Ringing in the New Year

A big "thank you" to all of our guests and business partners!

It's hard to believe that another year is coming to a close.  It seems that as you age time accelerates, or so it seems.

We've had a great 2015 here at the Inn.  Here's a recap of some of our more "memorable" moments throughout the year:

Spring 2015:
Rain, rain and more rain. 
Augusta Plein Air Art Festival's "Day in Defiance" with over 110 artists and friends here.
Defiance Merchant Association's Katy Trail Bike Ride to benefit the Asthma & Allergy Foundation.
An impromptu bonfire with guests in the back of the property.
Trail Smokehouse opens down the road (yum).

Summer 2015:
Chef John Richardson hosted an amazing beer-pairing dinner with Augusta Brewery.
More rain.
Great fireworks display in Augusta.
Freak storm toppling a tree at the Yellow Farmhouse Winery and shooting flames into the air.

Autumn 2015:
Harvest Festival activities.
Sporadic rain.
Harvesting grapes at neighboring wineries.
A bonfire with guests in the back of the property (who brought the White Castles?).
Hosting winemaker Grant Long, Jr.
Chef John Richardson marries long-time sweetheart, Kirbie Mikeska.

Winter 2015:
Didn't think we'd be saying this one, but rain, rain, rain and more rain.
Thankful for Koziatek Contracting - great roofing experts (see the rain item above).
Defiance Christmas Lighting Contest.
Defiance Christmas Parade & Festival.
New Year's Eve fireworks at Chandler Hill Winery.

As you ring in 2016, we'd like to thank you for entrusting your "get away" this past year to us.  We hope to see you back in 2016, and we'll keep you apprised of any fun events out our way.  We are scheduled to reopen for the season the first weekend in April.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2016!

Cheers,

Jeff & Chris

Trip Advisor 2015 Certificate of Excellence

Wow, Thanks Everyone!!

Jeff and I, along with Chef John Richardson, would like to thank all of our guests who came to stay during our first year of operation for their incredibly nice reviews of our Inn.  It garnered us a 2015 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor.

Jeff Comotto, Owner & Innkeeper Displaying Certificate



When we decided to purchase the property and open the Inn last year, we knew we wanted to provide a special and memorable experience for all of our guests who stayed here.  We really took that quite seriously as our mission. 

One important component of that was asking John Richardson if he would be interested in being the "Chef Extraordinaire", serving unique farm-fresh menu items for breakfast for our guests.  We were so happy he agreed to be a part of our weekend adventure, and we're thrilled that as we go full-throttle into year two, he's still a very integral part of the equation that helps us succeed in fulfilling our mission.  It goes without saying, that I'm thankful for Jeff being our resident weekday Chef.  He sometimes thinks he has big shoes to fill, but he really has done a great job in the kitchen (who doesn't love his cookies, too??)!

Another component which we feel has helped us along the way was asking our guests to let us know if we had forgotten something to make their stay a great experience.  Many of you told us things you thought might be helpful, and believe me, we listened.  So as we have gone along, we like to think that all of our previous guests are part of the reason everything seemed to "click" and work.

Having wonderful guests who were willing to share their experience with others through Trip Advisor was obviously the key component to getting the certificate (hopefully the first of many) awarded to us.  We truly appreciated each and every guest taking time out of their day to submit a review, and we do read each and every one.

Thanks, all of you, for making our first year in business so rewarding.  As individuals who travel quite a bit, we always relied upon Trip Advisor reviews ourselves.  It's sort of weird being on the other side of that now, but we really appreciate that you have shared your experiences with future guests.

Hope to see you all again soon!

Cheers,

Jeff & Chris Comotto

DMA Charity Ride Day 6

Last day. We decided to get up and leave Sedalia early for a few reasons:

1) we saw the weather report calling for warm sunny weather and

2) we knew Todd White of Katy Bike Rental & Shuttle was going to be picking us up in Clinton around 12:30 (but we didn't want to leave in the dark)

So, off we rode at 7:30 am to get a head start on the day. The elevation map was a liar! We thought we'd be going downhill but WRONG!! It seemed like it was an endless uphill climb followed by another uphill climb.

