Couple Trades Day Jobs To Run Houseboat B&B
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh's newest bed and breakfast is pretty unusual.
As far as we can tell, it's the city's first and only houseboat B&B.
Steve Choder and Jody Noble have an oasis in the city, with a koi pond, a garden, a pool, a meditation hut, even chickens. It's all at the old lock master house near the Highland Park Bridge.
Last year, they both lost their day jobs, victims of corporate downsizing.
So what did they do?
"We bought two vintage houseboats!" said Noble.
They redid each inside, built a dock and now they rent out both the Namaste and Bo-Ho to guests for $150 a night.
There are plenty of places on each boat to lounge - both inside and out. On the Namaste, you can watch the sunset over the water from on top of the boat or from your bed surrounded by windows.
Don't think about taking the boats for a cruise, though, they must remain docked.
"It just is a floating hotel room," said Noble.
The Bo-Ho is a little more Bohemian.
"It's got a funkier vibe to it, a little more hippish, a little more edgy," said Noble.
Both boats have Pittsburgh touches such as photos of the Oyster House in Market Square or the giant rubber duck that visited last year.
They say they've seen out-of-towners as well as folks looking for a staycation.
"They've been in the city thier whole life but they never really get to get acquainted with the water," said Choder. "But on the houseboat, as you see, you can sit here and your blood pressure just goes down."
They also have more guestrooms in the house, and they've been having events on the grounds such as weddings and parties.
Oh, and compared to the jobs they used to have, they both say this is: "much more fun and much more relaxing!"
For more information, visit:
airbnb.com/rooms/219048
airbnb.com/rooms/2915173
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