Technically, it’s a “cottage”. It’s the Caretaker’s Cottage at Oak Openings park. Oak Openings is one of the awesome metroparks we have in Toledo. A lot of people don’t know you can actually spend the night at the park – right here in the Caretaker’s Cottage! And you’re the only one in the park all night!!
We’ve talked about staying in the park for years, and we finally did it.
It was only for a one night stay, but it was a fun mini trip. The cabin has full amenities, but no TV. Board games were our entertainment for the night. Who knew we needed so much stuff for just a one night visit! To be fair, we did have to bring our own bedding and towels. Three comforters and sheet sets (and 4 pillows) fills up my car fast!
We went for a walk around the lake at dusk. So pretty! We were hoping it was going to be a white Christmas, and also have snow on the day we were at the cottage, but it didn’t turn out that way.
After some delicious stew, and a round of Monopoly (the new kind with the “credit cards”), we went for a walk in the woods in the dark!
I’m glad my family was with me because I was a bit creeped out in the pitch dark woods. I think that’s why a super long distance trail run doesn’t interest me a whole lot because I’d be afraid of the dark running!!
When we got back we enjoyed some hot chocolate and played another game, Rummibkub. Have you ever played it? It was a new game for us and a bit confusing at first, but really quite fun when you got the hang of it!
By the time we wrapped things up, it was around 11pm and we were all tired. So tired in fact, that we slept until 9:45am the next day! That’s a big deal because check out time was 11:00am 🙂 No worries, we had breakfast and picked up everything in time.
Hopefully we’ll get back out there again!
Q: Have you ever run in the dark?
I did at the Olander 24 hr relay, but there were a good amount of lights around.
Q: Would you miss living without a TV?
Q: What is your favorite board game?
When my husband and I went to Yosemite a few years ago, we stayed in a cabin that didn’t have TV. We did have satellite radio, so we listened to music, played games, and just enjoyed no screen time! Sounds like fun and I think everyone needs to unplug like this.
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Yosemite is on our radar for our next epic road trip. We’ve never been there. It looks really beautiful! A long drive from Ohio too 🙂
I ran the Madison – Chicago relay a few years ago and one of my runs was at 1:00AM through a forest preserve. I did NOT enjoy the experience. Pitch black dark and the road had a lot of potholes not to mention the glint of eyes in the woods when I would look around with my headlamp. Of course, they were only deer, but, still……. I have never done another relay. I have become so reliant on my MacBook that I rarely watch TV. If I do, it is usually on my laptop. I couldn’t even guess how long ago I played a board game. Monopoly probably?
We have learned that spider’s eye are quite reflective. Weird! The new Monopoly is fun because it’s a shorter game. I like it keeping track of everything electronically!
I actually enjoy running in the wood at night. Nothing like those creepy sounds you hear to keep the pace going a bit faster than usual! And it will be cool when they finish the treehouses at the park so we can stay there.
The treehouses are going to be so cool!! I can’t wait to see them.
Aw this looks like a fun mini trip! I love following all the fun things you and your family do together. I would miss watching the news, but a lot of the news shows I like are in podcast form so I could do that. The only shows I sit down and WATCH are Survivor and Big Brother. The rest of the type of TV is stuff I can just listen to.
With the holidays, we got behind on our TV watching. We still have a few more episodes to see of Survivor!! We’ll finish it up soon. I can’t even remember much about the cast this time around. I’m impatiently waiting for The Amazing Race to come back on. They skipped the fall season, and won’t be back on until May this year. Ugh!
You can actually spend the night at Oak Openings in the Caretaker’s cottage, the Ski Trail cottage (Pine Ridge Chalet), and two different primitive campgrounds – White Oak and Springbrook. That doesn’t include the crazy treehouse village that is opening later this year.
The Oaks is an amazing place.
I was surprised the treehouses were so far down the road. But still, I can’t wait to see them. Hope the Treehouse Masters TV guy comes to do a show too!!