Seated at a large corner table by the only two windows in the hotel dining lounge, the group gulped back tar-strong coffee and devoured fluffy blueberry pancakes with homemade cherry preserves and local maple syrup like there was no tomorrow. Reminiscent of a coastal B&B, the place was cozy-quaint, warm from a log fire in a corner glass fireplace, and fragrant with sweet and savory morning cooking smells. Sheer pale-blue chiffon-like panels hung in one corner by a huge maple hutch filled with empty jam and Mason jars from various decades. Watercolors of valleys, gardens, and farms lined two walls; colorful ceramic vases and plates made by local artists on floral-carved pine shelving lined another. Predominant colors were soothing shades of copper rose and moonstone blue.
The four-lane mai
