Which sounds better?

Stumble three steps and collapse into your bed after a relaxing massage? Or wake up, get dressed and drive back 30 minutes to your inn?

Talk about a HAPPY ENDING…and this was just the BEGINNING!

The first massages were performed in Turkish baths. They hurt.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself.

Our story starts over 17 years ago when Massage to Go chose the Beazley House as the 1stB&B in Napa Valley to offer in-room massages. Up until then guests had to drive to a stinky, steamy spa 26 miles up-Valley in Calistoga, climb naked into a mud bath, get literally hosed off and only THEN would they get to “enjoy” a soothing massage.  It always sounded more like a torture session to me. If I wanted to get hot and dirty, I just worked in the gardens!

But for years, that was just how it was done. And to add insult to injury: they THEN had to drive all the way back to the Beazley House before they could really relax. Talk about felling like “Rubber Chickens!” They were BEAT!

BUT WE HAD A BETTER IDEA!

We brought the MASSAGE right to YOU – in the comfort and privacy of your beautiful Beazley House room.

Your mother always said: “Busy hands are happy hands.” And the ladies of Massage To Go couldn’t agree more! They’ve heaved and hauled their massage tables into our rooms literally thousands of times!

And our guests LOVE it! But then, WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE!

First you and your partner climb aboard side by side massage tables, in the privacy of your own room. Soothing music lulls you into a relaxed state. You each get two hands rubbing away all those tight muscles. And when they’re done with you, you slide into your in-room spa tub or your luxurious Beazley House sheets.

Never had a massage? At the Beazley House, thanks to the professionals at Massage To Go, you’ll be “in good hands.” In fact, NOW would be a PERFECT time to book your FIRST massage because we’re offering a SUPER deal.

We finally had to admit it:  our  beautiful old lady was starting to show her age.

At 108 years old any of us would. Well, actually MOST of us would be long dead. But not Napa’s most photographed landmark mansion, the Beazley House.

Time and weather had taken their inevitable toll.

Our contractor, Rick Leonard, said he was afraid the old girl might have more than just superficial age spots. Layers of paint were cracked and pealing like make up on an old hooker’s face. But that wasn’t the worst of it, she was starting to sag. Dry rot was mentioned, which is like cancer  to a building.

you’d sag too if…

A closer inspection reveled the culprit: minor dry rot, but a major change needed to the two pillars holding up the balcony.

Seems the old adage that “they don’t build’em like they used to” SHOULD be followed by a “THANK GOODNESS!”  Stripped of their shingles, the “pillars” turned out to be made up of 1 by 6 inch boards formed into a box! The “header” that the balcony rested on was a measly 2 by 12 inch board…semi rotten.  All this said, the old girl had only subsided 1/2 of an inch.  And she had endured three major earthquakes in her 108 years.

Needless to say, we placed 6 by 6 inch posts in the “box pillars”and a hefty 4 by 12 inch header supporting the balcony. All were steel strapped into place.

Next came the “fun” parts: stripping off the rusty metal roof and the balcony’s rotted posts, rails and balustrades. The fun was supplied by AZEK, a company which makes a miracle product out of extruded PVC. When you’ve got a product that doesn’t require sealing, priming, sanding and painting like AZEK’s trim, balustrades and boards, THAT’S fun! And it LASTS even BETTER than the virgin redwood it’s replacing.

Nailing the AZEK trim to the new railing system.

Rick Leonard applies paint to the new posts.

New cedar shingles went onto the recently replaced porch posts and cement composite shingles were nailed to the balcony posts. AZEK rails, balustrades and trim completed the final touches.

All that’s left is to paint the new cedar shingles, hang a new downspout and remove the scaffolding.

During difficult economic times it’s hard to keep up with our old lady’s care, but we are reminded that we are not so much her owners as a link in the long chain of her continued existence. Our English cousins have shown us that if we care, we can keep our historic properties alive for centuries, not just generations.

Gives an old girl a whole new out look on her NEXT 100 years!