Over the thirty or so years that Penny and I have been traveling we have experienced the whole gamut of accommodation. What we love is the opportunity that the private B&B affords to really get to know the people and communities we visit.
To name a few:
- The farm/workshop in Seine, France where we enjoyed a meal with the host family and discovered their passion and environment stewardship.
- The gîte in St. Raymond north of Québec where our host was caring for her granddaughter. We found out that the granddaughter lost her eye to cancer and then she told us that the same granddaughter lost her father to an aneurysm the year before. She was in tears telling us about it.
- There was the woman in Oakville who talked our ear off while our barbeque simmered at room temperature waiting on propane
- The woman in New Denver, BC who, during out honeymoon, sent us on a different route than our plan due to road conditions and safety. It turned out to be a much better route but an emotional (the unknown) decision too.
- Our wonderful hosts in Cape North, BC (you can read about them here).
All in all, our experiences have been very positive. This brings us to our host Betty (Madge) at Misty Pines. As I mentioned, she runs a tight ship with more notes that the Canadian Mint. It wasn’t until breakfast the following morning that we were able to peek below the veneer.
There was another couple staying the night who were from Sherbrooke. This was an opportunity to practise my French. We found out that they had two children and that one was disabled and had passed away. You could tell that the emotions were still raw. This sharing got Betty talking where we found out that she was a nurse in Brockville, had gone to Ottawa U for nursing and that she had recently put her husband in a home in Kingston due to Alzheimer’s. She is handling a lot on her own and her sharing of her career in nursing told us she is very passionate about health-care and senior care too.
We were glad we had the chance to experience this other side of Betty.
On our way home we followed the same route as our bike ride three weeks earlier. Stopped again for coffee in Merrickville where our server was incredibly sour. We didn’t take the time to look under her veneer but had a laugh with a couple from Toronto who were afraid to go back for a muffin! We found out that there was a cruise ship passing through the locks which I had to check out!