I would love to hear some of the fun quirky B&B experiences you have had, this is one of mine.
Some years back my friend Deanna and I accompanied our friend Janet to PEI-Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. Her nephew was getting married which was a great excuse to travel,and being the birthplace of one of Deanna's favorite authors-Lucy Maude Montgomery-"Ann of Green Gables" country, we made a mini vacation out of it.
For the wedding itself we stayed in a beautiful lodge-but while in PEI we got to stay at this quaint inn on a sheep farm right next to The School Of Piping (bagpipes not tobacco pipes!) The host family was very sweet, and the daughters were on there way to Irish Dance lessons. We checked in, noticing a young man also checking in. Cordially, we said "hello" and went upstairs to our room to unpack. Janet had to retrieve something from the car so she started descending down the stairs and heard the young man we met on the way up on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him, she did the only right thing to do in this situation....eavesdrop! She had to hold in the laughter 'til she got back upstairs to enlighten us with what she overheard. Apparently his phone buddy was asking him questions about the accommodations and who else was staying there,to which he replied" Just some girls from California" and his friend on the line must have thought'oh California girls!!then asked him something to which the young man replied " Average...but friendly!!!"
As you can imagine we have never forgotten that and my friends and I are happy to be 'average but friendly'!!!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
enjoying the ride!
The beginning is exciting, but it's the ride that enriches us. Watching God at work never ceases to amaze me. You may say "karma" "coincidence" "it's in the card's" but if you look closely enough you can sometimes see God's hand at work-unfolding the plan for your life, taking you step by step, guiding us. for example:
* It was interesting to me that I was thinking about it the week before it would start to unfold(I believe God prepares us ahead of time)
* Last year when I was knee deep in all my research, I had talked with a friend who had a limo service(whic she stopped because of cancer) She was excited with me and said if I ever got this off the ground she would arrange trips from the inn to wineries or fun attractions . While starting things up again her number fell out right in front of me.We reconnected(her cancer is in remission thank the Lord) her business currently is in marketing and advertising-starting up campaigns for new businesses.Well do you think I could use that? She then referred me to the CEO of one of our local golf clubs who talked with me for over a half hour with advice assuring me this town needs this and he would be 100% behind me, trying to work out golf weekend packages with the inn!
* Knowing money is an issue-a dear friend who is a realitor said she would walk me thru the process gratice(no charge!)
* I called the EDC(Economic Development...) that was so encouraging last year-and low and behold, they are bringing in one of the top spokespersons on how to start up and run your own B&B for a FREE-yes that's what I said...FREE seminar and with her will be city and county representatives to advise on how to get permits and which ones you will need!!(Anyone who has started up a small business knows it can be a hassle trying to get city or county to cooperate)Oh and they will hook me up,again with the FREE, with personal counselling from the Small Business Development Service to walk me thru the whole process!
I forgot something kinda' impotant......is the house even for sale? This is getting to the good part,hehe
* We located the owner out in Santa cruz, I called him and he made me feel like I was part of his family. He and his sons own and run a wonderful restaurant in Scott's Valley, he would love to meet Greg and I at his home so we could meet his family. We hit it off right away, sweet family from Greece,they loved our idea of turning it into a B&B and would certainly like to help us work out all the details, encouraging us to get our plan together of what we can doIn other words "Yes he'd like to sell to us!".He told me he keyed into one comment I made that 'I had prayed about it and knew if it was meant to be God would work it out'.Oh and something also important to him do we cook good? I let him know I could but that my son Phil was a great chef and had gone to culinary school for restaurant and hotel management. He was satisfied! I knew he couldn't be all that bad because he was a fellow 'artist' and showed me some of his beautiful art work!
There are more details that just seem to Greg and I that God is indeed walking us thru this. Where will it lead us? We don't know, but The Creator of the universe does! Doesn't that take ALL the burden off us-you bet it does. We just keep walking thru each door, taking it one step at a time,not worrying or fretting about tomorrow-for tomorrow will work itself out!!!
