Speedwell Forge B&B

YouTube

2008-02-21T08:11:00.003-05:00

All of our videos to have been loaded to YouTube. Click the link to load all 21 of them; Watch YouTube Videos

Jane Austen Society

2007-02-21T13:29:00.000-05:00

The Jane Austen Society met last night (in full costume) and sent us photos:

Changes afoot

2007-02-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's February already. We've been open six months, we've met some great people, we've gotten some great reviews, we've had a lot of fun, and we've got 68 people subscribed to our email list--amazing! (Where were you guys three years ago?!)

There are some changes afoot:

We're rearranging a little, so instead of having "Bill's room" with a full-size bed, we'll have the "South Room" with a queen-size bed, fireplace, and private bath (shower only), for $150/night. The South room is much larger as well.
We're renaming the "Boys' room" to the "Eastlake room" to reflect the antique Eastlake bedroom set, including two beds, a marble-topped dresser, and a nightstand. Since we're targeting women traveling together, "Boys' room" definitely wasn't appropriate. (I wanted to go with the "Girls' room" but was overruled.)
I'm no longer involved in the day-to-day activities. Dawn is taking care of it all, with the able assistance of Ruth Hollinger. There's so much to do, from breakfast to marketing, it's hard to believe one person can handle it all, but she's doing fine.
We've got several new packages available, including chocolate and rose petals, a "fireside" picnic basket, personalized wine bottles, a girlfriend getaway for 2-4 women, dinner in bed, dinner with the Amish (not in bed), couples massage (also not in bed), carriage rides, and hot air balloon rides. We're not marking these services up at all; we're just partnering with local vendors to help our guests make the most of their stay. (I'm hoping that if we can drive enough traffic to these vendors, we can also negotiate discounts for our guests.)
The wolf sanctuary has started a new program, "By the light of the moon," where the public is invited to come after dark, sit around the campfire, and commune with the wolves. This is offered once a month, on the Saturday closest to the full moon, and we hope our guests will take advantage of this.
We're implementing a two-day minimum on weekends for the cottages. We always thought B&Bs had minimum stays because they were greedy, but it turns out it's just too much work to turn over all the rooms on a busy weekend. The rooms in the mansion will still be available for one night stands. (Uh, perhaps I should rephrase that.)
I'm overhauling the "itineraries" section to map out all of the attractions, and allow visitors to create and print their own custom itineraries complete with description, hours, and location maps. So far it looks pretty good, but I'm having problems with Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, I accidentally rolled out a beta version and wiped out the old itineraries section, so I apologize in advance if you have any problems. I am working on it.

Well, I think that's enough change for six months. Hopefully in another six months we'll have the back porch restored, so you can sit in a rocking chair and enjoy the fireflies and the cicadas. (It will be screened in, of course.)

Don't forget, in honor of black history month, we're giving away two free tickets to the Underground Railroad Experience if you stay two nights, including a Friday or Saturday. We're even mentioned in a press release on B&Bs with Underground Railroad ties.

We're also hosting a meeting of the local Jane Austen society on Tuesday, February 20, in full Victorian costume! If you're a fan of the author, please join us.

And as always, we're always looking for ways to improve, so if you have any suggestions, ideas, or feedback, please let us know. Thanks!

In the news (again)

2007-01-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

Happy new year!

US Airways started the year off right, announcing it was cutting fares up to 50% on flights to Harrisburg airport. (Harrisburg is about 45 minutes away, and is the closest major airport to Lancaster.) Some examples:

$119 from Boston
$128 from Hartford
$223 from Phoenix

These are all one-way, advance purchase, excluding fees and taxes. This was described as a "permanent cut," not a sale. Hopefully the other airlines (Air Canada, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United) will follow suit. Harrisburg (airport code MDT) has non-stop flights from Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Washington DC, with connecting flights to everywhere else. It's also a very nice airport, clean and uncrowded; a far cry from Philadelphia.

You should also check out our new "directions" page, which makes it easier than ever to get to Lancaster.

In other news (literally), I just found out we were featured in the local newspaper two weeks ago. It's a nice article about all the antiques that were restored. It's great when you can save a house, but when you can save a house *and* all of its contents, that's really cool. (By the way, Dawn neglects to mention she was never allowed to touch the furniture when her grandmother was alive, and was once thrown out of the house for playing with the ice dispenser on the refrigerator.)

Some errata:

Anne Coleman (conflicting sources put it as both "Ann" and "Anne") did live in the mansion as a child, and met Robert Coleman when her father invited the young clerk to live with them. (Coleman had arrived a penniless immigrant just a few years before that.) When Robert and Anne married, they moved out.
In 1784, Robert purchased the property from his then-father-in-law, who had already moved to Reading, but they did not move in. Instead, they ended up at Elizabeth furnace, which Stiegel had already built. (Coleman added a wing, and it is now known as the Coleman-Stiegel mansion.)
There was no Lake View Drive in 1941 -- it wasn't until the 1960s that the state took some of the Darlington property and created the lake. They were driving down Speedwell Forge Rd which, I don't think, even had a name at that time. (All of the mail was addressed to "Rural Route 2.")
The 1930s piano we bought in Los Angeles and moved to Pennsylvania. Even though Dawn's grandparents called the front room the "music room," they didn't have any musical instruments. (They did have a cool vacuum-tube stereo that still works, but is currently in storage.) Ironically, the music room is now called the parlor, even though that's where the piano is.
The clawfoot tub is definitely not antique--it's a whirlpool tub, for goodness sake! And most clawfoot tubs are five-feet long and so narrow they make you feel claustrophobic--this monster is six feet long and three feet wide!

Lancaster New Era (PA)
December 29, 2006
Grandma's house
Lovingly restored antiques and wonderful memories make this home-turned-B&B a family treasure.
Author: Laura Knowles, Correspondent
Section: A
Page: A7
Dateline: Lancaster, PA

WHEN DAWN DARLINGTON was ready to furnish the newly restored 1760 Speedwell Forge Bed & Breakfast with lovely antiques, she didn't have to go far.

"Most of the antiques and furniture were my grandmother's. They have been here in this house for many years," says Darlington.

In furnishing the bed and breakfast, Darlington even reproduced many of the same arrangements that her grandmother had used. Sofas and chairs in the living room are in the same places, arranged in much the same way.

The only difference is that Darlington had many of the pieces reupholstered and refinished, in some cases, to return them to the beauty that she recalled from her own childhood, when she spent many hours at Grandma's house.

Darlington's grandparents, Kathryn and Gerald Darlington, bought the historic sandstone mansion back in 1941. It seems that Kathryn was smitten with the place right from the start, when she first saw it as they were driving along Lake View Drive in Elizabeth Township.

