Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Growing up in Minnesota, you learn two things early: 1. Paul Bunyan may not be real, but he’s real in our hearts. 2. The headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi call the state home. As a land-locked liver who formerly dwelled near 10 lakes within 10 minutes, you miss water. Long for it even. So when I started planning a little birthday shindig for my besties, I decided that there was nothing more important than spending an evening near the sound of aqua making its token gurgles.
Enter the Covington Inn. An amazing tugboat docked at the St. Paul Yacht Club on Harriet Island under the shadow of smaller of the Twin Cities. Was a delighted to stay there? Immensely. Was I charmed by its every detail? Completely. Would I tell you to stay there? Absolutely.
As my love of traveling has evolved, my love of staying in odd places has grown even more. You can always stay at the Holiday Inn, but a Holiday Inn is the same in St. Paul as it is in Santa Fe as it is in Moab as it is in New York. Why shouldn’t our restful hours also be an experience? Why should these bed dwellings also not transport us?
Well, I think they should.
So how does one find experiences like these? I’m here to help. In the case of the Covington Inn, you can simply go check out their website should you find yourself in St. Paul, Minnesota. And as it turns out, the owner wants to move onto her next adventure, so if you want to buy it… well, that might be a worthwhile thing for you.
But this isn’t an ad for the Covington so let’s move onto the rest of my resources:
First, you need to bookmark this site: Design Tripper. This helpful web wonderland compiles all the best places and gives you real user reviews of the accommodations. And truly, these places are not your average dwellings. Treehouses? Check. Yurts? You got it. Vintage charm? Plenty.
Next, skip AirBnB (seriously, the company is full of some questionable people) and check out VRBO. This helpful acronym stands in for Vacation Rentals By Owner. They are really best for amazingly huge places that will host your entire family if they want to get away. This is what my family does and it’s lovely and amazing every single time.
And lastly, make a note of The Guardian’s helpful interactive map, which can be found here. They’ve mapped out all the best/weirdest international hotels and you are the lucky recipient of their hard work.
There’s just something about checking into the “Captain’s Quarters” instead of room 410 that makes travel all the more delightful.
If you really just read this post because you love the movie The Life Aquatic, I’m sorry. But not really. There is plenty of Wes Anderson love in my archive, which you can partake in here.
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