OUR TINY HOME TREEHOUSE GETAWAY (break from van life)

This video is sponsored by l.l. bean.

We're Karen Nath, and we spent the last four years traveling to 100 countries. But 2020 brought us back to the US where we bought a converted sprinter van to explore our own backyard. The last month or so has been filled with many physical challenges and some unexpected problems with the van.

That's a leak.

So we decided our first. Our first stop here in the Pacific Northwest needed to be somewhere we could relax and recharge.

As we traveled the world, we would make it a point to seek out unique accommodations, like the tiny home in the Swiss Alps. The villa in the Maldives.

Wow.

The glass pods in Peru. But since we've been back in the US we're constantly traveling with our home, so we really haven't stayed in any unique places. When someone recommended this tree house, we decided we were due for a little break from the V.

So much excitement. Hey. Hey, don't bite me. Ow. That's not a chew toy. What?

Hey. I want to love him. Trying to remain calm.

Woody. Your names are Woody and Jesse.

Come on, show me where the treehouse is. Where's the treehouse?

Oh, my gosh. This is it. Here's our new home.

Oh, they have a slack line.

I think this is the coziest thing I've ever seen. An actual wooden tree house in the middle of this green forest with moss everywhere. It's still raining a little bit. There's lights on it.

Normally, I'd be a little bummed if it was gloomy like this outside and I was supposed to be spending the next couple days in the treehouse, but this is kind of how I've always pictured the Pacific Northwest, so it's almost perfect. Hey.

Okay, I haven't even made it past the first step, because one, the stairs are wrapped around this tree. There's literally tree SAP dripping everywhere. And the biggest slug I've ever seen. Look at that thing. This is amazing. I don't know if you're allowed in our tree house. You're a little wet.

This is awesome. Oh, it looks super cute.

This is pretty incredible that they managed to build a spiral staircase around a living tree.

I'm so excited. Nate, this isn't our van. You have to take your shoes off before you go inside.

Okay, first impressions. As soon as I walked in, I was just hit with this familiar smell that took me a second to figure out. It smells like a sauna. Like hot cedar.

Ah, it smells so good. That's it.

And look it.

I guess I didn't see your name on the reservation. Oh, I love that. They already had the heat on in here. Whoop. Let's test the bed.

Oh, I'm not exaggerating. It feels like I'm laying on a cloud right now. This is the comfiest bed I've been on in months.

One of our biggest complaints about the van is the bed's not super comfy. So at this phase in life, we really appreciate a good bed.

Can we extend our stay?

I've lost her.

I'm not gonna be able to get up tomorrow. Between the warm, comfy bed and the sound of the rain and the smell of the W.

All right, now for the tour. This is the master bedroom. And over here is this lovely living space. They left us some snacks and lots of board games, which is a pretty big deal because we have no cell phone service, no WI fi, and it's pretty much been raining outside since we got to Oregon. And this is the indoor portion of the kitchen. We have a mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and they're supplied a cup for every drink of the day. Morning coffee, afternoon coffee, wine, and water. Upstairs is the kids room or the guest bedroom. Wow. These are just as soft as the one downstairs. I think we can trade our bed for these in the van. And now for the bathroom tour. This is our bathroom. This is it. They've done a super cute job. There's little lights in here. I feel like usually I would say that this was super tiny. I can barely, like, spread my arms out. But compared to the van, this is pretty luxurious. This is our sink. This jug just. Water falls down into the sink and then into this tree trunk somewhere, which is pretty amazing. Like, we're in a tree right now, and we have a sink and compost toilet. We're gonna feel right at home if you're unfamiliar. Liquids in the front, solids in the back. No liquids in the back. Boys have to sit. It's rule number one. And rule number two. Do I need to put this sign in our toilet in our van? This is actually one of two bathroom tours. The other option is outside.

This is the outdoor bathroom. Over here we have a shower. And over here we have another toilet.

Wow.

I thought you pinched my butt. Oh, they even have cute little lights and decorations in here. Love what they've done with the place. If you poop, please use the scoop.

It's composting.

Toilet, hand sanitizer. Okay, let's look at the shower. Come on, guys. It's an outdoor shower with hot water and.

Oh, this is in the bathroom.

Wow.

All right. Back to the house.

They're being so sweet.

Yeah, we've become. Okay. Too much.

And last but not least, this is our outdoor patio, which I love because it's covered, so we can still sit out while it's raining and smell the pine trees and stay nice and warm and dry next to our fireplace. And then this is where we're going to be cooking most for our meal, because it is the only place to cook. And I think that about wraps up the tour. We are super excited to be staying here for the next two nights.

There was a point in my life when I could do this, and now I can't even stop my leg from shaking.