The home had a rich and long history, dating back to 1760, when it was built by ironmaster James Old, whose daughter, Ann, married Robert Coleman, who had been his clerk.

The Darlingtons created their own history, when Gerald Darlington - who worked at Hamilton Watch Co. -surprised his wife with the elegant mansion as a gift. For years before that, it was the site of a dairy farm and a stock farm for race horses. When the Darlingtons bought it, the home became a quiet country retreat, where family dinners were served and the family sat on the back porch watching the birds from the Speedwell Forge wetlands.

Kathryn Darlington was widowed in 1972, and spent the next 14 years living alone in the house until her death in 1986.

"I loved it here. I used to always say I wanted to live in Grandma's house someday," says Darlington, who is the daughter of Barbara and the late Bill Darlington.

She had her chance, when she and her husband, Gregg Hesling, moved from California to Elizabeth Township and embarked on restoring the family home to its previous glory. Not only would they live there, but Darlington decided to turn it into a bed and breakfast inn, to help fund all the restoration needed.

"You wouldn't believe what this looked like when we started. It was overwhelming," says Darlington, adding that the house had been vacant since 1986, and had since become home to squirrels, mice and birds.

It took 18 months to add a new slate roof, paint the hand-carved woodwork, refinish the wood floors and transform it into a home for Darlington, her family and their guests. In each room there are memories of Kathryn Darlington, thanks to the antiques and furnishings that Dawn Darlington has so lovingly restored.

In the front living room or parlor, her grandmother's antique bone china fills the built-in corner cupboard. Most of the pieces were made in England and include Royal Imperial, Tuscan, Adderly and other patterns. Antique chairs and tables fill the room, along with steam radiators from 1874. The radiators utilize steam to heat the rooms, with water heated to a steamy 212 degrees.

There is a piano from the 1930s and a crystal chandelier that was so coated with dirt and grime that it was almost thrown away.

The grand Georgian-style foyer features several especially notable antique pieces, including an exquisite 1904 clock with a gold filigree design and large numbers on the face. The clock was made by Breitinger & Sons of Philadelphia and still works, powered by weights that slowly fall.

A hand-blown art glass oil lamp from the late 1800s or early 1900s shimmers in cool shades of blue with a circular pattern. The oil lamp was converted into an electric lamp in the 1940s and still sports the pulley system that was used to drop the snuffer on the flame when it was time to turn out the lights.

Upstairs, more of Grandma's antiques adorn the home. An antique sleigh bed is used in the innkeepers' room to the rear of the house. The bedroom that was once Kathryn Darlington's at the front of the inn is now a guest room, accented with a canopy bed, dressers and chairs that were there many years ago.

One of the most intriguing antiques is not movable at all. Wallpaper hangers created their own little record of the home's history. W.A. Gantz recorded the date that he had first wallpapered the room: June 30, 1902. Then the room was wallpapered again on Dec. 10, 1947, by Harvey O. Eberly, who wrote on the wall under his workmanship. On Feb. 10, 1964, H.O. Eberly made his mark next to the second signing. The weather was even recorded as "Fair and cold."

"When we found this, we decided to preserve it," said Darlington, who had it framed. It is now a permanent work of art on the wall of Grandma's room.

Speedwell Forge B&B is filled with many other antique treasures, such as clawfoot bathtubs, antique vanities, bookcases, a Pennsylvania German shrank and a dining room table with chairs.

The home itself is an architectural treasure, listed on the National Register of Historic Homes. Located at an iron forge known as Speedwell Forge, its history goes back to James Old and his son-in-law, Robert Coleman, who made a fortune casting iron chain links, cannon balls and other iron items. They built the mansion, which blended Georgian and Federal styles.

It is doubtful than Ann Old Coleman ever lived in the mansion. Her husband built the Coleman mansion further north at Elizabeth Furnace for his family after Henry William "Baron" Stiegel, founder of Manheim, Charming Forge and Stiegel Glass, lost his fortune and became Coleman's employee.

Darlington thinks that the home's history has much to offer as a bed and breakfast inn. With three guest rooms and two private cottages - one is the paymaster's cottage - guests enjoy a three-course breakfast, the natural setting at Speedwell Forge Lake, the adjacent wolf refuge started by Darlington's father and the warm hospitality of Grandma's house.

"I love knowing that the antiques and furniture my grandmother had are still here, making people feel as welcome as I always did," says Darlington.

Clockwise from left: An antique ceiling lamp, radiator and foot locker are among the family heirlooms Dawn Darlington used to decorate Speedwell Forge Bed and Breakfast. Photos by Marty Heisey

All content (c) 2006 Lancaster Newspapers Inc. and may not be republished without permission.

And finally, we're celebrating black history month in February by giving away two free tickets to "Living the Experience," an amazing hands-on re-enactment of the Underground Railroad. Just stay two nights, including a Friday or Saturday, and the tickets are yours. These tickets are $23 each so this is a great deal, and I hope people will take advantage of this offer because Living the Experience is definitely worthwhile, no matter what your background. The tour is only offered Saturdays at 1pm. Sometimes they host a southern BBQ afterwards, for $11. More info here:

Google bombs

2006-12-11T16:36:00.000-05:00

I'm beta testing a new feature that let's you send a Speedwell Forge postcard to anyone in the U.S. Really, a postcard. In the mail. With a stamp. For free. You do remember what a postcard is, don't you?

http://www.speedwellforge.com/postcard.html

I figure if you're willing to spam your friends with marketing junk mail from us, the least I can do is pay for it. Keep in mind that it's a real person taking care of these, so keep it clean, keep it short, and don't overwhelm us with requests. We reserve the option of deleting any requests we want to.

Oh, and we only use the address to send the postcard. We don't save it, we don't put it on a list, we don't give it to the government. (Well, we give the postcard to the government, and it has the address, so I guess we do give it to the government. Sorry.)

And now for something completely different...

A "google bomb" generally refers to an exploit in the Google search engine which results in a particular (and unrelated) web site showing in the first or second position for a given search phrase. (See "miserable failure.") Well, I don't think anyone has google-bombed us, but we do show up in the top spots for some very unusual search phrases:

If you find any others (especially if you "landed" here while searching for something else) please post them in the comments.

Stats, ads, and photos

2006-11-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

Since March 22, 2005, we've had 83,395 page loads and 15,995 unique visitors. Of course, in the first year we weren't advertising anywhere, so most of the traffic stumbled in via some of the most bizarre Google searches imaginable (here, here, here, and here.) In fact, we averaged an anemic 11 new visitors per day. Fully 40% of our traffic came in just two months, right before we opened until the end of summer, with an average body count of 93 new visitors per day. Since then, we've averaged 44 new visitors per day.

We certainly aren't averaging 44 reservations per day, though, so I don't know what these people are doing. I mean, seriously, once you see the photographs and read about the history, how could you stay anywhere else? (Seriously, let me know.)

