The truth is, I fell in love with the whole concept when I was 20 and thought what a neat way to retire. I stayed at the Vagabond Inn, Carmel, where I saw a little old lady serve fresh OJ and croissants on the veranda while her cat sunned himself on the patio. “I could do that when I’m old”, I thought. Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t wait until I retired because I couldn’t have done it - this is hard work!

A native Californian, I’ve traveled extensively and went to college in Spain. Though I was trained as a professional dancer, I worked for Fortune 500 companies through the years in Administration. Graduated from USF mid-career. After suffering a third corporate take-over, I decided I wanted to be in charge of my own future and reconsidered opening my inn much sooner. I worked as an apprentice for free for two years at the former Seal Beach Inn and fell more in love with the business than ever. After discovering an abandoned derelict property that used to be part of a gambling resort run by Bugsy Siegel during the roaring 20’s, Club Arrowhead of the Pines, I applied to the State of California to certify it as an Historic Point of Interest. Over the next two years, I restored the property to its former grandeur, opening a delightful 10-room bed and breakfast inn 1993. My sister, William, named it after the indigenous Bracken Ferns that grow wild all over the mountain. The inn has been featured on the Travel Discovery Channel, blessed with a lucrative international clientele and 3-diamond rating by AAA, a flattering repeat factor, and the most interesting of guests who always manage to teach me something.

After 15 years in a very genteel business and three grand-daughters later, I am willing and ready to retire and pass Bracken Fern Manor on to innkeepers who will take it to the next level. I still adore my profession, my guests, and lifestyle but my priorities are a-changin’. I yearn to spend quality time with my family while I still can, travel, take up photography, and write that book about a life that would read like that of three different people. Then there’s the hammock in Mexico with my name on it