Vacation

A friend gave me an assignment.  Write about somewhere you'd love to be for vacation with the specific instruction to really make her feel like she's there.  I thought at I'd write about some sort of sandy beach, warm weather and clear water.  That's where I'd love to vacation but I don't have a lot to reference as I've never been there.  Just seen the photos.  Maybe I'll do something with that one eventually, but for now?  I'll go a different direction.  I will have plenty I will be writing in first person so for now I'll dip into 3rd...

Tiny Test  - Chapter 1



She was standing there at the end of a long driveway that had long since become overgrown.  Behind her was the sound of gravel kicking up as her ride drove away in their outdated, faded powder blue station wagon.  Yes, complete with wood paneling.  She took a deep breath and started down the drive.

She was uncomfortably weighed down by her husband's 65L backpack.  Designed for his long torso and not her much more compact frame it was uncomfortable and weighty.  She also rolled behind her a small-ish suitcase on wheels, just as inadequate as her backpack.  The wheels immediately grumbled in protest of the rocky terrain.  She forged on down the grooved driveway that hasn't seen use in many years.

This was her idea.  She wanted some time to herself.  She wanted to test the waters of simple living in tiny quarters.  Her friend's Uncle Bill had the property.  He had hermit-y tendencies and had used the small dwelling as an escape whenever possible.  It had been years since he had visited as his slow decline and eventual passing had prevented him from visiting his retreat.  Long before "permaculture" and "food forests" he had set himself up for a very sustainable lifestyle here.  He had fruit and nut bearing trees on his property.  He had planted self sustaining vegetables and berries that required little to no maintenance.  She hoped his hard work would be continuing to pay off.

She carried along down the trail stopping only to dislodge the occasional pebble in the suitcases wheels while wobbling, unbalanced due to the backpack, eventually giving up and dragging the case behind her, arrested wheels and all. Trees and shrubs creating a bit of a cave down the driveway.  Two channels that had been worn away by years of Bill's old truck's tires bumping along towards his small cabin.  The soil compacted and was not so friendly towards plant life.  It would be years more before nature took the trail back completely.  In the center, though, the grass had grown about three feet high.  She traveled on for what felt like forever (minutes? an hour or more?) until she reached a clearing.  She paused to take it all in.

Before her stood a small cabin probably about 10-12 feet wide.  There was a porch attached to the front that had just enough room for the old rocking chair and small side table that was still sitting there, the paint weather worn.  A squirrel was there, hunkered down on the table working on opening the shell on a filbert nut.  The beast was nearly as big as a cat and had an air of confidence.  It seemed as though he felt like he owned this place.  He looked as if he would whip out a pocket knife and start whittling away at a chunk of wood or something. Perhaps it was old Bill, looking out through this squirrels eyes.  Or it was just a big, damned alpha squirrel who knew he ruled the roost. She couldn't help her self she said rather loudly, "Squirtle!" as her son had done to their much smaller neighborhood squirrels in his younger days.  The sound of her own voice startled both her and the squirtle and he fumbled with the nut, grabbed it and bolted off the porch.  She laughed out loud.

In front of the cabin were raised beds that had been overgrown and then died off.  around the edges of the clearing were fruit bearing trees and shrubs.  Apples, pears, plums.  Raspberries and blueberries.  She could see past the cabin and to the left was quite an impressive blackberry patch that thrived in our Pacific Northwest weather.   Can you believe in some places people PLANT blackberries?  On PURPOSE! she thought to herself.  She chuckled.  Where you would see lawn, between the raised beds was mostly dead grass with sprays here and there that had grown tall before drying out.  The lack of shade in this clearing was great for sunshine to help the plants grow.  But it wasn't doing that grass any favors.  It's okay.  Grass is overrated anyhow.

She began to walk again, heading towards the cabin.  She dragged the suitcase despite its protests up the three steps and paused at the door.  She removed the backpack and practically dropped it there on the porch.  She knew it was god awful heavy but this was emphasized by how light she felt in its absence.  She fumbled around, temporarily forgetting which pocket she had stashed the key in.  She found it her front, left pocket.  She pushed the key into the lock and turned it.