* It was interesting to me that I was thinking about it the week before it would start to unfold(I believe God prepares us ahead of time)
* Last year when I was knee deep in all my research, I had talked with a friend who had a limo service(whic she stopped because of cancer) She was excited with me and said if I ever got this off the ground she would arrange trips from the inn to wineries or fun attractions . While starting things up again her number fell out right in front of me.We reconnected(her cancer is in remission thank the Lord) her business currently is in marketing and advertising-starting up campaigns for new businesses.Well do you think I could use that? She then referred me to the CEO of one of our local golf clubs who talked with me for over a half hour with advice assuring me this town needs this and he would be 100% behind me, trying to work out golf weekend packages with the inn!
* Knowing money is an issue-a dear friend who is a realitor said she would walk me thru the process gratice(no charge!)
* I called the EDC(Economic Development...) that was so encouraging last year-and low and behold, they are bringing in one of the top spokespersons on how to start up and run your own B&B for a FREE-yes that's what I said...FREE seminar and with her will be city and county representatives to advise on how to get permits and which ones you will need!!(Anyone who has started up a small business knows it can be a hassle trying to get city or county to cooperate)Oh and they will hook me up,again with the FREE, with personal counselling from the Small Business Development Service to walk me thru the whole process!
I forgot something kinda' impotant......is the house even for sale? This is getting to the good part,hehe
* We located the owner out in Santa cruz, I called him and he made me feel like I was part of his family. He and his sons own and run a wonderful restaurant in Scott's Valley, he would love to meet Greg and I at his home so we could meet his family. We hit it off right away, sweet family from Greece,they loved our idea of turning it into a B&B and would certainly like to help us work out all the details, encouraging us to get our plan together of what we can doIn other words "Yes he'd like to sell to us!".He told me he keyed into one comment I made that 'I had prayed about it and knew if it was meant to be God would work it out'.Oh and something also important to him do we cook good? I let him know I could but that my son Phil was a great chef and had gone to culinary school for restaurant and hotel management. He was satisfied! I knew he couldn't be all that bad because he was a fellow 'artist' and showed me some of his beautiful art work!
There are more details that just seem to Greg and I that God is indeed walking us thru this. Where will it lead us? We don't know, but The Creator of the universe does! Doesn't that take ALL the burden off us-you bet it does. We just keep walking thru each door, taking it one step at a time,not worrying or fretting about tomorrow-for tomorrow will work itself out!!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A dream unfolding...the continuing saga!
Did I leave you hanging too long?
...the door blew open!
Let me back up to 2 weeks ago. I was out painting with my business partner and friend Lisa (we are artists and we paint murals-shameless plug,hehe) and she had commented as I was making conversation with our client about this town needing a B&B, that that was the second time that day I had brought up the subject-in which I was oblivious!!(If you knew me you would understand!) So it would seem that it is still on my mind even if it is subconsciously and little did I know it was a foreshadow of what the weekend would bring about. Greg and I went out on Sunday and ran into some people I knew and -again- found myself talking about our town needing growth and how Greg and I had a desire to open a B&B to which the couple accompanying my friend chimed in and agreed asking if I had thought about any place in particular. Well as a matter of fact yes I had .... this victorian in the middle of town was what we had our eye on last year. He was intrigued and told me I should talk to the person at our Economic development, I told him I was in touch with her last year and she was 100% behind me and would help me in any way possible. He encouraged me to go talk to her again.
It was an interesting ride home....Greg (the realist) looked at me with this gleam in his eye"do you think that house is still for sale?" My heart is leaping and I replied nonchalantly as if NO BIG DEAL "No they took it off the market because it wouldn't sell" then the excitement was too much for me"But they were very motivated to sell, so if we could find the owner and ask them maybe they'd still be interested -why do you ask?"ok- Tricia...breathe...!"Maybe we could find out, because if we're ever going to do this-now would be the time with interest rates down and the housing market at a low point"was his reply!! Can I believe my ears?
...the door blew open!
Let me back up to 2 weeks ago. I was out painting with my business partner and friend Lisa (we are artists and we paint murals-shameless plug,hehe) and she had commented as I was making conversation with our client about this town needing a B&B, that that was the second time that day I had brought up the subject-in which I was oblivious!!(If you knew me you would understand!) So it would seem that it is still on my mind even if it is subconsciously and little did I know it was a foreshadow of what the weekend would bring about. Greg and I went out on Sunday and ran into some people I knew and -again- found myself talking about our town needing growth and how Greg and I had a desire to open a B&B to which the couple accompanying my friend chimed in and agreed asking if I had thought about any place in particular. Well as a matter of fact yes I had .... this victorian in the middle of town was what we had our eye on last year. He was intrigued and told me I should talk to the person at our Economic development, I told him I was in touch with her last year and she was 100% behind me and would help me in any way possible. He encouraged me to go talk to her again.
