Slowly but surely, borders are reopening and the world is once again at our fingertips. There’s just one problem: most of us can’t drop everything to explore. Here’s your consolation: When the pandemic forced many industries to work-from-home, it opened up new possibilities to… work-from-anywhere.
You may not be able to score more vacation days, but you can take your Zoom meetings and work emails on the road. Take a break from your home office, change the scenery and enjoy new adventures after you’ve clocked out for the day.
Here are four interesting accommodations along the West Coast to get you inspired.
At Aspen Crossing in Alberta you can set up your home office in a renovated caboose! (Photos courtesy Aspen Crossing)
1. Choo-choo-choose to work from a caboose
An hour southeast of Calgary lies Aspen Crossing, where you can set up your home office in a renovated caboose! Enjoy meals in the Diefenbaker Dining Car, or pick up more casual fare at the Bergquist Tavern. Caboose cabins book up months in advance, but Aspen Crossing also has a full-service campground for tents and RVs — the Tavern even delivers right to your campsite!
The camp store stocks everything from ice cream and slushies to a selection of groceries and camping supplies. There isn’t much wifi in the area for your Zoom meetings, but cell service is strong. It’s the perfect place to hammer out a proposal or take a writing retreat — Rob Lennard, an Alberta author known as History Wrangler, stayed in the Canadian Pacific caboose cabin while writing the third book in his trilogy The Amazing Time Travelling Adventures!
On your days off, be sure to reserve a spot on a train excursion — the caboose cabins don’t move, but you can come aboard one of the weekend adventures for meals, music, cocktails… and a train robbery!
2. There’s no place like dome
There are a lot of cool places to stay in Tofino, and no shortage of things to do once the work day ends. Why choose Wild Pod? It’s walking distance to downtown AND right on the water — a rarity for Tofino where many accommodations are a 10 to 20-minute drive from shopping and restaurants. The indoor space is inspiring: luxury glamping in a geodesic dome with huge windows (and blackout curtains), private bathroom, shower and kitchenette, free wifi, and the occasional orca swimming past your private deck.
The domes are eco-friendly, and staff have equipped each with high-end local touches: all-natural toiletries from Tofino Soap Company and Rocky Mountain Soap Company, locally roasted coffee and tea, plush throw blankets from Tofino Towel Company and Adriondack chairs made from reclaimed west coast cedar.
If you can’t escape your work email, you can at least answer it from paradise!
Check in to Yukon Pines in Whitehorse and enjoy the aurora borealis when the work day’s done. (Photo courtesy Yukon Pines)
3. Log-on from a log cabin
You don’t have to rough-it to experience a rustic log cabin! Just five minutes from downtown Whitehorse, nestled in a basin of trees is Yukon Pines, where two cosy log cabins offer an old-world setting for your modern work-ation. The hand-scribed log cabins are equipped with satellite TVs, separate bedrooms, full kitchen and free wifi, plus nearby golfing, skiing and beautiful walking trails.
If you visit in winter you’ll probably catch a glimpse of the northern lights — your coworkers won’t believe your new Zoom background is just the view from your window!
Set up a remote home office at Forest House on Orca’s Island to take full advantage of remote work! (Photos courtesy Forest House/Tripadvisor)
4. Work’s a breeze when your office is in the trees
Part of the joy of working from anywhere is the way stress melts away during your journey to these exotic places. Drive north from Seattle (or south from Bellingham and the Canadian border) to Anacortes, then catch the ferry to Orcas Island, and you’ll already be in a more relaxed state of mind. Check into the Forest House just outside Moran State Park and your remote work obligations will feel like a joy.
Forest House feels like the home of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys — curved wood buildings in the trees, cathedral-like windows looking over the ocean and Mount Baker, a sunken soaker tub and plenty to take in on your days off. The space includes a kitchen and free wifi for long days at the office… and serene starlit evenings for restorative sleep.
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