Rest. What is rest? According to Merriam-Webster, rest can be defined as 1) Repose, Sleep specifically: a bodily state characterized by minimal function and metabolic activities. 2) a: freedom from activity or labor 2) b: a state of motionlessness or inactivity 2) c: the repose of death 3): a place for resting or lodging 4): peace of mind or spirit 5) a:(1): a rhythmic silence in music (2): a character representing such a silence 5) b: a brief pause in reading 6): something used for support.

Why am I talking about rest? I’ll address # 2 and #3 of the definition. # 2 is where I’ve been. June 13th I had a total knee replacement of my right knee. Before the surgery, my thoughts were that I would be somewhat immobile, so I would catch up on reading books, doing things on the computer, such as writing a blog, etc. Those of you that have had a knee replacement are probably laughing right now as it is more like definition 2) c: the repose of death!

OK, after a period of about 2 weeks, I was able to stay awake a little bit more and kept thinking of the term “rest”, after all I was resting! Isn’t that something that we should all do periodically anyway. I mean how long can you go with out sleep? In our lives, we can get so occupied with the busyness of life, that how often do we take a break from that busyness, to refresh, to rejuvenate? How does one rest from that busyness?

I mentioned earlier that I was hoping to catch up on reading some books which can be a good way of resting from the norms of life. There are however other ways of “resting” or escaping the day to day routines to give a respite. When we bought Chapel Valley Estate, Pat and I agreed that we would try to get away about 4 times a year, or about once a quarter. For the most part we have been able to do just that. Operating a bed and breakfast with an event space can be and is a 24/7/365 day operation, it has been beneficial for the both of us, especially for Pat as even with no guests, there is always work to be done to maintaining the property to the higher standards that we seek to achieve. Maybe that’s why we’ve been rated by BESTLIFE as the #7 of the top 15 bed and breakfasts in the country? Don’t really know how that happened but we are honored and blessed!

Maybe it is because we do get away and get that rest and get rejuvenated? This is where I will get into the definition #3): a place for resting or lodging. Funny that I should mention that as we are a place for lodging! (as well as a place for rest!). To be honest, most of our guests that visit don’t come and just hangout (some do though!) and sit around our fire pit, or lounge in some of the chairs or benches, or rocking chairs on the patio or the front porch.

I asked earlier, how many ways are there to rest.. or to deviate from the day to day routine? We have many guests that come to enjoy racing their car, motorcycle, or the karting at Pitt Race International. I know that sounds like the opposite of rest, but it would get your blood flowing! Some can rest by doing a round of golf at Olde Stonewall Golf Club or one of the other golf courses in the area. Others will go for a hike at McConnell’s Mill State Park (Pennsylvania does not charge for entry into their state parks!), Moraine State Park (you can also rent a kayak, rent bikes or go swimming), and other hiking spots in the area. If you bicycle, I can give you some great routes which are on the road, but not too bad traffic wise,

I can go on with so many other things to do in the area, but the point of this blog is to talk about rest. something that we all should do. Did you know that according to the US Travel Association that 55% of workers did not use all of their vacation time? This was reported in 2019. USA Today states that Americans take the least amount of vacation globally averaging just 11 days. Also, only half of Americans plan to use all of their time off.

Soooo… plan some rest, take some time off to refresh. Take that break that you are entitled to and don’t let your vacation time go to waste! An unmentioned company states “we have the meats”. Well, we have the place! Come see us!