I am often asked about how I got here, to the Whispering Pines B&B in Nebraska City.  Did you always want to do this? own a B&B? Are you from here? I answer back with a question...do you want the whole story? or the nickle version.  Many choose to hear the entire story.  

As my 20th year anniversary approaches, we've decided to share, in snippets, 'the story'.  Of course it has continued to evolve over the years, so stay tuned as we intertwine the last 20 years into what we believe will be a fun recap of Jeanna's Journey. 

When asked if I always wanted to run or open a bed and breakfast, the answer is “No, I didn’t know that was in the cards for me, but God had a plan…”

In my corporate career, I attended a lot of strategy meetings in hotels, filled with the mundane repetition of the stark white walls in conference rooms. But the corporate world also provided me with the experience of a team building event in the archipelago outside Stockholm.

At the time - the early 2000s - I lived in Austin, Texas. My house there was a 1940s bungalow with a neat coffee shop nearby named Pacha that we frequented. Pacha always stood out to me for its tasty food, cozy atmosphere, and beautiful back deck where guests could enjoy the outdoors.

I often hosted small get-togethers at my little abode, even before I renovated it. It was never about the house, but about spending time with others and making memories. I’d announce these gatherings using emails, my flip-phone, and even my Motorola pager, often bringing together people from all walks of my life: coworkers, neighbors, fellow tri-athletes and friends from church. I was quickly learning that hosting was a passion of mine. It was during one of these gatherings that the owner of a local bicycle shop told me, “You’re really good at this, you should figure out how to do it for a living!” At that point, I didn’t even realize I was doing anything special. I was just hosting my friends.

The church I attended conducted what they called “spiritual gifts studies,” - essentially surveys that would help you understand what God has given you as special talents. My top three? Hospitality, leadership, and administration.

Leadership and administration had certainly been in use during my technical career, but hospitality is what jumped out to me. 

My original idea was to open a business retreat center - a place that combined the feeling of Pacha, the experiences of the team building at the castle in Sweden, and the gathering of my friends at my house.

One day, in 2004, I was speaking to my brother, who had recently moved his family of four from Dallas back to Iowa, where we grew up. I floated my idea of a business retreat center, and he immediately mentioned a property that had just gone up for sale in the very small town of Thurman, Iowa (Population: 167). I was hesitant about moving back to Iowa, but I figured I’d at least entertain the idea.

It was 20 years ago this month, in January 2005, when I visited that property with my brother on a trip back to celebrate my youngest nephew’s birthday. My brother took me to look at the property in Thurman, about 30 miles south of where his family
lived. We pulled up to a store called “Plum Creek Antiques.” It was a beautiful 1800s Victorian home with a large cabin and outbuilding. Unbeknownst to me, it had been a bed and breakfast before it became an antique store, and one of my childhood friends told me about how they had stayed there on their wedding night.

Bed and breakfast, huh?

And so it began, my journey to becoming a full-time host, to fulfilling my God-given knack for hospitality, was underway. I headed back to Austin to discuss finances and begin researching the bed and breakfast industry, without a clue where it would take me.