We visited the Mellon Patch Inn with my parents to celebrate an early Christmas, Dec 2011. This is a lovely, quiet bed and breakfast. We stayed in the Tropical Paradise Room - nicely decorated with murals of parrots, flowers, etc. It had a king size bed, a refrigerator and was on the ground floor. My parents stayed upstairs - I think it was the Seaside Serenity Room (no refrig, queen bed). The beds were very comfortable. We appreciated the extra touch of having mini Christmas trees in each room. It made it very Christmasy - along with the full size one in the living room. The rate was $129/night.

The Inn is right across from Pepper Park which has free access to the beach and free parking. There's also lighted tennis courts & a volleyball court (on sand) at the park. The beach was deserted when we arrived on Tuesday. We saw flocks of seagulls and tiny sandpipers eager for handouts. There was a lifeguard on duty.

When we arrived at the Inn, Cathy greeted us and gave us free tickets to the Navy Seal Museum, which is very close by. She also asked if we needed any restaurant recommendations. We went to the ones she recommended and they were all very good (Chuck's Seafood, Yianni's Greek Cafe and Harbor Cove). We loved Yianni's - a great family run restaurant with authentic Greek food and reasonable prices ($30 for 4 for lunch). We discovered by accident a Jazz Jam at the Sunrise Theatre on Tues nights for $5 (right around the corner from Yianni's). It was a great show! Lots of local musicians - retired folks, music teachers and students on break from college. FYI: jazzsociety.org listed the show whereas the sunrisetheatre.com did not.

We met Chris and Kevin, a couple that work with Cathy. They were also very helpful during our stay. Kevin cooked breakfast for us on both days. One day we had 1/2 Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, 2 sausage links and sliced melon. The next day we had scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon with sliced melon, strawberries and croissants. I was kind of surprised at how simple breakfast was (since they advertise themselves as caterers). The portions were sufficient for me, but my husband said he went away hungry (he's a big guy). Once breakfast was served, our hosts disappeared. I would have liked to chat with them and my husband might have asked for seconds! :)

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay. The rooms were delightfully decorated, the place was quiet, the beds were comfortable and the atmosphere was relaxing!