First Real Disappointment?

And disappointed I was... I arrived at the cottage and checked in. Right away I knew this would not be my favorite place. The place was old, older than it looked in the pictures. There were dead insects on the floor and stained carpet (the stains in the carpet were mentioned in the listing though, not dead bugs). The place had a main living room combo downstairs and a bedroom loft upstairs.

View from the bed

Zoomed in view from the stairs

The nicer corner

The kitchen - at least I finally get to try InstaPot!

The stairs

It was cluttered. Stuff filled the shelves. It seemed like the host used this space as storage for excess kitchen supplies. Stacks and stacks of dishes, cups, kitchenware... I had nowhere to put my own kitchen items, so I left them in the boxes.

The worst part was that the Internet speeds did not even hit 5 Mbps for download and 0.5 Mbps upload - no way to make a decent Zoom call. I immediately addressed this issue with the host who said she would get me a hotspot. She then told me that one other guest had to leave after being here for 5 days because of the Internet connection. I was furious! I specifically reached out to her before booking the rental months ago to find out if the Internet was good. She stated that it was. Granted she was an older lady in her mid 70s, I can't believe that this place got a nearly perfect rating with over 150 reviews from guests! Her original device did not work, so Verizon sent her a MiFi. The issue was that it would not connect to the Internet stating that there was no plan purchased. We spent HOURS on the phone with Verizon trying to resolve the issue. So far - no luck...

I was stressed out, so was Kitty. I tried to approach it with a "let's find the positives" attitude, but failed miserably. Instead, I went to Costco and bought food. I had a large fridge finally, so at least I didn't have to worry about how much to buy. I also stopped at the library, 12 minutes away from the Airbnb, to see if I could potentially work from there. Luckily, if parked close to the building, the Internet speeds reached 20 Mbps. This was an escape route if things did not resolve at home.

One of the things I liked about this place is the view. While the cottage itself does not have any windows that open downstairs and only two tiny ones upstairs, there is a backyard with two chairs overlooking green pastures. Mosquitos eat you alive, but the view is nice.

I also discovered a few large blueberry bushes. I now consume enormous amounts of blueberries to compensate for my overall negative experience. Maybe that "looking on the bright side" concept is not as much of a waste of time as I thought it would be.

The host is a nice lady for the most part. She used to own restaurants and knows her way around the kitchen. I have already been fed most delicious blueberry muffins and welcomed with a shrimp dish. She also invited me to have wine with her. I looked around her house. It was filled with stuff. She is not a hoarder, but she admitted to have a shopping addiction (QVC is her favorite channel). At the same time, she shared that she is struggling to pay the bills and that the rental helps her with that. No wonder she charges so much. I keep beating myself up that I booked this place at a high price. I might get over it at some point.

I had to find a pet sitter for my work trip. Originally, I was planning for the host to take care of my cat, but it became clear that this would not be a good idea, so now back to Rover. I am glad to have this trip coming up. While I am nervous about leaving my cat with a sitter in an Airbnb, I also want to take advantage of getting away. 

I visited Durham Farmer's Market and learned that this is considered a #1 farmer's market in North Carolina and the 5th one in the States. I don't know how true that is. It was pretty large in size, but nothing that I haven't seen in San Diego or in other large cities. I bought a loaf of whole wheat bread from a lady who was not having a good day from Loaf Bakery. I was pretty mad when I realized they charged a $0.25 transaction fee to pay with a credit card without stating it anywhere. I will not buy from them again. I also got cherry tomatoes from a nice gentleman selling organic produce (I will have to see what his company's name is next time).

Unfortunately, the neighborhood is not pedestrian-friendly, so walking 10,000 steps is going to be pretty challenging if not impossible. I will have to figure that out. The nearest location of Planet Fitness is 20 minutes away, so I hope this and the lack of Internet at home will motivate me to get out often.