WEBVTT 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:06.759 At a beach house, sitting here relaxing, enjoying 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.679 the sound of the water. The beauty is I didn't 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:11.759 have to drive to the States. I didn't have to 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.919 go to Muskoka. I am right here in Wheatley, Essex 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:18.420 County at Pura Vida Beach House. And I'm here 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:22.120 with the owner, Emily Branton. Hi. Hi. It is 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.140 heaven here. It is heaven here. I love it. I 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:28.140 don't know if you guys can hear it, but the waves 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:31.420 are crashing like crazy. making me want to go 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:34.960 to sleep. Yeah, very much nature's sound machine 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.380 out there. And this we are in, I don't know if 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:43.600 you'd call it the garage or the man cave, the 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.340 beach house bar, the game room, which is huge 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:50.840 to have all of our gear. How did you find this 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:54.619 perfect place? Oh my gosh. So I guess maybe to 00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:58.530 back up a little bit. We love Costa Rica. I go 00:00:58.530 --> 00:01:00.109 there every year, and we always thought we would 00:01:00.109 --> 00:01:02.630 buy a vacation rental property there and spend 00:01:02.630 --> 00:01:05.730 some time there. And Pura Vida is the way of 00:01:05.730 --> 00:01:08.810 life in Costa Rica. It's about the simple life, 00:01:08.950 --> 00:01:11.230 the good things, nature's pleasure, just really 00:01:11.230 --> 00:01:15.150 connecting with friends and family. And it's 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:18.760 just the lifestyle that I want to be in. The 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:22.079 pandemic was kind of a big awakening for us realizing 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.159 what it would mean to own a property internationally. 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:29.099 And so we pivoted our plan and decided to get 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:31.579 something close by. My husband, Matt, grew up. 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:34.280 in the area so he lived in Leamington, his best 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:36.939 friend is five minutes away, his brother and 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:38.840 our sister -in -law and our nephews are down 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:42.120 the road and we come to this area, you know, 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:44.239 we were renting cottages like two or three times 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.040 a year to go to wineries and so we decided to 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:51.239 keep our focus area here. We'd looked at maybe 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:54.120 10 properties and none of them worked out and 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.099 I had given up and I said I'm gonna just give 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:58.769 it a year, I'm getting so... discouraged and 00:01:58.769 --> 00:02:01.590 frustrated not finding our place and so I put 00:02:01.590 --> 00:02:04.709 my down payment back in the market and then this 00:02:04.709 --> 00:02:07.909 place came on Realtor and I couldn't believe 00:02:07.909 --> 00:02:10.349 it and I called my real estate agent and I said 00:02:10.349 --> 00:02:12.930 we're back in the game. I think I found the property 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:15.550 that has beachfront like as a hundred feet of 00:02:15.550 --> 00:02:17.349 beach. I never would have guessed we would find 00:02:17.349 --> 00:02:21.020 that and Five minutes later, after I called my 00:02:21.020 --> 00:02:24.180 realtor, my best friend messaged me the listing 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:27.039 and said, me and the kids just saw this on Facebook 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.900 and we think that this is the perfect property 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:33.580 for you. And that's how we found it. It is right 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:36.960 outside this sliding door. The waves are crashing. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.680 The beach is awesome. The dog's down there playing. 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:43.900 And this is a huge spot just on itself, let alone 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:46.909 the house. which is massive. And before I go 00:02:46.909 --> 00:02:50.969 too far, this is a rental. It's an Airbnb and 00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:53.449 It's a lot bigger than what it looks like from 00:02:53.449 --> 00:02:56.750 the outside. Yeah, there's four bedrooms, two 00:02:56.750 --> 00:03:00.189 full baths inside. It's fully all seasons. Like 00:03:00.189 --> 00:03:03.849 it's kind of done up really nicely. Sleeps 10. 