Our Little Farmhouse in Virginia

I should tell you more about our lodgings!  I suppose some folks might prefer a hotel concept for anonymity / privacy and having their "maid" service.  I simply can't imagine surviving on a microwave and ma-a-a-ybe a stove top (no oven) for weeks, or months even - not to mention the year-plus we were in Hawaii! 

Our Kauaian home was only one mile from the hospital, had an okay selection of kitchen ware, but lots and lots of beach towels, full-size washer and dryer, a huge dining table, a huge flat-screen cable-connected TV, a covered carport, and a covered lanai (patio).  There was only a 4-burner stove top which was a bummer, but a member of the church we attended loan us a convection oven the size of a microwave and that helped.  The host/landlord went out and BOUGHT a king-size bed when we expressed concern with our recruiter over John's Texas-size 6'4" size.  Can't get much more accommodating than that, huh?  When we arrived, they had chocolates on the bed pillows and orchids in the vase on the dining room table.  They were EXCELLENT hosts/landlords. 

Our rental car company, Island Cars, was beyond accommodating. 

Here in Virginia it's been pretty much the same thing.  The 2-bedroom home is FULLY furnished with two cable-connected televisions, high-speed internet connection, house-wide stereo/AM-FM/CD system, over/under washer-dryer, a whole wall of books, a wide front porch to sit on, and it is beautifully decorated.  It is a full kitchen with every kind of thing you can imagine including Pampered Chef cookware.  We are less than ten miles from the hospital and it takes about ten minutes to get there.  The fields were bursting with gorgeous tobacco plants and deer; now they fields have winter wheat, but the deer are still here.  Yesterday while John and I worked on Christmas gifts in the house, our hosts were out mowing, putting up Christmas decorations, burning leaves.  I almost felt guilty - but what can a Christmas elf do but work on gifts??

I cannot imagine why travelers would want anything different.  Except for not having family close by, it's just like being at home.  Best I can tell these places have been the same price range as extended stay hotels.  So why not stay in a more "homey" place?