Our First B & B Ever

As cold and windy as it had been in Maine that morning we left, it did start to clear up by mid- afternoon. In the meantime we enjoyed some of the most beautiful cloud formations on the road. We had been told by people in Maine that we would find most of what we were seeking in fall foliage in New Hampshire and Vermont. We were very happy about that because we sure didn't want to be a couple weeks too early for the magnificent show of colors. It can be a little hard to hit it at peak with all the states hitting it at a sightly different time and with this crazy weather year we have had as well.

You can imagine our delight when scenes
like this became more and more common
as we drove farther into New Hampshire.

This is a little pull out on the road so people
could stop and take photos and look around.

The vista from this pull out included these sights!

If only the camera could capture
what we saw in this little valley!

We ran into a couple of bobble-
headed creatures out on the country roads.
They looked pretty weird but
seemed harmless enough!

There were two of them, the same
ages and exact sizes of Spencer and Ross.
This little one was a real scamp!
~
He has heard me call Jim" Jim-Bob"
after Jim Bob Walton,
and decided he liked to call Grampa "Jim Bobblehead"
We all got hysterical over that one, even Grampa!

As we got off the beaten path to find Bartlett, New Hampshire we were so thankful for our GPS. It was just so good about getting us every where we wanted to go on this trip. As we drove along we were all a little startled by this sign to Naples. Since these kids have lived in a suburb of Naples, Italy for the past three years, they found this pretty cool. We sure didn't think we'd see a Naples sign in NH!

We were happy to find the Inn
as it was about dinner time.
We thought it looked pretty
fun from the outside.

Cute scare crow and all, right?

We had been assigned a cabin to the right of the picture. In between our cabin and the big house was a nice grassy area and swings, etc. they also had a hot tub, fireplaces in the rooms, kitchens "fully equipped" etc. according to the website.

I was pretty mad when I saw this rather pricey place. A cabin for five with three kitchen chairs, dishes for four, no plug in the bathroom and no Internet in the individual places just in the big house. Whoops, they left that out of their ads.

Rivaling the Ahwahnee in decor!

The bedroom which did have a TV and a fireplace but not a chair anywhere (or room for any) so everyone would have to pile on the bed to enjoy either. Well, we are not TV people so I overlooked that. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't exactly this. Poor kids had to draw using the kitchen door as a table.

I felt badly that I was upset about it especially when the Innkeeper's wife told me later how good the place is compared to before. Jim and the kids were fine with it, I was the one that was grumped out. I get like this sometimes, but then I get over it fast and try to make the best of it. I didn't say anything to these lovely people...thank goodness! Is it too late for me to learn to be more adaptable? Me thinks, maybe, but I hope not!

The Drawing Board!

After the fact this is kind of funny!

This is where the other three had to sleep. Seriously? In the kitchen? The bottom bunk where Spencer slept is a trundle. Problem was if Ross had to get out of bed at night he couldn't because he would land right on Spencer. Plus you had to remove the latter to pull out the bottom bed and this top bunk was high, really high.

I think I was upset because it was portrayed so differently. But you roll with it. After we got to know the Innkeepers I felt a little better about it. They had bought this place that was ready to be leveled 8 years ago and slowly their family has been fixing it up. Just the fact that they were trying to resurrect it aroused some compassion in me for the huge undertaking they had been pursuing. They prepared a wonderful "safe" breakfast for Spencer and that alone was worth it to me.

But I still think that if you have a cabin for 5 you need more than three kitchen chairs and a postage size table and a plug in the bathroom. Fortunately we always travel with an extension cord so that was good. For two nights you endure.

I had planned to spend one day here working on the blog while the others went on a train to Mt. Washington. We changed our plans when that didn't seem like a good option after talking to locals and there being no Internet in the room or even a comfortable place to work.

So the Innkeeper gave us some very good advice and we landed up on this beautiful driving loop to see the colors. It was amazing and he was very helpful in orchestrating one of the very best days of the trip. So all in all, the place kind of grew on me and I won't say I was a happy camper about the room but the rest was good. I did feel like I was camping though, just for the record.

I think I would actually stay here again, but with realistic expectations and eyes wide open going in. The things that mattered most were just fine, the people were wonderful, good food, great touring advice...lesson learned...creature comforts just have to take a back seat sometimes, in lieu of a little adventure. Besides nothing can put a damper on just being with Jim and these kids!

A funny side note, several days later we met a couple in Boston that had been traveling about the same amount of time as us, were our age, and they had also stayed in their first and last B & B. We matched each other point for point. We all had a good laugh...it was pretty funny! Bed and Breakfasts in our future?...By referral only, thank you very much!