Owning a bed and breakfast joint may seem glamorous to some, like a lot of work to others, and downright stupid to another group. Let me tell you, it’s all of those things.
For the most part it’s easy work, there’s just a lot of it. I wouldn’t call it glamorous, unless you consider laundry and cooking glamorous, then, by all means, it’s glamorous. Stupid? Probably on some level it is, especially if you’re going to live on the property because you’ll have absolutely NO privacy. So in that regard, yeah, it’s a bit stupid.
But, you do encounter some . . . let’s call it, interesting . . . stuff. People are weird. There’s no getting around that. People are just downright weird. Quirky habits, odd eating behavior, strange requests, and boundless ridiculous questions are rampant in this business. Most people are nice and respectful. Some are not, but fortunately we don’t get a lot of those folks. Some people have unrealistic expectations about the house, the town, etc. We do our best.
And then there are – cue scary music – the early morning creepers!!!
Most people who visit the Baer House have a heightened sense of curiosity and they like to snoop look around the house. They seem to have an especially strange fascination with my laundry room, but I’ll save that for another post. They are told when they check in, where they can and cannot go. Of course that doesn’t stop them from poking their noses into those places, but for the most part they don’t encroach too far into our personal private space.
Except for – cue scary music – the early morning creepers!!!
Last week we had one couple staying with us for one night only. It was an older couple and they were the only folks here that night. They were staying in a room upstairs in the front of the house. About 5:30 in the morning my husband and I both woke up out of a sound sleep and said, at almost the same time, “What was that?”
My husband got up to investigate. He opened our bedroom door and saw a man walking through the back door into the main part of the house (our bedroom door to the outside world is off of the back porch). My husband came back inside and took the inside hallway to the main part of the house where the back door is. He saw the man walking down the hallway shining a flashlight into the billiard room and ballroom across the hall.
My husband turned on the chandeliers in the hallway and the guy startled and turned around to face my husband. It was our guest from upstairs. My husband asked him if he was okay or if he needed anything and the guest said no he was just looking around. Say what?
When my husband came back to bed he told me that he must have forgotten to lock our bedroom door when he went to bed last night because that’s what had woken us up – the man coming into our bedroom because he was snooping around.
What say you readers – is that weird or what?
At breakfast he apologized for barging into our room and then his wife apologized for him, but still, creeeeppppyyyy.
Why was he roaming around in the dark with a flashlight? I have night lights in the hallways and I leave lamps on in the common areas of the house in case people like to stay up late or get up early for coffee. Why the flashlight? I’m ever so glad there weren’t other guests staying that night. Can you imagine if he had tried to open their doors, if they left their doors unlocked, as some guests do, and barged in on them. Good grief. That is NOT appropriate behavior. He’s lucky we didn’t call the cops. Or meet him in the hallway with a gun pointed at him.
So there you have it, the case of the mysterious early morning creeper. Never a dull moment here at the Baer House!
Have you ever snooped around in someone’s house? Do you ever wander around a hotel, motel, or B & B with a flashlight? Do you open closed doors just to see what’s on the other side? Inquiring minds want to know.
Word of the day: Weltpolitik
Fun fact about me: I love cookbooks. I like to read recipes and look at the picture. They are like giant picture books for adults.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, July 2019. Photos courtesy Google Images.
No, I don’t snoop… I do look at the bookcase and the books on the shelves – if they have a bookcase – and only if the bookcase is in a public area. Books say a lot about people…. there was a Southwest Airlines commercial where a young woman was looking through someone’s medicine cabinet and…. everything crashed to the counter… then the tag line, ‘Wanna get away?’
I suppose living in an old historic house may have piqued this man’s curiosity or maybe he was looking for cornflakes… whatever. Write their name and. Particulars down and NEVER let them stay again. ‘Sorry were full….’ thanks for the chuckle and reminder not to snoop. Stay well, summer is in the home stretch.
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Well, if he was looking for corn flakes he’d have been sorely disappointed as I have none.
I understand that people are curious, I’m curious when I visit places but I’d never go around opening closed doors especially at 5:30 in the morning. Sheesh. Some people.
Yes, we are in the home stretch of summer break for those teacher and student types. Me? I’m getting ready to go because I “wanna get away.”
