They sold their house in Northern Virginia, a busy metropolis 25 miles from D.C. and Maryland, and proceeded to renovate and restore the property to the bed-and-breakfast it was intended to become. Getting used to the slow pace of Southern West Virginia was not an easy task, as the bustle of city life had consumed them for most of their lives. Christina and Timothy had attended a large school with more than 3,000 students before transferring to a school in nearby Hico with only 300 students. The transition was exciting and difficult. Christina has since graduated and is attending Concord University in Athens, WV. Timothy plans to attend college since aquiring his GED in March.

Jon and Susana, it seems, had been training to own a bed-and-breakfast their whole working lives. Jon grew up in a small town at Thief River Falls, Minnesota, and knows that small-town living is a great way to live. Susana immigrated to the U.S. with her family from Paraguay in 1972. She spent most of her life in northern Virginia, graduating from the same high school her children attended before moving to Winona. Jon's career started in the Marine Corps. He was stationed in Quantico and worked on the president's helicopters in the Regan administration, and from there he worked for a landscaping company, a cake distributing company, a linen company, and a dish-machine equipment service company. Presently he works for a bread company. Susana's career started in sales -- first in a bakery, then selling resort property, then mobile homes, then newspaper advertising.

"We are so happy to be here in West Virginia. The people are wonderful, and the pace of life is just what we needed to see what life is all about." Susana said.