As we rode toward Clinton we started humming the theme song from "Rocky." We actually pulled in at noon. Todd pulled in with the van and Kim was there with champagne! We were super tired, but super happy with our accomplishment PLUS the fact that we raised over $3,300 for the Asthma & Allergy Foundation.  Todd took us to lunch at Kehde's in Sedalia, and Chuck hosted us all at Chandler Hill for dinner.

A BIG thanks to all who supported us in the ride. We're thankful for our health and are appreciative of the work the Asthma & Allergy Foundation does.

Pics:

Riding the Katy Trail - the WHOLE enchilada!

Defiance Merchants (DMA Riders) take on the trail to benefit the Asthma & Allergy Foundation

About a year ago we began talking with other local business owners in the Defiance Merchant Association about riding the entire Katy Trail (242-miles across Missouri) to benefit a charity.  After months of planning, eight of us are just about ready to leave for our adventure.  We decided to support the Asthma & Allergy Foundation for our first year of what we hope will be an annual ride. Living in Missouri with Asthma & Allergies is not easy (as many of you know), and biking the trail in support of those individuals and research to help them seemed like the perfect fit.

Want to find out more and follow our daily trek?  Go to:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/defiance-merchants/DMARide

We'll be journaling our ride each evening on the above site along with sharing a few pictures of the day.

We leave Sunday, April 12 after our guests check out and will return Friday evening, April 17.

Wish us Luck and GOOD WEATHER!



Snowbirds in February - Week 5

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

Okay, surely after a couple has been gone all of the month of January they've gotten this "snowbird travel-thing" out of their systems, right?  WRONG!

Our friends Tom & Sue talked about going to Las Vegas; and the next thing we knew, we were going there, too ... ha!

It's sort of funny, because we aren't even gamblers.  We do, however, enjoy all of the things Las Vegas has to offer. We love the beauty of the desert, seeing interesting sights on the strip, going to shows, and seeing some of the "craziness" that always seems present somehow in Las Vegas. The weather during the winter is always a bonus

A few highlights: 
Red Rock Canyon, the Minus5 Ice Bar (brrrrr.....), Fremont Street, and "The Rat Pack is Back" show.

 The Minus 5 Ice Bar in the Monte Carlo.  Chilly!

Us with "Dino"

 The Link - new addition to the strip

 The Individual cars of the Link

 The botanical garden at the Bellago

 Red Rock Canyon

Freemont Street Experience

 

There was a great Faberge exhibit at the Bellagio art gallery, and the botanical gardens mimicked a Faberge egg in all floral.  We also enjoyed riding the new Link (or was it Linq?) -- the gigantic ferris-wheel type attraction on the strip.  The cars are huge and you get a wonderful view of the strip and the surroundings.

 

The Minus 5 Ice Bar was really a fun thing to do (and Tom works in the Ice industry, so he had to go in without a coat.  Notice Jeff had to join in.. ha!)

 

The Rat Pack is Back show was great fun, with songs of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., with Joey Bishop as emcee.  My parents would have loved this.

 

We had a great time  in Vegas and our trip went by too quickly.  Our flight back got cancelled due to snowy weather back home, and we were forced (aw, darn) to spend an additional night.

 

We hope to get back next year to see the rest of the sights.