It was an interesting ride home....Greg (the realist) looked at me with this gleam in his eye"do you think that house is still for sale?" My heart is leaping and I replied nonchalantly as if NO BIG DEAL "No they took it off the market because it wouldn't sell" then the excitement was too much for me"But they were very motivated to sell, so if we could find the owner and ask them maybe they'd still be interested -why do you ask?"ok- Tricia...breathe...!"Maybe we could find out, because if we're ever going to do this-now would be the time with interest rates down and the housing market at a low point"was his reply!! Can I believe my ears?
A dream unfolding!
Funny, I'm not a computer gal , nor a blogger- but I woke up this morning wanting to blog about our new adventure. Let's see if I can stick to it!
The Story
It's probably a typical American dream to own a bed and breakfast, at least it is for my husband Greg and me.Both of us loving to travel and being very social, we have always enjoyed staying in B&Bs-In our early married years living in Georgia-we took a trip to New England our first night being in Kennenbuncport Maine. I still remember that B&B- beautiful Victorian with antique furnishings, four poster bed, homemade apricot brandy and chocolate on our bed at night-and stuffed french toast with dates cream cheese walnuts and a scrumptious baked apple!! It hooked us for life. Meeting people from all over the world, enjoying visiting with the hosts-in some cases they became family. This was the beginning of our dream to someday have one of our own. Any time we traveled we would ask the hosts for any insight they could give us ,and they were always willing to help. That was almost 20 years ago.
Two moves later (2 years in Fort Worth Texas and the last 14 in Hollister California ) we have stayed in B&Bs in Victoria British Columbia, Hawaii, Northern California (Mendicino, Napa, Callistoga) just to name a few, always hoping and praying that someday it would become a reality for us.
I have to confess that I'm the dreamer in our family , while Greg is more the realist. About 6-7 years ago, Greg's company he'd been working for since 1987 was filing bancruptcy and was bought out by another company-and a lot of the upper management like him were leaving the company. He stayed put, until one day he had decided he'd had enough and informed me it was time for our B&B to become a reality! You can imagine how excited this dreamer was-I immediately went out and bought a book on opening a B&B and met with my realitor.....I was off and running!
Well? well , well.........nothing! It fizzled, Greg stayed with his company-obviously God was telling me "not yet" But this dream would never go away.
Tragedy struck the Harvey family in December 2008. Our youngest son, Joshua, a Lance Corp. in the US Marines was killed in an off duty accident on his base in Beaufort South Carolina. He was 19 years old. Our other son Philip 23 at the time happened to be staying with us on that Sat. morning at 5:30 when we were awaken by a knock on our door. Three Marines were there with the news of his death. Thus began a difficult year of pain- yet in the midst of our suffering we had indescribable peace-which came from our faith in Christ Jesus.
Almost a year later I had noticed a "For Sale" sign on this beautiful Victorian home across the street from our church that I had always admired, thinking to myself it would make a beautiful B&B. Within the year Greg's company took another dive, this time all the upper management was forced to go. So looking for work, he found something here in our town about half the pay, but close to home-which allowed us to spend more time together,and helped us with the healing process of our loss. Every time I went to church, it seemed I couldn't get that house out of my head. So I took the bait and went in for a look. Perect!!! Ok so it had been turned into offices and had no kitchen or full baths-but other than that.....perfect!
" Well-Greg....can we?" Besides the price still being high and the small fact that we don't have the money-he seemed to like the thought of it! So I began a 3-4 month research project, trying to find a way. Being a dreamer allows one to over come most any obstacle that comes your way, not always a bad thing!? My sister helped me write up my business plan, trips to the EDD, HRD, USA etc.!!! became my daily task, and I was trying to get info from any and every person in my path. My prayer constantly being that God would guide me and if it was meant to be He would clearly show me the way, and on the other hand if it wasn't meant to be and the door shut, that I would be ok to walk away-or at least for the time being, put it on the back burner.Lord knew I really wanted it, but I didn't want to manipulate it at any cost. And so...the door closed.
