Innkeeping to the beat of his own drum
To have the courage to change is a terrific gift; not inner change necessarily but to get a new career path. To do something that you have a passion about; that has meaning to you, where you are boss of your own making, and where the quality of what you produce reflects your values, style and your integrity!
I love to travel and visit Inns all over the place. What I like about these visits are the Innkeepers I meet. People who were in all kinds of professions and who for whatever personal reason left that behind and now do something that is of their own making and what they create is terrific!
My last trip was to Galena, Ill. What a neat town! Full of surprises: there were 56 B&B’s. The town is built on a river, and you can walk along the dyke. Great shops line both sides of Main Street and there is good food! Obviously we didn’t stay at all the B&B’s!
But the innkeepers we stayed with were a find; I love music and one Inn sported the greatest stereo system, the best! The Innkeeper had 3000 CDs! The owner had been a professional drummer in his previous life (one of 2 major careers). Autographed posters of famous Jazz musician were on the walls in the public area, photographs of family events and previous guests everywhere: halls up and down, on the piano, on desks. You could listen to the music and his collection of the strangest clocks ticking over breakfast and filled you up with sounds!
The other Inn we stayed was totally different in style, ambiance and service. It was a few miles outside the town: the Mississippi River slung away in the near distance, as well as freight trains chugging along its bank: what quiet, 
what sounds to awake to and what beauty the river holds! Our Innkeepers were newly weds. She is a terrific decorator and wedding planner, and his experience in remodeling and building homes are useful traits to maintain the Inn. Their experiences in life are heartfelt and have resonated within me since!
Jogging along the isolated dirt road, I felt safe and I remembered the slogan she had cited the evening before:” here we give you rivers, ridges and romance!”
Chicago was only 2 and 1/2 hours away. The rolling open hills, the vast expanse, the cows grazing lazily, that image is deeply embedded and lingers on.
Until next time… Heide
Tags: Galena, get away, Illinois, innkeeping, Music
2 People have left comments on this post
Sound like my kind of place! Music everywhere and the great outdoors at your feet. A great combination…now if I can just find another reason to get to Galena, Illinois.
This is how I see myself as my husband also sees it. We want an adventure, we crave to become innkeepers and to bring alot of families back together. Things to do from young to even younger. We already love helping people. We want to bring the closeness between kids and parents with ideas we have had. I know it is probably nec. to have tv’s in each room, but I think we would survive and thrive without them. We are so anxious to do this, yet are going to be very patient and do it right.