Circling the U.S. Chapter 18: More Than a Place to Spend the Night

Friday, July 5 - Saturday, July 6, 2019

We arrived at a palace and were welcomed by a prince.

Embedded in the brickwork under the front porch I saw a stone with, “Matchett Residence Est. 1997.” I thought, “Now that’s class.”

We didn’t even have a chance to park our bikes before the front door opened and a portly gentleman came down the steps and extended his hand, “You must be be Connie and Rob,” he said. He introduced himself as Rob as well. “Let’s put your bikes in the garage.”

The two-car garage was pristine. The floor glimmered with a finish I'd never seen before. A large black motorcycle sat in one of the spaces. The other was empty. We parked our bikes against a long granite counter and Rob opened a fridge. “You must be thirsty with this heat.”
We were stunned by the selection of beer and soda. He said, “I had roofers here. At the end of the day I wanted to have something for them.”

Rob chose an IPA and I decided to go with a Coke. It had been such a hot day I was afraid a beer would go straight to my head.

I asked Rob Matchett, "Do you bicycle?"

He laughed, putting his hands under his belly and lifting it up. “Oh, no. I stick to riding a motorcycle."

He told us that Jan was out running errands and that he’d show us around. He pushed a button and an automatic door, like a small garage door, opened upward and he led the way down a long hallway. We walked through a game room with a pool table, air hockey and foosball, then into a room with a large flat-screen television and leather sofa and chairs. We passed a bathroom, then Rob took us into another hallway, showed us a bedroom where we’d sleep and our private bath and laundry. It was all furnished beautifully and set up as though they’d been expecting us.

But the tour wasn’t finished. Rob took us outside through another door and up some stairs that led to a back patio with an in-ground salt water pool and two tables with chairs. There was a bathhouse and outdoor shower. Rob explained, “We have to keep the door to the bathhouse securely closed because I keep a store of peanuts in there for feeding the chipmunks.”

I said, "This is amazing." Rob said, “We traveled a lot and I took all the best things from the places we visited and put them into this house.”

After we got cleaned up - Rob went for a swim and I took a hot shower - we put in a load of laundry and found our way upstairs to the central room on the main floor, an open kitchen, living room, and eating area with large windows opening onto the pool in the back and a view of Lake Huron in front. 

We met Jan, as friendly as her husband. She explained that the reason they were going to the Scottish festival that night was because the financial planning firm she and Rob owned was a major sponsor.

Rob took me into the dining room and showed me a picture of Jan's family. She'd grown up on a farm in the area. She and her brother Phil are twins. There were three other boys in the picture, including another set of twins. 

Rob Matcheett asked, “Do you want steak or salmon for dinner?” When we hesitated, he said, “I’ll make both. We’ll have surf and turf.” Jan and my Rob worked on a salad while Rob Matchett grilled the steak and salmon, with potatoes cooked in foil with butter. I got out my fiddle and played some Scottish tunes to get everyone warmed up for the evening’s Scottish festival.

That's Rob Matchett, grilling surf and turf. With rain threatening we weren't able to eat outside.

When dinner was served, I was happily surprised to see that the surf portion included not just grilled salmon but also sea scallops. Everything was delicious. And there was plenty of wine.

Jan told us the story of the Phantom Piper who plays on summer evenings in Kincardine:   
http://www.kincardinerecord.com/story.php?id=2872

Rob entertained us with his steady supply of jokes: 

"Did you hear about the dentist that got the Dentist of the Year award? She got a little plaque.”

And, “The baby shark asked his father, ‘Why do you swim in circles around someone before attacking them?’ The father said, ‘They taste better if you scare the poop out of them first.’”

Rob and Jan both shared stories of their adventures traveling together on their motorcycle. Rob has his pilot’s license so they travel by plane as well. Jan showed us a music video that their daughter had produced. Then she gave us a tour of her gardens, perennials carefully chosen and nourished to complement the pool and patio.

Rob and I felt like we'd been dropped into a five-star hotel.

After dinner we drove into Kincardine for the Scottish festival. We parked in the parking lot behind Jan's office and had a few blocks to walk. Unexpectedly, the two Robs disappeared into a local pharmacy. Jan and I stood across the street, perplexed. Then, out they came, wearing the silliest Scottish hats I'd yet to see, both of them with a new hair style. That's their picture at the beginning of this post.

We enjoyed the evening's music, although, in my opinion, it lacked a traditional Scottish feel. I gave in to a nap, my head bobbing in our little camp chairs. Rob Matchett kept laughing at me and finally got up, insisting I take his chair. He took off and came back with a bag of fresh sugar donuts, still warm, for us.

In the morning I sat outside on the front porch looking out over the lake while I did some writing. Rob and Jan cooked us an enormous egg breakfast with all the fixings. And we heard more stories and laughed some more and had trouble leaving these new friends of ours.

The house was elegant, but it didn't hold a candle to the warmth and generosity of the two people who live there.

Jan and Rob both let us know that we'd be welcome to stay another day. We were tempted, but we'd just taken time off in Bayfield. Even so, it was hard to say good-bye.

Jan sent me several pictures from the Scottish festival pipe band parade through downtown Kincardine on Saturday night.

After the last band passes, the townspeople join the parade.

Just before leaving on this adventure, a friend asked me what I was most looking forward to. I didn't hesitate to say that I wanted to get into the best physical shape possible for this time in my life. But so much of this trip is about the people we've been meeting along the way. Jan and Rob took a chance welcoming strangers into their home. We took a chance in staying with Jan and Rob, total strangers to us as well. We would learn later that taking someone up on an offer of a free place to stay doesn't always turn out well. But this time, it turned out better than we could ever have expected. We shared much laughter with Jan and Rob as well as stories of loss that made us appreciate how genuine they were in their generosity.