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Thoughts on Bed and Breakfasting (Or "We Just Aren't that Grown Up Yet")

 

This weekend, the Boy and I  headed up to (very) Northern California to see Redwood National Forests. We wanted to do something different, so we decided to stay at the Lost Whale Inn. It is a Bed and Breakfast which is right on the water in Trinidad. I am not sure I have ever, at least definitely not in my adult life, stayed in a Bed and Breakfast, so these are my thoughts on the whole experience.

We had to drive up to Trinidad from the city, and since we left just in time for rush hour, it took us about 7 hours. By the time we got to the B and B it was super dark, so it felt like we were just down some barren dark road. Our room was pretty little, but it was super cute and decorated in all sort of whale stuff. Clearly, whale decor is needed for a good time.

 

The next morning we woke up to a really pretty view. We were pumped for the breakfast, which is apparently why the place has such a great  reputation. It was super delicious- have you ever had peach cobbler? That shiz is delicious! Also, I have never gotten the appeal of scones- they are dry and chalky, but these ones had fresh raspberries which were awesome.

Despite the deliciosity of the breakfast, this is about the moment where we realized that perhaps Bed and Breakfast living is not for us. Do you know they expect you to  mingle? We had to share a table with another family and everyone wants to talk to everyone else. Oh boy. We were both horrified, because talking to strangers is like the least relaxing thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, we always meet people when we travel, and I generally like people. But the conversation just lasts as long as it lasts. This is more like the beginning of church camp, where you are mingling with people you are going to see the whole freaking time!

 

But did I mention how cute the room was?

 

And this is  the view from our window. It was so pretty and serene. A very different kind of beach view. You certainly complain about this, which I think is why some of the people there just kind of hang out there all day.

 

Before we headed out to see some trees, we wanted to check out the private path to the beach that the Inn's website talked about. We even heard July was the time of year where baby seals are around, so we weren't going to miss that.

 

The path was way more hardcore than we expected, and in the last 80 feet or so you have to climb down a ladder to get there. We felt like action heroes!

 

Then, suddenly you are at this gorgeous beach (it was really foggy all day which I loved). 

 

I don't have any pictures that really show it, but there were families of seals out on some of the rocks. It was very rocky, but it was just gorgeous, so I think the time we spent on the beach was worth the whole trip. And even if we winced every time the tire salesman tried to tell us about Jesus (we told him we were Episcopalean like 5 times!)- also, this is true and not an exageration or caricature.When you add in the scones, all in all it was good.

 

More pretty beach shots. 

 

Seriously! It was that good!

 

This is the Boy getting ready to master the rope ladder back up. The hike was probably 20-25 minutes, and it was so steep heading back up! It kicked our butt before we even got started!We didn't realize how tough it would be, so I feel like they should warn people more emphatically. I feel like the average age of the guests (there are only like 20 at a time) has to be 50 or so, and that is a really tough path.

At 4, the B and B has a tea time, but shucks we missed that. We were back to the Lost Whale Inn around 6:30 and a lot of the guests were all sitting out on the back porch drinking wine and talking. We friendly waved and briefly chatted about taking a lot of their advice of where to go (another plus, I guess). Then we stole a bunch of the tea time food (also delicious, but I think we can safely mark this as a less mature route than just being friendly while we eat our chocolate strawberries and asparagus toast and such). We hid in our room to eat, and it was so good we snuck down to steal more.

 

The next morning we sat with another family for breakfast, but the conversation just kept stalling. Does anyone else feel like they just run out of questions when talking to someone else? I do not have enough skills at this, and being a grad student, I find awkward silence sucks the life out of me. I didn't even feel comfortable taking a picture of our breakfast!  They wanted to talk about the massages they got the day before, but I am sorry, how much is there to be said about massages? Yes, they were great and relaxing. Isn't that nice. Blerg strangers! Why won't you let me change the topic when there is nothing left to say about how nice massages are!

 

We came back up to our room to pack up and the Boy wrote in their cutesy guest book.  It was about how we named all the whales, and if you thought they had different names you were a fool. Then we drew this picture. 

So my final thought is that we need to be more competent adults to appreciate all of the pluses of staying somewhere bed and breakfasty. Maybe I need to have a greater appreciation of massages, but I dont like staying still on trips. We are always there to explore! So, we probably won't do that one again until we master the art of conversation, learn to drink lots of wine, and stop hiding from strangers who want to talk to us. But we loved the peach cobbler, the beach, and the coziness of the room. So I feel like we failed the Lost Whale Inn, but the Lost Whale in did not fail us.

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