The most gratifying statistics, though, are the number of repeat visitors and the average page views per visit. I assume that means people are coming back and reading this blog. Thanks! But really, you need to book a reservation. Otherwise you're just loitering.

In other news...

Cyndi Close, a professional photographer, posted a very nice review with some beautiful photos on her blog.
Ericka Gray, another professional photographer, also posted some photos of the wolf sanctuary.
We submitted our new ads for the Lititz directory. (Last year, they reformatted our ad and screwed up the phone number, so we didn't get many calls for that ad.) Take a look and let us know what you think.

Inside back cover

Half page ad

And finally, yesterday the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitor's Bureau (padutchcountry.com) announced their 2007 campaign -- "Wake up in Lancaster County." You'd think I'd be thrilled since this directly benefits me, but just to look a gift horse in the mouth, I think it's a little lame because Philadelphia has been running virtually the same campaign--"Philly's more fun when you stay over"--for two years. (That, and their controversial gay-friendly campaign--"Get your history straight and your nightlife gay.") Anyway, they talked about offering 5% discounts on morning coffee and an "I woke up" sticker so that merchants could be extra-nice to people who stayed over (and, by extension, less nice to day trippers). I told them to give away free coffee mugs and coupon booklets to people who stay over instead, but nobody ever listens to me.

P.S. Don't forget about our Cabin Fever promotion--buy one night, get one night free in January. (Friday/Saturday nights are excluded, but Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday are okay.) This is a great deal, not to be repeated for at least a year, so all of you locals who are stuck in the cold and snow anyway, find a babysitter and make your reservations, even if you have to go to work while you're on vacation. Think of it as a "power vacation."

Gwinnett Daily Post

2006-11-05T23:50:00.000-05:00

Our first real review came out today, from the Gwinnett Daily Post in Georgia. (Full text reprinted with permission, below.)

By the way, we just signed up to the Pennsylvania Tourism "Cabin Fever" promotion, offering one night free with a one night stay throughout January (excludes Friday/Saturday, but Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday work). They haven't updated their web site yet, but you can make a reservation now by going here. This is a great deal, and a great opportunity to get away from the kids and recover from the holidays. (Don't make me show you the photo of the Paymaster's Office again.)

"Dutch country bed-and-breakfast offers a sense of warmth," Taste & Travel section, 11/5/2006

Dutch country bed-and-breakfast offers a sense of warmth
11/05/2006

By Robert J. Nebel
Staff Correspondent
gdptravel@gmail.com

From coast to coast, entrepreneurs open up their homes to travelers looking for that down-home touch. Bed-and-breakfast inns are the perfect place to enjoy autumn - falling leaves, fall festivals, welcoming fireplaces - during an off-season vacation or weekend jaunt.

No one knows that better than Dawn Darlington and Greg [sic] Hesling, who run the Speedwell Forge Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Located among the region's rolling hills, pristine lakes and natural parks, this bed-and-breakfast in the town of Lititz is filled with tranquility and history.

Built in 1760, the Speedwell Forge Mansion features original craftsmanship, seen in its hand-carved cupboards to its hardwood floors. The home sits on land that was once home to an iron forge. Massive stone walls, deep-paneled windows and high ceilings give this bed-and-breakfast a sense of stateliness. Spacious beds, romantic fireplaces, claw-foot whirlpool tubs and pedestal sinks characterize Speedwell Forge's retro appeal.

Even though the bed-and-breakfast's rooms are appointed in a design of yesteryear, modern amenities are included here. If, for some reason, you need to be connected to the world, high-speed Internet access, TVs and DVD players are available. But why would you want to sit in front of a screen when you could spend a night by a fireplace, wrapped in an Amish quilt, soaking up the atmosphere?

Top it all with eating a scrumptious three-course breakfast in the morning and you've got a perfectly relaxing trip.

Life off the fast lane

The best part about staying in a bed-and-breakfast is that you get to establish a relationship with your hosts. When you visit Speedwell, you learn that owners Darlington and Hesling moved to this bucolic setting after living life in Los Angeles' fast lane for years. Darlington, who is a Pennsylvania Dutch country native, returned to take over the mansion that has been in her mother's family for 65 years. After saving money and embarking on countless cross-country trips over an eight-year period, the couple opened Speedwell last summer.

"We got our occupancy permit July 27 and had our first guests July 28," Hesling wrote in an e-mail. "They had booked the room online and had no idea they were our first 'guinea,' I mean, guests!"

Booking online with the bed-and-breakfast is a click away at the bottom of Speedwell Forge's Web site, which Hesling maintains in addition to a number of duties around the property. The 36-year-old California transplant is handling the transition well - for a city dweller.

"Moving to a 120-acre farm in the countryside has been quite a challenge," he admitted in his Speedwell Forge blog. "I lost 15 pounds in my first month just walking around the property trying to get organized."

Getting there

The drive to Speedwell from the Atlanta metro area would take more than 11 hours. A more realistic way to get there is by flying into Philadelphia and renting a car from Philadelphia International. The drive to Speedwell is about an hour and a half from the airport.

Activities in the day

If you're scared there's nothing to do in rural Pennsylvania, think again. Hesling and Darlington are a walking encyclopedia on the area's fascinating museums and attractions. In Lititz, you'll find Kready's Country Store Museum. Authentic artifacts, goods and fixtures from the store's original owners are displayed throughout the museum.

[Note from Gregg: Kready's, unfortunately, closed years ago. I never mentioned Kready's to the author; I think he picked it up out of the 'itineraries' page which, unfortunately, still has some outdated information.]

A visit to the country store museum might put you in the mood for some sweets. Stop by the free Wilbur Chocolate Candy Americana Museum, where you can explore the history of confections by browsing a collection of early candy-making machines and marble slabs. You can satisfy your cravings by visiting the store section of the building, where they still offer free Wilbur Bud samples.

The Wheatland Mansion, in nearby Lancaster, requires a bit of a drive but is well worth the effort. This building served as President James Buchanan's estate during his last years. Also worth the drive is Columbia's National Watch and Clock Museum, known to have one of the most comprehensive collections of clocks, watches and other time related tools.

More info

Speedwell Forge
www.speedwellforge.com
1-800-EST-1760
stay@speedwellforge.com
Shop Lititz
www.shoplititz.com

Did you Know?

Speedwell Forge was built in 1760 by James Old, an early ironmaster. A forge is a workshop where wrought iron is produced.

[Note from Gregg: No it's not, it's where pig iron is heated and hammered to remove impurities and strengthen the iron, creating black iron. Black iron is shipped to blacksmiths who then shape it into what form is necessary.]

