On inns and adventures and essays

A few days ago I learned about an essay contest where the winner would be given a historic bed and breakfast in Maine to run. Excited by the idea, I began crafting my (under 200 word) essay in my head. After all, we like adventure, have skills in hospitality and caring for people, and are at a time of transition in our life anyway. Might as well transition to being innkeepers in Maine, right? Plus, the essay had to have proper structure and grammar, and concisely convince the current owner that I have what it takes to run a bed and breakfast. I could pull that off.

But also true to myself, I really thought through the implications of winning. Our little family would have to uproot and move (AGAIN), to completely unfamiliar territory. And for how long? The stipulations say that the person who wins must run the place as a bed and breakfast for at least a year. This is appealing because we are aching to live anywhere more than temporarily. But do we want to settle down and dig deep roots in a tiny town in Maine? And being there are kids involved, would we opt out of living in the one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of the bed and breakfast where the current innkeeper lives? Where would we go to church? Who would be our community? These are the sorts of questions we'd ask no matter where we'd move, and the more I looked into it, the more I realized that the most exciting and realistic part of this whole endeavor would be writing the essay. And why spend $125 to write an essay if you would ultimately end up turning down the prize? I can write essays for free here!

So, someone else will have to win it. And hopefully soon we will be able to dig deep roots and settle down in a way that makes more sense for our family.

Here are some links for more information if you are interested in this essay contest.

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/03/11/living/take-a-look-inside-the-historic-maine-inn-to-be-given-away-in-essay-contest/

http://wincenterlovellinn.com

http://www.centerlovellinn.com/

They also have a Facebook page.