About Us

When it comes to the best marriages, opposites attract. This is an old wives tale that Florence Difolco Sanders used to tell her sons as she and her old-school Italian husband raised them in a small bungalow style home in a humble suburb called Eagle Rock, located within Los Angeles, CA.

After 38 years of marriage, 4 children, and 7 grandchildren, there must have been some truth to that old wives tale. In 1978 Florence’s youngest son Michael, an outspoken, dark complexion, third generation, married a sweet, quiet, blond haired, blue-eyed, second generation Dutch girl named Theresa de Klerk. After spending a few years in the Ozarks of Northeast Arkansas raising cattle and hogs on their 40 acre farm, they eventually settled back near their roots and lived in Altadena, California for the next 35 years. Mike and Theresa owned and operated a successful roofing company in Pasadena, CA for over 30 years, but they always had the desire to move back to the country and live a simpler life. In 2014, they turned the company over to their son and moved to Mount Vernon to be closer to their youngest daughter’s family.

Not wanting to get back into construction, they came up with the idea of opening a bed and breakfast, although it wasn’t a new idea. Mike’s Aunt Mary had operated a bed and breakfast in Klamath Falls, Oregon for over two decades before retiring. Theresa has a sister in North Dakota that has been operating an inn for over 10 years, and she also has 2 other sisters in Vida, Oregon that have been operating an Inn and bed and breakfast for over 15 years. Being surrounded by so much family experience in the profession, it just seemed like a natural transition into this business. Theresa really enjoys cooking and is never happy unless her home is spotless and perfect. This makes being a bed and breakfast hostess a perfect fit for her. Mike loves fixing things and is an expert in administrative tasks so running the business and taking care of the maintenance fits him like a glove. Combine that with the fact that they truly love meeting people and sharing life experiences with them and voila, you have the ideal innkeepers. Mike and Theresa are perfectly content giving their guests privacy and space if that is what they want. On the other hand, if you want to spend an evening sipping wine, playing chess, or just talking about current events, you will find their company singular. They are down home people of faith that love life and are grateful for what they have.