Remember the fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea? A young prince’s mother wanted to be sure his intended was of royal descent, and one way to tell was whether she could feel a dried pea under a stack of mattresses as she slept. Obviously, only a true princess could be so sensitive. Indeed, she woke the next morning irritable and with a bruise on her back because of the lump in her bed. The Queen was convinced, and the prince and princess lived - and slept, happily ever after.
We must not have a drop of royal blood because we’ve slept in over 265 different beds and only a handful of mattresses had us tossing and turning. There were a few as soft as butter, others as hard as a diving board, and one airbed that slowly deflated during the night. But most of our Airbnb beds have been sleep-worthy because nothing pulls an Airbnb rating down faster than an uncomfortable bed. We’ve also stood under 265 showers, cooked in 265 kitchens, and fiddled with at least a hundred TV remote combinations. Why are there so many?
The average Airbnb shower is adequate. However, there have been a couple that I’ve made note of because they were divine. The perfect blend of instant hot water and a powerful spray. The most recent was in a private suite in a house in Polson, Montana near Flathead Lake. Go for the host and her adorable fainting goats, but spend some quality time in the shower.
I liked the kitchen in Billings, Montana because the host let me purchase almost everything in it.
Cooking in 265 kitchens could fill several blogs. In fact, I did write one of my favorite posts early on called “Can She Cook in this Kitchen?” after a meltdown I had in Naples. As for what hosts consider a “kitchen” I think we’ve seen it all. From setups that Martha Stewart wouldn’t turn down, to ones the host never thought anyone would attempt to cook a meal. Several times I’ve been the first guest to use the stove or oven! The best have everything you need to cook a pasta dinner with a salad, and a good breakfast. The worst are the ones outfitted with a mishmash from the thrift store and have leftovers in the fridge.
These are two examples of kitchens we felt worthy of the description “kitchen”. The top one is in Sanremo, Italy. Our host had every piece of cookware you could possibly need and a nicely stocked larder. The second is in a small apartment in Nuremburg, Germany where the host set up a nice honor bar.
To have sampled so many beds, bidets, and boudoirs we’ve had to stay in a wide range of listings. Some were palatial (San Miguel de Allende) and some were so small (Japan) that we had to keep our suitcases outside on the landing. We’ve even stayed in a house carved into the side of a mountain in Salzburg where a fine layer of grit would sift down overnight onto the counters and the toilet seat. (That listing is no longer available)
The marina in Valencia, Spain.
Five of our stays were on Airbnb boats. All of them required that we stayed in the Marina, but that was fine with us. I wrote a blog that goes into more detail of our stays on boats called the Tale of Three Boats if you are interested. Our first was a sailboat in Le Grazie, Italy. It was the perfect base for exploring Italy’s Cinque Terra.
Here’s a blast from the past! This is the first Airbnb boat we stayed on in 2015. If you click the listing you’ll see the host is offering a much newer boat. So the boat is newer, and I am older.
Then there was the summer of 2018 where we spent time on three different boats. The first was on a funky, post-World War II motor yacht in Skradin, Croatia, a small village that is the gateway to the waterfalls of Krka National Park. The best part of that stay was being there during the 2018 World Cup finals between Croatia and France.
Our floating home wasn’t luxurious but it was in the quaint town of Skradin where we were adopted by the local soccer fans. We love every place we’ve been in Croatia and this was no exception.
Next, we stayed in a spacious trawler in Menton, a classy city along the French Riviera, just a few kilometers from the Italian border. Our granddaughter Colette joined us for a week and that made it extra special.
Looking back at the marina from Menton, France.
From there we moved to Valencia, Spain where we spend two weeks on a very nice cruiser. We loved our daily trips to the beach and the bus ride into the city. Valencia was so magical it made our “places we could retire” list.
Since we are boaters, we are used to tight galleys - but this one was really well equipped and the bed was dreamy. Just goes to prove any house can be a “home”.
Last summer we spent two weeks on a barge-turned-houseboat on a spur of the Seine. It was in Venieux-les-Sablons, not far from the village where our daughter lives with her husband and our three youngest grandchildren, so there were some fun overnights. It was also walking distance to the Medieval village of Moret-sur-Loing. Here’s the blog about that adventure.
Our barge neighbors on the Seine in Venieux-les-Sablons.
In mid-June, when we decided to return to the states from Mexico we decided we would continue to travel as Senior Nomads. And, if you are a regular reader, you know our goal was to try and make a difference in the upcoming election. Our goal was to volunteer in swing states with close Senate races to try and gain a Democratic majority.
We were able to do a few things in Montana and Colorado, but COVID has changed how campaigns operate, and actual brick and mortar campaign offices are rare. Now anyone can support the candidate or cause of their choice by making calls or writing letters from their kitchen tables. We will return to the campaign trail in October when we fly to Anchorage to help with Doctor Al Gross’s Senate campaign. That will be a close race - and the organizers have told us that they could actually use our help on the ground.
