I started my bed & breakfast from my home about 10 years ago after my children had flown the nest. The bedrooms were empty and I said, "Why not? Newport is a great tourist town and always-in need of lodging for the weary."

In the early settlers' days, 1 or 2 rooms in people's homes were let to weary travelers where there were no other accommodations available. This was how it began. To some, a B&B is a quaint Victorian Inn with 5 or more bedrooms. Or it's a chalet in Vermont or Maine featuring its own ski slope. Or it's a converted gothic mansion boasting 10 or more bedrooms. But, from the beginning there was the private home bed & breakfast.

My very first guests, however, were not aware of the early settlers and their rooms for the weary. They expected an "Inn".

That very first day, I anxiously awaited their arrival, peeking out the window for hours before they got there. Everything was ready for them; the beds freshly made and turned down, the muffins all baked, and the quiche just waiting to be baked for breakfast in the morning. The coffee pot anxiously waiting to put forth that glorious aroma of freshly brewed heaven, and the logs were crackling in the fireplace.

My peeking finally paid off; there they were in the driveway.

I waited for them to alit from the car before I started out to greet them. But then I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard the husband say, "This isn't a bed & breakfast, it's someone's house!"

"Yikes," I thought as I hid behind my new Laura Ashley curtains, "he's right! It is someone's house; mine. But wait, hey, it's also my new bed & breakfast. What should I do?"

The wife at this point looked a bit nervous (she made the reservation).

I couldn't stay behind my Laura Ashley's forever. "To heck with it," I thought. Out the door fast, with a big smile and a big welcome before they peeled wheels up the driveway, and I lost my very first guests. "Welcome to Murray House," I said, "your private home bed & breakfast, away from home." // heh heh //

He glanced at his wife for a minute, turned to me and said, "This is for real, right?"

I said, "Right! And boy, will you be glad you stayed!" I held my breath.

And, guess what, he was! Whew!

He and his lovely wife (he's lovely too) have been back every two years since that day.

Private home bed & breakfasts, or "home stays", have become their choice affording the kind of relaxing atmosphere they have come to love. They love the attention they receive when staying in a private home -- their own personal guide, shopping expert, restaurant suggester, beach chair provider, and a hostess who knows when to get lost.

A hostess with the mostess.

Noreen O'Neil is the innkeeper at 1 Murray House B&B in Newport. Over the past 10 years, as a B&B owner, Noreen has collected many stories, some glad, some bad and some totally infuriating and a lot of them funny and inspiring. You can call her at 401 846 3337 or go to her website at www.murrayhouse.com

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