Greg

Front garden and rockery I built and planted in 2000.: 		An Army brat, I lived in Europe, Asia and "all over the USA" as a child. By high school,  Dad retired and went to work on the Stanford Linear Accelerator project. That settled the family in the Bay Area--Sunnyvale and I graduated from Homestead High School in Cupertino, then spent a year at West Point before transferring to Stanford University where I completed my BA in 1970.

I worked for the Boy Scouts (I am an Eagle Scout--boy have some of those merit badges been helpful -- especially Home Repairs!) for five years in Hawaii, Sacramento, Grass Valley and Bakersfield. I had two lovely children Susan and David. In 1976 Becky and I were married and moved with her children to Pleasant Hill. I worked for Moore Business Forms for 16 years, ending up as a Health Care Marketing Manager--essentially responsible for Health Care Sales in the Pacific Northwest . I requested a transfer to Seattle in 1981 and we moved to Redmond, WA until our move to Tacoma eight years ago.

I have always loved to travel. It has brought me awareness and understanding of different countries, cultures and climates. I choose to live in Washington because it offers what I perceive as the best of all of those. The people here are friendly without being nosy. The weather is mild.  I have never been anywhere that is more beautiful year around. Native American culture is rich here, and Asian culture (which I found to be fascinating while living in Korea) has taken root and contributes to the international flavor originally brought here by European settlers and enriched by later immigration by African Americans and Hispanics. The annual Ethnic Festival in Tacoma is a tribute to the cultural wealth we are blessed with.

An avid, though unschooled gardener, I now care for hundreds of varieties of plants, with something always in bloom. I like getting my hands dirty, working with natural materials and have built stone walls and bentwood furniture. I was thrilled when our immature gardens were chosen to be on our local garden tour--but even more thrilled to watch them mature with passing years.

I enjoy woodworking and have built many of the furniture pieces in The Villa. I love to take pictures--it is a challenge to find, frame and shoot something that someone else might never otherwise notice.

My other hobbies include reading, travel, writing, web design, volunteerism, hiking, fishing, kayaking, model railroading, guitar, chess--and almost everything else!

What I most enjoy about innkeeping is our guests, making new friends and sharing experiences. When guests compliment us on how wonderful our home is, I simply reply, "Our home and hospitality are simply a reflection of the wonderful people who visit us here."

I hope you will visit us soon!

 


Another bed I made, this one using one of the original doors from The Villa as the headboard and a Hammock purchased in Oaxaca, Mexico for the canopy.

The 9 foot tall four poster bed I made--copied after a French model, with antiqued headboard  painted by Becky.
With Becky, I enjoy traveling the world. New friends and an appreciation of their culture is what keeps life special!