As I settled in and began my nine-day period of decompression, I realized this was as far off the grid as I wanted to get. It was perfect.

I read, I knitted, I listened to books, I cooked and I even watched some TV—something I rarely do. It was delightful and oh, so relaxing. What I did not do was work. I didn’t even check my email. I will not lie. It took great restraint and made me very anxious at times. I knew I needed the break. It would be better for my clients when I returned if I stuck to my guns.

There were a few disappointments. I hoped to do some hiking, get out a little for my favorite pizza, and try a new place my friends frequented, but that was not in the cards. I was snowed in and my Honda Accord was not going to make it up the very steep hill I was at the bottom of. It was fine. I brought plenty of food and didn’t need to be anywhere. Wow. That is a strange feeling.

Many of my friends thought I had lost my mind when I told them my plan. Maybe I had. That is totally possible, but I gotta tell ya. It was bliss.

I plan to do this at least twice a year—maybe not in January again. We all need to recharge and just relax. The best part was I have really great clients and did not come back to a ton of emails and bullshit. I’m not a brain surgeon. The world can live without me for nine days easy-peasy. I just hate it took me so long to figure that out.

Note: The photo was taken from the porch on my cabin. My car is circled. Yep. I was not going anywhere.

Angela Traver

What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.