Well that's over! Our first six months of innkeeping is in the bag. The learning curve was steep, but we never stopped climbing and here we are, more or less feeling like we know what we are doing. It's getting easier, as we get accustomed to the ebbs and flows of the days and weeks. We'll be busy this summer and busier than busy this fall, but we are confident that we have what it takes to work our way through this busy season.
There are two major things we have to do, now that we have gotten this far and decided that yes, indeed, we want to own our own inn. First, we have to figure out how and when we will wrap up our gig at this inn; second, we have to find our inn, the one that excites us.
Regarding the first point, we have a one year contract with Dick to run the Bernerhof. He has asked us to stay another six months because so far, he has not had anyone show any interest in buying the inn. Neither Carla nor I feel like we have anything personally or professionally to gain by working here another six months beyond December 31. To put it bluntly, we feel like we will be done. The flip side is that I wouldn't mind working another ski season. Now that we know what we are doing, I know if we work another ski season I will get a lot of opportunities to ski during the week. I want to learn how to cross country ski, too. I'm planning on starting my square dancing lessons in September, so I will have that activity to keep me busy through the winter, too. I don't want to work another six months here, but I can see the bright side, too. I don't want to be away from Jack for an extra six months. As the job gets more manageable, I miss him more and more. Carla doesn't want to waste any more time than we have to. She's ready to find the place where we're going to settle down and start establishing her home base. All of this doesn't mean we won't stay an extra six months, but it does mean we are going to have to put together a deal with Dick that makes sense for us financially to stay. Carla, Jack and I have a basic frame work that we've discussed, but I haven't put it in writing yet and we have not discussed it with Dick yet. I feel a little stressed by this whole thing, so the sooner we can get it done, the better. I'll start working on the proposal in earnest this week.
Regarding the second point, for the longest time we didn't have a firm idea of where we wanted to look for an inn. I kind of liked the idea of New England, we've been toying with the idea of the mountains of western Maryland, we've considered the Smokey Mountains, Colorado, and Washington state. Slowly but surely, as we think through this, we are narrowing our focus. I am letting New England fall out from my list. For some reason, I wanted to live up here and I am glad that we're here. I really like this town, I like the mountains, the people are awesome and snow season was actually a lot of fun. But I don't need to live here for the rest of my life. I'm still flirting a little bit with Western Maryland, but I think that is mostly because I have good memories of vacationing at Deep Creek Lake many, many years ago. After all, it was at Deep Creek Lake that I discovered I was pregnant with Carla. How could I not have good memories of that? I'm still slightly intrigued with Western Washington, but I don't feel a strong pull to be there. The area of the country that is pulling at me the strongest is Colorado, or maybe southern Utah. The biggest drawback of Colorado is that real estate is excessively expensive, so finding something reasonably priced and viable may be difficult. Also, forest fires are a concern. I don't think we should not worry about that. That said, Colorado keeps on tugging at me. I discussed this with Carla and Jack yesterday, and they are both more than OK with starting the search there. Carla spent three years in Colorado and misses it. As for Jack and me, one of the very important reasons that Colorado has appeal, is that it puts us very close to most of our kids and grandchildren, and it puts us a lot closer to our California kids. Quite frankly, New England feels a little isolating. It's far from all of our family. Washington state appeals to me mostly because I would like to live close to my dad, but living close to him means being far from everyone else. As I spend time here at the Bernerhof, far away from family, I am developing a healthier respect for the importance of being able to spend time with those that we love. This work is demanding and time consuming. Time off will be precious. I don't want to have to travel an entire day by air to see my grandchildren. I don't want them to only be able to afford to come see us once every few years. Owning and running an inn is something I want do to for the rest of my life, but I don't want to do it at the expense of not spending time with the rest of my family. Colorado makes sense. It's beautiful, people living in and visiting Colorado are outdoor oriented people, and it's a vacation destination. Yesterday, we made the decision to start focusing our search on Colorado and southern Utah. Wish us luck.
I did well yesterday with all four points of my plan. I walked for over an hour, I was 100% on program with food, I got over 8 hours of sleep, and I drank plenty of water. The scale is stuck. Ah well.
Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!