Oh, I still got it. Nope. Oh, no.

Okay, you two, listen to me. I'm gonna leave. Hey, hey, hey. Why? I'm gonna leave the camera right here. Don't eat it. Okay.

Moving in.

All right, we are officially moved in. It feels really weird not having a suitcase, but at the same time, it's really nice just to be able to grab an extra pot out of the van. And.

Nate and I realized that we have not experienced a proper fall in the US for four years. How's it going?

Probably the biggest pumpkin I've ever carved.

So we've decided to give this weekend a theme, and it's all things autumn.

So we have some glu vine heating up on the stove, and now we are attempting to carve a giant pumpkin.

Oh, we're not attempting.

Smells kind of weird.

I had forgotten what the inside of a pumpkin looks like.

It's so stringy.

The Gluvine spoon to scrape it out.

I guess you can try.

I think I was doing My parents do this part when I was a kid.

This is hard work.

There's a reason we haven't done this since we were kids.

Cheers.

Hot.

We had this for the first time in Vienna, our very first time to Europe for Christmas markets. And it'll just forever remind me of that trip.

Wow. And propane get along just fine. That's nice.

So we've decided that we're going to attempt to carve our van. But I think we're in a little over our heads.

Kind of looks like a school bus. A combination between a school bus and a limousine. All right, so it's my job to make this look good.

Good luck. You're so brave.

I'm just. I'm just gonna go for it. I know. Oh, no. I've already messed up. I didn't leave areas.

Darn.

I think that's the way to do it. Score. It for it. Wait, yeah, that's gonna be. But I don't really care. Do you not think this is gonna work?

I went in confident, and now I'm, like, giving this a 2% chance of actually working.

While Nate is finishing up our pumpkin, I'm gonna get started on dinner. We're in Oregon during Dungeness crab season, so we got not one, but two Dungeness crabs to make for dinner. And I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so this should be interesting. Start by taking off these ripper bands. So in the YouTube video, I watched you just open up all the legs.

Gently, and you just take hold.

Ouch. Yeah, you have to grab the legs, not the shell.

Ah. Like this?

Yeah, you just have the legs. Yeah.

Okay. And then you just twist it, and they should come off.

I think it worked. How's it going over there?

Gonna take it into the darkness and see how it turned out. Nervous? Did it work? Oh, wow. It does look like a bit. Look at that.

I'm so proud of you.

I mean, it's not great, but it worked. About halfway through, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to.

Looks good. We boiled the crab legs, and we made a garlic, lemon, lemon butter dipping sauce. I feel pretty confident that the veggies turned out well. This is still a big question mark, but I feel like anything dipped in this can't be that bad. We also realized that we don't have the proper equipment to crack crab legs. This was a very last minute decision at the grocery store.

Who is?

Well, we gave the crab our best shot, but I'm. I just don't think we nailed it. I have to imagine that Dungeness crab is better than what I just put in my mouth when done right.

But the veggies, Perfection.

Also, we used up all the propane in the fire, so we're roasting marshmallows over the grill. Oh, the chocolate is actually melting. This was genius. Here you go for another one.

Good morning. We just had the slowest, most relaxing morning we've had in a long time. We couldn't check our phones when we woke up. We didn't even bring in our computers. Just laid in bed forever. Where did Nate go?

Hey, where's nate?

It is 10 o'. Clock. We've done absolutely nothing today, and it's been wonderful.

I think this fish food might actually be dog food.

Oh, gosh.

So we met the host last night, and they told us that there's seven springs on the property that feed into this beautiful little pond that They've stocked with trout and if we grab some dog food, then we can feed the fish.

Yeah, fishy, fishy.

Maybe they're still asleep.

All right.

I'm surprised the dog had to really big.

All right. That was fun. It's raining now though.

It's turned into quite the rainy morning. So we're gonna make some breakfast tacos for lunch. Uh oh. Whoopsie.

Another thing that we learned from the owners last night when we met them is that this tree house was actually designed by the same guy who designed the hanging bridge at the Portland airport. So even though it looks like it's sitting on these four pillars, it's actually suspended from chains. So when you're up in it, you can feel it swaying back and forth a little bit. Quite the taco.

It's more like a breakfast quesadilla. It's also my first time trying plant based sausage. That is amazing. Oh, I'm burning the other one. How do they do it?

Wow.

Oh, that's gonna be good. Wow, look at that. Thanks. Mmm. Much better than the crab ones.

Didn't have to take much. Woody is so jealous.

You have the sweetest face.

We already found you at the barn.

All right. The rain has slowed down, so we're going to show you around the rest of property. And there's a lot more here than just the treehouse. The hosts have kind of turned this entire place into a playground for their.

Grandkids or for big kids. Woo.

