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No Cabin Fever Anymore

Includes the cinnamon and the snow, and the best of it all.

By Justine CrowleyPublished about a year ago 10 min read
2
No Cabin Fever Anymore
Photo by Blake Carpenter on Unsplash

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin in the Snowy Mountains, all thanks to a quirky find on Airbnb. How could we (we as in Hamish and Lulu, a de-facto couple) get so lucky. If three is a crowd, Hamish and Lulu brought their Siberian Husky called Lara with them for the weekend in the snow.

By photo nic on Unsplash

People from all walks of life cram themselves into a four wheel drive, or into a mini van to drive five hours from the nearest capital city in snow season. Warm clothes, spare hot water bottles, tea bags, skis and blankets to name are jam packed into such motor vehicles; all in the nature of staying warm; even though this particular A-frame cabin came with some luxurious inclusions. Whoever said that Airbnb are disrupting the hotel industry have hit the nail on the head with that comment.

After the long drive, where Hamish, Lulu and Lara were squished in like sardines; it is fair to purport that all parties concerned were grateful to finally arrive at the cabin, and find homes for every little thing. You can hear the cupboards banging, and the sound of the kettle whistling, as Hamish makes a hot chocolate for Lulu and himself with mint, cinnamon and cardamon. Lara is treated to a home made puppuccino, and comfortably claims her spot on a black rustic dog bed, letting out a soft, gracious howl as she twirls a few times before sitting down. Lara is also treated to a couple of home made dog biscuits that the Airbnb host kindly left on the breakfast bar for her, in this chalet like design.

By ABHISHEK HAJARE on Unsplash

Hamish and Lulu sit down on the smooth brown sofa, which gives them plenty of space to put their feet up and relax, and instantly warm up to the comfort of the chocolate, the spices, and to the mint leaf in their hot beverage. They are surprised that they are not too hungry, considering the time it took for them to arrive.

Lulu is in awe at the beautiful wooden walls, with antler horn like decorations, combined with an oversized fireplace, and an oversized wooden mahogany desk to allow her to retreat to her freelance writing work; especially for when Hamish wants to ski a little more, and run ski sessions. These smart digital nomads have it going on.

By israel palacio on Unsplash

Lulu also discovers a telescope where you can further look out on the plains. This is distracting her and Hamish from collecting some wood. Little did they know that the Airbnb host had written a cheery handwritten note leading them to the back of the cabin, where there is a bundle of chopped up firewood to use as much or as little as required for their pleasure. It seems like everything is definitely falling into place, and Hamish is already beginning to film the experience to post on social media. Hamish is a slashie in his career; an avid ski instructor, social media influencer, and a dog walker. The latter also happens to be a treat for Lara, as she is surrounded by other beautiful Siberian Huskeys' on their twice- daily walks.

By Matias T on Unsplash

It seems like Hamish and Lulu want to take Lara for a private walk before they fully settle in to their weekend short stay rental. Lara is distracted by a few snowmen built from the ice nearby, perhaps from a couple of youngsters who were staying in secluded cabins nearby. Lara jumps up and down out of excitement, squishing the snowmen, while Hamish and Lulu decide to rebuild these snowmen, and then leaves Lulu with Lara, while he bolts to the cabin with another filming idea.

By Myriam Zilles on Unsplash

"I'm now feeling a bit peckish" Hamish says to Lulu. "Let's head back home then," says Lulu in response. Lulu peels and chops up some potatoes, and then chops up some leeks to make a soup as an entree, while she gets the pre-made marinade of different herbs and spices onto a fresh chicken to roast in the oven. Lulu then uses up a few remaining potatoes, and chops them in half, all the while leaving their jackets on, and adds in some tarragon herbs on top. Lara is also treated to some of this juicy, flavoursome chicken. She then sits back down on the same dog bed.

Now that their bellies are full to the brim, and dessert will come later; Hamish gets onto the case in warming up this spacious A-frame cabin. He finds a wheelbarrow right near the wooden cupboard where the chopped up firewood is stored, and loads the barrow up. One by one Hamish and Lulu grab a piece of firewood, and stack it on top of the fireplace. A couple of pieces of old newspaper are already scrunched up, so to gain traction with the wood. Once the wood is stacked half way, with a few pieces left behind in the wheelbarrow; Lara moves towards the fireplace, and lies herself right in front of it. You can hear the wood crackling, and the place is warming up. Hamish and Lulu can quickly feel the warmth, and just as well, as their hot water bottles are now cold water bottles. Lulu begins to hug Hamish, and leans on his neck, as they take everything in, and finally relax. This is even before they get a chance to check out the bedrooms and bathrooms. The little balcony provides ample reading space, or space to just gaze out towards more of the ski fields.

By Mae Mu on Unsplash

They are wanting some dessert, yet have decided to cook a sticky date pudding with brandy custard for the second and final night of their weekend getaway. Instead, Lulu melts some white chocolate buttons, and chops up some almonds. Those almonds get added in, together with a few raspberry lolly pieces, that are also finely chopped up, together with some rice crisps. Lulu is taken away by the smell of the chocolate, even though she is more of a dark after dinner mints kind of eater; rather than verging on the opposite end of the sweetness scale. Lulu is then inspired to add a small dash of nutmeg to the mix, and stirs away in a little black pot, of which matches the decor of the oven, with a matching black steel kettle not far away. Lulu is relaxing as she stirs all of these ingredients together, and pours the chocolate treat into a baking tray, on top of some white baking paper.

