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About the Innkeepers
Darin:
Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois entered the U.S. Army at the age of 18 where he spent ten years
as an Airborne Infantryman in the 82d Airborne Division and Korea before re-enlisting to become an MP where he was a
Bomb, Drug and Patrol Dog Handler. After serving for ten years, Darin decided to leave the military and exited with
an honorable discharge. Darin returned to Rockford for about a year before moving back to Monterey, California where
he worked in the hospitality industry and was employed as a bartender and server for the Embassy Suites Hotel there.
While there, he met Kristin.
Kristin:
Born and raised in Sunnyvale, California, Kristin went to Valparaiso University in Indiana where she
received her Bachelors degree in English and Spanish and then went on to U.C. Santa Barbara to achieve her Masters
Degree in Latin American and Iberian Studies. After college, Kristin opted to serve her country in the U.S. Navy
where she was a Russian Linguist. While in language training in Monterey, she met Darin.
Their story:
After meeting each other in California, Darin and Kristin
realized that they had many beliefs, dreams
and ideals in common. When the Navy sent Kristin to San Angelo, TX for further training, Darin followed and they were
married in San Angelo. From there, Kristin was assigned to the NSA, and they moved to Maryland. While there, they
purchased a house and started a family - their daughter, Saskia (8), and their son, Zachary (5) were born. While in
Maryland, Kristin exited the military with an Honorable Discharge.
Both Darin and Kristin ended up working for the same software company in Lanham, Maryland where Darin
worked as a QA Software Test Technician and Kristin was a Technical Writer. While in the midst of the hustle and
bustle of the Baltimore-Washington area, they both dreamed of a simpler, less crowded lifestyle. While on vacation in
Virginia, they found their chance in the purchase of the Meadowood Bed and Breakfast in Floyd County, Virginia. Five
months after discovering Meadowood, Darin and Kristin sold their home in Maryland, gave up the security of their
careers and moved the family to Meadowood's 20 acres, with hiking trails and a spring-fed pond.
Their current plans are to eventually transform the Bed and Breakfast to be more self-sufficient with
an herb garden, chickens to provide fresh eggs, sheep and possibly cattle. They also plan to build small cabins
tucked into the Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurel that abound on the property, equipping them with composting toilets
and solar power. Darin has already harvested several old pine trees for lumber that he will use to build the cabins.
The Gillenwaters want to use as many resources as possible from Meadowood's land to create a place that
people can come to explore the possibilities of a green lifestyle. They will also would like to try building cabins
made from recycled tires to show visitors the benefits of using this building technique.
They very much enjoy the lifestyle the bed and breakfast affords, meeting new and interesting friends
on a regular basis, providing people that are in the corporate world, as they themselves were, with the opportunity
to get away from the hectic pace and to simply relax while walking the trails or looking at the mountains from the
front porch.
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