I would throw up my tacos. Okay, you've got to go from the platform.

Okay, stop.

You're making me sick just watching you.

Oh gosh.

I almost slid out.

Oh my gosh.

I hate this.

There's also a basketball court, horse shoes, carpet ball, which appears to be a mix between pool and shuffleboard, Frisbee, golf.

And a slack line, which I'm determined to get across before we leave.

Yes.

Oh.

Four hours later.

Yeah.

Last but not least, there is this zip line that runs all the way down and you go into the pond. I had seen this on the listing. I've been hyping care up to do the polar plunge for the last few days, but they've taken down the pond pulley that actually lets you go down the zip line.

Oh, darn.

And on top of everything else, the TreeHouse sits on 20 acres with tons of trails. So we're going on a little walk. Come on, puppy.

This little area of forest that we're walking through right now kind of encapsulates everything. I hope the Pacific Northwest would be an Old growth forest. Everything's covered in moss. There's huge ferns.

Everything is so green.

Trees are literally growing out of trees.

Mushrooms everywhere.

It's pretty incredible. In a stark contrast to the dry, arid Colorado climate that we've been used to experiencing for the last few months.

Poor Woody has brought this ball to us a thousand times. I'm finally gonna throw it with him. You ready? 1, 2, 3. Skook it.

Good boy.

Good boy.

Sunshine. What?

We spent the rest of the day enjoying all the things this special place has to offer.

All right, Ready?

Tied up.

All too often, we're together in the same space, but technology prevents us from being present with each other.

She's very sweet, but she's a very sore loser.

Game time.

Loser.

This is the best game to win, cuz it's so dramatic. Dramatic. Good game.

Yeah, I don't think you'd be saying that if you were in my shoes. Yeah.

You beat me and everything else today.

Yes.

Being forced to disconnect and spend time outdoors made it easy to live in the moment and make the most of our time together.

All right, we couldn't leave without trying the outdoor shower. Oh, fire.

About 40 degrees outside.

Oh, this.

Actually burning me. This puts our van to shame. Unlimited scalding hot water. I thought this was one of those things that was going to seem like a better idea than it actually was, but is pretty great.

Hey, sweet boy. Ow. Ow. That's my arm.

Oh, my goodness.

Don't run over them. Don't run over them. They're right in front of you.

Behave. I'm sure they'll calm down.

Try.

No, no, sit. Stop. Stop.

Most excited about are these boots.

What are you doing?

What are you laughing at?

It's just pretty pointy.

Could I draw little decorations on it.

After I just tried to pick it up with.

Wow.

I really should have paid more attention to that video. So you think I leave all the legs connected to this little thingy?

I think that's what I saw.

Okay, so when you order crab legs at a restaurant, do they come connected to this thing? So, I mean, this seems meaty.

Like, I do feel like I'm just pulling out the meat right now. But you don't think we eat this?

No, I think we eat it. I think you're only supposed to pull the brown stuff out. That's definitely crap meat. So now you just rinse and wash that out.

Oops. I learned this little piece is how you know it's a male.

You knock me in the water.

I don't feel like it. Would take much.

Wait, wait.

Jesse, move.

You gotta move.

Jesse, come. Okay.

Okay.

This is kind of terrifying.

Uh, yeah. Nate, now that I'm in it, you could go ahead and push it in. I can't stand here long.

Nate, go.

I'm scared.

Go. What?

No, I can't. I'm gonna slip out of the swing.

You were supposed to say. Or big kids.

We could plank back out on slip.

You can do it.

You've gotta go. I'm gonna fall out. My butt's too slippery. My butt's too slippery.

I can't do it. This is actually pretty terrifying.

Right?

You didn't even scream.

Ah.

Getting too old for swings.

I know.

Pull your feet in and spin.

No.

Do it. No.

Do it.

We're so brave.

We're so brave.

There's also a basketball court.

He almost hit me in the face.

I'm not gonna do this much longer.

Did he go in?

Will you come on? You got it. Don't. Don't close your eyes. This is going in.

I'm sorry.

I'm scared. Nice.

Are you sure you got it?

I opened one of my eyes.

Horseshoes.

Oh.

Oh. Better at basketball. Almost looked old sunny for a sec.

What? Look at that.

All right, better stop that before we break the camera.

You don't think I can catch you?

No, not with this many obstacles.

I ate too much for this.

Yeah, same.

That was fun.

Yeah.

I'm holding on to the tree and I can still barely stand up. Oh, you really looking up, aren't you?

Yeah. Pick a spot on the tree. Nice. Nice.

Oh, that was good, though.

I did three steps. That's the best I've ever done.

Oh, no, don't do that.

No. Oh, no.

Thanks again to L.L. bean for sponsoring this video.