This used to be a very typical “Island retreat”…a cabin in the forest, a short stroll to a beach, a kind of “woodbutcher’s art” thrown together dwelling…people would camp out on weekends, and in summer holidays. In fact, such structures are really a kind of “hard tent”.

turquoise door

It’s rare now, though, to discover this kind of older retreat dwelling, especially on the more discovered islands. On water access only opportunities, it’s still possible to find thrown together structures, with recovered lumber, “found” windows, left-over elements from a larger construction project perhaps….

I always enjoy discovering a “time tunnel”, a feature from the past. This little sweetheart actually sits on a very private half acre lot, about 3 minutes to the ocean, and if one limbed out some deciduous trees, it would be possible to reclaim the ocean glimpses that once were enjoyed from this deck.

Of course, code requirements and paper trails have caught up this this sweetie “hard tent”, and one would buy this lot with a view to developing, and it would be treated as simply “raw land” now.

pug with hibachi

I can envision the hibachi on the deck, a hammock strung between trees, some stacked underbrush firewood for the nonconfoming woodstove inside, some camp beds in the one room, and the outhouse just up the trail. This is an “off the grid” enviornment, and there is something very appealing about that turquoise door.

Ah…for the good old hippie dippie days…..