The Westview Bed and Breakfast in Lincoln, Nebraska is truly a gem. I am in love with this place.
(Of course I have to start you off with something to drool over, right?)
Imagine this….
It’s 7 p.m and darkness is just beginning to set in. It’s a little chilly being February, but a clear and beautiful day. We lazily roll into the Westview Bed and Breakfast. The day has been fantastic traveling with three little children. You couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Warm, fun, laughs, giggles. All of the prep paid off and everyone behaved beautifully. And then, welcomed to a homey room “Prairie Nook” with hand-pieced quilt, lamb stuffed animal, and all. A comforting sunroom is attached to the suite with plants, books, and more. Every corner has a new antique to discover. There’s a mini-fridge with drinks. There’s snacks. There’s jellybeans.
(We had to stuff “lammy” in the corner because the kids were loving on him too much)
And the bathroom……freshly tiled, jetted tub, just calling out our names. It’s cozy, it’s comfortable, and it’s the perfect way to end the day.
The owner, Jim, accommodates us with a roll-away for the little ones. They excitedly climb into their shared bed and settle down for a good night’s rest. In the morning, we are greeted with the smell of bacon and eggs.
In the communal dining room, each of us is presented with a feast of fresh-squeezed orange juice, egg on toast with maple bacon and asparagus (and some fantastic seasonings), and a side of fruit with cinnamon whipped cream. We hardly want to leave. We feel so at home here.
Well, at least half of this is true. Here’s what actually happened.
It’s 5:30 a.m. We’re cramming the rest of our stuff into our fairly small SUV for our cross-country trip with 3 little girls, including the 2-month old. We have an 11 hour drive ahead of us (realistically thinking 13 or 14 with stops), but we’re hoping that because we’re leaving early, the kiddos will sleep a good majority of the first part of the trip. Do we have room for the stroller? Nope. It must stay. But most of the stuff fit. Score!
Now time to get the girls. All in the car? Check. Let’s go. It’s 6 and we’re on the way. Good timing!
Not 20 minutes into the trip, the littlest starts wailing. Hungry already, really girl? I JUST fed you. Ok. Well in 10 minutes, we’ll be through the canyon and we can stop. We pull into a vacant grocery store parking lot and take care of business. Let’s get on the road again. I’ll drive.
The other two girls never settled back to sleep, but that’s okay. Everyone seems to be happy. Wait a minute…. wait… oh shoot! Middle child has just thrown up all over herself. A LOT. Seriously? Ok, at this point we’ve driven for about one hour and been stopped for about one….or so. At this rate we’re at 26 hours to get to Lincoln, Nebraska. Yikes. We stop the car, clean up as good as we can, new clothes, lots of kisses. Let’s get on the road….AGAIN.
Yay. Finally 1 and 1/2 hours with no interruption. Why am I getting tired already? Oh, it’s because I didn’t sleep at all the night before since I was trying to get all of the last minute details in order before we flew the coop for 3 months. That’s ok. I have caffeine. I’m good. Ok, it’s time for a driver swap though, seriously. We’ll just do a little fill up on gas, switch drivers, and hit the road again.
Ok, time to leave. Seriously little baby? You are hungry AGAIN? Fine. It’s freezing cold outside, btw, but still looks sunny at least. We pull off to a vacant corner and I feed this ever-hungry child, engine running to keep the heat blowing. And then this happens right as we’re getting ready to leave. The check engine light. Flashing. And the car starts doing a rough idle. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
We drive for a minute and everything stays the same. Well, at least it’s already 10 by now so a mechanic should be open.
We go to the first mechanic and take about 20 minutes just to find where the plug is located to check the engine codes. Girls are starting to get majorly shifty at this point. Did I mention it’s freezing outside? We’re bundled in blankets, coats, everything, just trying to stay in our seats and stay warm.
Mechanic makes announcement: sticky valve. They will need to go in to start taking things apart. This sounds like a lot of time….and money….not good. And especially right now, we don’t have the time. We are on a tight schedule to get to the East coast for my husband’s military school. I guess it’s time to call the rental car company. (Update: It was not this problem, but instead old spark plug wires, which could have been changed in 20 minutes. Why is it so hard to find a good mechanic these days?)