James Old's son-in-law, Robert Coleman, expanded Speedwell Forge. The Coleman family went on to own most of the forges and furnaces in the area.
The forge on the property closed in 1854. It became a horse breeding farm and then a dairy farm.
In 1942, Gerald and Kathryn Darlington purchased Speedwell Forge. It was vacant from 1986 until last year.
Today, Speedwell Forge's 120 acres contain a 22-acre wolf sanctuary and a 70-acre corn field.

Source: Speedwell Forge Bed and Breakfast

Job description

2006-10-03T01:20:00.000-04:00

"Can't cook, can't make beds, hate laundry, won't iron, don't like to get up before 9, not handy, can't do yardwork, looking for innkeeper position."

Would you hire this person?

Neither would I.

So what happens when you are this person, and you become an innkeeper through no fault of your own? You make sure you have a good support network, even if that is just one person.

Granted, it's a little emasculating when I'm wearing rubber gloves and Dawn is wearing a toolbelt, and her toolbox is much bigger than mine. (Actually, it used to be mine.) However, are skills are complementary:

I stay up late and prepare everything for breakfast; she gets up early and serves it
She pays the bills; I manage the books
She makes the rooms look good, and I take care of the marketing
I take care of the web site, marketing, phone system, wireless Internet, and anything that interests me; she takes care of everything else

Of course, if it was up to Dawn you'd be spared all of the behind-the-scenes minutiae of restoring a property and opening a bed and breakfast. As far as you'd know, the mansion and cottages would have sprung fully conceived for your comfort and enjoyment, breakfast would run like clockwork, we wouldn't have any problems with our reservation system, and you wouldn't flinch at the sight of a rubber ducky. (OK, maybe that's just me.)

But here's the problem: It's over. We're done. The buildings are restored, the bed and breakfast is open, we're getting a lot of positive feedback, and we're actually ahead of schedule according to our business plan. What's left is to just execute on that plan, take care of our guests, and try not to do anything stupid. (Easier for some than for others.)

What I'm saying is that every great story has an end because the author knows when to stop writing. And it's been a great story, full of daring dreams and heroic actions and some bittersweet moments. It's been just over three years since we started this adventure, and we accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime. I don't want to dilute that with anecdotes about crepes, MapQuest, or how overwhelmed I get on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. And Dawn, of course, would prefer that I not air our dirty laundry to the world. (That's just a figure of speech--our laundry is clean!)

I'll leave the journal up, of course, for future historians to mock. I might even turn it into a book someday. (To be self-published and sold exclusively in our future gift shop, I'm sure.) So before I get too melodramatic, I want to thank everyone who helped on this project: No matter how small the contribution, from friendly advice to 18 months of hard labor, it was all invaluable to us. Mike, Gary, and Toni from Olde York Homes; Darin from Village Glass; Gary, Marsha, and Katie (plus "the crew") at the Restoration Clinic; Haldeman Excavating; Brian Schaeffer and Bob Leppien; Matt Swaner; Henry Hollenbech; the King brothers at Lantz Roofing; Ralph Steech; Adam, Paul, and Marlin from AH Moyer; Ruth Hollinger; my cousin Regina--we didn't know most of you when we started this project, and now we are forever indebted to all of you. (Literally.)

I also have to thank the folks who have given us great advice throughout: Chip and Vonnie Henderson; Toni Wortel at Silverstone Inn; Carole Wilson at the Lancaster County Planning Commission; Doug Dinsmore from Skelly and Loy; Ray Erb; Tim and Bill at Diehm and Sons; Bruce at Cox-Evans Architects; David Christian; and all of our friends. I even have to thank our mothers for, uh, keeping us 'grounded.' ("Over my dead body" and "You'll never make a living running a B&B" come to mind.)

I also have to give a shout-out to all the good people in Los Angeles, who drove real estate prices so ridiculously high that we could afford this, and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which forced us to open a B&B in order to qualify for tax credits. We would have never thought of doing that otherwise, but it turned out to be a great idea.

But most of all I have to thank Dawn. She gave up everything to make this happen: her job, her home, her financial security, her privacy. Not many people would have started down this path, and very few would have completed it. She celebrated her 40th birthday in February alone, freezing in a greenhouse, surrounded by dirt piles and open trenches. If that doesn't give you a sense of what she's been through, nothing will.

As I tell everyone, if we knew what we were getting into, we wouldn't have done it. It simply cost too much, financially and emotionally. But sometimes ignorance is bliss, and we did accomplish our goals. There is still much to do--the porch, the landscaping, the barn, the stallion pen, the parking garage, even the chicken coop--but those are stories for another day.

And maybe we'll start another journal then.

P.S. The bed and breakfast is still open! Don't get the wrong idea. Please come and stay with us; it will make the bankers very happy.

A good day gone bad

2006-10-01T19:40:00.000-04:00

Today we were fully booked.

I've said that before, but then we only had four rooms open. Today we had all five rooms filled, for a total of 10 people. But we only have six chairs for breakfast.

Actually we have 12 chairs, but six are still at the restoration shop. So last night we figured, what are the odds that all 10 people will want breakfast at the same time? Well, it turns out those are pretty good odds.

The last time this happened (which was last week), Dawn went out and gave two of our guests a "tour" of the farm while we waited for two chairs to clear. This time, everyone showed up within 10 minutes of each other, and asking four people to wait was obviously not an option.

Fortunately our guests in the Summer Kitchen didn't mind us raiding their dining area for four chairs. We set up a second table and Dawn laid out place settings in record time, and we were set to go. Then we ran out of coffee.

Not to worry, we had plenty of beans, and soon everyone had their caffeine fix. Everything else went smoothly, and we know that 10 is a comfortable number for the two of us. (And we know to call for help if one of us isn't there.)

So that was the only stressor of the day. I had three guests checking out, two staying over, and no new guests arriving, so it was going to be a very quiet day. Dawn even made plans to go out with friends, leaving me to the chores. Then last night I got a new reservation for the Paymaster's Office. Then this morning one of the guests wanted to change rooms. Then a couple from Virginia stopped in and booked the Summer Kitchen for tonight. Suddenly I had three rooms to clean!

Then I found out Dawn had put all of the "spare" towels and blankets out. These are what I use to change the room, so I don't have to do a load of laundry in between. Without those spares, I had to do nine loads of laundry within three hours to finish the rooms in time. Needless to say, I didn't get done in time.

Fortunately our new guests were very patient, as I sent one couple off antiqueing and another off hiking. (Literally. In the park. If I was trying to get rid of them, I would have sent them off packing.) I called Dawn around 3pm and told her I needed help; she got home around 6pm and helped hang the (now clean) towels. I did forget to put the jets in one of the whirlpools and a blanket on one of the beds, but it wasn't bad. At least not compared to the Boys' Room yesterday.

