Meeting New Friends

One of the things I love most about my job running a B&B is that I am constantly meeting new people. Each week as new folks walk through my door they bring with them new ideas, new stories, and very often times they become new friends.

Such was the case this past week.

Since it was the weekend after the Labor Day holiday anyone with children was wrapped up in the act of sending their little ones back to school, college students were already on their way to being settled into new dorm rooms and teachers were busy back in their classrooms once again. That meant it was relatively quiet here in the Berkshires for the first time in months. But, quiet often can mean more time to spend with individual guests. And that is exactly what happened with Sherrie and Michael.

When they arrived and happened to be the only ones in the house for the night it was great to be able to tell them they had the whole house to themselves. Sadly, they were only here for one night as we were a stop over in a longer travel plan but even so I told them to make the most of their stay. And I really hope that they felt that they did.


They had dinner next door at our restaurant, which the next morning they raved about! Sherrie even said that it came close to her mothers cooking. And they had shared a dessert that they said topped their meal off just perfectly. I am always happy when the morning discussion starts off with the tales of the wonderful dinner from the night before. As a lover of food myself, I always delight in a good conversation regarding just such a topic!

I also think they enjoyed their breakfast as well. They were so pleasant and so charming that we barely stopped chatting long enough for them to eat! As a matter of fact I feared one of their courses might even have gotten cold since I had been so caught up in our storytelling. But if it had they were gracious enough not to mention it!

We talked on and on, Michael, Sherrie & I, even my husband Richard joined in at one point from the kitchen. The subjects ranged from other places they had stayed, both good and bad, to politics and health care reform. (something one would not usually discuss with guests!) It was really so enjoyable that we ran on long past breakfast and even past check out time. Something we would not have been able to do if the house were full.

Finally we moved on from the dining room and went on a tour of the house and all the guest rooms. Again, not something I could have done while we were full. Both Sherrie and Michael were most complimentary of the rooms and the house itself and discussed the possibility of coming back again. We talked about all the great things to do in the area and they really seemed to think they would find their way back to us.

I hope so. They are really lovely people and were so much fun to talk with. I'm sure we have many more stories to swap about food, travel, and more. Even another discussion about haunted places to stay may be on the agenda!

When it was time for them to get back on the road again to finish their travels we said our farewells, hugged good-bye and then I watched from my kitchen window as they drove off. Richard and I talked about how nice they had been and how great it is to have the chance to meet people like them even for such a brief time.

If and when they do come back it will be like welcoming old friends into our home for a visit. I hope they went home feeling the same way.