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Meet the Innkeepers, Al and
Jill.
We have been living in Florida since the mid 80s and have
been visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina since the mid 90s. During
and after every visit we vowed to find a place to call our own in this area.
After much
looking, buying several lots, and researching into building a log home to
our desires in the Banner Elk area, a realtor friend told us about a property some 12
miles away with "a view to die for" on over 4 acres. We
thought about it and decided to take a look. The persuading words had been,
"a view to die for."
My husband fell in "love at first sight" with the property. To my surprise he no longer cared
whether the house was old or new; he no longer cared if it was right smack
in Banner Elk or not, and he no longer cared to build in any one of our
numerous lots. It did not even look like a log home, although actually
it was, you just couldn't tell from the outside.
Al fell in love with the
view, the wide paved road to get there, and the owners, guests and neighbors.
Yes, guests! This was actually a bed and breakfast we had gone to see, and no matter how much
I
told Al it would be better to put it on a rental system if we bought it, he
kept saying no, he preferred to run it as a bed and breakfast, just like
where he
had grown up.
Al is from a ski area in the Alps region of Austria (the province of Tyrol -
Oetztal to be
exact) and his parents had a
bed and breakfast
and a campground where he and
his siblings grew up. One of his brothers still runs that bed and breakfast
today with his wife.
Al loves the idea of creating
a nice cozy atmosphere for guests to feel welcome and well taken care of,
known in Austria as "Gemuetlichkeit." He is also involved in marketing
Austrian ski areas through a series of tourism portals which generate
substantial visitors to the areas. This is what I call his "techie" side. He
designed and maintains this website which is our main source of new clients. I, on the other hand, was born and raised in a big city
and have traveled quite a bit. I graduated from the University of Florida
(yes, a Florida Gator!) with a major in Marketing and Business
Administration. Running a B&B in the country was not in my plans
or scope of expertise,
however Al finally
persuaded me to go along with the program, and now I am actually enjoying it.
Al is a professional chef and I must say he is
a superb Chef. Anything he cooks is delicious! Our guests will
certainly enjoy wonderful food, good company and weather permitting "a view to die for." They
will also get to meet our beloved Dalmatian, Diamond, who has been our
faithful companion for many years and is very well behaved, although she has
become a little grumpy in her senior years.
The bed and breakfast is a log cabin that was actually built by the previous owner, Boyd
Barrier, circa 1980. He and his wife Jean, who were wonderful hosts,
started this bed and breakfast, previously known as BJ's B&B, in the mid 90s
and have now decided to retire. They have been wonderful
in telling us about the area and in particular about the B&B. We are very
thankful to have met them, and very lucky to still have them as neighbors.
For reservations or more information, .
Welcome to our home, our corner of paradise!
Al &
Jill
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