299 Days: The Preparation

Chapter 21 The Cabin Miracle

Grant’s mom was calling. That was weird. She never called.

“Hi, Mom,” Grant said. He had decided long ago to be civil and respectful with his parents. He didn’t have to like them and he didn’t have to visit them, but he did have an obligation to treat them as normally as possible. He wasn’t a hater.

“Grant, the city is taking the homestead parcel,” she said. The homestead parcel was his Grandpa’s land in Oklahoma. It was not the ranch Grant would visit as a boy, but was a forty-acre parcel of land granted to Grant’s great grandfather in 1904 as an Indian allotment. It was next to the ranch and was where Grandpa’s brothers and sisters grew up in the 1920s. The homestead parcel was now owned by Grant’s mom and her siblings. The homestead had enormous meaning to Grandpa and Mom and others in the family. It was sitting in what was now suburban Tulsa. It was worth a fortune, but the family did not want to sell it.

Grant asked his mom about the details. The city was using good old eminent domain to get the land for a song and then would probably sell it to developers and make lots of money to fund city government. It was an outrage, but as Grant explained the law to his mom, there was nothing they could do about it except to get as much money as possible for the land.

That’s what happened. When all the legal stuff was over, Grant’s mom would receive her portion of the proceeds, about $250,000.

She said to Grant, “The accountant told me that we have to spend the money on real estate within the next two years or we get taxed on it.”

Great. The government takes your land and will then tax you on the “capital gain” of your “windfall” which is actually the forced sale of your land to them. But, on the bright side, it meant that Grant’s mom had to buy some real estate soon or have a good chunk of it taxed away.

That’s when it just came to him. A cabin. It was brilliant. That’s what he could do. Get a cabin. It would be about the same amount as the inheritance. In that moment, Grant wasn’t thinking about how the cabin would fit into his preps. He was just thinking about how he had always wanted a cabin.

In college, Grant spent a lot of time at his friend, Jeff Kozan’s, cabin near Seattle. He absolutely loved it there. It was on the saltwater on an inlet to Puget Sound. He could not describe why he loved it so much there. It was away from the city. It was quiet. Every single time he went there he had a great time.

One time, Grant, still the poor kid from Forks struggling through college, told Jeff, “Someday I’ll have a cabin like this. Not sure how, but I will.” Even back then in college, when it seemed impossible to actually have a cabin later, Grant knew — knew — he would have one. It was now that time. Grant could have a cabin.

“What should I do?”Mom asked.

“Buy some real estate,” Grant said. “I want to get a cabin nearby, on the water. Something simple but something that the kids can grow up in and have great memories of.” Grant then started to realize how a cabin would be the perfect bug out location. A place to go when a crisis hits. A place to store food and other supplies. A place to hunt and garden when food was scarce. A place to be safe.

He went on to describe to his mom the things he sought in a bug out location. He wasn’t telling his mom about the survival uses for the place; she didn’t need to know what he was doing. She was too old to travel there from Forks, anyway.

A bug out location needed to be away from the city, but not totally out in the boonies. This would allow Grant and his family to get out of a city in a crisis, but there would be enough people around the bug out location to help him protect it and to trade with. He wanted a place on the water; saltwater, preferably. Olympia was right on the Puget Sound so there were hundreds of inlets and coves on the saltwater. Saltwater had clams and oysters and plenty of fish and a person could connect by boat to anywhere else in the area. A lake didn’t allow that. And mosquitoes didn’t live in saltwater.

The past few years, on occasion, Grant would drive around some of the saltwater cabin areas near Olympia and dream about owning one just like Jeff Kozan’s cabin in college. Grant had some nearby areas in mind. He described them to his mom. He wanted a place that was an hour or less from his house so he’d actually go there often — like every weekend.

This is really happening, he thought. He knew — absolutely knew — that this “cabin” was going to be more than a place to have family barbeques in the summer. He was simultaneously amazed that this was happening, while at the same time he was calmly planning it out. It was the future and the present all at once. There was that feeling again; the future and present at the same time. Intertwined. Happening at the same time.

