Our Cresthaven Story…
Warren and I are often asked how we came to own Cresthaven and run a bed and breakfast. It’s actually a great story that we love to tell.
Warren is from Nova Scotia and has family roots in an area called Old Barns just outside of Truro. I am not from Nova Scotia, but it is easy to see why I quickly fell in love with everything about it.
The adventure started when we were living out west in Edmonton, Alberta. Warren had been wanting to move back to Nova Scotia for some time and I was finally up for the adventure. I made him promise that if I were going to move all the way across the country and away from my family, it would have to be to a spectacularly beautiful spot.
In October of 2008 I was flown to Nova Scotia for a job interview. I spent an afternoon with a realtor but didn’t see anything both Warren and I would like. Warren wanted to live in the middle of nowhere with all kinds of space and privacy and that I wanted spectacular beauty - but also needed to see a neighbor and have access to at least some amenities. Later that afternoon decided to go for a drive and found myself driving along highway 215 and enjoying the winding, pretty countryside. By the time I reached the adorable historic village of Maitland I realized I needed to head back. By chance I decided to turn around using Ferry Lane and found myself easing up a magical lane way of deep red maple trees that opened up to the most beautiful historic house overlooking the jaw dropping Bay. Wow! That was all I could think as I drank it all in. It was private property though, so I did turn myself around and head back to my in-laws for supper.
That evening I shared the adventure of my day and when I got to describing this amazing property where I turned around my in-laws realized I was describing a property formerly owned by their daughter. What a strange coincidence?! They shared many stories of the house (haunted?) and we marveled its beauty.
Several months later we made the big move from Edmonton to Nova Scotia with all our belongings, two small children and two small dogs in tow. We were very fortunate to be able to spend the winter with our little family living in a cottage Warren’s father and wife own while we looked for our forever home. It was January and we cozied up in this quaint cottage with the kids in the loft and only a wood stove to keep us warm, but we were happy and charmed with our new adventure.
The house search began in earnest but with me working full time much of the looking fell to Warren. It soon became clear that his preference was isolated old farm properties and that the photos he was bringing home at the end of the day were more of the tractors than of the houses. For several months we dragged our realtor to every property within a 45-minute drive of Truro with no success. We were an impossible couple to please. No doubt that was because somewhere, deep in the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about that historic house nestled on the bluff in Maitland.
Eventually I came to this realization and did some “googling”. The house wasn’t for sale but because it was an operating B&B I could easily find the owner’s contact information. I reached out to the owners, Barb and Craig, and asked them if they had ever considered selling - and what do you know… they had. So, we arranged to come out and see the house.
Our life took a whole new, never before imagined fork in the road that day. Not once had we previously imagined owning and operating a B&B, but everything just seemed to fall in place. This house was a home. It had the space and privacy Warren needed and the beauty and community that I needed. It was old AND new - a historic home with so much architectural beauty with an addition that new construction (thanks to owners Derrick and Glenn back in 2001). It was a home and a business opportunity. And the business opportunity enabled Warren to be home for the girls as they grew up.
The things we have loved about living in this house and in Maitland could fill 100 blogs but here are a few highlights. Our girls grew up experiencing the treasure of a tiny, charming village where everyone knows each other, and everyone is volunteering on one committee or another. They went to elementary school just up the road in multi-grade classes, allowing them to learn at their own pace and reinforce their learning by helping others. With a wood furnace, working as a family to ensure the house had heat developed some great character and sensibility. We always, always feel safe here. Nature is everywhere and nature is spectacular. Who doesn’t love a ghost story? And every house here has a ghost story. I’ve been able to fulfill my creative side on a whim - singing with my neighbor at community events or the corner store or putting on a play for the Christmas Festival, and its as easy as just deciding to do it. And the people of Maitland took my mom into their hearts and under their wing. She lived with us for a while, suffering from Alzheimer’s and there was always someone to take her to an activity, bring her home if she wandered, or allow her to feel normal and shop at the store whether she had her wallet or not.
Over the years that we have been living at Cresthaven and operating as a Bed and Breakfast we have met so many interesting people from all over the world. Our kids always thought owning a B&B made us a weird family. Both had their first jobs as room attendants working for their dad. They learned what “clean” was, how to be professional, and the importance of good customer service.
This house, this home, has given us a beautiful life. And it has a long history of families and stories. We are fortunate to have a list that tracks most of the ownership through history and I look forward to sharing that in a future blog for anyone who finds that kind of thing interesting. Often, we don’t know the story of the families who lived in this home long before us but it’s always fun to imagine what their lives were like, what joys they experienced, and what trials they faced.
I hope you enjoyed hearing our Cresthaven Story. Stay tuned for future blogs if you want to hear more about village life or the ins and outs, pros and cons, do’s and don’ts of running a bed and breakfast.