Like any new business, we're "under-capitalized," which is a fancy way of saying we don't have enough stuff. We've actually been balancing two phones, three alarm clocks, and four hand soaps amongst five rooms. We have two extra pillows, four extra towels, and no extra tub mats. So it doesn't take much to send us scrambling, and we're used to cannibalizing other rooms. Well, apparently we've been cannibalizing the Boys' room a lot this week, because we forgot to do a final inspection before our guests arrived, and they were missing:

hand soap
bath soap
shampoo
drinking glass
2 bath towels
alarm clock
phone
room journal
1 window candle
4 pillow cases

Again, they were good sports, even when we told them those were "extras" and there would be an additional charge for each item. (Kidding!)

And finally, I just have to toot my own horn on this one. One of our guests were local, and just wanted to watch some movies--that was their way of decompressing. But rather than give them a 13" portable TV, I gave them my digital video projector and white screen. So they got the equivalent of a 60" screen in their room, which was (to a techie like me) unbelievably cool. The only downside was that I couldn't hook up the speakers to the DVD player, so I gave them Dawn's laptop instead. Hopefully Dawn won't realize her laptop is gone until tomorrow.

At which point I can blame the guests.

I (hate) Route 30

2006-09-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

If you've ever been to Lancaster County, you know Route 30 is considered to be the 'heart' of Amish Country, running east from the city through Paradise. However, I consider it to be one long strip mall, full of generic souvenir shops and outlet malls and the most bland and tasteless tourist traps. The way I look at it, if you want to experience Amish Country, you stay away from Route 30. If you just want to buy an "I (heart) Intercourse" t-shirt, then you go to Route 30.

Last week a woman ordered a gift certificate. I didn't even know we sold gift certificates until she asked, and I heard myself replying, "Absolutely!" So not only did I need to send her a gift certificate quickly (she wanted it for Wednesday), but I needed to create one first! Then my mother-in-law went into the hospital.

Needless to say, I missed Wednesday, so I decided to deliver it instead of mail it. I tried on Thursday, leaving the Ephrata hospital and heading down 322...right into the Ephrata Fair, which was starting that night. After three detours I was hopelessly lost, so I just went home.

Today I had a little bit of time so I thought I'd try again. I found the house, just off Route 30, but no one was home. I would have left the gift certificate, except when I went to sign it (to make it 'official') I didn't have a pen! No problem, I was right by Route 30.

Six miles later, I finally found a little antique store that was open and had pens. On my way out I noticed their collection of rack cards. Knowing we needed some 'written material for guests' (per our B&B association feedback), I started grabbing handfuls. (I even had a nice conversation with a woman who was in town antiquing, and will be back next August for the Lititz craft fair and [ta-da!] staying at Speedwell Forge B&B.) But then I thought I should visit some of these tourist shops, so I can make recommendations to our guests.

So I dropped off the gift certificate and drove Route 30 back into the city. My first stop was at a "bakery" (with no ovens in sight) which offered "over 10,000 items" (proudly noted on the door) of junk. Worse than junk--the same junk you can buy at any souvenir shop anywhere in the country. But what I really took offense at were the dolls with faces.

Authentic Amish dolls don't have faces; it violates the second commandment (graven images). That is not to say that a doll without a face is authentic, but one with a face is patently not. So would it kill these tourist traps to educate the public, rather than just sell them cheap knock-offs?

So that was the beginning and the end of my visiting the tourist shops. Instead I will continue to recommend guests go to Route 340 (just a little north of 30), or to the roadside stands out in the countryside, and avoid Route 30 entirely.

By the way, we are about 25 minutes from Route 30,. We don't have the traffic or the crowds or the tourist traps. Instead we have Lititz and Manheim, two small towns intent on keeping their identity and history. We have open country roads and beautiful churches, lakes and parks, quaint little stores and fine restaurants (not chain restaurants!) that don't have an hour-long wait on weekends. I'll take this over Route 30 any day.

Maybe I should change our logo to "Close to everything, far from Route 30" ?

P.S. We hit 30% occupancy in September which, for a new B&B, is fantastic!

Bad day 2: The next day

2006-09-25T22:48:00.000-04:00

There's a line in Harry Chapin's song "Word Wizard" that I could always relate to:

Every secret he has, he's only told the world so far...
Cause he shows off his wounds before they turn to scars.

So here are the latest wounds.

I finally got to sleep around 3am and woke up at 6am to head out to my food handling course, which was about an hour away. I had lost the instruction packet they sent me, so I just looked up the address on the Internet and ran MapQuest. An hour later, I found myself in the middle of a housing project in the middle of nowhere.

It took me 10 minutes just to find a gas station to ask for directions, and they had no clue because, it turned out, MapQuest had sent me over 20 miles from my destination! I was half an hour late and they should have sent me home, but the instructor took pity and let me stay. Then he asked if I'd read the book...

In the meantime, Dawn and Bob, my brother-in-law, were handling breakfast. I'd prepared everything the night before and left them with strict instructions: Four people got french toast casserole, and the two new people got banana-blueberry waffles (because there wasn't enough french toast). For some reason, they ignored me and split the french toast into five pieces and served it.

Now if you're following the math, there were six guests and five plates. And naturally the person who didn't get the french toast had gotten waffles the day before. So not only did she have to wait while everyone else was eating, but she got same meal two days in a row!

Around that time, our septic system alarm went off. Apparently, the brand-new, 1,800-gallon-per-day system, with three pumps and a leech field bigger than a football field, wasn't working. Dawn called the company that installed it and they said they'd be right over...tomorrow morning. But they assured us that as long as we didn't use any water today, it would be fine.

(I know I promised I would never mention the septic system again, but that was when I assumed this grossly oversized system would work for 50 years without a problem, not two months!)

Then Dawn got a call from someone who wanted to change her reservation to a different weekend. Dawn is still coming up to speed on the new reservation software (which makes even the simple tasks complex) and so she told the guest she'd call her back, and she called me. (Did I mention I was in class all day?) So I stepped Dawn through it and she called the guest back to confirm, and the guest said she had changed her mind and wanted to keep the original weekend.

In the afternoon my brother-in-law had to leave, so Dawn called Ruth and asked her to house-sit while she ran to the hospital. Meanwhile I had finished the food handling course and taken the test (I'm pretty sure I aced it) and was headed home, when sleep deprivation finally overtook me. I pulled over in a rest stop and took an hour nap. With the convertible top down. Under a tree full of birds.

So I got home and changed my clothes, and talked to our guests who were staying in Bill's Room (with the full-size bed). On the web site I have that listed "for business and single travelers" because it seems couples only want a queen or king, but this couple was very happy with the room and they loved the mattress. So I'm going to change the web site -- there's no point in discouraging couples from staying there. As long as they know it's a full-size mattress, they can make their own decision.

