While Karen hails from New York (born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island), she lived in Chesterbrook, PA for fifteen years before moving to Corpus Christi, Texas upon her husband’s accepting a job opportunity there. The family of four moved and lived there until his passing in December 2022, eight months after which Karen returned to her Chesterbrook home and began to plan the next phase of her life. Karen’s Italian roots, with the typical Sunday large family gatherings, combined with her love of cooking and in-home entertainment, has led her over the years to dream of one day owning her own bed and breakfast. What better venue was there for her to make people happy with her cooking and to welcome guests into her home, she thought. Well, in February of 2024, this dream came true. Upon her return to PA she resurrected this dream and began her search for her bed and breakfast. It had to be in PA – it just made sense. And as she continued her search, it had to be Amish country – she remembers taking her kids there quite a few times as they were growing up, and she and her mom had eaten at an Amish family’s home. To say that Karen has always been impressed by other cultures would be an understatement, as evidenced by her three years of living in Russia, two of which were with the Peace Corps, and her having studied in Spain while a junior in college. Karen believed that she would love to be immersed in yet another culture, right here in the beautiful state of PA! So she searched and decided it had to be the Historic Smithton Inn! After meeting the then long-time owner, Rebecca, it was discovered that there were many similarities between the two women’s stories. Rebecca was from Vestal, NY; Karen studied at SUNY-Binghamton. Rebecca moved here from Texas; Karen moved here from Texas via Chesterbrook