In the meantime, while we were driving through Montana, Colorado, and Idaho we set a goal to stay in as many unusual Airbnbs as we could find. However our first interesting stay wasn’t in an Airbnb, it was in a privately owned, classic A-Frame cabin in Island Park, Idaho. Our stay there was courtesy of a generous blog follower. We had a cozy two-night stay in the woods complete with a fire pit and a curious moose and her calf in the back yard.
This little cabin in the woods was delightful. The big bathtub had to be hoisted in place and then built around during a bathroom remodel. But it is magical to take a deep, hot bath high up in the trees.
Our next adventure was Glamping (fancy camping) in Helena at The Norwegian Woods resort. Our tent sat on a wooden platform and was equipped with a “real” bed, a chair, and a water basin and pitcher. The toilet was a porta-potty and the shower … well, I didn’t use the shower. There was a small restaurant serving dinner outside and live music performed by a couple of guys my age who played hits from the '60s and '70s. I felt like I was at my high school reunion.
Our first Glamping experience. The tent was fine … but the toilet and shower left a lot to be desired.
Our next stop was the private room in Polson I mentioned earlier. When I saw the listing photo of 4 bright-eyed Fainting Goats I knew we had to stay there. It turned out to be a delightful two-night stay with our host Sharon. Not only does she have goats and chickens, but she also prepares a lovely breakfast of yogurt, homemade granola, and fresh fruit. We enjoyed a glass of wine together at the end of the day and fed animal crackers to the goats - although it was sort of a one-for-me, one for the goat’s situation.
This is Abraham, the fainting goat’s next-door neighbor. He stopped by for some crackers and to bump heads. His day job is to make little Abrahams.
Perhaps the most unique Airbnb we stayed in was in Kingston, Idaho, about 40 miles from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. It was a small red-brick high school built in 1932 and then closed in 1955. A local physician saved it from the wrecking ball and turned it into a residence for himself. He left most everything just as it was including the classrooms, the auditorium, and even the trophy case. It was recently bought and renovated by another gentleman who lives in a closed-off part of it and rents the rest as an Airbnb. On the night we stayed, we had the whole school to ourselves. Be sure and check out the link - it would be a great venue for a small wedding or a family reunion.
From Montana, we spent a quick turn-around week in Seattle before heading to Colorado. There wasn’t much campaign work there, so we turned it into a road trip. A couple from Denver who we met in San Miguel are also nomads and blog followers gave us a detailed itinerary for a ten-day circuit starting in Denver which was wonderful. It turned out to be our personal Tour de Colorado.
On our first night, we stayed in an Airbnb in a Quonset Hut in Severance. During WWII many of these corrugated metal half-circle buildings popped up around the country as barracks, storage facilities, headquarters, and hospitals. There are just a few original structures left, but the style of the building continues as they are easy and affordable to construct. We did a search and found some really interesting homes created out of either original structures or constructed in the same manner - the original pre-fab home!
This original hut was divided into thirds. Our hosts live in the first third, our unit was up a flight of stairs in the midsection, and the tail end held a hemp growing concern. The apartment was nicely decorated, had a great bed, and a full kitchen.
We also had access to the garden and the BBQ. Our hosts were great, too. They recently sold their popular wedding venue business and turned their attention to the challenges of turning this former welding shop into a home and a five star Airbnb.
We drove on to Grand Lake for one night and then to Steamboat Springs where we stayed in an old-school roadside inn called The Rabbit Ears Motel. If we had booked anywhere else, I would have slammed on the breaks and changed our reservations the minute I saw the sign. It turned out the sign was the best part, but the rooms were clean and we had a view of the Yampa River where we could hear screams of laughter from the dozens of people riding inflatable rings over the rapids.
Basecamp 550 was a great spot for Glamping and camping! Lots of fun touches including a large outdoor kitchen, clean bathrooms and showers, and a clubhouse, all decorated with a hip Scandinavian vibe.
We had one more Glamping experience at Basecamp 550 , a “Hip-Kids”camp site. It was much better than the first. This time we were in Ridgeway, just a few miles from the quaint city of Ouray. The tent was newer and nicer and had better amenities including a small refrigerator and access to a nice outdoor kitchen and deck.
Our tiny house stay was the last, and maybe the most fun. This was built by a company called Altinyhomes.com in Alabama.
Our final unique stay was in a Tiny House in Canon City. It was a wooden structure on wheels that looked like a caboose. It was only 150 square feet inside but it felt much bigger. It had everything we needed to be comfortable - except we are getting too old for loft beds. We were impressed with the composting toilet with a trap door where you mixed your business with peat moss using a small wheel. Of course, that needs to be emptied now and again. The shower wasn’t bad and the kitchen was very efficient.
We started our Senior Nomad journey to test the hypothesis that “if we sold almost everything we had, including our home, could we “live our daily lives in other people's homes around the world for the same amount we’d spend if we retired in Seattle?”. So far, we’ve opened front doors in 85 countries, so I guess it must be working.
They haven’t been royal residences, in fact some were better suited for the chambermaid, but my prince and I are still very happy-ever-after together, and our story is not finished.
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads
P.S. If you are considering an Airbnb stay for a change of scenery, click here and receive $35. off your first stay.