Bathrooms

We have two bathrooms for the four bedrooms in the upstairs of the older section of the house. The bathroom on the left is the men’s bathroom has a standup shower and the bathroom on the right is the women’s bathroom. We always tease that we do not check. Sometimes guests in the first two rooms use the men’s bathroom and guests in the third and fourth rooms us the women’s bathroom. The one caution that we have is that the taps are switched on the men’s shower.

Given half a chance, some former BnB owners in the village will tell how the inspection service Canada Select insisted that each bathroom have original art displayed. Clever and quick-thinking folks that they are, the had kindergartners make pictures and had them framed. This criteria no longer exists but we are compliant with prints of ducks in the women’s bathroom along with an original oil painting from an Oromocto artist featuring Peggy’s Cove from Nova Scotia. In the men’s shower, we have a print of a moose and an original sketch of a hunter and moose that was used in a magazine in 1955.

We bought the BnB, then known as Step-A-Side in 2015. We were living in North Dakota at the time. I flew out to do the business and upon my return to Regina (the closest airport) I had a binder of photos supplied to me by the owner. I had stickies marking where I wanted our furniture and belongings to go. I had the idea that I wanted vintage Blue Boy and Pinkie pictures on the restrooms. Regina has a few antique stores downtown but one three-storied building had FIVE sets to choose from. I chose the sturdiest that would remain on the bathroom doors. Anyone who visited a home in the 1950s or 1960s has a pretty good chance or remembering this art!

Back in 2016 we had a guest who had biked from Toronto in eleven days! He found us on Google and let us know that he would be arriving after dark. We secured his bike on the back deck and fed him a fried egg sandwich. (In operating a BnB you have follow strict rules about offering meals outside of breakfast.) For this guy, who was, I think the tallest person I had ever seen, I figured I would chance serving him a meal, it was “breakfast food’ after all. As he was eating (and loving it) Bruce cooked him some boiled eggs for breakfast (and lunch) the next day. He insisted that we not get up for his breakfast, he would just get the brunch that Bruce fixed for him and be on his way. Nice guy, considerate and grateful for his special, individual service. We said good night and goodbye.

A short time later, Bruce and I were snuggled down, happy with our hosting when we received a phone call. It was our guest explaining that he could not get the hot water “hot enough”. I was shocked, we hadn’t had a guest in a while and I asked him if he ran it for long, yes, he did. I asked him if he paid attention to the hot water taps being opposite, he did. He just wanted really hot water. I figured that the when the showers were put in, they had governors on the hot water so that no one would be burned. Good idea for a BnB! Had I known more, I could have directed him to the bathroom next to the laundry on the first floor. It is near the hot water heater and can be made to run over-hot water. Apparently this biker, having come such a long ways, needed the hot water massage for his muscles.

We have had guests forego staying at Lang House because the rooms do not have ensuites. This amazes me. I have stayed in BnBs where the toilet is so close to the bed that it is uncomfortable. Frankly, I would rather step away from where I am sleeping and leave my smells and noises down the hall. Give me a nice, removed bathroom any day!

Fair time seems to bring out the most exaggerated stories and happenings. It is essentially the end of the season and spirits are big with all of the activities. The night light in the women’s bathroom had burned out and it was dark in the hallway, especially with everyone’s door closed. Who would have thought that one of my brother’s friends, Linda, who was up with her mom and a girlfriend, and staying in the family room, would be timed to go to the bathroom at the same time as the horse judge staying in the Captain’s room? I am sure that because they didn’t want to awaken anyone, they each crept silently to the women’s bathroom and reached for the doorknob at the exact same time resulting in them touching each other’s hand and screaming! Good natured spirits as they are, they were eager to share their experience the next morning.

Some people, when they visit an old home, they just want more than anything to experience a ghost. Especially a house in an historic wharf in an historic village. Given certain bribes I will regale you with a ghost story for almost every room in Lang House whether or not you believe them is your decision. They are after all, stories. And all stories are true.

The women’s bathroom reportedly has a touching ghost. My great niece felt something brush her shoulder when she was getting out of the shower just this past February (2020). Nothing terribly haunting but a presence nonetheless. Another time, a boater was staying here with a party of his friends (partying). They were insistent that I tell them every suspect story of a ghost. He insisted that something touched his thigh when he was standing in front of the mirror. In a more sober moment he thought that maybe it was the air conditioning coming on and moving his silk boxer shorts.