Country Luxury?

So, I like nice things. Sue me.

 

Following my meltdown about being a house guest, Puff and I decided staying at a hotel when we visit his family in Michigan this summer was the best route. I say "meltdown" but really it was just a moment of feeling uncomfortable, followed by an easy solution. The problem became that his family lives in Podunk. And when I say Podunk, I totally mean a town with one blinking light. Oh yeah... and NO hotels. (Ok, I'm exaggerating, because there's a Days Inn, but really, there might as well be no hotels if that's your only option!)

 

So I had to put my expert InterGoogle search skills to the test to find a place within a reasonable distance (30 minutes max) and that would be comfortable for us. Here's where I insert a tidbit of information you may or may not know: I'm a travel snob. Yup... flat out. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've been to 42 states and 25 countries (to be 44 states and 30 countries by mid-October) and I choose to spend my money on travel. I've learned over the years that a crappy hotel can put a stain on an otherwise nice vacation.

 

And don't even get me started on people who take the same vacation every year to the same place and stay at the same condo and never experience the world! Gah! Such a pet peeve! But I digress... that's a good topic for another day.

 

So... back to the hotel/bed & breakfast search. I wasn't having much luck. The first place kinda gave the whole "You might get chopped into tiny pieces and some backwoods investigator will find your left ear and a baby toe wrapped in a flannel shirt in some ditch 10 years down the road" vibe. Or maybe that's just me...

 

 

And the next place gave me a vibe akin to someone's crazy grandma finding a sale at Michael's on fake flowers and taping them to every single surface in the house she could possibly find.

 

 

 

Yes, at this point, pure & utter frustration was setting in. Until I broadened my search. If we're driving a gazillion hours to visit them, we might as well be happy with the place we stay, right? And what's another 15 minutes when your ass is already going to be numb? Exactly. No big deal! So... I expanded the search radius and found the perfect place. The description was a "luxury country inn." And after looking at pictures, they weren't kidding. (You know some fool would totally put that in the description line and then you click on the link and a picture of a lamb pops up and you find yourself booking a room in some child molester's basement.)

 

(I would totally insert a picture here, but their website only has a slideshow and I can't figure out how to capture an image! Woops!)

 

Alas, we found it! I emailed the proprietor immediately to check on the availability and she wrote me right back with good news. Sure, I never intended to drop $160+ a night on a hotel in rural Michigan, but really, it'll be worth it. After long days spent hanging out with the family, we'll be anxious to crawl into our own big king sized bed in our quiet room, overlooking a garden, with a giant spa shower awaiting us in the morning. Oh yeah, with a fresh, made-to-order breakfast. Dude... my grandma doesn't even offer that when I stay at her house!

 

I'll admit it; I wasn't exactly looking forward to the trip to Michigan. Puff hasn't exactly hyped it up to be the most exciting place in the world. And that long ass car ride makes me cringe. But when you get married, you learn to make sacrifices for the happiness of the other person. And so, with that being said, I'm completely willing to take this trip, since he does so many other things for me all the time.

 

But I've got to be honest... this swanky B&B certainly makes me dislike the trip a whole lot less.