Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Its the GPS fault, really it is


By the time we got up to North port it was about dinner time and Sweetman's stomach was talking to him but we both agreed that if we were going to find a place to stay for the night that should be our first priority, so we punched in lodging on the GPS and she gave us directions to the most unusual B & B that I have ever stayed at. The Old Mill Pond Inn looked like it might not even be in business but then we saw people coming out of the door so we drove into the winding drive way lined with huge trees with bicycles hanging in all of them, strange mannequins were placed in various spots. One of them stood as a sentry at the beginning of the driveway in a little house labeled security. The gardens were over run with weeds but the flowers that poked out here and there were beautiful. There were arbors everywhere with vines and flowers, strange figurines, bird houses any thing out of the ordinary sitting helter skelter in the Yard.
We were met by an elderly man who introduced himself as "David" the owner and Inn keeper. He was tall and lanky slightly stooped and his hands hung at his sides, he had little expression on his face and talked in a soft monotone. He told us he had one room left and we could look at it if we wanted to.
The entire house was filled from floor to ceiling with different series of vignettes, amassed collections of objects, some glittering to the kitsch, some primitive to the iconic, wacky but interesting. Antiques abounding, portraits, paintings, stuffed birds, vases some gaudy some plain, glass balls of various colors, strange lamps it was all there. The entire house and gardens were an eclectic world of magical scenes all created by this unusual elderly man who seemed to shun conformity of any kind. His car was plastered with bumper stickers that had any imaginable saying on it.
We learned that he was an artist in his younger years and had collected all of these things over the years of traveling. He had been the Inn keeper for the last 18 years and just kept adding stuff.


I won't tell you it was the most pristine B&B that I have ever been in but it was by far the most unusual, as was David.
We were served a good breakfast of stuffed omelets, sausage, English muffins and coffee in the dining room on a huge massive antique table that made me think of something out of the Munsters movie with candelabras down the center, and while eating and enjoying conversation with the other couple staying there a candle fell out of the stand, our host calmy said, "Oh that must be Charlotte" of course we asked who was Charlotte? He matter of factly replied in his monotone. " she's the resident ghost" someone murdered in the house in the 1800's.





I'm glad he didn't tell us about Charlotte the night before I may not have slept to well.
I don't believe in ghosts but it just shows you how other people think in this world, those who have no faith in the one true God.
Oh yeah, the Inn is for sale and it would make a very beautiful B&B if anyone is interested it just needs a good deep cleaning and sprucing up, and lots of elbow grease.

4 comments:

Mari said...

Very interesting! You and Ray find the most unusual things!

Mike Golch said...

Nice photos.

Lara said...

Hi Nancy,
I'm doing some catching up reading as well. Thanks for visiting me. Loved your photos.

Fitter After 50 said...

Definitely the GPS! :)