The Traveling Michigander

The Wheeler Mansion, Chicago

I’ve already talked about the wondrous, magical feature called “free parking” that the B&B offers. I’m sure they just roll it into your nightly costs, but it was still nice not to arrive and have an extra $40 added onto your bill.

This is our great view of Calumet Avenue from the fantastically named “Room 33″, harking back to the days when… well, I’m not sure when.

View of Calumet Avenue

Okay, the view is not great, but it was quiet. The Metra trains passed just beyond the buildings in the picture, but they were not an issue at all. And we were only a few minutes walk to the station, and beyond that, Soldier Field.

If you’re a business traveler, McCormick Place is only about a five minute walk south of the Wheeler Mansion. Most of the other guests were attending the gigantic food conference being held at the time of our visit.

Room 33, The Wheeler Mansion

Speaking of food, here we have the dining room, where we could enjoy a quiet meal, if we didn’t have a small child with us. Still, a nice space.

Dining Room, The Wheeler Mansion

The Wheeler Mansion is in the Prairie Avenue district, a great place for a walking tour of the mansion once owned by the business barons of Chicago.

Prairie Avenue district

South of Lansing lies Eaton Rapids. There may be other things to do there, but Andrea and I go there for The English Inn, a stately mansion built by an Oldsmobile executive in the 1920’s and now a bed and breakfast. Behind the house is a long sloping yard and gardens that ends at the river, an often-used spot for weddings. The lawn, not the river. 

The English Inn, Eaton Rapids

(Okay, we have also gone to Eaton Rapids for a cooking class at Le Chat Gormet, but I’ve only done that once. Andrea has done it a couple of times.) 

This was our second trip to The English Inn, and this time we stayed in the Windsor room. Very elegant, very spacious, and very quiet, the perfect room for a night away. Even though we were only a half-hour from home, the refined atmosphere of the Inn made it seem like much farther away. No singing Kai Lan doll’s or talking Wow! Wow! Wubbsy books around, that was for sure. 

Windsor Room, The English Inn

I would rave about dinner were I able to remember what I had. Does that ever happen to you? I remember enjoying it, but I have no clue what it was. And dinner was accompanied by a live piano player. As opposed to a dead one. He even played a Vince Guaraldi tune from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” 

After dinner, we had drinks in the basement bar. The bar is an intimate (i.e. small) space, and I relaxed and watched the Red Wings while drinking vodka martinis. I have no idea if they were shaken or stirred. 

And the breakfasts were good. We had a choice of a half-dozen items, impressive for a B&B. I went with the cheese and bacon quiche and managed to eat some of the fruit as well, just to balance things out. 

And just for April, The English Inn is participating in Restaurant Month. A 3-course meal for $21.95 is a great deal for such a nice restaurant like the Inn. Go forth and partake! 

 And a parting shot of the Windsor room: 

Windsor Room, The English Inn

The sign says it all:

Cold Beer

No, no, the other one:

Quiet Time

That is what we were after for a four-day vacation away from the two-year old. And that is what we found at Villa La Bella, a beautiful B&B on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Villa La Bella, Isla Mujeres

The bar didn’t hurt either.

Villa La Bella, Isla Mujeres

The bar is where we went after meeting Curtis and Ashley, owners of Villa La Bella, who were greeted us at the hand-carved gate. He graciously gave me a tropical plastic plate for my bacon-wrapped Bimbo dogs and handed us a pair of margaritas in appropriately tropical coconut cups as he familiarized us with the B&B.

Lobby of Villa La Bella

Villa La Bella was a new kind of experience for us. We have always stayed at all-inclusive resorts when we vacationed to tropical destinations. Show up at the appropriate time, browse the buffet, get some sun, eat some more, and repeat until you leave.

But this was a true B&B. I’m covering the first B here, and I’ll get to the second B in a later post.

We stayed in the honeymoon suite, and the rumor among the other guests was that we were on our honeymoon. That rumor was false – Andrea and I have been married for over four years. But the brief flare of attention was nice.

Curtis showed us to our room located directly above the bar. Sounds noisy, but that was not the case at all. There was a resort-enforced quiet period between 10pm and 8:30 am, and I loved that because I needed the sleep. Did I mention the two-year old?

Honeymoon Suite

Our room was painted with the required tropical colors, because in Mexico, who wants a beige room? Beige is so… home.

Honeymoon Suite

Andrea was partial to the shower. It’s huge, and noticed the showerhead – it’s a conch shell. That is not something you will find at a Motel 6. They may leave the light on for you, but they don’t have knick knacks from the deep blue sea hanging from the ceiling.

When dawn came, our view of inky blackness and the pool of many colors was one of crashing waves and an inviting place to enjoy some sunshine on very white bodies.

View from the Honeymoon Suite

The bonus feature of the honeymoon suite is the extra balcony. Not only did we have the one directly above the bar, we had another one set with loungers perfect for privately laying in the sun. So if you butt needs some sunshine too, you can do so. Just keep low, the walls aren’t that high.

We stayed in early March, and it was windy all of the time. The surf was too rough for casual swimming – you’ve got to really, really want to be in the ocean to risk being pounded against the rocks. Villa La Bella is not a swimming resort, it’s a laying the sun resort, though there are several beaches on the island (duh) where you can relax on the sand.

Bella Beach

So we have already talked about returning. It was fantastic and a perfect little spot for a few days – or weeks – away from life in the north.