Posted on 12/21/2004 7:15:08 AM PST by Rakkasan1
A week ago, Noel Borden was sleeping in a bunker in Baghdad.
On Sunday night, he and his fiancée, Sarah Harmon, slept on a pillow-top bed in a luxurious third-floor suite at the Ann Bean Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Stillwater. They lit a fire, tried out the hot tub and ate a gourmet meal — poached pears with a berry compote and vegetable quiche — for breakfast.
Borden, a radio operator in the Minnesota National Guard's Delta 216 unit, is home on a two-week leave, and his St. Croix River Valley getaway was free, compliments of the innkeepers.
"It's very generous of (them) to open up the mansion to us," Borden said Monday morning. "It was great to have a night to relax and spend some time alone together."
Jeremy and Erin Drews, the owners of the Ann Bean, have been giving away a night's stay in the Victorian mansion to members of Delta 216 since early October. The soldiers have been stationed in Baghdad doing counter-terrorism patrol since April.
Drews said about 30 members of Delta 216 have stayed at the Ann Bean so far. He has offered a free night's stay to all 250 members — a $35,000 value — on Sunday through Thursday evenings.
"I believe in what they're doing," said Drews, a former member of the Minnesota National Guard. "I believe that they deserve what my business is, and that's rest and some good hospitality. I'm treating the guys and their wives to a night of
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
It's a really nice story. I read it this morning in the paper. Now, I'm going to wait and see if anyone complains because the couple isn't married.
puts me in the Christmas spirit...
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