Seeking Cabin Fever in the City

I just closed my eyes a moment ago, and listened to the rain. Memories of teenage bike trips to Pender Island came back to me. When we were 14 years old, twelve of us girls took the ferry, rode our bikes, and stayed in a small wooden A-frame cabin which belonged to our friend's parents. We had convinced our parents to let us go alone.  It might have rained every day we were there, but we had fun. Simple fun. We played cards, we took turned cooking meals, we braided each others' hair, we drew, read musty paperbacks, took walks down to the beach on windy days, warmed up with hot chocolate and did 1000 piece puzzles. We played "Hearts" and cribbage for hours. Sometimes if we positioned the radio a certain way we could hear music from a station in the states. All 12 of us slept in sleeping bags in the loft. When we got cabin fever, we jumped on our bikes and rode to the lake where we lay on the dock with our towels and dared each other to swim in the weeds. I remember doing that at night too. There were a zillion stars. It was a big deal to go to "town", town meaning a gas station, a small grocery store/a liquor store/ gift shop, because we had to ride far, up and down some steep hills, to get there. The only place to get clothes was at the Nu-to-U, a thrift shop that was only open on Mondays from 10 to 2pm.

There was no television, no telephones, no computers, no traffic, no appointments, no restaurants. There were tidal pools, bonfires, and frisbee golf.

It's old-school cabins, not designer cottages, maybe not without electricity and water, but quite possibly with an outhouse, are perfect places to remember the joy of simple living. This simple living allows you to spend more quality time alone, with others, and with nature. It's easy to relax. What if our city home was a cabin? What if we took turns making meals and doing chores? What if we took long walks along the beach, played cards, and read books on the couch? What if we wore the same clothes until they very visibly dirty? What if going to the store meant riding your bike for an an hour?

Is it possible?

My friend, whose parents owned this cabin moved back there permanently after high school graduation and it was hard for us city girls to imagine her being happy on a tiny island. We longed for big studies at big universities, long travels in exotic places, adventures and boys. We were wrong. She never moved, it's been 20 years now. I think she might be lucky.