Inn in the Pines is owned by the daughter/mother team of myself and my mother Linda. The story of how we got here begins when I was a senior in college.

I attended a weekend class about small business opportunities within the field of Home Economics. One of the presenters told about her B&B. To me, it seemed a perfect way to combine all the things I love about the home - cooking and decorating.

Mom called me one spring day saying she had found the perfect house in Starbuck for a B&B. We looked at it and fell in love with it, but we decided 1993 was too early for us to begin such a venture. We agreed to learn more about B&B’s and be prepared for an opportunity in the future.

I was fortunate to have lots of experiences with B&B’s during my business related travels. I traveled all the time for trainings and meetings. I learned to hate hotels. They all have about the same character, they’re uncomfortable and not up to my personal level of cleanliness. Every time I went out on the road, I would search high and low for a B&B nearby not only because of my dislike of hotels, but for the research opportunity of staying at another B&B.

Not all my experiences were wonderful. But they all were learning experiences. True bed and breakfast operators are the most wonderful people. I stayed at one many times because the owner was such a wealth of information. She told me things about the B&B industry I have never heard or seen anywhere else.

Finally the opportunity we had waited for came in April 2002, with an American Foursquare house nobody paid much attention to. Although it’s located along the highway, the house is almost completely hidden by all the large pine trees on the property. We both decided the house held lots and lots of potential. So we decided now was the time.

We began remodeling the house in the summer of 2002. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed living in a construction zone for over 3 years. However, the results speak for themselves.

As we’ve worked on the house and the business plan, I’ve been reminded of all the various B&B’s I’ve stayed at along the way. All the things I have enjoyed, mental notes of things not to do and all the great advice from the owners. There are so many different things to consider I didn’t really know where to begin.

It all came down to the simple idea: great beds and better breakfasts. I wanted a place where I would stay if traveling to Starbuck or the surrounding communities. Nothing too fancy, nothing too exotic, nothing too expensive- just someplace very warm and inviting to retreat to at the end of busy day.