Bed & Breakfast in Estes Park

Eric celebrating Kym’s success in making a small pallet of wool. Annually Kym and Susan (see Susan in next picture) bless our home and our lives with their woolly tales and woolly laughter after attended Estes Park’s yearly Wool Market. Have I said WOOL ENOUGH YET? I’m hoping to grab the search engines attention on this one. (where’s Waldo? That’s our Waldo-Maggie sneaking by in the back). Kym and Susan are laughers–we love a good laugh. Thank you Kym, Susan and Cheryl for laughing with us. Susan, Newbie-Cheryl and Kym with items they made at the wool market classes. Three ladies, three teachers, one a teacher of teachers. Our newest guest Cheryl (center) took on an entire mountain with her forehead and lived to tell her tale at breakfast. Thank you Kym for having your first aide equipment on hand. Cheryl is now known as, “she-who-walk-on-rock”. The woven basket resting on the white table was made by Susan. We love ya–see you all next year.

Marie and Tony came to Estes Park from New Jersey. They too are lovers of the East Coast and its people, and its culture.  Thank you for the beautiful light catcher Tony and Marie.

We spent the morning with Andrea and Michael who come each year to celebrate their anniversary. Congratulations on your 7th year! I’ve talked before about our very open conversations here at the B&B. Well, Andrea is great at opening doors to VERY intriguing topics. It was a given that Obama’s name came up as a topic of debate. Andrea please stay clear of the secret service we love you and want to see you again next year to discuss our new prez…or the anti-Christ theory which ever is applicable.

It’s really hard to get this man to keep a straight face when I’m taking his picture. Anyway! We are now closing our gate when we don’t have a guest staying with us. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on that. Please pick up those phones and dial the number at the bottom of your screens… Actually, please post it on our blog. We’re not a televised program.

After we locked our gate….we treated ourselves to a breakfast burritos at Kind Coffee here in Estes Park. In the summer we go for lunch and in the winters we’ll go at breakfast time.  Click this for the website which has plays music.

Can you see that? Try clicking it.

Getting to know our newest guests Larry and Barbara during check-in time. We are chatters. We love to talk to our guests. When we first opened I told my husband we mustn’t talk politics and religion. Well, that lasted 2 minutes! We cover every topic under the sun at the breakfast table. We laugh, cry, yell, talk-over-each-other. We walk the line I guess you can say. If you’re an innkeeper I suggest walking that line only if it’s in your nature to begin with. Although it hasn’t happened in a year or so, we’ve had people try to convert us to their religion and we’ve had pyramid sales-people try sell us their goods. So, if one is willing to open those doors, one must also be willing to stand strong on their convictions. That’s where the fun comes in…

Maggie (far left) sneaks into tonight’s late night conversation, she tends to pick up on people’s emotions. At this point we are talking about France and Paris and the people that live there. Barbara and Larry have a daughter and son in-law that live in France.

Here we sit: I’m behind the flowers, Eric, Barbara, and Larry talking about politics and mental illness… not that the two have anything to do with one another. The front porch is my favorite place to nap during the day–if I’m so inclined. I’m not really, what you might call–a napper– but sometimes one just MUST.

This afternoon I changed my multi-seasonal wreathe by adding purple silk flowers. I’m not finished with it–it needs some bright yellow sprigs. I use the same wreathe year around by changing out the flowers to bright red berries during the holidays, and autumn leaves in October. The wreathe came with pin cones.

The first flowers on my front porch went out today. I’ll bring them in over night to protect them from late night frost. I love this basket! Each year it showcases my flowers and makes it easy for me to bring the flowers in doors if the weather changes.

Well good night. It’s after 11:00 PM and I have yet to check to see if I have the needed ingrediants for blender pancakes. I took a few days off blogging–I hope you stay with me during my journey in the rockies as an innkeeper.

Now and then when a guest is leaving I’ve a strong urge to plead with them–write me, call me, contact me. SOME HOW let me know how your life turns out. As innkeepers, of a small two room and charming cottage, we get to meet people who are willing to share a part of themselves with us. They leave behind a lasting footprint, not literately. But, you know what I mean.

I find myself hoping for them. It’s enriching. I wonder, maybe it’s the not knowing that makes it magic. (As I was shooting this photo Eric was calling out, ‘it’s for her blog’).

If you are wondering what it feels like to share your home with strangers, here’s one explanation that comes from an old saying. “My so-and-so never knew a stranger”. As an innkeeper it’s sort of like that, at least for me it is. Most people seem familiar to me. I should, maybe, perhaps, greet people with, “I thought you would never get here”!

Mike and Kathy took a soak before breakfast.

Eric keeps the hot tub clean, fresh and ready to go. All you need to do is bring a suite, grab a fresh robe from your room, and SPLASH!

We bought our hot tub in Fort Collins and we love it. The tub has been an added bonus for our own enjoyment five years running.

If you are looking for a good hot tub brand or dealer, please drop us a note and we’ll get you the information.