Indulging in a leisurely breakfast on the front porch of a lovely inn in the heart of a gorgeous historic district isn’t exactly a bad way to start each day of your vacation.

I had chosen Dover as my base for a weeklong trip to Delaware. Located in the center of the state, it makes for convenient day trips to all other parts of Delaware. And as soon as I read about the State Street Inn, I knew this would be the perfect accommodations for me.

Welcomed by the father-mother-son team that owns and has been operating State Street Inn since 2017, I immediately felt comfortable in this terrific Tudor-style bed and breakfast, built as a private home in 1911. Situated in the Victorian Dover Historic District—where strolls through this gorgeous residential area with spectacular homes mostly from the late 1800s running up and down State Street block after block after block are positively mandatory—the inn is your perfect home away from home that you wish was your actual home.

Crossing the front porch, furnished with cushioned wicker furniture, small tables, and lamps, I entered the wonderfully restored inn. Fred Breukelman, the father, checked me in at the reception area to the right, well stocked with pamphlets for local and farther-afield attractions. To the left, the fireplace and the old, formidable piano invite you to relax in this cozy living space, and an airy sunroom off of that provides a quiet refuge in which to peruse the inn’s library of books and magazines.

Straight ahead, I entered the dining room, where snacks like chips, chocolate-chip and lemon cookies, and granola bars are always at the ready, and a coffee/tea maker is available to brew your favorite hot beverage—a cup of joe, herbal tea, hot chocolate, or apple cider. A small exercise room off the dining room also holds a refrigerator filled with soft drinks and flavored water for your consumption.

Upstairs, only four guest rooms keep the inn small-scale and intimate. I had opted for the Blue Room—a quiet oasis with north- and west-facing windows, a four-post queen-size bed, a pair of chairs, a couple of dressers, a writing desk and chair, Keurig coffee/tea maker, four lamps, a ceiling fan, and a spacious bathroom with impossibly fresh-smelling towels.

With the sun rising over the trees and rooftops across the street, I started every day on the spacious front porch with a made-to-order breakfast and conversation with the very knowledgeable Fred, who seems to know everything about what to see in the entire state and whose opinions were almost always spot on, from the small size of a zoo in Wilmington to how much time I should spend in Odessa to which restaurants in Dover have outdoor dining. My morning meal ranged from a perfectly prepared Belgian waffle with butter and syrup, to an omelet with spinach, cheese, and mushrooms, to strawberry–cream cheese French toast with strawberry syrup, with a trio of maple-flavored chicken or savory turkey sausage links on the side, accompanied perhaps by a cinnamon roll, fresh fruit cup, or various flavors of yogurt.

You can conclude every day with dinner at one of a handful of restaurants in walking distance, leaving your car safely tucked away in the off-street parking provided. When you return, enjoy the very tranquil neighborhood on the front porch, or head to the rear grounds with a lackadaisical go on the swing, a little outdoor reading or conversation in the screened-in gazebo, or a soak in the hot tub—and make friends with the four resident always-hungry outdoor cats.

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