Blessings on State

My wife stayed three nights here on one of her business travels and had this to say:
«Blessings on State was a wonderful experience! This Bed and Breakfast was beautiful and the food was delicious, but what I loved most was how welcome I felt. Gwenn and Glenn are such gracious hosts and really went out of their way at every opportunity to make sure that I was comfortable and happy. I was traveling alone and they made sure I didn’t feel that way for one second. I will definitely stay here and only here for any of my future travels to the Jacksonville area.»

My boyfriend and I had to make a trip down to Jacksonville for a wedding last weekend. Somehow he happened to miss out on the room block at the Hampton Inn leaving maybe a Comfort Inn our only choice, which is not really a choice, is it? I had never stayed at a B&B before and having just seen an episode of Bob’s Burgers where Linda rents out her kid’s rooms for a weekend of B&B fun, I was a little concerned. One tenant was breeding beetles, a freak couple were doing things cartoons couples should not be doing and a mandatory cocktail hour, you get the idea. But, I found this place on the google and thought, at least it will be an experience we can tell our friends about later. So, I booked the room on their site which was super easy to do and very affordable, by the way, and we crossed our fingers. We pulled up on Saturday to a deafening sound of cicadas buzzing, dying, morphing, whatever it is they do every 13 years. Honey, I know you told me but I’ve already forgotten the lifecycle of the cicada… do you still love me? Ok, back to our B&B…We walked right in and Gwen greeted us at the door. A completely lovely and welcoming woman that was just as unhappy about the buzzing as the two of us. To our delight she had the volume on the automatic piano turned up to the tune of Stairway to Heaven to help kill the noise. No, really. And it was quite nice as an instrumental.
An adorable small person, gave us a tour of our room, the tranquility suite, and other amenities included. The room was clean and gorgeous with a large bathroom attached and a sitting room. I half expected to give the sitting room to the snoring bf but let him stay in the king sized bed, which was so comfortable and big I barely noticed he was there. Except that I did because this guy is a cuddler.
We were given a key to come and go as we please. My only regret is that we stayed out too late at The Toad to come back and enjoy this place more… that clawfoot tub is still calling my name.
We woke up the next morning and had a delicious breakfast of poached pear and eggs benedict at a table for two by the window. That pear was so good I ate two. One for me and one for someone sitting next to me that doesn’t eat fruit… I know. Gwen gave us a little history of their time there and her Craig’s list finds… amazing. It was inspiring to hear that she was able to do what she had always dreamed of… running a B&B…and an adorably quaint one to boot. Go here, you won’t regret it. Even if you have to mingle with strangers, it turns out they are usually great people that have good stories.