“Arriving at your destination, on right,” my good friend, Carmen the GPS, barked at me. “She” travels with me unquestionably on all of my new adventures, and therefore I had to give her a name. On more than one occasion she has read these lines to me, yet has dropped me in the middle of Nowhere, America, far from any Starbucks or Panera.

However, on this evening, Carmen not only escorted me safely to my accommodations, she was more than correct in stating that this was a “destination”.

Like many other business travelers, or pleasure travelers alike, I have stayed at one average, run-of-the-mill hotel after another, looking more for convenience than comfort. I often spend extra cash and time attempting to make my hotel room feel like home, purchasing travel candles and flowers to carry my senses to a more familiar and accepting location.

The moment I glanced to my right and saw my destination come in to view, I knew I had made it home, despite the fact that my personal residence was hundreds of miles away. The historic stone-walled Kennett House Bed and Breakfast is adorned from the outside with wicker rocking chairs on the porch which wraps around the entire house. I walked with ease up the front steps, as if walking up to visit a longtime friend’s home. The door opened wide, a gracious woman greeting me with open arms. I was already enveloped with the feeling of finally being home.

Plush couches, lively flowers, colorful and historic photographs fill the front room and welcome customers to feel at home upon their first step across the threshold. After chatting about local cuisine within walking distance of the inn, I was guided to my private rooms. The exquisite stone siding I had seen from the outside, separated my bedroom, full with a lavish mattress covered in simplistic quilts, from my “relaxation room”, as I would come to call it. Among a hand-made armoire, antique-looking sitting chair and olive green, satin foot stool, is a plain couch with a throw pillow and light blanket. For some visitors, a loveseat might not spark any emotion. For many others, it is an ideal spot for snuggling up with a fascinating book, especially while peering over the windowsill to the garden below, albeit snow-covered.

By decorating the mansion-style inn with minimal but quality items, from the luxurious pillows to the gourmet soap, the owner truly gives the sentiment of belonging to all of her guests. In a picturesque town, full of locally owned boutiques and cafes, the travelers will hopefully get a chance to revert to an uncomplicated world, and be able to suffice without the typical chains such as Starbucks that most of us search for on our travels to help us feel more at home.