As the months went by, friends would ask about my dream and how it was going. I was completely ok with the fact it hadn't turned out like I wanted (which is so not like me!) But my explanation was " the timing wasn't right" and to myself I felt it had been a wonderful distraction the Lord gave me during the holiday season, which was the first anniversary of Joshua's death. Either way life went on. The year was filled with all sorts of 'stuff ' that kept me busy. Then one day it seemed the door blew open!!!!!
To be continued.........
The Story
It's probably a typical American dream to own a bed and breakfast, at least it is for my husband Greg and me.Both of us loving to travel and being very social, we have always enjoyed staying in B&Bs-In our early married years living in Georgia-we took a trip to New England our first night being in Kennenbuncport Maine. I still remember that B&B- beautiful Victorian with antique furnishings, four poster bed, homemade apricot brandy and chocolate on our bed at night-and stuffed french toast with dates cream cheese walnuts and a scrumptious baked apple!! It hooked us for life. Meeting people from all over the world, enjoying visiting with the hosts-in some cases they became family. This was the beginning of our dream to someday have one of our own. Any time we traveled we would ask the hosts for any insight they could give us ,and they were always willing to help. That was almost 20 years ago.
Two moves later (2 years in Fort Worth Texas and the last 14 in Hollister California ) we have stayed in B&Bs in Victoria British Columbia, Hawaii, Northern California (Mendicino, Napa, Callistoga) just to name a few, always hoping and praying that someday it would become a reality for us.
I have to confess that I'm the dreamer in our family , while Greg is more the realist. About 6-7 years ago, Greg's company he'd been working for since 1987 was filing bancruptcy and was bought out by another company-and a lot of the upper management like him were leaving the company. He stayed put, until one day he had decided he'd had enough and informed me it was time for our B&B to become a reality! You can imagine how excited this dreamer was-I immediately went out and bought a book on opening a B&B and met with my realitor.....I was off and running!
Well? well , well.........nothing! It fizzled, Greg stayed with his company-obviously God was telling me "not yet" But this dream would never go away.
Tragedy struck the Harvey family in December 2008. Our youngest son, Joshua, a Lance Corp. in the US Marines was killed in an off duty accident on his base in Beaufort South Carolina. He was 19 years old. Our other son Philip 23 at the time happened to be staying with us on that Sat. morning at 5:30 when we were awaken by a knock on our door. Three Marines were there with the news of his death. Thus began a difficult year of pain- yet in the midst of our suffering we had indescribable peace-which came from our faith in Christ Jesus.
Almost a year later I had noticed a "For Sale" sign on this beautiful Victorian home across the street from our church that I had always admired, thinking to myself it would make a beautiful B&B. Within the year Greg's company took another dive, this time all the upper management was forced to go. So looking for work, he found something here in our town about half the pay, but close to home-which allowed us to spend more time together,and helped us with the healing process of our loss. Every time I went to church, it seemed I couldn't get that house out of my head. So I took the bait and went in for a look. Perect!!! Ok so it had been turned into offices and had no kitchen or full baths-but other than that.....perfect!
" Well-Greg....can we?" Besides the price still being high and the small fact that we don't have the money-he seemed to like the thought of it! So I began a 3-4 month research project, trying to find a way. Being a dreamer allows one to over come most any obstacle that comes your way, not always a bad thing!? My sister helped me write up my business plan, trips to the EDD, HRD, USA etc.!!! became my daily task, and I was trying to get info from any and every person in my path. My prayer constantly being that God would guide me and if it was meant to be He would clearly show me the way, and on the other hand if it wasn't meant to be and the door shut, that I would be ok to walk away-or at least for the time being, put it on the back burner.Lord knew I really wanted it, but I didn't want to manipulate it at any cost. And so...the door closed.
As the months went by, friends would ask about my dream and how it was going. I was completely ok with the fact it hadn't turned out like I wanted (which is so not like me!) But my explanation was " the timing wasn't right" and to myself I felt it had been a wonderful distraction the Lord gave me during the holiday season, which was the first anniversary of Joshua's death. Either way life went on. The year was filled with all sorts of 'stuff ' that kept me busy. Then one day it seemed the door blew open!!!!!
To be continued.........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)