Among the many odd things that happen in places of lodging, this is a story from our first or second summer in business.
It seems that one of our female guests wandered out of her room late at night without a stitch of clothing and wandered into another guest room where the sleeping couple had apparently forgotten to lock the door. The couple in this room were there for his birthday, the stay was a gift to him from his wife. The man awoke first, saw the naked woman in the room and thought "This is the best birthday present EVER! My wife is soooo cool." Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on your perspective) at this point the wife woke up but before she could react the sleepwalker turned and exited the room. I gather she headed downstairs.
My husband & I, despite the fact that we live in the house, were totally oblivious to this entire escapade until the next morning when the guests from the 2nd room told us about it after breakfast. They thought it was extremely funny. Adam & I were astonished that they had managed to have breakfast at the same time as the sleepwalker and her husband and remain totally cool about it, not saying a word while they were still in the house.
Both couples were there a 2nd night but I'm pretty sure the birthday boy's wife made sure their door was locked before going to bed!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Oyster Festival
It's Oyster Festival Weekend!
As busy as August is here in Wellfleet, the Oyster Festival brings in more people than there are on an average day in that busy month. Last year the estimated attendance was 20,000 people over the two days with about 13,000 attending on Saturday. Approximately 100,000 Wellfleet oysters were consumed at the festival. Projections this year are for 25,000 people to attend. Since the weather is beautiful and each year there seems to be more publicity about the festival, I'd say that's a pretty fair projection.
Opinion in the town is somewhat divided between those who think the festival is great and those who would like it to go away. Not surprisingly, most of us in the business community think it's great. It brings in tons of people who spend money on lodging, food and souvenirs and it's a week later than the traditional "end" of the season, which was Columbus Day weekend.
The festival organizers have been pretty well organized as far as parking, restroom facilities and clean-up are concerned. Considering the festival is only in its seventh year and the growth between years 2 & 3 was HUGE, I've been pretty impressed at how well the logistics have been handled. Year 3, which had the first really big influx of people for the festival, was a bit rough but the organizers clearly took the lessons learned that year to heart. Kudos to them. On Monday morning it will be difficult to tell that anything out of the ordinary happened in the center of town.
We have a great group here for the festival. Most of them were here last year and they really enjoyed each others' company. Most of them are staying a third night this year, which is lovely as well. As for me, my cleaning chores are done and I hear the oysters calling...
As busy as August is here in Wellfleet, the Oyster Festival brings in more people than there are on an average day in that busy month. Last year the estimated attendance was 20,000 people over the two days with about 13,000 attending on Saturday. Approximately 100,000 Wellfleet oysters were consumed at the festival. Projections this year are for 25,000 people to attend. Since the weather is beautiful and each year there seems to be more publicity about the festival, I'd say that's a pretty fair projection.
Opinion in the town is somewhat divided between those who think the festival is great and those who would like it to go away. Not surprisingly, most of us in the business community think it's great. It brings in tons of people who spend money on lodging, food and souvenirs and it's a week later than the traditional "end" of the season, which was Columbus Day weekend.
The festival organizers have been pretty well organized as far as parking, restroom facilities and clean-up are concerned. Considering the festival is only in its seventh year and the growth between years 2 & 3 was HUGE, I've been pretty impressed at how well the logistics have been handled. Year 3, which had the first really big influx of people for the festival, was a bit rough but the organizers clearly took the lessons learned that year to heart. Kudos to them. On Monday morning it will be difficult to tell that anything out of the ordinary happened in the center of town.
We have a great group here for the festival. Most of them were here last year and they really enjoyed each others' company. Most of them are staying a third night this year, which is lovely as well. As for me, my cleaning chores are done and I hear the oysters calling...
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
You Know You Live in a Small Town When...
Your appliance guy walks in your open back door, replaces the part that caused the breakdown and leaves a note hanging on your door saying the appliance is fixed, all without you even seeing him. Happened today.
Your UPS guy just leaves your boxes in your kitchen. Happens all the time.
Your bank calls to remind you to come down and sign some papers. That would never happen in New York City.
