Help us with daily life in our former guesthouse in Eckman, WV, USA

Details

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  Description

  Our home was also our historic inn, and so it is very large- we have 14 guest rooms! For the last 3 years we have had no guests, and it's just been us in "Dan and Elisse's Really Big House"! I am a Disaster Response Professional, and I need to be able to take deployments, and I don't want my husband, Dan, to be here alone, if & when I get deployed, as we are in a very rural area with no nearby neighbors, and he is 77 and not as strong as he used to be!
  
  There are many cool things to do in this area, which I have detailed below, including fishing & railfanning right at our building, hiking, golf, bird-watching, ATVing, etc. If you love being in the beautiful, rural mountains, and/or historic buildings, you will enjoy it here!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Elderly Companionship

  Animal Care

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Rural southern West Virginia is very beautiful and historic, and has many world-class things to offer: we are right on Elkhorn Creek, which has been called "the best wild trout stream in the USA", so fly-fishing for trout (catch-and-release) is BIG here! Our building is right across from the Norfolk Southern "Pocahontas" railroad tracks, and we were also written up as "the best legal train-watching location in the USA", so people who love trains and photographing trains will Love it here! (We have a railcam on our balcony that broadcasts the passing trains 24/7 to railfans around the world!) ATVing and UTVing are a big draw here, as there are 100s of miles of trails in McDowell County, and as it is legal to ride ATVs and UTVs on the roads here, you can ride your ATV or UTV right from our property to 100s of miles of trails. Other great things to do here include bird-watching, hiking, golf, historic sites and towns to visit, and there is a nearby State Park, a State Forest, and two lakes! If you love the beautiful, rural mountains you will enjoy it here! Our building is historic, and was built in 1922 as the Empire Coal & Coke Company's "Miners Clubhouse"; HGTV made 2 programs about us and my husband's restoration, and we won several awards. It is on the State Historic Registry and up for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. If you love "This Old House", or have an interest in what it takes to restore and maintain an historic building, you will enjoy staying here with us!

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We need help with cleaning, mostly. We have 4 pets (3 dogs and a cat), and plants that need to be watered. Because this is an historic building, there are also routine maintenance things that Dan could use some help with. If you have skills in things like plaster work, to do small repairs, that would be great, but it's not mandatory. Dan restored our entire building in 2003, so he knows how to do and teach most everything- we just need some help!

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  Accommodation

  You will have a Private Bath Guest Room on the 2nd floor. The bath has an antique claw-foot tub and shower, quilts, pillows, etc., a heater, and in the summer an a/c goes in the window. The kitchen is on the ground floor, and will be shared. There is food shopping and other things (gas station, fast food, post office, cinema, hospital, etc.) within 15 minutes. We have high-speed internet and Hulu for television. Parking is right next to the building, and we have a large vegetable garden on the other side of the building, and a lot of land for dog walking!

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  What else ...

  You do need to have a vehicle, as there is no public transportation in this area. There are lots of things to do in the area as I listed above, including fly-fishing and railfanning right at our building, ATVing, hiking, golf, 2 lakes, a State Forest and State Park, etc. We are flexible, and we want our Workawayers to have a good experience, too, so please ask me any questions you may have!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  It will probably be less, but the maximum would be 4 hours a day, 3 days a week