Side note: Did you know that rental car companies charge a RIDICULOUSLY HIGH RATE for a one-way drop fee? Like to the tune of $700 in this case? Oh well. We got the new car and our mechanic is making arrangements to come and get our car since it’s under warranty. Luckily this did happen only 2 and 1/2 hours away from home. I guess a blessing in disguise, some might say.
So….it’s 4 hours later. Sigh. Time to load the Ford Equinox rental. Despite the fact that it’s an Intermediate SUV (and our other SUV is considered a standard) it has less storage space. Goodbye portable highchairs, skillet, and other items that seemed nice but just can’t fit with this fury of repacking. We’ll see you in a few months.
Oh my gosh. It’s freakin’ cold. It’s nice to be back on the road. But at this rate, we will not be getting there. PERIOD. But we really want to get to Lincoln, Nebraska. Let’s try. I keep trying to appease the masses with snacks. It works for awhile. And then driving…..and driving…..and driving……
And then everyone starts getting “hangry.” Like nothing is working anymore. Time to make a stop for a 20-piece chicken nugget. But the line at McDonald’s is astronomically long. Where are we exactly? Who knows, but apparently McDonald’s is popular here. Let’s go Taco Bell and get the tots. Tots always work. Phew.
Baby cranky again. Seriously, how many times can you eat little girl? I know that you are not hungry. Just being grumpy. I crank my hand back around the seat to hold the binky in. For the next 1 and 1/2 hours, since you like the binky, but don’t like holding it in your mouth very well and scream every time it falls out.
Oldest daughter “I gotta poo.” Oh shoot. Good thing we brought the portable toilet seat since this girl has a serious fear of public restrooms. There’s a motel. Maybe they will let us use the bathroom in the lobby. “No, sorry these are only for paying guests.” For real? Don’t even get me started on my rant about public restrooms. And it’s illegal for us to go in public but you won’t let me use your unoccupied restroom….And no, we WILL NOT be staying here…Fine, we’ll drive another two miles into this little butt town and see if we can find a nasty gas station.
Oldest has done her business. Baby hungry again. Fill up with gas. It’s single digits outside. Just as we’re getting ready to leave, middle child has now left a deposit in her diaper. There’s another hour+ stop for ya. Should we get a Mega Millions lotto ticket on the way out? Why, YES. (And I’m not even a gambler). It’s just been that kind of a day. (Just for a side note, not even one of the numbers was a winner. BOO.)
Holy cow. It’s seriously like 9 p.m. and we’re still a ways out. Is it even worth continuing? I do know that the owner, Jim, said we could come at any hour of the night, but it will seriously be about 1 a.m. by the time we get there (and that’s if nothing else crazy happens). I’m not quite sure that’s what he meant. I decide to give him a call and just feel it out.
Jim is THE NICEST. He says that 1 a.m. will be just fine. Seriously, this guy just made my night. We continue to go. After about an hour of crankiness, the kids fall asleep in their car seats and we drive….and drive…..and drive. And after what seems like an eternity, we are there.
It’s still freezing. I wander in the front door of this beautiful plantation-style house and peek around. Anyone here? Then Jim shows up. I secretly hope he hasn’t been up waiting for us for hours…. He was just getting all of the beds ready with lots of extra bedding. “Do you need anything for dinner?” No, we’re good. We are just extremely tired. And then “What time would you like breakfast?” The answer: as late as possible.
Everyone crashes in their bed. Middle child is grumpy and insists that I cuddle with her for a bit. I wake up a few hours later so I can go cozy with hubby in the beautiful bed in the main room.
It’s 9:30 a.m. and we get the announcement that breakfast is ready. The beautiful aforementioned breakfast. My children probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I did, but it was SOOOOO good. (Don’t worry – theirs did not go to waste – it was consumed by yours truly.)
Then I decided before we left that I better explore this fantastic place a little bit more since I had no time to enjoy it the night before. Each room and suite has such a personal touch to it. It’s truly an adventure. And the history.
The Westview Bed and Breakfast was converted from “The Poor House”, a large home and warm where the paupers of Lancaster county could have refuge. To learn more about it’s history, visit here.
I could rant and rave about this place forever. Lincoln may not be a destination for you, but I highly recommend that if you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods to take a peek at this place. We’re already planning our route back in a few months and are pretty sure that we will be enjoying some time here again – hopefully under slightly different circumstances.
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