Innkeeping Conference in Monterey Super Bowl Weekend

Yes, it is that time of year when we put away the decorations at the Albert Shafsky House and think about heading to the California Bed and Breakfast (CABBI) which will be held in Monterey later this month…This year it happens to fall on Super Bowl weekend and we are so looking forward to wearing our favorite team jerseys to the event.  Go Niners!

This year the conference will be combining the aspiring innkeepers with the “old hands” (like us I suppose now).  Rita is going to be speaking this year about what it is like to live where you work, a topic we are intimately familiar with and I will we hosting a workshop on Blogs and Social Networking.

If you are interested in attending this great, informative, networking, trade show event, please click here.

FACTS:
17th Annual CABBI InnSpire Conference
Date: February 1-3, 2009
Where: Hyatt Regency Monterey
Website: www.innspireconference.com
Direct them here where they can register, look at the schedule & workshop descriptions, Hyatt info etc.
Or this link is right to the schedule and workshop descriptions:
http://www.innspireconference.com/conference-schedule.php

Placerville makes a great one-tank trip this Summer or Fall

From a recent article I posted…. Placerville is a great destination for California or NV travelers seeking a getaway that fulfills a long distance desire. Here you can find great wines, shops, restaurants, & starting in September, Apple Hill orchards just minutes away in Camino. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 05, 2008 – Placerville, Calif. — Placerville is a great destination for California or Nevada travelers seeking a quick getaway that fulfills a long distance desire. Here you can find great wines, unique shops, mouth-watering restaurants, and starting in September, Apple Hill orchards just minutes away in Camino. Placerville is well-known for having a colorful Gold Rush past. It started in Coloma in 1848 when James Marshall discovered gold flecks in a sawmill and carries on through today as Hangtown remains the hub of the Mother Lode. Named after the Placer Gold deposits found in its river beds and hills in the late 1840’s, Placerville’s rich mining history and lore includes the infamous Hangman’s Tree. The historic downtown area of Placerville is filled with antique stores, tasty restaurants and specialty shops to tempt you. And since you do not have to drive a long distance, you can spend more time enjoying your vacation, than worrying about the high cost of gas. Fall in Northern California is not truly fall until it is Apple Hill season in Camino. A bounty of privately-owned farms, set among the rolling foothills, showcase old family recipes of homemade fritters, ciders, apple wines, and hand-crafts. Sample apple cider donuts at Rainbow Orchards, the crisp cider at High Hill Ranch, and the late-summer peach pie at Hooverville Orchards. Making your home base Placerville will allow you to also experience the beauty of South Lake Tahoe, just an hour away. Or you could spend some time in historic Sacramento, exploring the waterfront shops and Railroad Museum. Many of the historic homes in Placerville have been converted into lovely bed and breakfasts. For instance, the Albert Shafsky House is a stunning Queen Anne Victorian, known for hearty breakfasts and great innkeepers located just a block from Main Street. You may be treated to Apple Hill pancake, or their “gold nugget” eggs when you stay, along with yummy banana bread and juice. A traveler from Redwood City had this to say about the Albert Shafsky House “The weekend was the best ever. The inn is very well maintained and the innkeepers do everything to make you feel at home. The food is out of this world. The rooms are comfortable and inviting. Had the best time ever. We enjoyed everything abot the inn and enjoyed walking around Placerville”. Research shows consumer interest in wine and food travel is growing, with more people seeking unique wine and food experiences. Current news outets confirm the trend for one-tank trips as travelers try shorter, close-to-home, and more frequent vacation experiences because of current economics and higher gas prices. # # # Take a step back in time as you explore the beautifully restored property. In the heart of California Gold Country, Historic Placerville, CA, this lovely Queen Ann Victorian Bed and Breakfast is the perfect setting for your El Dorado County escape.

More haunting in Placerville, CA

As promised here is more of the finding of the Gold Rush Ghost folks from their visit at the Albert Shafsky House B&B.

From Paul Dale Roberts:”After gathering all of the history about the Shafskys, I wanted to know the experiences of Rita and Stephanie. I wanted to know what the guests also felt in this spacious bed and breakfast. While I was getting the information from Rita and Stephanie, Nancy sensed their was a ghostly fuzzy white dog and a ghostly tabby cat that was still roaming around in the premises of this home. As the interview continued, I learn that Rita and Stephanie owned the home for 6 years, they absolutely fell in love with the enchanting personality of this home. They have both experienced hearing heavy footsteps on the second floor, books being flown off the shelves, lightbulbs being unscrewed. They will also find pennies laying about the house. Mrs. Shafsky was known to save pennies. Nancy was feeling the presence of a small child in the neighboring room. Later she feels that two kids are playing. Could this perhaps be the children of Albert & Kitty? Rita and Stephanie at times hear piano music playing in the lounge room. Sometimes they smell cherry pipe smoke from 7:30pm to 8:30pm in the evening. On this very night, the cherry pipe smoke aroma filled the room for a matter of a few minutes during the interview process.

I learn that during storms, the activity seems to increase, as if the entities may be drawing energy from the ion particles in the atmosphere. Guests have seen a man on the stairs, it has been suggested that the man is Albert Shafsky himself. Shoes have been placed in order underneath the bed by an unseen force. We later learn that Kitty Shafsky’s mother Thora Bean died in this home. Nancy conducting a psychic reading of the house, discovers that Albert Shafsky and his wife Kitty are here in this home. She also feels Alberta, Boyd and Bernice are still here. Nancy feels that it is Kitty, who is playing the piano in the lounge area room. Nancy picks up the fact that two dogs are buried in the backyard and the ghostly presence of the fuzzy white dog and tabby cat are also in this home. There was one more entity that Nancy picked up on, she said that Marian Wing a former resident of this home is still here making her haunting presence known.