Speaking of changes, we're also talking about cancelling the order for the pool table (which we placed last June!) and just setting up the attic as a massage room. (Dawn has two masseuses willing to come to the house to do 'couples massage' but we can't do that in the guestrooms, and I didn't want to do it downstairs.) The only reason we were getting a pool table was because Dawn's grandfather had one, and Dawn wanted to restore it to the way she remembered it. If she's willing to let the pool table go, I'm happy to save the money.

I wanted to get to the hospital but by the time I was done with chores, visiting hours were over. Fortunately my mother-in-law had stabilized and was doing much better, even though they still didn't know what was wrong. Tomorrow they are transferring her out of ICU and are running a battery of blood tests, so hopefully something will turn up.

Tomorrow, by the way, is turn-about: Dawn is going to a job interview at 8am, leaving me to handle the breakfast on my own. Since I made fun of her, I better not mess up. (Or, at least, just convince my guests not to tell her.)

Update on 9/27/06: I messed up. I made crepes, or I should say I tried to but they came out so thick they were more like pancakes. Fortunately the guests didn't realize this: Instead of putting jelly on the crepes, they just put syrup on the pancakes, and were fine.

And the 1,800-gallon-per-day septic system had been shut down by a thimble-full of dirt, which had blocked the intake filter for the main pump.

Bad day

2006-09-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a Good Day: We'd met our goal and gotten the Paymaster's Office open, and both of our newlywed couples were happy. Therefore, by karmic law, today had to be a Bad Day.

This was already going to be a busy day: We had to serve breakfast for eight, then clean the kitchen, change two rooms, freshen up two more rooms, meet the Eberly family reunion at 1:30, meet the Authentic B&B crew at 2, and check in one new guest. After that, I needed to study for a food handling certification course I am taking tomorrow.

Then, right after breakfast, Dawn's mom called because she needed to go to the hospital. (I felt a little guilty complaining about my day when someone else had to go to the hospital, but then I realized: She can write her own blog.) So Dawn took her, leaving me to manage everything else. I was making good progress but then at 1:30pm, someone honked their horn. I looked out the window and instead of the 3 or 4 cars I expected for the Eberly family, there were thirteen!

Even worse, there was a wolf sanctuary tour going on, so they couldn't park in back. Instead, they came down our driveway, and our parking lot for 5 suddenly held 15! Then, one of our guests (who had been on the wolf tour) came back and needed to leave! Fortunately one of the Eberlys knew how to manage traffic, and he was yelling and pointing and everyone was weaving in and out and somehow it all worked out.

Mr. Eberly, by the way, was a painter and paper hanger, and he installed the wallpaper in the mansion in 1946 and again in 1962. We know this because he signed the wall underneath the wallpaper twice. During the restoration, we "framed" his signature and left it exposed as a conversation piece. His children (all eight of them!) were having a reunion and wanted to come by and get pictures, so I started to give them a tour when my new guest arrived.

Now, check-in time is normally 3pm and it was only quarter to 2, and the room wasn't ready yet. I tried to send the guest away for lunch or something, but they'd just driven from New Jersey and wanted to rest a while. The problem was, I couldn't let them in that room. And I had 25 Eberlys wandering around. And then the Authentic B&B folks arrived. (In three more cars!)

The Authentic B&B association was coming to do a follow-up inspection, after they'd rejected us in August, to see if we now met their standards. Although I'm still not clear what their standards are, I was willing to bet having stacked parking, 25 people milling about, two guests waiting to check in, 1 dirty bedroom and a mountain of laundry at 2pm probably didn't meet them. So I threw myself on their mercy and explained everything that happened: The mom in the hospital, the almost full house, the family reunion, and the early guests, and the other innkeepers just looked at me and said, "So? Sounds like any other day in the business."

I brought the innkeepers in and basically told them they were on their own while I finished the guest room. (Probably not the wisest thing I've ever done, but I tend to fall apart under pressure.) So while I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor, the new guests walk in behind me and say, "Is this our room?" When I said yes, they moved in, even while I was still cleaning!

I did divert the Authentic B&B folks down to the wolf sanctuary for a bit, and by then the Eberly folks had left. (They gave me a framed picture of Mr. Eberly in 1972, which was pretty cool.) I thought everything was under control and then the new guest came down and asked for a bottle opener.

We have two bottle openers, and I couldn't find either one of them to save my life. I searched everywhere except the basement, and we had just used it yesterday! (And not in the basement.) Our poor guest, who had already mentioned when booking that he normally stays at another B&B but they were full this weekend, could not get a parking space, could not get into his room, and now could not open his bottle of wine!

He went back upstairs and I walked down to my mother's to get her bottle opener (she was in the hospital, she didn't need it!) and when I returned, I knocked on his room door only to wake him from a nap! So I handed him the bottle opener and some Wilbur buds and a phone, and he was so dazed he didn't even ask about the phone. (I had stolen it to test the phone system in the basement, and forgotten to put it back.)

Finally around 5pm everyone was settled, and so I grabbed my book (I still needed to study!) and headed down to the hospital. I was there maybe 10 minutes, when Dawn asked me to take my brother-in-law home. (He had ridden in with Dawn that morning.) So I got back to the farm and realized that I was going to be gone the next day, and Dawn was responsible for feeding six people, changing two rooms, checking in new guests, all while taking care of her mom. So I spent the next four hours preparing breakfast, setting the table, finishing the laundry, even making a dessert for tomorrow. It's now midnight, and I haven't studied for my course at all.

Wish me luck. (And wish Dawn's mom luck as well. Thanks.)

Paymaster's Office Revisited

2006-09-23T20:37:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has been reading this journal for a while probably saw those incredible pictures of the Paymaster's Office and said, "something's fishy."

Just out of camera range, everything was in total chaos. This was due in small part to the photographers, who love to move things around, but in large part to me, because I was too clever for my own good. Our deadline was September 23 but the photographers could only come September 18 or mid-October. Not willing to wait, and knowing we were only going to photograph the bedroom, I told everyone to focus on that, and as you can see it turned out beautifully.

However, that meant with one week to deadline, everyone moved into the kitchen: The contractor was installing the cabinets, the granite guy was installing the countertop, the plumbers were installing the sink, Dawn and Matt were painting, Darin was installing the windows, storm windows, and blinds, Ruth was cleaning, and the locksmith was installing a lock! And all of this was happening in about 15 square feet!

