Military Discount

To show appreciation for the sacrifice of our troops and their families, I offer a 10% Military Discount to those on active duty and their families. Just tell me when you call to book your reservation.

My son, Jack, is a member of the 101st Airborne, US Army, Ft Campbell, Kentucky. November, 2005 he deployed to Baghdad. I drove to Hopkinsville, Kentucky to be with him for Thanksgiving and to help him pack before he deployed. I checked into a nearby motel and shortly realized a typical hotel room with minimal furniture, a television and a cramped bathroom is not an ideal place to spend a week with someone being deployed. There wasn't any place to spread out any of the additional gear he was packing. The room seemed confined with only the bed comfortable for relaxing.

During the week, we shopped for items he didn’t think would be available in Iraq. He especially wanted a set of Egyptian cotton bed sheets. I wanted to wash the sheets to soften them but going to the local Laundromat wasn’t possible. I washed them later at home and sent them in the first box I mailed to Camp Falcon.

On Thanksgiving Day most restaurants were closed so we ate our holiday meal at a local pancake house. I longed to cook him his holiday meal with our traditional family favorites. Also an intimate conversation in a restaurant is awkward because of the noise and people being able to overhear. I don’t remember much about that meal, except that I longed for a homey place where we could spend those precious hours together.

Jack was anxious, as any one would be, because this was his first deployment. Despite his extensive training, he was still apprehensive about what he would experience on the streets of Baghdad. I was anxious too because I realized this wasn’t a training exercise, it was real combat. So every moment and every conversation was valuable. My mind rehearsed our chats so as not to forget a single thing.

When I returned to Stella, I knew what he needed most was a place that was as comfortable and familiar as home …a house where there wasn’t’ constant reminders of the military presence or the responsibility of the job he was trained and asked to do while in Iraq. So a goal for the John & Lucille Country Retreat was to provide a quiet, peaceful, and restful place for those being deployed and their families. A retreat to spend time together away from the hustle and bustle of Jacksonville, "A getaway for a few days..a special place like home."

The retreat is 2000 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths with an outside shower. Both master suites have full baths with a king size bed in the John & Lucille room and a queen size bed in the Carolina room. The Mami Young room is elegant with a full size bed and large closet. The William Kuhn Room has two full length twin beds. Each bedroom has a comfortable chair, Pima cotton sheets, Egyptian cotton towels, extra pillows and blankets. The large kitchen and dining area seats 12 people, perfect for family get-togethers. The kitchen is fully stocked with baking dishes, pots and pans, small appliances, china and dinnerware.

The retreat is about 25 minutes from Camp Lejeune. Visit http://www.stellacountryretreat.com/ for a full list of amenties. Questions and Reservations: Call 800-892-6775 or e-mail dee@stellacountryretreat.com
1st Lt. Jack B Irby, III will deploy again with the 101st Airborne in the spring 2008.