00:03:04.030 --> 00:03:06.509 And then you get this extra garage space. And 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:09.409 then we just started hosting weddings as well. 00:03:09.629 --> 00:03:12.509 So we hosted our wedding here. We hosted Matt's 00:03:12.509 --> 00:03:15.830 parents 45th anniversary vow renewal here. And 00:03:15.830 --> 00:03:17.810 then we just host a wedding for someone else 00:03:17.810 --> 00:03:20.860 last weekend. And now how many people came? Do 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:24.080 you know like for the micro weddings how many 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.639 people it fits comfortably 25 is the max. Yep 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:30.000 So anything under that's really comfortable and 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.139 you can set up like an alfresco dinner out on 00:03:32.139 --> 00:03:35.060 the deck under the string lights Watch the sunset 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:37.840 behind you and then you know, the garage is here 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:41.500 for weather Issues so the whole setup the same 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:43.520 thing you do on the deck You can fit with moving 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:45.139 some of the furniture around inside as well. 00:03:45.300 --> 00:03:49.360 And there is also a little bar fridge and a bathroom 00:03:49.629 --> 00:03:52.330 here in the garage as well so it's it's perfect 00:03:52.330 --> 00:03:55.810 I just love this place yeah me too it's such 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:59.030 a dream I mean I would never want to leave no 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:01.969 it's very like sometimes I cry when we have to 00:04:01.969 --> 00:04:03.409 leave especially when I know we're not going 00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.810 to get to come down for a while it's hard it's 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:08.110 really hard to leave this place this isn't booked 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:10.939 up pretty good Yeah. Yeah, we're usually booked 00:04:10.939 --> 00:04:14.620 solid from like mid May all the way through October. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:18.060 So this is like a little short window of four 00:04:18.060 --> 00:04:19.860 days that's open. But otherwise, we were fully 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:22.199 booked through that whole stretch. And then in 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.540 the off season, we get a few weekend bookings, 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:27.000 but not as many as I think we should. It's such 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:30.699 a great place to escape to in the winter as well. 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:35.279 She's from Sarnia. And I mean, us people in Windsor, 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.639 you don't even think of Wheatley. And like I 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.079 was telling you a few minutes ago, I don't even 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:43.639 know if I've ever been through the main strip 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.180 of Wheatley. I have been to Wheatley Provincial 00:04:46.180 --> 00:04:49.730 Park, but... It's a cute little town. It's so 00:04:49.730 --> 00:04:52.269 cute. There is a great restaurant, barbecue place 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.509 called Renny's that's on the corner of the four 00:04:54.509 --> 00:04:57.329 corners of Wheatley right next door is ice creams 00:04:57.329 --> 00:05:00.689 and ice cream place. You're not that far from 00:05:00.689 --> 00:05:03.949 Point Pelee. You're also really close to Wheatley 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.110 Provincial Park. Like you said, Talbot trail 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:09.230 golf course is like five minutes away and we 00:05:09.230 --> 00:05:12.689 give buy one, get one free rounds of golf coupons 00:05:12.689 --> 00:05:15.769 to all of our guests. Nice. My husband, it's 00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:18.569 one of his favorite nine hole. courses it's so 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:21.209 beautiful there's just it's so cute the harbors 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:23.870 right here you have all these fisheries and it's 00:05:23.870 --> 00:05:27.069 the biggest freshwater fishery in the world yeah 00:05:27.069 --> 00:05:30.189 yeah it's it's just a cute little hidden gem 00:05:30.189 --> 00:05:32.870 out here it really is and I'm definitely gonna 00:05:32.870 --> 00:05:35.670 have to remember Wheatley a little bit more because 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:38.610 it just seems that everybody goes from Leamington 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.100 the other way towards Kingsville, Namisburg, 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:44.560 and Harrow, and all of them, and then Windsor. 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:47.319 But this is a cute little nook. It's a little 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:49.800 farther out, but you're still close enough to 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:53.459 hit all the wineries and everything. Absolutely. 