Lulu was about to put this creation into the freezer, until she discovered a little blast chiller nearby. Lulu is smiling, and is in a space of pure gratitude for Hamish coming across this cabin from another influencer, of who directed them to waste no time, and book this particular cabin on the Airbnb website. Lulu is sending out positive energy of thanks and gratitude to the host.

By emy on Unsplash

Hamish grabs the chocolate, and breaks it up into uneven, and decent sized pieces for him and Lulu to share. This home made treat is conjuring up images of eating Rice Bubbles in childhood. "That is a great White Christmas idea if I say so myself." Hamish says. "Shame I did not film you making that." Hamish then inspires Lulu to share the recipe on one of the websites she writes feature articles for. Lulu adds this to her writers retreat to do list, via old school pen and paper.

Hamish and Lulu continue the tour of their A-frame cabin home for the next two nights, as dawn has quickly turned into dusk. There is a rainforest shower, and a large modern bath tub. There are two bedrooms, where there are bunks for any little ones in the second bedroom, and there are a few patterned rugs on the wooden floors in other areas of the cabin. Lulu hugs Hamish after she opens her mouth in awe with the sheer size of the wooden king sized bed, with four white pillows, with white pillowcases, and a thick white duvet, with a light blue overthrow rug. There is enough room for Lara to sleep with them.

By 五玄土 ORIENTO on Unsplash

Before retiring for their first night, Hamish makes Lulu and himself a lemon, ginger and manuka honey tea. Lara is given a couple more dog biscuits. They go ahead and get ready for bed.

The final day of their stay is here, and Lulu sets up her laptop on the work station, while Hamish takes Lara with him where he heads to the dog walking area to walk the dogs of other guests. He is greeted with a co-pilot named Doug, as the person who organised this walk for Hamish had overbooked the session by a few too many furry friends. Doug agrees to film the session for Hamish, so that he can post this amazing experience on social media. It goes viral, and so do a few of Lulu's articles written on this trip. After the walking experience with Doug, Hamish still has Lara with him, and therefore he walks back to the cabin and asks Lulu if they fancy some brunch at a nearby cafe, as they both slept in without being late to their respective freelance gigs. There is nothing more scrumptious right now than two poached eggs, topped with pepper and basil, on an oversized piece of sourdough toast with feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and thick lashings of smashed avocado, with a lemon wedge on the side.

By Jelle van Leest on Unsplash

Hamish and Lulu look at each other intimately for five minutes after they ate their entire meal, while finishing off their cappuccinos, while Lara finished off her meat dish with another doggy treat. Lara notices this, and jumps up on Lulu, while keeping her two front paws on her upper right thigh, with tiny droplets of ice on Lulu's thick denim pants from the snow. Lulu thanks Hamish, while Hamish thanks Lulu in return for an amazing weekend getaway, and for the kindness and gratitude for each other, where each person helped out when required. They were both mindful of each others space when it came to getting some work done; yet it was a great working holiday/weekend getaway in their eyes. Energies are restored. "I am now more passionate about my work after having taken this trip" said Lulu to Hamish. "Right back at you," Hamish said in response to Lulu's comment. They gazed into each others eyes for a few more moments, with Lara's two paws still fixated on Lulu's right upper thigh. They both reached out their arms to hug one another, while also ensuring their pampered pooch Lara is part of the cuddle. Hamish and Lara etched in this gratitude with a soft kiss on the mouth, where their lips were sealed.

A passer-by was in awe of this romantic moment, and asked Hamish if it is ok if they can take a photo of them. "Sure" said Lulu. Hamish then gives his phone number to this person, so they (non-binary person) can text this photo to Hamish. Hamish showed Lulu, and in turn, Lulu let out a little sigh. Hamish said that he will not share this on social media, because "this is too precious."

By Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

Lulu and Hamish headed back to the A-frame cabin with Lara, and they started to pack their belongings. Lulu had requested for Hamish to text the Airbnb host (in this case, the owner of the cabin) for his address, so to send a thank you card out.

Upon returning home, Lulu immediately heads to her workstation; not to immediately flip out the laptop computer and write away, but rather to hand write the thank you letter to the Airbnb host (who is actually one of the sites super hosts), for allowing them to stay at his cabin, and for the better than expected inclusions and experiences.

By insung yoon on Unsplash

The moral of the story is that short weekend getaways (especially with larger than expected A-frame cabins) can and do recharge the batteries, courtesy of Airbnb.

Short Story
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About the Creator

Justine Crowley

Freelance Internet Moderator/UX Writer/UX Consulting Designer/Graphic Designer

http://smashwords.com/profile/view/JustineCrowley

linkedin.com/in/justinecrowley

Lives in Sydney, Australia. Loves life.

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Comments (1)

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  • Justine Crowley (Author)about a year ago

    Fiction writing is definitely not my strong suit; yet it is wise to do things that push the envelope, and of which get you outside of your comfort zone. This is why I also entered this story into the Weekend Getaway challenge. I was (and still am) in awe and appreciation as to how these 2000 words flowed onto the page, and how all of the three main characters developed in the story, and of who got settled into their getaway. There were a few times where Lulu was accidentally called Lara, however and thankfully the editing process fixed that up. Thank you so much.

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