So, LaVaughn and I decided to mix things up a bit this time around and stay at a B&B for the first time ever. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that every other place in town was booked for the weekend. O.o We we're originally planing on staying at a lodge in Eminence, but the Thursday before we left I called to book a room and they were completely booked up. Part of me doesn't believe this, because literally every time my aunt and uncle have stayed there, they've been the only people in the entire lodge. And that was on memorial day weekend!
Anyways, the B&B was a last resort, so I called with hopes of them having something available. To my surprise, they had ONE room available. It also just so happened to be a room with a king size bed. Score! I was also pleasantly surprised by the price, which was only $89. Every other place in Eminence is $112 and up, so we really lucked out there. Still a bit pricey for a B&B I believe, but I'm definitely no expert.
Upon arrival I was surprised by how well kept and nice the exterior of the B&B was. I wasn't, however, impressed by the location. It was like literally in the center of town. There was a saloon -- yes, a saloon -- next door, the courthouse across the street, a family diner across the street next to the courthouse and a super busy gas station/liquor store one building away across a small side street. And we had to park on the side of the road in front of the house. BAD location for parking and quiet time, excellent location for food and drinks.
I was reluctant to approach the house, as there were two older ladies sitting on the wrap around porch having a chat. As I walked close, I quietly said, "I called last night about the room." One lady replied, "Just walk around the porch and go in the side door." So I did just that. As I walked in, I was a bit shocked by how much this B&B resembled many of my Aunt Evaon's old houses. Cause that's just what it is, a house. It has everything you'd expect your everyday house to have, plus a few extras, like 3 dining tables and a small gift shop that looked like a closet had exploded -- and at the hefty price of $30 a shirt!
After I walked around, confused as to why no one was inside. Not to my knowledge, anyways. After I paced back and forth for what seemed like 15 minutes, I decided to try my luck outside on the porch again. That's when a woman came to the door that I had just walked out of and apologized. Apparently she was in the basement -- I'm assuming this is where she and her mother live? Anyways, I got checked in almost immediately after that and went upstairs to check out our new room.
I didn't have much to go on, she just said, "It's the middle door, kind of a peach color." As I made my way up the creaking staircase the wound more and more as it went up, I became confused as to which room was ours. At the top of the stairs in the mini hallway/sitting area, there stood 3 doors and not one peach in color.
I walked inside the door to my left, which was a small room with a full sized bed. I knew this wasn't it, as our room had a king sized bed. I made my way to the middle door (I know, she said middle, I had forgotten this at the time), still not a lick of peach on the door, but the interior did have a light, pinkish hue to it. Could this be it? Did she mean peach colored room and not door? It was a small room as well, but slightly larger than the first one I went inside. Still unsure that this was our room, I made my way to the room on the left. This room didn't have one touch of pink, peach, or anything light colored, but it did have a huge, king sized 4-post bed. Equipped with a sitting room and full bathroom, of course. I knew there was no way this was our room, but my hopes were high.
I finally decided to run back to the car and get LaVaughn. As we carried our two weeks worth of luggage up to the house, the host said, "After you ladies get settled, come join us on the porch for a chat." I know the same thought that was going through my head was going through LaVaughn's as well. "No thanks!" I shouted in my mind.
After I struggled for 5 minutes with out 70lb bag, I finally made it to the top of the stairs. LaVaughn inspected all of the rooms as well, which led her to being just as unsure as I was. That's when I said "Screw it!" and went downstairs to simply ask. Mine and LaVaughn's assumptions were right, it was the slightly larger room in the middle.
After making our way in the room, we were surprised by how clean it was. It had 3 large windows that opened with ease to allow the warm breeze inside. The bathroom was small, but at least it was our own and not one we had to share. The bed was unbelievably comfortable and had such a beautiful hand stitched duvet. It also had a TV with several regular and HD channels, which always ends up being our lifeline.
We were both uneasy by how quiet the room was. There was one unimaginably quiet ceiling fan that barely made a peep. We both knew this would be our downfall when it came time to sleep. Yes, we're the type that must ALWAYS have some type of noise at all times. After we got all of our stuff "put away" -- and by put away I mean smashed in the corner out of our walkway -- we decided to head across the street to the diner.
I don't believe I mentioned how incredibly terrible the weather was. The closer we got to Eminence, the worse the storms got. By the time we made it back out to the car the sky was nearly black! We drove down the road in hopes of seeing some of the things my aunt talked about, but as we drove about a mile or so down the road, it was nothing. We did stumble upon a Dollar General, which we stopped at to stock up on necessities, like spray cheese, crackers and beef jerky. After we finished, we headed back to the B&B.
We parked in the same, dangerous spot and headed across the street to the diner. This was your typical small town diner. The walls were wooden, the tables were old, and practically everyone in there was a town native and elderly. The waitress mentioned that the all you can eat catfish buffet would be open in less than 10 minutes, so we decided to go with that.
All in all the meal was good, but crazy expensive. Our buffets, drinks and dessert came to $34!
We retired to the room for the rest of the evening and watched a cops/jail marathon until 3 in the morning. I ventured to the gas station a couple different times before the 10 PM lock down to get water and coffee. We kept the windows open all night and listened to the locals argue, over what I'm not sure, it was all too muffled to make anything out. There were fireworks on several different occasions, the cops came by and got on the loud speaker to shut things up, but other than that it was a peaceful night. Aside from us, there was one one other couple in the suite next to us. They were ghostly quiet -- it was like they weren't even there!
All in all it was a good first time B&B experience. It's opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of B&B's that are all over. In some ways they're a lot more comfortable than hotels, I can see why they're so popular! Then, of course, there are downsides. Like the thought of staying in a strangers house with a bunch of people you don't know who would break in and try to kill you at any given moment.
I definitely think there will be more B&B's in our future. Hopefully some with larger TVs and noisier fans...
-Megan
Exterior pictures:
Hawkins House Bed & Breakfast
Interior pictures:
Our room:
Our room the next day:
Hope you enjoyed this B&B recap as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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