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.139 Yeah, I like to call it the compound when I'm 00:05:56.139 --> 00:05:59.139 here because it's so quiet in this area. There's 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:02.199 not a lot of traffic noise. The neighbors are 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:04.399 really, really a mate. Like, they're so sweet, 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.000 but it's so private. So I... You know, it's fun 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.740 to go out and do stuff, but I also love to just 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.860 like get all my favorite food, my favorite snacks, 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:13.379 my favorite drinks and like hunker down for a 00:06:13.379 --> 00:06:15.720 couple of days and have some fires and it's just 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.360 be really peaceful. Well, that would be something 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.759 good too, like somebody from Windsor. You don't 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:24.519 even have to have an event of like 10 people 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.399 staying here. Just you and your spouse come or 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.199 your significant other just coming for a little 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.480 weekend of... Hunkering down. Yeah, we have a 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:36.360 couple that comes every year They were just here 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.800 two weeks ago They come with their two dogs and 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.000 just the two of them and they just come and hunker 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.620 down for three or four days It's nice and relaxing. 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:48.050 I love it. So now Now that we're on the opposite 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:51.750 side of Essex County, how close are we to, say, 00:06:51.970 --> 00:06:54.629 Chatham or London? Yeah, Chatham is about an 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:56.389 hour. London is about an hour and a half. Chatham 00:06:56.389 --> 00:06:59.670 is maybe 15 minutes. It's about the same as Windsor. 00:06:59.910 --> 00:07:02.370 So I mean, it's still in the perfect spot where 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:04.810 it's just in the middle of everything. It really 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.410 is. Yep. And most of our guests actually come 00:07:07.410 --> 00:07:10.490 from Windsor to London stretch. But then we've 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:13.889 also had guests come as far as New Mexico, Texas, 00:07:14.209 --> 00:07:16.610 Colorado. that are doing some sort of road trips 00:07:16.610 --> 00:07:18.870 or maybe grew up here and have family here and 00:07:18.870 --> 00:07:20.970 are coming to host a little family gathering. 00:07:21.269 --> 00:07:24.230 We had a woman's 90th birthday celebration here. 00:07:24.329 --> 00:07:28.389 It's just so special. This is why I want people 00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:32.620 to... realize that Essex County needs to be a 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.180 destination place? Yeah, I think one thing people 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:37.540 don't fully appreciate is actually how much warmer 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:40.180 it is here. I can't believe sometimes in the 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:42.120 winter, there's a 10 or 12 degree difference 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.519 between here and Sarnia. And because the sun 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:46.500 comes up right at the end of the break while 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:49.920 on our beach, you get sun all morning, all afternoon. 00:07:49.939 --> 00:07:52.420 So it's actually warm. So in the winter, we have 00:07:52.420 --> 00:07:55.300 a lot of daytime fires outside, and it's just 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:57.740 nice to be able to get outside and it not be 00:07:57.740 --> 00:07:59.879 freezing cold. When we were getting ready to 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:02.839 come out here, I checked online and it was actually 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:05.259 a little bit warmer here than it was in Windsor, 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:07.199 considering you're right on the lake. I know, 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:10.519 I don't understand how it works, but it's always 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:14.660 warmer here. You're also doing events? Yeah. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.339 The one coming up, is this the first event you've 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:19.819 held here or have you done before? Yeah, so it 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:22.620 was just last weekend, like just three days ago, 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:24.660 I guess. Yeah, we hosted the first wedding that 00:08:24.660 --> 00:08:28.759 was not... friends or family. And it was just 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:31.240 so cool to get the message from them after. And 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.580 they said, we'll be back. This is now a special 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:37.840 place. for us. Oh, yeah. Now, do you offer retreats 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.100 here as well? Yes. So different types of retreats. 