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week, Clay!
Patricia
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The wonderful world of Disney?
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Indeed. I’ve been needing this vacation since October 2nd when the doctor gave me that awful news. I’m in need of some Disney magic.
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Can’t imagine doing that. That would be sort of like breaking into someone’s home and snooping around.
I can’t figure out how to use “Weltpolitik” in a sentence. I think we’re about 100 years too late for it to apply.
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Well David, you can’t imagine doing that because you are a thoughtful and considerate person who was raised right. I don’t mind if people snoop a little bit, in fact, I expect it, but opening a closed door is not cool. Especially when it’s dark outside.
Thanks for stopping by and for attempting to use weltpolitik in a sentence. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Patricia
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Well, that was an unsettling incident. Creepy for sure. I’m not a snooper. I would make a terrible spy. 🙂 There are plenty of wacky folks in this world. Yes, that man is fortunate he didn’t end up with a gun pointed in his face, which is probably what I would have done! That would startle the old man, eh?
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It was so bizarre. I’m still not sure if he was casing the joint or not. I think he was just a creepy old man.
We do keep a baseball bat next to the bed. I’m surprised my husband didn’t grab it.
Thanks for visiting today, Lynn. Have a fantastic week!
Patricia
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Ewwww! Definitely creepy! I bet you don’t forget to lock your door again.
Nope, I haven’t ever done that. Never stayed in a B&B either, but I tend to stay out of places I’m not supposed to be.
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Yes, we are very careful about locking our own door each night. What an odd duck that guy was.
Good for you for staying out of places you’re not supposed to be. You never know what you might encounter and some things you just can’t unsee so it’s best not to see them in the first place.
Have a great week.
Patricia
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Whaaa!! That is such strange behaviour!!
Also, he must have known it was creepy and wrong, or he would have turned the lights on! I wonder if he was pretending to be a burglar or something. It sounds like he wouldn’t do well at a life of crime if he was that noisy!!
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I’m not sure what his deal was. I think he is one of those people who gets up really early and there was nothing for him to do so he just started wandering around. The whole flashlight thing was weird though because he had to bring that with him from his room. I didn’t notice anything missing so I don’t think he was robbing us, it was just so strange.
Maybe he was pretending to be a burglar. I’m going with that scenario because I like it.
Have a great rest of the week. Thanks for stopping by.
Patricia
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You too! I hope you don’t have any strange-un’s this week!!
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Creeping around someone else’s private living space is so not cool and a great way to be mistaken for a burglar…especially with the flashlight. He obviously wasn’t thinking it through. Or maybe he thought he was sneaky enough he wouldn’t disturb anyone. Was he just an early riser and forgot to bring his crossword puzzle, so got bored and decided to take his own tour? He’s lucky it wasn’t me he woke up because I’m really, really snarly when people wake me up early. I’m very respectful of other people’s privacy, so I’m not much of a snooper, but I really wanted to sneak away from the tour guide and snoop around Winchester House. That place is creepy-cool! But I wouldn’t want to do it at any time where a flashlight is needed…not going there when it’s dark. Hope the rest of your week is free of creepers!
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I’m not sure what this Dude’s deal was. He could have sat in the parlor or ballroom and turned on the lights and not disturbed a single other person. He could have played pool in the billiard room. He could have gone for a walk or sat out on the porch (we leave the porch lights on). Why he decided to go snooping around outside with a flashlight is beyond me. Of course it didn’t help that we’d left our outside door unlocked, but for goodness sake, we shouldn’t have had to lock it. Who’d expect a guest to come barging in?
I’ve never been to Winchester Mystery House but I would LOVE to go. And I’d go at night. I think it would be even cooler.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week.
Patricia
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Okay, that is definitely weird and creepy! Makes me very curious about what was going on in this guy’s mind…or maybe i don’t wan’t to know. Hope you’ve got less interesting (in the creepy sense) guests this week! 😉
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Coleen, I think it’s best nobody knows what’s going on in that guy’s mind. He was kind of creepy overall but I never thought he’d be a middle-of-the-night kind of snooper.
This week has been much better. We only get the occasional weird-o. Just enough times to make for some good blog posts.
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great rest of the week – and weekend!!
Patricia
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