One of the waitresses at a restaurant you get to about three times a year in a different town (!) knows you make amazing scones, even though she's never had them. I guess we'll have to do something about that.
Moving from the biggest city in the country to a really small town was certainly full of surprises. Most, like the above, have been good and make me smile.
Your UPS guy just leaves your boxes in your kitchen. Happens all the time.
Your bank calls to remind you to come down and sign some papers. That would never happen in New York City.
One of the waitresses at a restaurant you get to about three times a year in a different town (!) knows you make amazing scones, even though she's never had them. I guess we'll have to do something about that.
Moving from the biggest city in the country to a really small town was certainly full of surprises. Most, like the above, have been good and make me smile.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Refrigerator update
My appliance guy came by this afternoon, disguised as a fire chief (he IS the chief in a nearby town - almost everyone out here has two jobs). The problem turned out to be a fan blade that had detached itself from its mount. Simple fix, no moving of the refrigerator required. I am SO relieved. He is concerned that the blade will come off again, so he will bring a new one by in the next day or two. Meanwhile we can reload the refrigerator. Since the fan is in the freezer behind the rear panel, I'm leaving that empty for him until he installs the new blade.
Who knew such a thing could happen? We are so lucky to have a great repair guy nearby. He sells new appliances as well, but I'd much rather repair than replace as long as the economics of doing so make sense.
Who knew such a thing could happen? We are so lucky to have a great repair guy nearby. He sells new appliances as well, but I'd much rather repair than replace as long as the economics of doing so make sense.
Friday, September 28, 2007
What's up with this?
I've never had such a difficult year for appliances. Usually we'll have a problem with one appliance over the course of a season, but this year it's been ridiculous. First it was the washing machine which was working but was clearly not happy and turned out to be a fairly easy fix of a broken spring. Then the dishwasher bit the dust. A few weeks ago we had to have a repair call for the refrigerator in the kitchen to fix one of the doors. Then the washing machine DIED right in the middle of the first wash cycle this past Sunday, a day when every room in the house had checked out. Thankfully I'm on good terms with my next-door neighbors who have a 26 room guest house and three washing machines. I was able to get enough stuff washed to get me through the next couple of days and my appliance repair guy sent his crew to me on Monday. The problem turned out to be the transmission and they either fixed or replaced it - I wasn't home to see.
You'd think that would be enough appliance trouble for one season, but this morning when I was making breakfast I discovered that my 2nd refrigerator - the one we store most of the B&B supplies in - was not all that cold. A thermometer showed temps in the 50's. I put a call into my repair guy around 8:15 but they weren't able to get to us today. We got the thing emptied out and all the important stuff is chilling away in the refrigerator in the cottage, but the unit in question is going to be a bear to move because it's really wedged into a spot in my office/laundry room. So on the one hand I'm really hoping the repair crew can get here tomorrow, but on the other hand it's going to be ugly when they do. Wish me luck.
You'd think that would be enough appliance trouble for one season, but this morning when I was making breakfast I discovered that my 2nd refrigerator - the one we store most of the B&B supplies in - was not all that cold. A thermometer showed temps in the 50's. I put a call into my repair guy around 8:15 but they weren't able to get to us today. We got the thing emptied out and all the important stuff is chilling away in the refrigerator in the cottage, but the unit in question is going to be a bear to move because it's really wedged into a spot in my office/laundry room. So on the one hand I'm really hoping the repair crew can get here tomorrow, but on the other hand it's going to be ugly when they do. Wish me luck.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Notable Guests
A lot of our guests are interesting, but we've had two especially interesting guests in the past ten days or so. Sadly, both had to leave before breakfast so my other guests never got to meet them and I barely got to chat with them myself.
The first was Ruby Dee Davis, who was in town for a fundraiser at the local theater. She's a sweet, lovely lady who arrived at about 5 p.m. on the evening of the event and was picked up at 7:45 a.m. to return to the airport in Boston. She was already packed and in the living room when I came down to prep breakfast at 7 a.m., although she was dozing on the couch. I was impressed that she'd gotten her suitcase down the stairs on her own, since she's quite petite and in her 80's. That suitcase was at least half her size! At any rate, she was snoozing on the couch so I let her be for a while. When I woke her, about 20 minutes before her limo was due, she asked me if there was anything she could do to help me. So cute!