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:44.799 So offering to people who host retreats to rent 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.299 the space and we give them advice on how to set 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:49.460 everything up and local vendors and things in 00:08:49.460 --> 00:08:52.399 the area to contribute to their retreat. So we 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.320 do that a few times a year. And then I've also 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:57.980 hosted retreats here. So I'm I also have another 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:00.759 business and I'm a yoga teacher. So a few times 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.559 a year I'll do retreats here as well. So yoga 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:07.039 on the lake? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like sometimes 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.799 out here in the garage we'll do the yoga because 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:12.039 we have a strobe light out here and speakers. 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:15.679 I also do ecstatic dance sometimes at the retreats 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:18.419 and then I also try to incorporate a lot of just 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:22.500 downtime. I call them nervous system resets and 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:24.940 sometimes when you go to retreat it's... fun, 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:26.720 but it's not always relaxing. It's like yoga 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:29.360 class after yoga class after activity. So I build 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.320 in a lot of downtime. I say let's normalize naps. 00:09:33.049 --> 00:09:35.690 So you can lay on the couch and hear the waves 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:39.110 or lay in the bedroom and let's just actually 00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:41.970 enjoy nature and peacefulness and not feeling 00:09:41.970 --> 00:09:45.549 all of the time. Or go for a nice leisurely walk. 00:09:45.909 --> 00:09:48.490 Exactly two creeks and like I said Wheatley Provincial 00:09:48.490 --> 00:09:51.009 Park are so close there's beautiful nature walks 00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:53.289 here or even just walking around the block here 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:56.549 with the lake everywhere it's stunning. Now are 00:09:56.549 --> 00:10:00.860 they all? privately owned beaches along the lake 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:03.039 here? Yeah, this stretch is privately owned and 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.379 then there's an easement at the end of our beach 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:07.940 that is public property for the neighbors. So 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:10.559 they can go a little further if they want to 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.029 walk along. Yeah, I think the neighbors are pretty 00:10:13.029 --> 00:10:15.110 friendly here. If someone wants to do a beach 00:10:15.110 --> 00:10:17.870 walk, nobody gets too upset about it. Oh, that's 00:10:17.870 --> 00:10:20.750 nice. Yeah. And how's the fishing for the guys? 00:10:21.350 --> 00:10:23.950 Amazing. So sometimes people will fish here, 00:10:23.990 --> 00:10:26.110 but most of the time people will just drive down 00:10:26.110 --> 00:10:28.830 to the actual pier at Wheatley Harbor. And there's 00:10:28.830 --> 00:10:30.549 always tons of people just fishing right off 00:10:30.549 --> 00:10:32.990 of the pier. And how far is that from here? Oh 00:10:32.990 --> 00:10:36.090 my gosh, like a one minute drive. You could walk 00:10:36.090 --> 00:10:39.570 it in maybe 10. Oh, nice. Yeah. It's great, and 00:10:39.570 --> 00:10:41.669 there's a boat launch right down there as well. 00:10:42.029 --> 00:10:44.389 So bring your boat. Bring your boat. The driveway 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:47.409 is huge. It is. So lots of room for boats in 00:10:47.409 --> 00:10:49.830 the driveway. Now, how long have you had this 00:10:49.830 --> 00:10:52.629 for? Almost four years. I think we've hosted 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:57.129 125 groups between direct bookings and Airbnb. 00:10:57.809 --> 00:11:00.169 We're one of the guest favorites in the area. 00:11:00.309 --> 00:11:03.490 We're Airbnb super hosts. I think we got almost 00:11:03.490 --> 00:11:05.690 90 reviews, and they're pretty much all five 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:09.039 star. Awesome. Yeah, that's great. So it's not 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:11.980 just Airbnb. It's also direct. Yeah, so people 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:14.080 can book direct. We just have them pay a $500 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:17.120 security deposit and show us a proof of ID if 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.179 they do. So we make sure they are who they say 00:11:19.179 --> 00:11:22.759 they are. But that also saves 13%. So Airbnb 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.610 charges the people who book a 13%. Booking fee 00:11:26.610 --> 00:11:29.049 a lot of people don't look into that and they 00:11:29.049 --> 00:11:31.850 think Oh Airbnb and that's the only play the 00:11:31.850 --> 00:11:34.490 only way I can rent it and yeah You see some 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:37.049 of those prices and all the extras and the extra 00:11:37.049 --> 00:11:40.710 extras and then the tax on the extras Yeah, it's 00:11:40.710 --> 00:11:43.309 a little unnerving. So to know that you can also 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:45.909 direct book. That's really really nice Yeah, 00:11:45.929 --> 00:11:48.029 I think the average that it saves in the summer 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:51.190 for a week long booking is $500 if you book direct 00:11:51.190 --> 00:11:54.049 Yeah, cuz I was looking at it even for an I am 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:56.470 like, oh Here, baby, you're not fun anymore. 