Grant’s mom said she could take a portion of the proceeds of the eminent domain proceeds and give it to Grant.

When the conversation was over, Grant said goodbye to his mom. He felt a little guilty taking the money because the homestead meant so much to her. But, Grant didn’t decide to sell it and she’d be taxed on the money, so the guilt quickly dissipated.

Grant told Lisa the great news. She didn’t seem so happy. It was pretty obvious that she didn’t like the idea of Grant’s idiotic family that had been so cruel to him, suddenly giving him something so substantial. Besides, Lisa and Grant had worked extremely hard for so long and had built amazing careers and they couldn’t afford a cabin. Now Grant’s family was just handing one to him.

In addition, a “cabin” was not Lisa’s cup of tea. It meant a second set of bills, a second set of maintenance, and a second set of all the crap that comes with owning a house. And Grant wasn’t exactly good at doing anything around their real house, although he was getting much better.

“I’m not doing crap out there,” she said. “No laundry, not paying the bills, nothing,” she said. Her response wasn’t exactly the joy of getting a free cabin he had expected.

“OK,” Grant said. It was very clear to him that his years of being a suburban slug were now catching up with him. She had a good point. He quickly said, “I’ll do everything out there.” He knew that sounded like a kid saying they’ll feed the stray dog, while the parent knows they won’t.

Grant knew how to get Lisa to warm up to the idea. He told Manda about it. She was instantly excited. Jump-up-and-down excited. She thought of the endless possibilities of sleepovers with her friends. Having a cabin was a big boost in the popularity standings. Cole was not too interested. It was hard to describe to him with words what a “cabin” was.

Grant and Manda spent that summer searching for cabins. During the evenings, they would get on the internet and look at listings. They would prioritize them and then make a list of places to go see that weekend.

Grant had never seen Manda, who had turned fourteen, so organized about anything. He was used to having to tell her over and over again to put her dishes in the dishwasher and do her homework. But, now she was presenting him with stacks of color-coded and prioritized real estate listings with the prices highlighted. When she cared about something, she could be very organized.

That summer, they drove all over the area, even out a few hours from Olympia. Cabin shopping was magnificent. Grant and Manda were having a great time, and they were bonding.

They came across some incredible properties. The real estate market was in the tank. Prices had fallen enormously. It was the perfect time to have money to spend on real estate.

The first place they looked at in person was a cabin on Harstine Island. It was an hour and half drive from Olympia, which was longer than they wanted. But it was on Harstine Island, which was just a twenty-minute boat ride from Olympia. They drove out there and the first thing Grant noticed was that Harstine Island had a bridge providing the sole land access to the island. That could be a big plus since it would be easy to defend. But, if it were taken or destroyed, residents of the island would be in bad shape.

Harstine Island had a mix of full-time residents and part-time cabin owners. It was beautiful there. There were lots of water views and the big evergreen trees Washington State was famous for. It was very secluded.

The Harstine cabin was nice. Located on a small hill overlooking the beach, the cabin was modest, but very cozy. It was on two acres with a sturdy out building that would house a boat, truck, and tons of other equipment. It had a huge clearing that would be perfect for gardening. There were a few apple trees; perfect for having food year after year without having to plant anything. The layout was easily defendable because the driveway was rather steep and would require anyone coming up it to expose themselves to the many hiding places along the driveway. It was a perfect bug out location; a comfortable place to live, with plenty of gardening space, an out building for equipment, and defensible.

There was no access to the beach, though. They would need to rely on friendly neighbors. Grant assumed he could find them. Grant and Manda asked Lisa and Cole to come and see if they liked it. Grant assumed Lisa would love it.

She didn’t. “How do we get to the beach?” she asked.

“Friendly neighbors,” Grant answered.

“I don’t want a beach house with no guaranteed beach,” she said.

Grant was furious, although he knew she had a point. Oh well, they would need to find another place. Harstine Island was off the list.