How it all came together, I have no idea, because everyone knew that I created the situation and I was staying as far away as possible. But it did come together with only a few minor glitches:

The electricians ran the phone line but didn't terminate it with a connector! So I went to plug the line into my PBX and instead of an RJ11 jack I found...nothing. Needless to say, there's no phone service.
The Paymaster's Window (which is inside the building between the bedroom and the kitchen) needs to be tempered glass, which needs to be special ordered, which hasn't come in yet, so there's no Paymaster's Window. Since it is inside it's no big deal, except the kitchen wall is painted green and the bedroom wall is painted brown and it looks pretty funny where they come together.
The upholstered chairs weren't finished in time. Dawn and I put in some antique windsor chairs which, for wooden chairs, are surprisingly comfortable.
The kitchen cabinet doors need another coat of paint, but because we were afraid they would stink up the house, we took the cabinet doors out. So imagine all your kitchen cabinets without any doors.
Now imagine them without any dishes, either, because I realized (too late) that I hadn't washed them yet. This set of china Dawn actually found sitting in the barn, boxed, in perfectly good condition. It's a nice set, and the price was right, but I have no idea how long they'd been sitting in the barn, and in any case they needed to be run through the dishwasher.
Finally, the bathroom needs a towel ring and a door hook, the front door jamb needs to be painted, and the gutter spout needs to be finished. But all in all a very small and manageable list. Considering the shape of that building not four weeks ago, it's nothing short of a miracle.

And what was the driver for this death-march? What could possibly motivate a dozen people to work insane hours to finish on this particular date? A wedding, of course. Or in our case, two weddings.

A couple from Texas was coming to Lancaster to get married, and wanted to spend their first night in the Paymaster's Office. (And they saw it when it was still full of junk and 30+ years of dirt!) We agreed that if the Paymaster's Office wasn't finished in time, that they could stay in the Summer Kitchen.

Then we found out the couple that had rented the Summer Kitchen for several years (before we started renovation) were getting married on the same weekend, and wanted to spend their first night in there! And while the Summer Kitchen does sleep four, both couples were very clear that they did not want to share.

So we had to finish the Paymaster's Office, or risk disappointing both brides. Just the thought of that--or perhaps the thought of facing bridezilla--kept everyone going day and night. Matt in particular deserves special praise, as he worked as late as 4am to get the painting finished.

And yes, the brides were thrilled.

Final inspection

2006-09-22T15:20:00.000-04:00

Our building permit was valid for 18 months, and expires on September 26 of this year.

Today we officially completed the project.

Or I should say, phase 1 of the project.

I'm too tired to celebrate.

Click for larger view (PDF)

Introducing...the Paymaster's Office

2006-09-20T17:08:00.000-04:00

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The most disturbing thing I have to do

2006-09-19T23:20:00.000-04:00

[Note: Children and people with weak stomachs should skip this post immediately.]

[I'm not kidding.]

As an innkeeper, I'm sure you can imagine some of the more unpleasant responsibilities I have, but this is by far the worst:

Yes, that's a rubber duck. A squeaking duck, I might add. Dawn picked these up at a conference show to put in the whirlpool baths; it seemed like a good idea at the time. What we didn't realize was that the squeaker would allow water to get in, and so before I clean the duck (in the dishwasher) I first have to squeeze the water out.

The squeaker is under the duck, and so when I squeeze it a stream of water shoots out from underneath. I have delicate sensibilities, and this offends every single one of them. I couldn't even bring myself to post a photo of the duck being ...uh ... dehydrated.

And there are three ducks.

Channel 11 News

2006-09-18T23:06:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to copying the Channel 11 news story from July 20, 2006. Thanks to Juliane and Matt for coming out, and airing it before our grand opening. Despite how much they saw still needed to be done, they reported with a straight face that we would be open that weekend. (And we were!)

Once again, Dawn refused to be in the interview, leaving me to look like the idiot. At least I didn't say anything stupid like the last time.

Time to download this 2-minute video: 1 minute for broadband, 22 minutes for dial-up

Referrals

2006-09-17T02:37:00.000-04:00

A quick note (since it's 2:30am and I have to make breakfast for seven in about 5 hours) that the day after we had our first repeat guests, we also had our first referred guests!

The weird part was, it wasn't a past guest who referred us, but a new guest who had just checked in. They went out to lunch and met another couple that had just driven to Lititz and didn't have reservations, and they told them about us. We just happened to have one room available, so it worked out perfectly.

On top of that, our repeat guests from last night told us they'd stayed at many B&Bs and ours was "the best." His words, not mine, and I was grinning ear to ear. Of course, I'm sure I lost that designation the next morning when my breadmaker turned out a soggy lump of dough and I completely forgot the first course. (Not sure how I missed one-third of breakfast, but it wasn't until we were clearing the dishes that I remembered.)

By the way, on Sunday October 8 from 1pm to 5pm, Historic York and the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County will co-host this year's house tour, "ONE BRIDGE, TWO COUNTIES: The Most Memorable Historic House Tour Ever." If you're into historic architecture at all, you'll want to attend. We're not on the tour, so of course you'll want to stay here after the tour. :-) We're fully booked October 7 (thanks to the Lititz chocolate walk), but we have rooms available October 8, including the newly-renovated Paymaster's Office.

Paymaster progress II

2006-09-15T12:15:00.000-04:00

The windows are all in, the floors and walls are done, the heating/cooling is done, the electric is finished, the fireplace is finished, the whirlpool bath is finished. The kitchen cabinet is being installed today, and the granite countertop will be taken care of next week. The mattresses are being delivered today, the bathroom and kitchen need paint, and I'm not sure if the two chairs that are going in here have been upholstered yet. But by hook or by crook, it will be finished a week from today.

The real trick is the photographers are coming Monday, so we have to make it look like it's completely finished, even if it's not.

Repeat guests

2006-09-12T16:47:00.000-04:00

It's usually years before a B&B gets repeat guests. We're getting ours in less than 2 months!

I was actually in the process of putting together comment cards to send to our past guests -- they say 30 days is a good time to wait, and it's been 47 -- when I got the call: Our second guests are moving out of the area, and wanted to visit Lititz one last time. And they wanted to stay with us again! That's high praise indeed, considering how much went wrong that first week.

So I guess I don't have to send them a comment card now.

[Later on that same day...]

We got a postcard from one of our guests today! That was so sweet, and so unexpected. It read:

Thank you for all your hospitality at Speedwell Forge. We wish you every continued success with the B&B. We did manage to find and buy the perfect quilt at a Mennonite shop opposite the quilt museum in Intercourse. In the meantime we have been living like the Amish this weekend with a 48-hour powerout in Connecticut!"

I'm getting it framed.

TripAdvisor

2006-09-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

An investment broker I met had this sign on her desk: "If you liked the service, please tell a friend. If you didn't like the service, please tell me." That seemed to sum up customer service pretty well. Of course, in the Internet age, you can also tell the public at large via sites like TripAdvisor.

