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(Adapted from Kevin's Yelp review.)
Virginia and I wanted to try staying in a tiny house because we spent entirely too much time binging on all of the various Tiny House series on HGTV, Discovery and other channels. It was great fun yelling at the screen as some couple looked at a 140 square foot house to hold themselves, four children and two dogs. After four or five episodes, Virginia was convinced she could never live in one. I was convinced I probably could, although I might end up alone. As we didn't have an extra thirty grand and are afraid of commitment, so we decided to rent. There are actually a few places to choose around the Metroplex. Virginia found one in the Piney Woods whcih was close, and if it was a successful trip, there were other locations in Texas.
We both loved this place. It is one of the only places I've stayed that actually matches it's marketing materials. It's quiet, in the woods, cell service can be sketchy - but if you're escaping the rat race for a weekend, those are all positives.
It's only a couple of hours from Dallas, so it was an easy drive for us down US-175, a road I have never traveled.
We received our specific cabin assignment on the day we checked in, which made me a bit crazy as a compulsive planner, but the system works well.
We got the site map in an email the day before and our cabin assignment ("Carol") just before we left Dallas to drive down.
The cabins are pet friendly (with a fee) and this was the first hotel (and tiny home) our Chihuahua has visited. Rocky was impressed after he finished freaking out about the missing recliners and TV.
The bed is on a platform and you can step up to get into bed, even if your brain is screaming, "Don't step on that! You'll hit your head!" (You won't if you're 5'8" or shorter - I made it.)
Make sure you remember the step down from the bed on the midnight bathroom runs. Also, remember the step up into the bathroom.
The bathroom is minimal - toilet and shower (use the kitchen sink for hand washing and teeth brushing.) The shower was a decent size.
It is a tiny house (hence the name) but if you have been in a cruise ship cabin, it's similar in size. If you've been in a corporate hotel in Europe, it's not bad at all. (I think ours was 140 square feet.)
The kitchen has a two-burner stove, a dorm fridge, lots of cooking utensils and plates and cups. (The one thing we missed was a microwave but we survived.)
If you overpack for vacations, this may not be the place for you. There is minimal storage but enough for a weekend stay. We lived out of our suitcase which fit easily under the bed.
We loved our stay. Drive down the county road until you're sure you're lost, and it's about a half-mile past there.
Highly recommended.
Places of Note
Kim's Convenience
(Not to be confused with the Canadian TV Show) This is an interesting gas station in Frankston, Texas - about twenty minutes or so from the Tiny Houses. We went here because it was a BBQ place - or at least, it was the address of a BBQ place. It turns out that isn't just a BBQ place, it's a BBQ place, a burger joint, a pizza parlor - and that's just one counter. It's also a pretty big gas station with a produce stand and lots of road necessities.
The BBQ was very good - chopped brisket and sausage. (Virginia used the leftovers to make Texas Bolognese sauce for pasta the next night. The pasta and tomato sauce were in the kitchen staples kit we pre-ordered for the house.)
Athens Boathouse Bar & Grill
This is a lovely place on Lake Athens which has good food and it pet-friendly. Actually, it was very pet-friendly, so we eventually had our food packed to go becasue Rocky was trying to pick a fight with every other dog in the area.
Echo Springs Blueberry Farm
It was too hot to pick our own (and it's not pet-friendly, which makes sense), so Virginia visited the store. Never send a diabetic into a fruit stand alone.
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