He and Manda went back to the drawing board. Manda found another very promising cabin on the internet. Grant saw the picture of it and knew that this was the one. So did Manda. They drove out to it one gloriously sunny Saturday. There was nothing more beautiful than the Puget Sound on a sunny day. The mountains in the background. The inlets and the sound. Huge evergreen trees everywhere. Beautiful.

This cabin seemed to be perfect on paper. It was about forty minutes from Olympia. It was out in the country, but not so far out that it felt like a park. It didn’t have a ritzy “resort” feel.

The development it was in was Pierce Point, which consisted of a group of about 500 lots. Not all of the lots had anything on them. “Development” wasn’t the best word to describe it because that usually meant a new subdivision.

Pierce Point wasn’t new. It was a combination of middle class homes and cabins that were nice, but not too extravagant. The middle class homes were on the way in to the place. The cabins started popping up closer to the water. Some were very nice; most were small houses on the water. There were some lots with RVs on them. There were a few junky homes, but this was a rural area and not everyone had tons of money. Most of the homes were well kept. They looked like working families lived there. Most driveways had pickups. Quite a few yards had playground equipment for kids. It looked like Forks, but nicer. There was quite a healthy mix of middle income working family homes and nice cabins.

The cabin they were looking at was on the very northern tip of the development. They went down the road towards the water. Big evergreen trees were all over but there were fewer down by the water. It was a rural, forested area down by the sea. It was perfect.

RVs on lots started to be replaced by cabins. Many were more aptly called “beach houses.” The paved road ended with a sign that said “County road ends.” Perfect. That was exactly what Grant wanted. A good paved road leading most of the way there and then a little county gravel road leading to seclusion. Perfect.

The gravel road was only a few hundred feet. The water on the left was beautiful. Grant saw the cabin they were looking for.

It was perfect.

It didn’t look like a regular house. It was more like an A-frame cabin, but not tiny like a cabin. It looked like a typical Washington State beach house. The trees on both sides of the cabin provided a “mountain cabin” feel and then the water view offered a “water cabin” feel.

When they drove up, Grant looked at Manda and said, “This is it. This is the one.” She nodded with a huge smile. Even at age fourteen she knew this was perfect.

They knocked and the owner was there. She was in her forties and looked like the mom of teenagers. Almost instantly, the owner liked the Matsons. She could see that her beloved cabin would be put to good use by a family of people who would have similar good memories made out there. Then she said something unusual to Grant.

“I need to sell this,” she said. “I just got divorced, my job is looking like it’s in trouble, and my ex-husband lost his job last year. We need the money. We’ll sell this for a very fair price.”

Grant couldn’t believe it. The place was perfect and available for a song. He felt bad for the owner, but knew she needed to sell.

She gave him the tour. The outside of the cabin had a huge deck that looked out over the water. The view was amazing. The body of water was Simpson inlet, a finger of salt water about half a mile wide. The land on the other side was forested.

Standing on the deck looking at the water was so peaceful. It was amazing. It was exactly what he had been dreaming about.

They went down to the water. A short trail of about thirty feet led to a bulkhead. The bulkhead had a ten foot or so wide strip with a fire pit. The bulkhead had stairs that led down to the water, and the tide would come in on the lower part of the stairs. They were made of saltwater-resistant wood and looked very solid.

The beach was magnificent; not a sand beach, but a pebble beach. The tide was out about half way. The owner described how she could walk the beach all the way in both directions, north and south. To the south were other cabins.

To the north was nothing but trees and beach. Since the cabin was at the northern end of the development, the beach was uninhabited to the north. It looked and felt like a park or wildlife preserve along the beach. An eagle flew by. It almost seemed like the owner had ordered a show for Grant to convince him to buy the place.

They walked the beach a little way. How many times in one day could Grant use the word “perfect?” This was the place. He felt like he belonged there. There was that weird feeling of the present and future all at once.

