How To Have a Vacation without Taking Time Off Work The Ultimate in Tent Living from La Porte Rouge

How To Have a Vacation without Taking Time Off Work
The Ultimate in Tent Living from La Porte Rouge

Can't take a vacation this summer, but need a change of scenery and some down-time? This is basically the grown-up version of camping in your backyard. Nadia and Kevin spent three weeks living in this tent on the beach. It wasn't a work-free vacation. Kevin was still commuting to the office each day. But in the evenings, they cooked outside, took long walks on the beach and watched the sunset. They returned home relaxed, rejuvenated and determined to live in their tent again.

How did they end up in a tent on the beach? Nadia and Kevin had the ultimate vacation house swap lined up. When their travel plans fell through, they decided that they didn't want to penalize their new home swap friends. So Nadia and Kevin decided that they'd go ahead and move out of their house so that the other family would have a place to stay while waiting for the arrival of their new granddaughter. They decided to move into a tent on the beach and it became one of their best unplanned vacations!

Nadia said once of the best things about life in the tent was how much more time she felt she had without the distractions of modern life and how much she enjoyed the quietness of her tent life. They cooked simple, wholesome food based on what would fit in the cooler — usually shopping at local farmers' market on Sunday mornings. They'd go to cafes and discover new neighborhoods. You can see more photos of their tent adventure on La Porte Rouge.

(Images: Nadia Dole)

Comments (4)

Nadia's "living in a tent" posts and photographs have been like a dream to all of us readers. This is the most inspiring piece I have seen and read in a long time. Thank you for sharing.

posted by cannelle-vanille on June 1st 2009 at 2:42pm
view cannelle-vanille's profile

Sounds beautiful! Good for them for taking lemons and making lemonade - inspiring!

posted by Jennifer Squires on June 1st 2009 at 2:47pm
view Jennifer Squires's profile

We're doing exactly this sometime this summer! My husband goes to school in Santa Monica so we're going to camp for five days in Malibu. Okay, this is my idea and I haven't convinced him yet. We'll see if I can talk him into it.

posted by Emmerloulou on June 1st 2009 at 7:37pm
view Emmerloulou's profile

Sounds lovely! I could see doing the same thing for a bit.....

posted by Christine-Red Hot Pottery on June 2nd 2009 at 4:48pm
view Christine-Red Hot Pottery's profile