As she pushed the door aside she was acutely aware of the stale air coming from inside.  She abandoned her belongings and walked inside.  It was a very small cabin but had a spacious feel to it.  The front half had a vaulted ceiling with windows that peeked over the porch towards the ceiling.  It also had a large window overlooking the porch and windows on each side of the living room.  She immediately opened up the front and side windows.  The air began to shift slightly.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings.  A few feet inside the door was a small table with one folding chair pushed up to it.  A single, bare place mat was laying on the table.  To her right was a couch, she was pretty sure a wood framed futon.  Draped over the back it looked to be a Pendleton blanket, or perhaps Pendleton knockoff.  Small tables accented each end of the couch.  Just past the couch, also to the right was a kitchenette.

She walked forward to get a better look.  On the counter was a single burner camp stove.  Beside it was a small sink.  She turned the handles.  Nothing happened.  Not connected to a water source, she supposed.  Of course.  She was told that. She had forgotten.  There was a well nearby but currently had only a hand pump.

Beneath the counter, under the sink she could see a bucket.  Likely to catch water or whatever.  She opened the cabinets.  There were a couple faded cans of.... something. And three fuel cans she bet hooked up to the stove.  She lifted each one.  Two felt full, one empty.    Four plates, four bowls, four coffee mugs and four water glasses sat on a shelf over the camp stove.  On one wall there was a smallish fridge.  Seeing how she knew it had no power she doubted it was hooked up to anything.  Nope, there was the cord with a plug at the end.  It was connected to nothing.  She noticed then that there were outlets everywhere.  The fridge looked to have a small bulb inside. She plugged the fridge into the wall just as a test.  Nothing.  Bill was just thinking ahead.  Her friend told her that her uncle had planned to add solar panels but soon after purchasing the panels had fallen ill.

Past the kitchenette was a door.  She opened the door to see a small composting toilet and a shower with a big galvanized steel basin that was probably just large enough to sit in.  There was a showerhead but remembering the sink, knew it wouldn't do much good.  She assumed the drain in the basin led somewhere.  She'd figure that out later.  She saw a hose of some sort that led out a small hole beside the window.  At the end of the hose was another shower head.  Ah, she understood.  She was pretty sure there was some sort of container outside that held water, maybe rain water, that led in.  Solar shower.

She peeked beneath the standard toilet lid, a little nervous at what she would find.  She saw a green, pristine five gallon bucket.  Beside the seat was a bucket of sawdust that had settled quite a bit.  In it was a measuring cup.  She stirred the sawdust which seemed to fluff up then.  Another thing she had been informed of was that Bill had been an early adopter of the "humanure" concept and this was it's baby.  She also knew it wasn't likely she'd find any compostable bags so she had brought her own to help in the composting toilet's use (no stinky/messy clean up).  Bill was obviously pretty forward thinking.  Good job, Bill! she thought to herself.

She opened the window in the bathroom then turned then and headed back to the living room.  She could already feel the air shift as it moved from the front window through the back of the cabin.  Behind the door she could then see another folding chair behind the front door.  Turning to her right, before the table she saw the stairs leading to the loft.  She observed that under the stairs, on the wall that supported them, were shelves with books and cabinets beneath those.  There was the humanure book.  A varied array of other books, mostly focused on simple living and sustainability filled the case along with a few classic novels.  Clever.  She decided to ascend the staircase.  She noticed on the front of each stair the left side each contained a little drawer.  Clever again.  She opened the drawers.  All were empty but one towards the bottom that contained some simple tools.  Hammer, wrench, screwdriver and a couple baby food type jars that contained miscellaneous screws, nails and such.   She shook her head in amusement. "Smart guy, that Bill."  Every where she turned there was another insightful thing Bill had thought of.  She's pretty sure she would have really liked kooky Uncle Bill.

At the top of the steps was a loft.  Not big enough for the average adult to stand up in without bending over a bit, but she wasn't as tall as the average adult.  This was one of those times that this worked in her favor. Here there were two windows on either side, right and left.  Dormer windows that helped the loft feel roomy.  Towards the back a full sized bed with beautiful wooden head and footboards with tall bedposts. A hand stitched quilt covered the neatly made bed.  She would have to shake the dust from the bedding later.  But not now.  Now she was a bit tired.  She smacked the pillow at the head of the bed and dust flew.  She coughed and waved the dust away.  She picked up the pillow and then tossed it to the floor, beside the window.  She momentarily got up to open each window.  The most divine breeze crossed over her.  She then layed down on the bed using her arm as a pillow.  "Just a little rest," she said to herself.  She closed her eyes.  The weight of the world, all the pressures of a life that already felt far away, seemed to float away.  Her body relaxed.  She sunk into the mattress and drifted off.