00:11:57.110 --> 00:11:59.210 No, and I think the best half is like use it 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:01.450 when you're going somewhere to find properties 00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:03.610 that you're interested in and then check and 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:06.210 see if they have an Instagram account or a website 00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:09.029 to see if you can book directly. I would. That's 00:12:09.029 --> 00:12:12.289 what I do. Yeah. Yeah. Why not? I mean, just 00:12:12.289 --> 00:12:15.269 looking around here, we have we have the bar. 00:12:15.389 --> 00:12:18.809 There's a little there was a tabletop little. 00:12:18.809 --> 00:12:23.529 Oh, yeah. Foosball. And then air hockey. Darts 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:27.519 and a Wii. Oh, and flashback to the early 2000s. 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:29.700 Downstairs in the basement, the family room, 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:33.639 they have a DVD collection. Yes, DVD collection, 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:37.419 hon. Yeah, we have 300 DVDs. We call it like 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:40.639 a mini blockbuster closet. And at first, I didn't 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:41.940 know what people would think it was weird, but 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:44.690 I like doing that when I go to an Airbnb. And 00:12:44.690 --> 00:12:47.070 I know people use them because I find DVDs in 00:12:47.070 --> 00:12:49.309 the DVD player. They're all in alphabetical order 00:12:49.309 --> 00:12:52.450 by genre. Like, we've organized them. And they're 00:12:52.450 --> 00:12:54.870 moved around often. Or people will tell us, hey, 00:12:54.929 --> 00:12:56.450 we had a movie night. We watched three DVDs. 00:12:56.450 --> 00:12:59.789 It was so fun. And then the popcorn bar. Popcorn 00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:01.909 maker, snack bar. There's an extra fridge down 00:13:01.909 --> 00:13:05.529 there. The couch is a huge pullout. So the underpiece 00:13:05.529 --> 00:13:07.490 pulls out. And then there's tons of blankets 00:13:07.490 --> 00:13:10.360 and pillows. yeah it's perfect movie night spot. 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:12.980 And then it's the upstairs bathroom that has 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:16.460 a chandelier over the tub. Over a super deep 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:18.759 so it's so luxury this is what I mean by a great 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:21.419 place to stay in the winter to go and sit in 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:24.019 a soaker tub with a chandelier we have a little 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:26.059 thing that goes across the tub so you can put 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:29.019 your book and a place to slide in your wine glass 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:31.840 and we have bubble bath that we provide and then 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:35.549 the shower is also amazing. stand up shower with 00:13:35.549 --> 00:13:38.389 a rain head and we have essential oil so if people 00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:41.289 want to make like an aromatic steam shower they 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:44.590 can do that too yeah yeah the bathtub is big 00:13:44.590 --> 00:13:46.889 enough somebody could sleep there oh somebody 00:13:46.889 --> 00:13:49.389 here's an extra bed yeah you don't want to fall 00:13:49.389 --> 00:13:51.450 asleep in that bathtub you will drown it's very 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:55.909 deep ah i love this place i mean i i just want 00:13:55.909 --> 00:13:58.590 to talk here forever because this is this is 00:13:58.590 --> 00:14:02.350 fabulous you need to have a christmas retreat 00:14:02.350 --> 00:14:06.029 here I would love that. Yeah we put a Christmas 00:14:06.029 --> 00:14:09.830 tree up here too. So we do our own family Christmas 00:14:09.830 --> 00:14:11.389 here but then sometimes people will come and 00:14:11.389 --> 00:14:13.669 host their own family Christmases here before 00:14:13.669 --> 00:14:17.649 Christmas or little friends Christmases or we 00:14:17.649 --> 00:14:19.830 had someone this year say that they're booking 00:14:19.830 --> 00:14:22.950 our place as a Christmas gift for the whole family 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:26.990 instead of actually giving hard gifts. That is 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:29.750 a really good idea. And is it pet friendly? It 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:32.590 