Well what a spring it has been. What a summer it has been to in fact. We started our season this year with quite a few bumps in the road. Way back, it seems, in March, we had a pipe burst in one of our cottages - home to rooms 6,7,8, for some of our previous guests. The water leak happened during all the radical climate changes that month.

We had been away from the inn for some time since the leak started, so as you could imagine, water was able to freeze and thaw, and destroyed the inside of the building. To our dismay, of course, we found out that almost nothing in the three suites would be able to be saved...

The construction began. Tearing out drywall, insulation, carpet, everything had to be thrown out or bleached and dried out. A huge mess for sure. The reconstruction began, and six weeks later we had three beautiful new rooms. All nicely appointed once again. Jer spent weeks painting, tiling, and decorating, getting the rooms ready for guests in the coming spring.

We opened for business, took in a few retreat groups from around the area for their spring sessions, and all seemed to be going well. A few short days after one of the retreats, a nasty spring storm came up and rocked the PC coast. They say that lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, and hopefully thats the case. This time, all we needed was one lightning strike...and we got it. Thats right, lightning hit our brand new cottage, and started a fire. The three brand new rooms, not older than two weeks, were burning.



Thankfully, everyone was safe, no one was injured, but the building was once again in shambles. Room 6 was the start of it all, and was completely destroyed, even the sink and toilet melted or exploded. The front doors burned out, and the interior was burned down to the cinder block foundation. Luckily, the Catawba and PC fire departments were on the scene quickly, and put out the fire. Unfortunately, the fire was so hot, it consumed almost the entire attic and roof structure. The fire department's water also soaked the new drywall, insulation, carpet, beds, and everything, again.

As a result of the fire, water and destruction, the building had to be gutted completely, again. So down to the studs it went again, we even had to replace the floor joists and rafters. It is a brand new building now.

Once again Jer and the family were back at it building, painting, decorating, and finishing the rooms. After weeks of hard work, contractors, permits, and rearranging guests and reservations, we are finally settled and ready to be back on schedule.

So we are proud to say that once again, we have the newest suites on Catawba. Three suites beautifully appointed and sparkling from roof to floor. Check out our picture gallery on our website for some looks at the new rooms. For reservations, call the front desk anytime.

Thanks to all those friends and family who supported us through all of this, we appreciate all your help and hard work. We couldn't have done it without you!

See you all soon, we hope!

Jer and Eileen

Thanks for stopping by...here is our first crack at a blog for the inn. We have had so many guests over the years who have stayed with us, and who bring with them some of the best stories, we thought we would share some of those here.

So may people ask for Jer's special recipes as well from waffles to pear bread, bran muffins and snickerdoodles, we may be able to convince him to share his secrets.

Keep checking back with us, or send us an email to keep in touch, we would love to hear from you!

Jer and Eileen

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