 

 



Snowbirds in January - Week 4

On the long road back through the Keys, we stopped in Marathon to meet up with our friends from Defiance for lunch (you'd think we'd do that more regularly when we're all in our home town!  Ha!)  Our next leg of the trip took us through areas that had numerous roadside produce stands.  Jeff bought three avocados as big as your head, a papaya that could have doubled for a soccer ball, and a mango that was enormous.  We happily loaded our goodies into what little space was left in the back of the car and drove on to:

Bonita Beach.
We have a good friend who has a condo in that area, so we luckily stayed in the perfect area right across from the beach.  Phil (our friend) took us to an interesting afternoon in Goodland for the Mullet Festival at Stan's Idle Hour and crowning of the Buzzard Queen.  It was seriously fun (although the smoked Mullet -- the FISH not the hairdo -- was not very good.  Must be an acquired taste).

Some of the best things that week were just riding bikes to Barefoot Beach and canoeing at the Barefoot Beach Preserve, watching the sunsets at Doc's Beach House, going out on a boat and seeing dolphins and other nature, meeting up with some of Jeff's AB retiree friends for dinner, and just relaxing on the beach.

After seven whole nights in Bonita Beach, we said good bye once again and headed to:

Seminole Florida
We were so blessed to have a couple stay with us at the Inn last summer for a long-term stay.  We became friends in the interim with Larry & Donna, and they invited us to spend the evening at their house and enjoy the Super Bowl game at their home with friends.

After a fun-filled day and night with Donna & Larry and their friends, we woke the next morning to take on the sad task of driving back INTO THE COLD of the Midwest.

Was being a Snowbird fun?  You bet it was.  Maybe we'll try it again next year!

Snowbirds in January - Week 3

This was a long leg of the trip, as we drove back past Jupiter (hi Cardinals!) and further south.  Our next destination was:

Key West.
Wow.  We had no idea it took so long to get from Miami all the way to the end of the Keys, but it does.  Just about 4 hours of driving from point to point, but on two-lane roads with very little ability to pass.  We drove through Key Largo, Marathon, all of these places we've heard and/or read about, but had no clue what they looked like or where they were. We were supposed to meet friends at the airport in Key West to bring them to the condo we rented together; but.... we found we couldn't fit them in the car because of all of the stuff we (make that Chris) packed.  Plus, driving in on a Sunday with all of the slow-paced Sunday drivers made it impossible to get there on time.

Of course, we were in for a surprise.  We hadn't looked up any information really at all on Key West.  We knew Hemmingway had lived there and written there.  We knew Jimmy Buffett sang about it.  We knew it was supposed to be a laid-back place.  What we didn't know was that it was a mix of Bourbon Street meets Beale Street.

We tried to take in as many sights as possible, ride bikes around the entire Key, hit all of the popular restaurants in the tourist guides, go to Smather's Beach and Higgs Beach, and the Southern Most Point, along with the Hemmingway House and Truman's Little White House. One of the best things is going to Mallory Square to celebrate Sunset -- which we did! Funniest Bar is Captain Tony's (need lingerie? Ha!).  First time I've sat next to a tombstone in a bar!

After a week watching the sunsets from Key West, we again packed up the car for the next leg of our trip.  Funniest moment in Key West -- standing in Mallory Square and running into six other people from Defiance!  Seriously!

"It's a Long Way Down to Holiday Road....."

Snowbirds in January - Week 2

"Holiday Road"....

After a fun but schedule-filled week in Jupiter, we were ready to take in a different type of action.  As we watched the money leak quickly from our SunPass as we continued on the Florida Turnpike, we arrived at our next destination:

Orlando.
It's really different going there as two adults without children.  But it was FUN!  We stayed at a Hilton Grand Vacation Resort across from SeaWorld. We spent four days of visiting theme parks:
SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  We got to visit with friends of Jeff's who still work in the area, and Chris got to go to her Harry Potter Dream vacation:  Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

Chris took a lot of photos on her camera (not on her phone), but she did take a photo of one of her favorite flowers -- Bird of Paradise.  We did get a chance to relax though, too, as our hotel had a fabulous pool with many hot tubs and good walking paths around a lake.

After a week of Orlando, we said "good bye", packed up the car and drove to our next destination (watching the dollars float away as we went through the toll booths).