I was thinking about this today and the cynic in me realized that there is absolutely no benefit to posting a positive review, but plenty of incentive to post a negative one. Think about it: If you tell others about a great place, more people will come, and the prices will go up. But if you warn others away, then next time you may be able to enjoy it with fewer people and possibly even lower prices.

So leaving a positive review is an act of pure beneficence, unless of course the place is brand new and you want to make sure it is still in business next year by giving it a good review. (Hint, hint.)

And by an amazing coincidence, I just happen to have links to four review sites right here:

FlavorFest Restaurant Week

2006-09-09T11:12:00.000-04:00

Interestingly enough, I'm finding a lot of our guests are skipping the "fine" restaurants and going to the local diners. (With the notable exception of the guests I sent to the local diner, thinking it was a fine restaurant.)

I think it's because our guests come to us because they want to experience something new (and there aren't many places you can experience an 18th-century ironmaster's mansion), and they want the same from their restaurant as well. And I hate to say it, but most fine restaurants tend to be fairly generic--not in the sense that they all look alike or serve the same food, but they feel the same. A nice French restaurant in Lancaster is probably just like a fine French restaurant in Philadelphia, or any major city.

So our guests want something unique, and it doesn't matter if it's fast food or fine dining, it has to be local and authentic. So I'm in the process of collecting menus for the Lititz Family Cupboard and Capricio's Cafe, and other restaurants I wouldn't have thought to send guests, but that's where they want to go.

Still, for some guests celebrating a special occasion, only the best will do, so here is my list of fine restaurants near us that I'd recommend. Those marked with a star are participating in "Restaurant Week" September 11-17, providing a 3-course meal for $30. For some, it's a great deal.

Olde Lincoln House in Ephrata (8 miles)
The Restaurant at Doneckers (10 miles) **
Log Cabin in Leola (10 miles) **
Lily's on Main in Ephrata (10 miles)
Haydn Zugs in East Petersburg (11 miles)
Stockyard Inn in Lancaster (13 miles) **
Alois at Bube's Brewery (13 miles, formal) **
Christopher's Casual in Lancaster (14 miles)
Strawberry Hill in Lancaster (15 miles)
Carr's Restaurant in Lancaster (15 miles) **
Gibraltar in Lancaster (16 miles) **
Accomac Inn in Wrightsville (26 miles)

Note that this list is entirely different than my family-friendly list, although some restaurants (Olde Lincoln House and Lily's on Main) made both. Christopher's, which just relocated and is opening again tomorrow, is also my only vegetarian option. If anyone knows another restaurant that actually caters to vegetarians (i.e. more than salad and spaghetti), please let me know.

Please don't click here

2006-09-08T02:48:00.000-04:00

I set up a pay-per-click campaign, so now if you search for things like "Lititz" or "Lancaster hotel" in Google or Yahoo, you'll see us listed under "Sponsored ads." But please don't click on them (unless you hate me) because I get charged between 10 cents and a dollar-fifty per click.

By the way, if you do hate me, then be sure to book your reservation online and use your American Express card, because I get charged more than if you called and put it on MasterCard/Visa.

Click for full-size (readable) versions

Slogans and names

2006-09-07T00:44:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, it took a while to come up with "historic elegance in Lancaster County." Now I'm playing around with "18th-century luxury, 21st century comfort." Here are some other mottos we considered:

Speedwell Forge, the #1 destination in Lancaster County for FedEx and UPS since March 2005
Speedwell here, be forge you go anywhere else
Speedwell Forge, just be grateful it wasn't Quitapahilla Forge
Historic elegance at the border between Lancaster and Lebanon counties

And my favorite...

Grandma's House B&B, my what big muffins you have

Yeah, it was almost called "Grandma's House B&B" because it was, after all, Dawn's grandma's house. Plus it was a pun on Little Red Riding Hood, with the wolf sanctuary next door. However, at the B&B workshop we attended two years ago they said "Grandma's House" evoked country Victorian, which was definitely not our goal. So it became Speedwell Forge B&B, although I wish there was a way to tell people that Speedwell Forge Road, Speedwell Forge Lake, and Speedwell Forge Park were named after us, not the other way around.

They also shot down "Grandma's room" because, they said, nobody wants to have a romantic getaway in Grandma's room. So it became Kathryn's Room, which was Dawn's grandmother, although I'm sure her grandfather Gerald would have liked a shout out as well. I think Kathryn's room works quite well. The room name that isn't working, though, is the Boys' room.

Named for Dawn's two step-brothers (who grew up there), it was always referred to as "the boys' room." Naturally we decorated it with a very masculine theme, with red paint and dark woods, blinds instead of drapes, and very simple furnishings. I know (from personal experience) that there's a large contingent of men who want to be romantic, but don't want the foo-foo you find at many B&Bs: The overstuffed comforters, the drapery-wrapped beds, the Laura Ashley sheets, the pillow shams that cover the bed, etc. So we thought we had a gold mine there.

Then we found out the Eastlake beds were three-quarter size, not twins, and so would not come together to make a king. Since most guys' idea of a romantic weekend is not sleeping in separate beds (or squeezing into a bed that is smaller than a full), everything changed.

We regrouped and decided to market towards women traveling together. It's a good plan--the market is just as large, and it's definitely underserved by the B&B community. However, now we have the challenge of getting women to stay in a masculine room whose moniker now takes on a completely different tone. To men, "the boys' room" is a place to relax and have fun; to women, it sounds like a restroom.

Since the bedroom set is Eastlake style, we considered the "Eastlake room," but since we're right by an actual lake, people might think they have a view of the water. We also considered "the compass rose room" (after the Amish quilts) or "The Red Room," but shot those down pretty quickly. I'd like to name something after the original builder, James Old, but "The Old room" doesn't have a lot of appeal, either.

Our last hope is to find some wealthy benefactor and name the room after them. How does the "Anne B. Sweigart Room" grab you?

Poem

2006-09-06T03:00:00.000-04:00

I tried to write a poem, I don't know what inspired me.

History of Speedwell Forge
Beauty of Lancaster County
Comfort of the modern day
Elegance of an age gone by

I also wrote a haiku.

1760
Historic elegance in
Lancaster County

Don't worry, I'm a better innkeeper than I am a poet. (Of course, that's not saying much.) Anybody have a word that rhymes with "Forge" besides "gorge" and "george"? I can't figure out how to work either of those in.

I do have to say that it's been lovely here since the end of July. The temperature has been in the low to mid-80s, the humidity has been low, the bugs have been scarce, the breeze blows the leaves about, and the rain cleans everything up. I still miss L.A. -- or, more specifically, the ocean, my friends and co-workers, and my fish -- but it's peaceful here in a way that L.A. could never be. Or maybe I'm peaceful here in a way that I could never be in L.A. That is a little inspiring.

Snapped this photo of the 200-year-old sycamore trees on my way back from the Paymaster's Office today.