Bed & Breakfast Lore

As some of you know, once I retired thirteen years ago I went to work!  But not for money, for satisfaction.  It is amazing how you can spend your whole life "chasing the dream" only to find it in your own back yard.

Initially, I began renting a room in our home and served breakfast to my guests.  This was kind of fun so I expanded and put another room in the barn for guests.  River Roads Bed & Breakfast started as a novelty but has grown into so much more.  It is a blessing, to me, and I hope to those who spend time with us.  Yes, I get paid, but it is so much more than that.  They share their lives, I share mine and we share a connection that is special.  I may never see them again, but they will remain forever in my memory.  They leave a little bit of themselves here with us.

The blackberry bramble.

We have had wonderful guests over the years.  Some stand out more than others for obvious reasons. One of the many places our visitors like to visit is the local winery for dinner, entertainment or golf.  To preface this story, you need to know that I live on the banks of the Snake River.  The bank is steep, inaccessible on foot and covered with wild blackberries.  One of our guests imbibed a little too much at the winery and decided to come home and go for a swim.  Getting in the river wasn't too much of a problem

since he went down river and jumped in.  Retrieving him was a little trickier.  He crawled up the 30 foot bank of blackberries in his summer attire.  We hosed him off and send him to bed.  I don't think he felt much pain in that moment, but by morning he was quite subdued and probably sensed every blackberry barb he had come in contact with.  His visit was probably as memorable for him as it was for us.


A while back we literally had guests "drop in" with a helicopter.  Two couples from the coast were

Helicopter in my yard.

passing through the area and since we had a patch of grass on which to land their rather expensive toy, we were the stopping point.  I have to admit to being a little prejudice by thinking that people who have money are all snobs.  Or perhaps I am just insecure.  These people were wonderful!  Just plain, old, everyday folks.  They were fun and entertaining.  And we were the talk of the coffee shop for a while!

And then there was the retired couple who fell in love with my goats.  Since I had one that needed a home, I was willing to part with him.  Problem: they had a midsized SUV.  Another problem, the goat had horns.  Really big horns.  Thirdly, they had no way to contain him.  Our guests came back from town with a dog collar and leash.  Hummmm.  I am thinking not.  This is not a nice little puppy.  All I could see was a goat punching out every window in the car, and then some.  It was decided (by us) to hog tie Mike and lay him in the back of the car.  Have you ever heard a goat scream?  High pitched, continual, ear drum bursting . . . and that doesn't really cover it.  We tossed him in, slammed the door and waved as they drove off.  It sounds awful but he made it to a very good home.  He walked his mistress everyday.

I have literally hundreds of other stories I could share with you from guests bungee jumping off the bridge into the canyon in the dark, to the Equine Dental School students who spend several weeks with us while attending classes.  We hear  joys and sorrows, their dreams and plans, and many other interesting sidelights from our guests.

We just never know what the next guest will bring into our nest.

Just writin' on the River Road