is. So we allow dogs, up to two dogs. Sometimes 00:14:32.590 --> 00:14:34.649 if people have smaller dogs, we can make an exception, 00:14:34.789 --> 00:14:37.429 but two dogs, and we provide bowls for them, 00:14:37.490 --> 00:14:40.710 leashes, pet bags, everything. We are huge dog 00:14:40.710 --> 00:14:43.710 lovers, and our dog loves this place maybe even 00:14:43.710 --> 00:14:46.129 more than we do. So we like to make it really 00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:48.649 accommodating for people with pets. So you can 00:14:48.649 --> 00:14:50.570 save the money, too, not having to pay to put 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.710 your pet in a kennel and just bring them along 00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:55.750 with you. Yeah, I think he's roaming around so 00:14:55.750 --> 00:14:57.669 well. He was really desperately trying to get 00:14:57.669 --> 00:15:00.230 into the lake for a while, but hopefully my husband 00:15:00.230 --> 00:15:01.870 was able to keep him out of there. Yeah, I've 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:03.789 been seeing him run by lately. Yeah, a little 00:15:03.789 --> 00:15:06.750 tail. Stick up. How far in advance are you booked? 00:15:07.450 --> 00:15:09.610 So for the summer, pretty far in advance. We'll 00:15:09.610 --> 00:15:12.570 be fully booked starting in March, so it's really 00:15:12.570 --> 00:15:15.169 good to... get the booking in January, February 00:15:15.169 --> 00:15:18.289 to get your preferred week for sure. So how's 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:20.929 it looking for spring so far? Spring has some 00:15:20.929 --> 00:15:23.850 good availability. So we have a pretty big shoulder 00:15:23.850 --> 00:15:26.850 season, May really all the way to October and 00:15:26.850 --> 00:15:29.049 then with the summer months in between because 00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:31.490 of the birders at Point Peely. So we get a lot 00:15:31.490 --> 00:15:35.210 of birders come for migration season. But in 00:15:35.210 --> 00:15:37.350 kind of February March time, it's a great time 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:39.309 to book and it's not that busy So you don't need 00:15:39.309 --> 00:15:42.629 a ton of notice for that offseason and do you 00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:46.169 get discounts depending on the group size? Yeah 00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:48.809 So we like to keep it at a lower nightly rate 00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:51.049 and then we have a variable rate for the group 00:15:51.049 --> 00:15:53.110 size that way for couples like the one I talked 00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:54.970 about that just want a little getaway it's not 00:15:54.970 --> 00:15:57.139 going to break the bank because they don't have 00:15:57.139 --> 00:15:59.759 as many people to spread it across. That's fabulous 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.899 because a lot of times it's just a flat rate. 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:03.960 They don't care. We want it to be accessible. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.740 We want different types of groups to be here. 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:07.940 It's such a special place to us. We want to find 00:16:07.940 --> 00:16:09.799 a way to share it with as many people as we can. 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:13.220 This place is so special. It has that homey vibe, 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:16.200 but you also kind of feel like you're further 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:19.500 away from Windsor than say Wheatley. Yeah, exactly. 00:16:19.740 --> 00:16:23.720 It's the best vacation. spot like it just feels 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:26.200 so good to be here and I love when our guests 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:29.460 say that this is their special place too. Now 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:32.679 how if anybody wants to book can they get a hold 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:35.309 of you to book? Yeah, so best place for direct 00:16:35.309 --> 00:16:37.210 bookings is just contact us through Instagram 00:16:37.210 --> 00:16:40.509 and then we can work on the logistics of getting 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:43.289 the copies of the ID and then the security deposit 00:16:43.289 --> 00:16:46.190 from there. And how do they find you on Instagram? 00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:49.269 What is your handle? Yeah, Pura Vida Wheatley. 00:16:49.389 --> 00:16:53.169 P -U -R -A -V -I -D -A Wheatley. Wheatley. Yeah. 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:56.759 and definitely check this out because it is a 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.379 very, very special place and we are definitely 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:02.580 going to be booking sometime soon. Can't wait 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:04.640 to have you. I can't wait either. What you guys 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.880 get up to. Again, my name is Tracy Martins and 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:10.880 this is YQG in Bloom. I hope you guys all have 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:14.140 a fabulous day and are able to come and get a 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:16.079 little slice of heaven. Have a good one.