We had the beds, but where was the damn breakfast?

Last week Teri and Harry flew in from New York and I took the train up to Washington to visit with Cindy which is always fun since we don’t get together that often. Harry stayed with Cindy in her condo with her two boys. I say boys, but they’re 22 and 24 so guess boys is not their thing anymore. April, Cindy’s Bull Mastiff, was also there so there really wasn’t any extra room. So Teri and I stayed in a Bed&Breakfast nearby which had sounded extremely nice. The picture is of Teri and Cindy in front of the B&B the day we vacated the premises.

I have been to other B&BS and there is usually a great breakfast included. There was this time, but it never appeared! The first morning the owner (hostess, cook) didn’t have table settings for the five of us who where were staying there at that time. Teri and I sat down at the two place settings that were there. When the hostess finally appeared with fruit cups for Teri and me, we asked for silverware. When she served the remaining guests, she plunked their food down and never said a word, looking glum all the time. She brought their silverware and put the forks on the right side. Don’t they go on the left or is that a new thing at B&BS? We were sitting with a very nice young couple and a lady from the east coast who’s been going there for seven years. She’s familiar with the hostess, so she went out to the kitchen and spoke to her, and when she came back she informed us the woman had gone to bed and wouldn’t be around anymore! She said something about her being on pain medication for her hip, but I figured she was just plain drunk from the night before. The hip story just didn’t do it for me. So the young couple went out to the kitchen, scrounged around in the fridge and found the makings for an omelet which they made. It was delicious!

The next morning we wondered what would happen. There was a new young couple who was also very nice and the same lady from back east. The hostess did bring out our fruit, but didn’t have coffee ready or even fresh cream for the coffee. We waited and waited and she finally brought out two plates for Teri and me. I think they were supposed to be omelets, but they were all runny and we should never have eaten them. But we were hungry, so we did, and they tasted pretty good. When she finally brought out the others, they looked like omelets should – HARD. The hostess disappeared as soon as we were served and was never seen again! Later on Teri overheard the hostess talking to someone who was berating her for her drinking and then taking medication to get over the hangovers. I think it was her sister or someone who handles the business end of things. The hostess told her no one had shown up for breakfast, and the other woman told her we had and that we had cooked it. She wasn’t aware of anything that happened.

When Teri and went to check out, she searched all over the place, calling the woman’s name. No one ever appeared. Teri tried to go down to her basement apartment, but it had a glass door and there was a huge black cat scratching at it from the inside. This all sounds like a bad TV show that usually ends horribly. I expected Tony Perkins to come screeching up the basement stairs in his mother’s wig and dress and do awful things to us.
We left without paying . . . to which I say Hallelujah! But Teri did leave a blank check with Cindy in case the hostess called her. Cindy should then demand a hefty discount for the crappy service we had.

It was quite a new experience for us, but our family always has an experience when we finally make it together! We are not dull.