Nancy picks up more energy signatures that indicate that Boyd had some kind of breathing problem and she could see Kitty beating on a rug outside on the porch. She said that Kitty was always concerned on the condition of her floors, she wanted the floors cleaned and tidy. Going through some old notes on the Shafsky, I found something comical. When Albert Shafsky was a little boy, he was on a ship with his father, he wanted to know what the time was and picked up an English dictionary to say “what o’clock is it?” and instead accidentally said “son of a b****”.

The entities of this home, seem to be completely benevolent, they mean no harm to the owners and only want to make their presence known at certain times. Since little children are seen, this home probably has a combination of residual haunting activity in which an act replays itself over and over again. Case example, the children playing in the adjourning room. The children could possibly be the children of Albert & Kitty Shafsky. There seems to be some intelligent activity with the books flying off the shelf, as possibly one of the entities is trying to make a statement or let the owners know that he or she is around. With this beautiful bed and breakfast there is absolutely nothing to fear. If you ever stay at this bed and breakfast, you will even be greeted by the cutest miniature dachshund named Lily. Lily has detected presences in this home too. She will bark at an area where there is nothing there to be seen.

The Shafsky House is pretty popular, since established people of Hollywood have stayed here. Such as the location scouts for the movie Memoirs of a Geisha and the Director of the movie trailer Pirates of the Caribbean has stayed here too. Steve Hanks the well known artist has comfortably stayed the night at the Shafsky House to rejuvenate from his travels. If there was a haunted home I want to live in, the Shafsky House is right there on my list! “

I Love Inns(Keeping)

Life is full of perfect little moments….upon return from another wonderful CABBI Innkeeping Conference, where I presented about the importance of blogs, this is a snippet of the email I read….

“Dear Rita and Stephanie, Congratulations on being selected as Blog of the Week on ILoveInns.com.We at ILoveInns are always striving to bring our members more exciting ways to highlight their Inns and the special communities they live in. In this regard we wanted to share with you that your creative and informative Blog was selected to be highlighted as the Blog of the Week on our home page at www.iloveinns.com.”

So, being the responsible innkeeper and blogger that I am, here is a portion of what the iloveinns post had to say 

“Best Bed & Breakfast Blogs by InnkeepersJanuary 28, 2007 Best Blog: http://www.shafsky.com/blog.htmInnkeeper & Inn: Rita TImewell & Stephanie Carlson, Albert Shafsky House Bed & BreakfastName of Blog: Albert Shafsky House BlogWhy we like this blog: This blog is full of useful information for innkeepers and prospective innkeepers alike. Rita and Stephanie have owned the Albert Shafsky House for 5 years and share with you their thoughts and ideas on running a California bed & breakfast. From how to start a blog, to their “Top 10 reasons to become an innkeeper…or why we did at least”, to innkeeper conferences and trade shows, this blog offers detailed information on many aspects of inn ownership.”

Any more questions on why or how blogging can help your site?  Ask away.

Now that I am an innkeeper, now what do I do?

So, you have decided to become an innkeeper and purchased the perfect place…now the trick is to keep your sanity while working your dream job.

When we first took over the Albert Shafsky House B&B in Placerville, which had been a dream, we worked 18 hour days for several weeks.  It was grueling, it was hard and it was stupid…I am sure we were not nearly as prepared for guests as we should have been, since we were exhausted.  There was so much to do…

There is still much to do all these years later, but we have learned how to take care of guests and ourselves.  Treat yourself…take a day off now and then….leave the inn to an innsitter (a good one) and take a vacation…or a long weekend…if you are not rested, how will you possibly take care of your guests?

February is time for Romance…all month at the Placerville B&B

A tradition at the Albert Shafsky House in February is to celebrate Valentine’s Day for the whole month. Our pals over at Boeger Winery are offering “Sweets for Your Sweetie” on Saturday, February 9th from 11-4pm for $15 per person.Impress your sweetie and satisfy your sweet tooth with this fun and deliciousValentine tasting. Enjoy scrumptious chocolates from local favorites FudgeFactory Farms and Annabelle’s Chocolates paired with some of our fine wines. Take home a one of a kind Boeger “lovers” logo glass. You and your “sweetie”can snuggle up to a cup of our very own Rubies Cocoa in our Historic Wine Cellar. And they will have Complimentary Gift Wrap available the day of the event!RSVP: to Tara 800.655.2634 x: 18 or tara@boegerwinery.comWhy not join us out at the event!

February is time for Romance…all month at the Placerville B&B

A tradition at the Albert Shafsky House in February is to celebrate Valentine’s Day for the whole month. Our pals over at Boeger Winery are offering “Sweets for Your Sweetie” on Saturday, February 9th from 11-4pm for $15 per person.Impress your sweetie and satisfy your sweet tooth with this fun and deliciousValentine tasting. Enjoy scrumptious chocolates from local favorites FudgeFactory Farms and Annabelle’s Chocolates paired with some of our fine wines. Take home a one of a kind Boeger “lovers” logo glass. You and your “sweetie”can snuggle up to a cup of our very own Rubies Cocoa in our Historic Wine Cellar. And they will have Complimentary Gift Wrap available the day of the event!RSVP: to Tara 800.655.2634 x: 18 or tara@boegerwinery.comWhy not join us out at the event!