Bed and Breakfast

Today is Saturday, May 10, 2008. The sun is shining. And the weather is getting warmer.
Last night I glanced at an article in a travel magazine about B & B. And I started to laugh. I've had two experiences with bed and breakfast places. One was in Manti, Utah, in an old, old brick house. And it was pretty much what I expected. Lots of antiques in the bed room and sitting room and in the breakfast room. Each room had its own bathroom with interesting "old fashioned" trappings. It was a fun experience. Especially so because we were the only people in the place and we got to look in every room.
The thing that made me laugh was our experience in Independence, Missouri. I grew up in Independence and when we planned a trip there for my 50th high school reunion, we decided to arrange to stay in a bed and breakfast.
I went to the internet to check out all the possibilities. There was one listed on Delaware Street. I remembered the big beautiful houses on Delaware Street. They were near to the Memorial Building where reunion was to be held and near to my old neighborhood. That seemed the perfect place. I made all the necessary arrangements through the internet and felt very happy and excited to see which of those old houses would be our place to stay for the days we would be in Independence.
We landed in Kansas City, rented a car and headed "home." I was so excited. We turned onto Delaware Street and started checking house numbers. Most of the homes there were big three story mansions and as we got closer to the number I could feel the sense of excitement rising. I was so hoping it would be the Jensen house. One of the daughters had been several classes above me and I had heard stories about the ballroom on the third floor and the playroom in the basement. But, we came to the Jensen house and it was not the right number. Then we came to the end of the street and none of those beautiful old homes was the address listed on the paper I had printed out at home.
We turned around and went back up the street. Was there a house somewhere behind another or in an alley somewhere? No. Then we found the street number. At the very south end of the street was an office building. I remembered when that building had been built by the Reorganized Church as an office building. I couldn't believe that was the address of our bed and breakfast. Sure enough, though, it was. I was more than a little disappointed. But what could I do? I had made all the arrangements.
We went up to the door, rang the buzzer and the door buzzer sounded and we were let in. The halls were nicely decorated with paintings and bouquets of flowers. There were beautiful tables and a few nice chairs in each hallway. Each former office had been remodeled into a nice bedroom with a private bath. It was certainly not what I had expected but it was nice.
The breakfast part was in the basement - a former cafeteria - streamlined and modern. Not quite like the beautiful old kitchen and dining room of my dreams but adequate and they served a decent breakfast.
It certainly wasn't what I had wished for but we accepted it and enjoyed our time there. But it sure makes me chuckle to think of my dreams about those big houses on Delaware Street. Next time I schedule a bed and breakfast I hope they have photos on line. If they don't I am going to make a phone call.
That's it for today.