Sorry, it's been a while....you know it's time to blog when your sister is calling bored from work...she's says she needs a new blog to read...absolutely tired of the old one.  Sorry Jen.

So...who's sick of hearing about Hot Ticket??? 

Well, sorry.  It's usually the most creative/exciting story I do all week.  Not that I don't love the other stories we do here at TV3, but sometimes you just need a little....well....Hot Ticket.

Last week my segment was on the Wayside Inn.  Amazing.  No, I mean really, truly amazing.  I've passed the building several times on my way to the Theater and Belle Grove and was always a little curious, but never had the chance to stop in.  Last week, I finally dropped by. 

Ok, let's be honest...when I called the Inn to set up the story...I knew I was in for something special.  Stan, the assistant to the owner I believe, answered and promptly called me out on my "Yankee" accent.  Strange, I didn't know I had such an accent...but whatever...I AM a Yank and you can't hide your roots (right?).  So, anyway, once we were finished talking about our Northern background (he's from Boston...and let me say...he REALLY does have an accent), he agreed to allow me to do a story on the Inn.  That may be the first time my Yankee background scored me a story.

Wayside Inn owner Leo Bernstein bought the Inn in the late 50's and I have to say...now in his early 90s, the man could probably tell you exactly what he was wearing the day he signed the check.  What a sharp guy!  We had a  little coffee...he showed me some pics of the Inn from long ago...a guest book that dated back to the 20's...a slave kitchen that had a brick dated 1690.  The Inn has character...but Mr. Bernstein IS a CHARACTER.  Above his desk sits a picture of him in his late 20s-early 30s.  This in cheesy ( I know) but the guy looked like a movie star. 

However, truth be told, Mr. Bernstein is like a walking history book.  He can tell you the entire history of Middletown.  I know what you're thinking, not that exciting, right?  No, when he tells it, you might as well be sitting in the middle of Paris...at the Eiffel Tower...not in Middletown at the Wayside Inn. 

I think what I appreciated the most was his total reverence for history and the people that made history happen.  He talked about the famous people who had stayed at the Wayside (Tom Cruise, Lady Bird Johnson, General Jubal Early etc), but then he stopped.  He said the real history makers...and the real "celebrities" are you and me.  According to Mr. Bernstein everyone has a "story" and it's just a matter of finding it.  As a journalist, I couldn't agree more. 

I don't want to downplay the Inn here.  The rooms are incredible and the staff is so friendly.  An added bonus?  My tour guide told me a couple of ghost stories.  Something about a type writer in a hallway that mysteriously types!

So whatever...go to the Wayside Inn to get away...to get a piece of history...to get spooked...to feel like a celebrity...JUST GO!