Two other parts of the cabin were briefly shown, but not paid much attention. The first was the unfinished basement. It wasn’t really a basement; it was a lower level to the cabin. It had a cement floor (the foundation of the cabin) and insulation on the walls; no drywall. The door going into it was on the ground level, but was lower than the cabin since the cabin was on a slope. The owner said, “You can store things here. Maybe a kayak.” Grant knew what he’d be storing there — a year of supplies for his family. There was a bench in there that would be just right for working on guns.

The next little thing that the owner mentioned was a separate outside storage shed. It had the same siding as the cabin; thick wood with a thick coat of paint in perfect condition. The shed was about twenty yards from the cabin and surrounded by trees. “You could keep whatever in here,” the owner said. It was empty and had a light. It was clean and seemed waterproof. Grant instantly thought about the food he had in the storage unit. It would fit perfectly in there.

There was one drawback to this place: no space to garden. Unlike the Harstine Island cabin, they could not grow any food here. Grant looked around to the surrounding lots. There was plenty of space on them. In fact, the lot next to this one was vacant. During a collapse, Grant could ask to use the neighboring lot for gardening and would give the owner a portion of the harvest. It wasn’t ideal, but the cabin and area had so many other extremely compelling advantages that it was still the best location, by far.

The owner said, “Come and see the inside.” It, too, was perfect. It wasn’t fancy; it was somewhat outdated, and felt like a cabin, not a second home. It was exactly what Grant wanted. Who needs granite counter tops in a cabin? That seemed kind of wasteful, and Grant couldn’t afford it, anyway.

The place was solidly built and in great shape. The furniture was decent. Although it wasn’t in style, it wasn’t cheap stuff that would fall apart. There was a main living area with huge window doors that looked out over the deck and onto the water. There was a nice wood stove, and an eating area. The kitchen was small, but solid and decent. A stove, sink, refrigerator, cabinets; everything someone would need. Next to it was the master bedroom and a full bathroom, which included a shower. That would be very welcomed after a day of playing on the beach. Or for living out there full time if his family ever had to flee their permanent home.

The owner smiled at Manda and said, “Come see the loft.” They went up the stairs to a huge loft. It was one big room with two beds, a couch, and tons of floor space. It was the perfect sleepover place. It could easily fit ten people. It, too, had huge windows that looked out at the water. The trees on the sides of the lot gave it a secluded feel.

Grant didn’t want to let the owner know how perfect the place was. That would increase the price. “Thank you for showing us your cabin,” he said. “We have quite a few more to look at.”

“The furniture comes with the place,” the owner said. She obviously wanted to sell the place.

“Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Grant said, trying his best poker face. He didn’t want to insult the owner and really wanted to tell her how fabulous her cabin was, but this was not the time.

Grant and Manda went home and talked the whole way home about how to get Lisa on board. Manda was his little co-conspirator.

About a week later, Grant took Lisa out to the cabin. He picked an especially perfect day with bright sun and warm temperatures, which were cooled by a slight breeze from the water.

When they drove up, Lisa looked the place up and down. She was silent. She walked up onto the deck, looked out over the water and said, “My deck chair will go here.” She was smiling.

Thank God. She liked this place. The tour took two hours. Lisa didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do for two hours, so this was a good sign.

Manda was Lisa’s tour guide and was the most convincing little salesperson ever. Grant heard her up in the loft say to Lisa, “This is where all my friends can stay. I can’t wait! Don’t you love it, Mommy?” Lisa couldn’t resist Manda, especially when she called her “Mommy.”

Cole liked the place. He thought they were going to someone else’s house. He thought it was a neat place.

“Do you want to go down to the water and throw rocks?” Manda asked Cole.

“Oh, yes,” he said. Lisa smiled. They closed on the cabin a few weeks later.

Now you have the place. Fill it up with supplies.

Grant understood that. But he didn’t understand the next outside thought.

Then work on the relationship to get her out here.

Why would that be necessary? Lisa loved this place. Didn’t she?