Click on photo to enlarge.

For historical purposes, we should document our first guests.  Phil and Candy signed the guest book and Jack gave them the key to the Fourth Room.

We are proud to announce that the background music is playing, the floors and sheets are clean and fresh, a snack is on the sideboard, and we are standing ready to open the door for our first guests!  Thanks one and all for your support!

Today is the 110th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s first airplane ride and our opening day!  We have been so busy setting up and are not finished yet.  We only have one television hooked up but it works and it is in the theatre room.  We only have rods in one closet and that is for tonight’s reservation. But Jack just today put up pantry shelves today and we have menus planned.  The reservation page on the websites seems to have worked out the bugs.

Here are just a few shots to entice you!

It’s been a whirlwind of a week!  We managed to get the house presentable for the house blessing.  Joined by 12 friends, Reverend Lord blessed our home and Bedford Landings.

Unexpectedly today, our friends from WSLS, Channel 10 visited and did a wonderful story introducing Bedford Landings to the larger community of Southwest Virginia.

We have 2 reservations already and are looking forward to more.  We still have three sinks to finish plumbing, shower curtains and towel rods to hang, doors to stain, the internet to reroute, TV reception to figure out and many boxes yet to unpack, but we are getting there!  Last night we spent the night in our new home and this morning used the shower!  We love our new home!

The Reservations page is up and working.  The Accommodations describes the room and room rates.  For December 2013, they are half priced while we test out our B & B system!

Finally, we got the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO).  Jack diligently worked on the punch list this past week with the help of Steve W. and Tom B.  Thanks for burying that cable to the hangar to install another smoke detector (Steve) and thanks to Tom for your neatly applying dry wall where Jack had to cut a total of 23 holes to find wiring to complete circuits or pull the new 40 amp oven wiring.

In the meantime, shout outs to my sister, Sherry who opened packed boxes and placed things in cabinets all the while asking “why did you save this?” or telling me that we have enough “wine glasses to serve all of Smith Mountain Lake!” Well…

So the (a different one) inspector showed up yesterday and checked things off the list and gave us the TCO.  It took less than half of the time the last inspector took.  I just kept unpacking while Jack followed him around.

Re: decorating.  Sherry set the breakfast room tables and I added a few things here and there.  We made three beds and placed about as much furniture as we could in the week she was here.  I could not have made quite the dent without her!  I now have the Forest room nearly finished.  Jack will plumb the sink in there today.  I nearly have the Flying room completed with the exception of the loft and hanging a few things.  I nearly have the Fourth room completed but need a white table to add there.  And the Fishing room is complete except there is no bed.  We have been sorta using it!  The Master has become a dumping ground but we will work on it today.

Today, the health inspector comes to check that we have a refrigerator thermometer and the Discover shop is picking up some donated items.  Tomorrow our Pastor, Reverend David Lord (yes, that is really his name) will come and do a ceremony to “bless” the house and the Bedford Landings business.  We are looking forward to that!  Then the Laker magazine is coming to take photos for their next edition that will feature lodging at the lake.

By later today, I hope we will have the reservations page up and running for our opening December 17th.  It is the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight.  Don’t that just bring a tear to your eye?!   And to beat it all, we have our first reservation booked already!  Half price specials for the month of December.  If you want to come hang out, we are at the stage of needing to haul away packing boxes, staining doors, and hanging blinds!

Thanks for all of your blessings and prayers!  And you thought it couldn’t be done!  HAPPY dance!

(will post photos next week)