Staycations are usually the types of vacations where a person or a group of people who wants to go on vacation but couldn’t due to a variety of factors; one of the biggest reasons for it is financial. And that was the case for me and my boyfriend, Brennan.

The planning

Ever since we first got together, Brennan and I have always wanted to go on a nice weekend getaway somewhere. We weren’t thinking Palm Springs or somewhere south and tropical, we were thinking a weekend in Seaside OR or something like that. We never thought of leaving the state because that’s WAY out of our price range. For a good portion of this year, we wanted to do a late august weekend in either Newport or Seaside. But due to our financial situation and my not-so-flexible schedule at work, a staycation is the only way out. So we searched left and right for a place to stay for 2 nights, and that is until Brennan saw this on Airbnb:

This blew me away! A wine cellar, a wet bar, in the bedroom???? With the price and everything, I’m like “sign me up!” With about a month away or so, I had to put in my time off request, and plan on meals and what to do. Food, we’ve got a good idea on; what to do, that’s something we’ll figure out as we go.

Day 1

When I woke up that morning, I thought it’s going to be a slow day at work due to the awaiting staycation afterwards, but God surprised me. The morning classes were…interesting. It just feels quiet for the most part, a few kiddos didn’t attend. My second to last class before my lunch break, there were 4 kids, 2 of them were gone and had planned absences, one probably moved and not attend classes anymore, and then there was a no sho. Then the afternoon classes came and go and after I clocked out, I waited for my prince to pick me up and take me there. Waiting as in he was a little late and due to rush hour and a car crash. But he didn’t keep me waiting, within 10 minutes or so, we were off!

After many minutes down winding, scenic roads, we were finally here. And the space is very impressive, it almost feels like a space fit for singles and couples. After a grocery trip, I started making dinner, which will turn out to be a game of hide and seek. That’s the only complaint about this space which is the kitchen. I’m sure the host didn’t think much about the cooking when putting this place together because a lot of equipment are either not there or they’re in a different room, making the whole experience much less enjoyable. For dinner, I made Tuscan chicken linguine, which luckily Brennan enjoyed with a glass of wine. The dinner was really good, very creamy and also has a kick to it thanks to the Tuscan spice. Brennan recommended us to not have our phones while we had dinner outside, and I gotta say, it was very enjoyable. We had great conversations, a great meal, and the weather is perfect. After dinner and after I washed the dishes, we took a bath, which is more like a mini pool than a bath…big, and played some games.

First we played Yahtzee which neither of us played well; except the few occasions where I got a Yahtzee. And the crazy thing about that game was, on a few occasions, Brennan predicted on what the next roll would be and it happened, causing us to burst out laughing. We only did 4 rounds until we did the newlywed game just to see how well we know each other, and luckily we do. And at some point we went into deep questions territory where Brennan opened up a part of his past to me that he never told me about. At a point, he got very emotional and as a loving girlfriend, I held him close until we went into some funny questions. We eventually went to bed at around midnight, Brennan fell asleep before I did. The best part about falling asleep in the bedroom is the white noise of the air purifier and the dimmed aqua colored lights in the ceiling; it just feels too perfect to fall asleep.

Day 2

Both of us needed that morning to sleep in, Brennan slept in a little later than I did. But luckily, we both slept really good, which was a worry of mine always. After serving us our morning drinks, we just hung out on our bed all morning and into the afternoon. One of the main things Brennan was looking forward to was being able to relax. And I believe I needed it too. Our lives have been on the go with work, his travels, and trying to balance our own mental health, so being able to do nothing is nice. Relaxation, for me, seems like a foreign thing because I felt like I just don’t know how to unwind and relax, maybe my anxiety has something to do with it. This afternoon, I laid down for a little bit while Brennan had his alone time. During my nap, I was reflecting on our time thus far, and how sad going home the next day will be. On our staycation, it is almost like a trial run of what life would be like when we’d live under one roof together one day.

After my nap, Brennan took his nap. While he was napping, I took some time to be outside and enjoy the sun, working on this blog, and talking to God. He believes we are ready for that next step mentioned, but timing, well, God is keeping it private for the time being. Also we talked about my purpose in life is, what I want out of it, etc. I know I haven’t been in good communication with God all month, but this is nice.

After a shower and getting all dolled, I had to be the bad guy by waking the boo up. It’s his night to cook and it was 6:30 so I had to wake him up. He had a much smoother cooking experience than I did on night 1. Also, I taught him how to peel and chop up a clove of garlic, which I have learned while doing EveryPlate meals. We had steak, Texas toast, and baked potatoes for dinner out on the patio. The steak was really good, toast was good as well, the potatoes wasn’t that great because we didn’t have butter and the Parmesan itself didn’t do well. After completing all 6 games of Yahtzee, I got 4 Yahtzees and Boo Boo only got one.

Day 3

We woke up early so we can check out as soon as we could. Now even though he slept really well and I didn’t because I was crying all night, I managed to get up quicker than Brennan did. After breakfast, we stripped the bed, cleaned up the place, packed and checked out an hour early. Both Brennan and I were sad for this to end. When I got home after he dropped me off, it felt…empty without him. But I know that he’ll be back soon

In the weeks following, there has been a switch, especially for Brennan. Now, Brennan wants to spend more time with me and I miss him more. Before the staycation, Brennan was pretty hesitant about us moving in together for a number of reasons. Now, all his fears went away because us living in the same space for 48 hours felt natural for us luckily. And I’m glad we both are now on the same page now! 😊