OF aco AL hat be ws 9 onnan neta 65 OT TIRE TET oo

WATERLOO, NEW YORK

THE SOURCE of some of the mail that arrives in my letter
box is a mystery. Obviously, the sender of one recent clip-
ping must be aware that I’m a pushover for cats.

Mine are never far away from
me when I’m at home -— one
prefers to sleep on my feet when
I’m working and seems to enjoy it
when I inadvertently kick him.

Another starts a peculiar click-
ing meow when I start hitting the
keys. ,

Emily, my expensive (remember
the vet bills?) one is alive and well
and shows her disgust at my lack
of attention by trying to climb on
my typewriter carriage.

In Britain, many B & B’s and
small hotels have resident pets. I
remember one in the wilds of
Wales with such a friendly old
tabby that you’d have to sneak to
bed at night or he’d beat you to
the pillow.

Most of the guests seem to enjoy

animals — I certainly do.

Someone must have knewn
because I received an article about
a mansion in the. Finger Lakes
district of New York State, com-
bining a cat museum with a small

two-suite B & B. Perhaps “‘luxury -

hotel”? might be a better term,
judging from the pictures.

The inn is in Waterloo, New
York, and was built by a rich rela-
tive of Noah Webster’s in 1845.

It was purchased in 1980 by
Leonard and Barbara Cohen and
they installed a large collection of

_ antique china, sculptured and

painted cats,

They also installed their five pet
cats with unlikely names such as
Radcliffe Worthington.

It may not be to your liking if
you have allergies.

I’m also willing to bet, judging
by the photos and the menus
quoted, that the prices aren’t
modest. None were included in the
article — perhaps a case of, “If
you have to ask, you can’t afford
it.” ;

The dining room seats only
eight, including the gv-sts in the
two suites. It is poss‘ste to make
dinner reservations without being
an overnight guest, but it might be
difficult.

It’s obviously a stopover a cat
fancier would enjoy if they visited
Waterloo:

The James Russelt Webster Inn.

115 Bast Main St.

Waterloo, NY 13165

(315) 539-3032 .

* * s

I hope anyone contemplating

buying recreational property is

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aware of the costs involved in the
upkeep. .

We estimated that our cond
was costing us in the neighborhood
of $800 a month, disregarding the
money we poured into improve-
ments, maintenance and repairs.

travel
wise
Barbara McCreadie

Fi et

We hardly used it!

Weeks would pass and for:
assurted reasons we couldn’t get
away on weekends. Friends and
family used it almost as much as
we did.

Maintaining two kitchens is con-
fusing. P’'d invariably have two
battles of ketchup in one fridge
and none in the other. Which
house was out of Windex? I'd
never think to check until I was
halfway between the two.

Recreational property is fine for
sports lovers. It is a deadly bore
for someone like me who considers
bashing a ball, with anything,
painful and uncivilized.

When you own recreational
property, you’d better use it! No
more interesting little jaunis to
resorts and spas — even if you can
afford it with the money you're
doling out each month on your
own place.

Speaking of resorts, isn’t maid
service wonderful? It’s a role you
get to play yourself at your ‘‘se-

cond home.”’ You also get to play
cook and laundress.

All the time you’re at home you
worry that something will go
wrong at your other place — and it
often does.

Our hot water -tank burst,
flooding two rooms. Our power
was cut off — the mail service can
be slow — and the contents of the
fridge didn’t keep too well.

s 2

After three years, we sold our
place.

Have you any idea how much
personal stuff finds its way to a
second residence?

Even though we sold the condo
furnished, we found ourselves with
a full carload of ornaments,
photos, clothing, books and
equipment *o bring back.

J haven’e moved in 25 years and
now I know why. Packing is an
awful job, even with just ene
carload.

Next, the stuff had to pass

through Canada Customs and that

was a worry. To try to minimize
the possible delay and the amount
of duty I would have to pay, I
listed every item, including date
and place of purchase.

I will never again laugh at peo-
ple rolling down the highway with
everything they own loaded in their
car. We looked like we were flee-
ing France when the Nazis invad-

We rolled up te Canada
Customs and the officer sent us in-
side. Another officer studied my
list with interest. ‘““‘What is the
value of everything?” she asked.

1 explained that it was very dif-
ficult to estimate the worth of
things like family photos, old
clothes and half-empty bottles of
ketchup.

“Have you been down for 48
hours?”

We had.

“Then your $200 allowance
ought to cover it.”’

She stamped my list and sug-
gested I have a nice trip home.

As we pulled away, my friend
said, ‘It’s a good thing we didn’t
have to unload this stuff. I’d have
fired it all out the back and suggest
they confiscate it. I never want to
load another carload like this in

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my life.”’

23 - Sanday, May 7, 1989 — North Shore News -

Bed and breakfast inn has feline theme

weekend vacation where the bed-
And, now, maybe we can take a making is the maid’s job. -

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922-3361