The second notable guest I checked in yesterday. His name didn't ring a bell, but after I checked him in I noticed that his address was 5th Avenue in NYC. That's a pretty high-rent neighborhood, so I Googled him. He turned out to be an architectural luminary, someone who's work I knew but who's name I did not. One of his partners is even more famous. I was extremely sorry I didn't get a chance to speak with him at greater length. Sadly, my husband, who studied architecture, was out of town this weekend and didn't get to meet him at all. He left at about 8 a.m. to head back to New York.
Well, so it goes. Perhaps one or both of them will return and stick around for a few days.
The first was Ruby Dee Davis, who was in town for a fundraiser at the local theater. She's a sweet, lovely lady who arrived at about 5 p.m. on the evening of the event and was picked up at 7:45 a.m. to return to the airport in Boston. She was already packed and in the living room when I came down to prep breakfast at 7 a.m., although she was dozing on the couch. I was impressed that she'd gotten her suitcase down the stairs on her own, since she's quite petite and in her 80's. That suitcase was at least half her size! At any rate, she was snoozing on the couch so I let her be for a while. When I woke her, about 20 minutes before her limo was due, she asked me if there was anything she could do to help me. So cute!
The second notable guest I checked in yesterday. His name didn't ring a bell, but after I checked him in I noticed that his address was 5th Avenue in NYC. That's a pretty high-rent neighborhood, so I Googled him. He turned out to be an architectural luminary, someone who's work I knew but who's name I did not. One of his partners is even more famous. I was extremely sorry I didn't get a chance to speak with him at greater length. Sadly, my husband, who studied architecture, was out of town this weekend and didn't get to meet him at all. He left at about 8 a.m. to head back to New York.
Well, so it goes. Perhaps one or both of them will return and stick around for a few days.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Very Cool
I flew a plane today!
One of my husband's friends from the fire department owns two planes, a single engine and a twin engine, and was planning to take another guy from the department flying today, so he invited Adam along. Adam was committed to handling breakfast at the inn today (our Sunday ritual), so he offered me the spot. Despite having to get up a little earlier than I might have, this kind of opportunity doesn't come along often so I grabbed it.
I met Peter at his home at about 8:45 this morning. Moe and his two kids - six and around five years old - were already there. We drove to the little airport in Chatham where we boarded Peter's twin-engine Piper Seneca, similar to the one in the photo above, and took off. Peter gave us all headsets with microphones so we could talk to each other and we could also hear the information from small airports from Provincetown to Newport, RI.
Moe sat in the back with the kids and I got the co-pilot's seat. We flew past Monmoy Island hoping to see seals but there weren't many. Judging from the number of fishing boats out, there must have been lots of fish around today so we assumed they were all off feeding. Then we headed up the bay side of the Cape, getting a peek at the target ship off of Eastham, circling Moe's house, then the inn, then up to Provincetown. After we rounded the tip of the Cape at Provincetown, Peter asked me if I'd like to take the controls. Hell, yeah! I flew from Provincetown all the way back down to Chatham, made a second pass around Monmoy (still no seals) and aimed us towards the airport. The plane has a light touch at the controls, which sort of surprised me. It was remarkably easy to gain or loose a hundred or more feet in altitude, particularly while making turns, so holding steady took a little practice. Don't worry, I let Peter do the airport approach and landing!
Peter has been flying for 27 years and has been a flight instructor for 14, so I felt quite safe in taking the controls. He talked through the takeoff procedure, showing me all the various switches, levers, gauges, etc. That stuff fascinates me, someday I'd love to learn to fly.
The weather today was perfect: clear, sunny and low humidity. We could see all the way to Boston. The tide was low and that allowed us to see the old target ship off Eastham and what's left of Billingsgate Island here in Wellfleet, as well as all the flats where local shellfish are farmed. It was a terrific morning. I was back at the inn by 11:30 feeling pretty good.
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