We are John and Lynndell Eccleston. It is very nice to meet you, and I hope we have a chance to get to know one another better. Let us tell you a little about ourselves.
John grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Glenolden, PA, not far from the airport. Lynndell grew up on a small farm outside of the small town of Halifax, PA, fairly far from most things cities and suburbs offer. We met for the first time halfway between our homes in Lancaster, PA where we attended college. As a matter of fact, we met during freshmen orientation to play ping-pong and Frisbee. Five years later, we married and lived in Hatfield, PA.
We moved to Lititz in 1991. Lynndell taught 1st grade at a private school for 3 years, then stayed home with our two daughters, Karis now age 13 and Allie now age 11. John worked for two non-profit companies since then.
Our hobbies have mainly been renovating our first home over a period of 10 years and then starting again spending 3 years to complete our second home. Enjoying family activities such as going to the park, activities at church, playing ball, camping and going to the beach have been important to us. We still enjoy Ping Pong and John plays tennis when time allows. Lynndell is always baking something good and has read Tolkien’s books so many times we have lost count.
Our family has 3 furry members as well. We have two cock-a-poos named Cookie and Lady. Cookie is 13 years old and is the boss of the house. Lady is 7 years old and bounces around like a baby kangaroo. They are real lap-warmers and may visit the inn by special request. We also have a guinea pig named Patches that our daughter Allie likes to carry around in a basket.
Traveling and staying at bed and breakfast inns has given us a desire to be innkeepers. For many years we had walked past the Alden House, impressed with it’s “Lititz Elegance.” Now we get to share the charm and hospitality of Lititz with everyone. So, here we are, today. We hope you enjoy your stay, and we hope to see you again.
Has it been a year already?
First Year Update:
Well it has been one year since we became innkeepers. We must have the best guests that an innkeeper could ask for. Everyone has been so considerate and supportive that our first year, while very busy, was also very pleasant. We were able to enjoy guests from around the world last summer including those from: Japan, Germany, France, Australia, Argentina, Ukraine, Israel, Spain, Poland and California (of course California is not a foreign country, it just seems that way).
We are slowly worked our way through our winter projects of cleaning and upgrading. We have new carpet in two rooms, now, and John has been working on some of the bathroom fans to make them sound less like jet engines on take off. John installed a new granite vanity top in one of the suites and we have plans for the other baths in turn. We removed the carpet from the dining room and restored the oak floor underneath. It was well worth the 3 days of removing staples, sanding and finishing. Here is a triva question "How do you remove 1000 staples from your floor?" Answer below.
John sanding the Dining Room
Karis and Allie continue to grow, they both share clothes with Lynndell, now, and they have their routines at the inn. They stay busy in the winter with reading, sewing and Irish Dance classes.
This summer we took the girls to Gettysburg for the day. It was about 60 miles from Lititz. We listened and followed directions from an audio tour as we drove through the park stopping at each site and imagining the battles. We had a nice cloudy day to keep the heat at bay. Karis liked the Pennsylvania Monument and Allie like the Devil’s Den. Please ask if you would like to borrow our copy of the Audio Guide for the day.
We look forward to new faces this year and seeing former guests come back for another busy season.