“It’s so nice to see someone who eats so much fresh food,” said the man standing in line behind me at the Costco check out. I turned, smiled, and replied, “Well, the truth of the matter is I own a B&B in Ashland and this is my weekly run.”

Work For Me

Because of the volume of my weekly Costco purchases, I am often a captive audience for those who feel the need to comment on said volume. Or, they just want to engage in a conversation. I usually don’t mind. Although sometimes I just want to get through the process as quickly as possible. Costco trips are work for me.

Two Best Days

Anyway, he was a nice guy. We chatted a bit and learned we had a few things in common – career wise. As I was walking away I turned back and said, “Have a good one!” He smiled and said, “The best two days of an innkeeper’s life are the day they buy and the day they sell.” I laughed and carried on thinking to myself, Buddy, you have no idea.

Because you see, my friends, Abi and I have sold our beautiful 1904 classic American home – Abigail’s Bed & Breakfast – and we are moving on.

It’s Time to Move On

I bet ya didn’t see that comin, did ya?

When we came to Ashland, Oregon, 3 ½ years ago we had a 7 to 10-year plan. But as we all know, life is what happens to us while we’re busy making other plans.   The universe saw fit to present us with an incredible opportunity. Who are we to argue with the universe?

Our Quiet Listing

The thing about selling a B&B is that it can often take up to three to fives years to sell because it is such a specialized business and lifestyle. We were three years into this gig and thinking it may take another three years to sell. We quietly put our property on the market.  But, we flew very low under the radar. We did not want to negatively impact the reputation of our inn. But, talk about the power of the internet, our quiet little listing traveled through cyber space all the way to Zimbabwe. Yep. Our buyers are taking on quite the life change.

If that isn’t the universe intervening on our behalf, I don’t know what is. Our buyers are lovely people and we couldn’t feel better about leaving our beloved Abigail’s in their hands.

What Now?

I know if I were you, I’d be thinking, what are they going to do now.  I’ll tell you. First up, we’ll be hitting the road in a boldly yellow, 12’ Penske truck.  We’re mapping a path straight across the country to Rockville, Maryland. Our newly rented apartment is where we’ll call home for at least one year. Beyond the cross country move and settling in to our new digs, the only plan we have is to enjoy life and see where it leads us.

Since we’ll be living just 11 short miles away from our son and daughter-in-law, I figure the distance will make a good training walk.  We need to break in my new socks and my new backpack. I’ll have lots of time to read/study my new book.  And if the stars align, come spring, we’ll be taking a 500-mile walk to clear our heads and reconnect with our lives, and each other.

So, in just about 6 weeks from now we’ll be rolling out of Ashland with no looking back and no regrets. We’ll be taking with us an abundance of life experiences and lessons well-learned. It’s been quite a ride!

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