Snowbirds in January - Week 1

We always wondered what it felt like to be a "snowbird"... leaving ahead of the ice and snow to go south for the winter.  So, we tried it this January; closing the Inn for the month (really no one comes out this way when it is truly cold and icy, so we didn't feel bad about being closed).  This is a recap of sorts of what we did during our month off (many of our former guests and friends had been asking, "what on earth will you do in Florida for an entire month??!!").  This is a small four-part chronicle of our adventure along with a couple of pics from my cell phone.

We left the Inn in the capable hands of our niece (thanks, Natalie!) packed up the car, and drove (yes, drove).  Chris surprised Jeff with a special "over-the-road" playlist on her iPod that included "Holiday Road" by Lindsay Buckingham (made famous in the "Vacation" movies) and Jeff's all-time favorite "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night.  Racing down the highway ahead of the 4 degree temps descending upon Defiance, we made it to our first stop:
 
Chattanooga.  This was a fun "tourist-type" stop for us.  We stayed at the Chattanoogan Hotel (great place), ate at some really good restaurants, visited with our son, and took in some sights:
Rock City, the Incline Railway, and Ruby Falls.

After a fun time exploring the city, it was back on the road to Florida.  Although we stopped for one night in Gainesville, we mostly slept and learned about the SunPass system for the Florida Toll Highways.  Great to have a pass and drive through.  But on to our first week's destination:

Jupiter, Florida -- St. Louis Cardinal Legend's Camp.
Jeff was scheduled to play in his second-ever camp along with his brother, Mike; and friend Charlie Urschler and his brother Jim.  A surprise was to find three other people participating in the camp that we knew from St. Charles (Frank Romano, Bob Wright, and Mike Miller).  It was a really fun time, and Jeff's team came in 3rd place out of 10 teams.

We stayed several days in West Palm Beach, going every morning to the Roger Dean Stadium complex.  Chris even got a few pics with some players (above Brian Jordan).  The highlight was getting to play in the stadium.  Jeff's coach was Jose Oquendo, and teammates were Jason Simontacchi and Gary Bennett.

Guest Chef -- Jeff stands in for John and has a successful debut!

Chef John went out of town for the weekend and Jeff needed to fill in.  Jeff is truly a good cook in his own right, and cooking up breakfast is something he really enjoys doing (just ask any of his tailgate friends or people who have gone to the cabin at the river).  John prepped and prepared some wonderful menus before he left, and Jeff jumped right in and did a great job.

 

We had picked up a really good "bumper crop" of food from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group at Greene's Country Store in Lake St. Louis and had some wonderful sausage from the Bavarian Smoke Haus in New Melle.  Everyone loved the food, and Jeff was happy being "Chef for the Day!"

The sorbet is topped off with Missouri peaches

Harvest time for peppers!

Happy Independence Day!

Today we went out to check on the garden as we said goodbye to the guests. Jeff looked down to find out first batch of bell peppers and later a huge amount of hot peppers. We'll be using them in upcoming breakfasts, salsa and canning.

Thankfully the rain barrel with soaker hose has been doing it's job :-)

New Stained Glass Window in our Lounge, "The Stable"

Mike Comotto creates beautiful stained glass piece for The Stable Lounge

We have a bay window in the lounge, "The Stable"; and while it housed a beautiful bust of a Clydesdale, it needed something.

Mike Comotto, Jeff's brother, is an artist with stained glass.  He has been creating pieces for many years, but mostly for family, friends, and charities that he's involved in.  Mike unveiled a beautiful recreation of our son Jason's logo for the Inn's robes and other wearable items.

The stained glass piece is actually in 3-D, the grapes are clustered and stand out.  It's encircled by a large grapevine wreath, and hangs in the bay window.

The sun sets to the west at an angle behind the stained glass piece, making it really glow in the early evening.

Thanks, Mike, for a wonderful addition to the Inn at Defiance!