The Sleeping Bear Bed & Breakfast near Empire features flowers of all colors, a raspberry patch, a fire ring for campfires, a hammock for lazy summer afternoons, and a garden pond.
When Van and Susan Wilson, the owners of the Sleeping Bear Bed and Breakfast, lived on Chicago north shore, they didn't hear much about northern Michigan. (They're convinced people were just keeping it a secret.) But when they came across Lake Michigan on their 30-foot sailboat, they saw what they were missing. So when they were ready to quit their jobs, they decided northern Michigan would be the perfect place to run a bed and breakfast.
The Sleeping Bear Bed and Breakfast is an unassuming farmhouse set back from M-72 on the way to Empire. Built in 1889, it was originally the Gilbert family farmhouse, and it has been a bed and breakfast since 1992. Van and Susan bought it four years ago and pride themselves on running a family-friendly getaway for visitors who want to be a little farther away from the "hubbub."
Susan said that some establishments try to avoid families with kids because of the extra noise and possible mess.
"They come back from the dunes exhausted, pop in a DVD and that's it," Susan said. "In the morning, they're under orders to be good, and then it's 'Can I go out and play?'"
Address: 11977 Gilbert Rd. Empire, MI 49630 (GET MAP)
Phone: (231) 326-5375
Web site: www.sleepingbearbb.com
Accommodations
Sleeping Bear B&B has five rooms, three of which have private bathrooms (The other two share a bath). The Sleeping Bear Room features a queen-sized sleigh bed and a two-person shower. The Sleeping Bear Room also features Van and Susan's collection of antique wooden shovels. Double french doors open into the Sunset Room (also known as the Honeymoon Suite), which features a king-sized bed, a two-person whirlpool with separate shower and a private entrance with its own porch. The upstairs Michigan Room, features a pencil-post bed and shares a bath with the Gilbert Room. The spacious Leelanau Room has a private bath with a soaking tub and skylight.
Some of the antiques and unique furnishings were difficult to get into the house, Van said. One chair in the Leelanau room was so big that he had to enlarge the window to hoist it up. (His background in construction came in handy there.)
In addition to flowers of all colors, a raspberry patch, a fire ring for campfires and a hammock for lazy summer afternoons, the B&B's garden has a pond that Van dug out himself.
Market fresh
While Van handles the home projects and landscaping, the food is Susan's department.
"Fresh ingredients are the prime concern," she said.
Her breakfasts alternate between egg dishes and pancakes or french toast. One of her specialties, Sleeping Bear French Toast, is served with fresh fruit. Other breakfast highlights include cherry chicken sausage made specially for them, applewood smoked bacon, bread and muffins and a variety of fresh blended juices, including cherry grape and raspberry. The meals are served in their bright dining area, which is set off from the kitchen and gives guests a perfect view of the birds that frequent the garden.
Breakfast is served at two different times, and guests sign up for their preferred time on a blackboard in the living room (Kids are free to draw with the colored chalk, too).
During the off-season, Susan will prepare dinner upon request for guests, but the summer schedule only gives her time to make breakfast.
Van said they will sometimes do a barbecue if guests are having a big event like a reunion, and the couple offers cooking classes in the winter. They also prepare catered dinners in peoples' homes and cook for church retreat groups in the winter.
Van also got his captain's license recently so he can take people out on day charters when business slows down.
The B&B life
Van and Susan said they have been lucky enough to avoid what some people call "B&B Burnout," where the unexpected workload shatters the owner's dreams of a laid-back lifestyle.
"You have to be prepared to live this way," Van said, "We approached it as a business; we just happen to live at the office."
But when things get really busy at the height of the summer season, the couple moves out to their "sanctuary," a studio beside the main house. Running a B&B can be tiring, they said.
"There's a perpetual list of things to do," Van said, from large-scale home and garden projects to little touches like spraying lavendar on the freshly-ironed sheets.
Although they love the B&B business, the summer schedule occassionally pushessome activities to the background. Both movie fans, Van and Susan want to go to the Traverse City Film Festival, but since it falls within their busiest time of year, they have to feed their film appetites with their library of DVDs and a steady flow of rentals from Netflix.
Van and Susan also take advantage of their location to pursue one of their other passions: wine. Before they moved to Michigan, the couple was convinced that the only "real" wine was from France, California and maybe Italy.
"We were pretty snobbish about it," Van said.
But since then, they have come to love Michigan wine and have stocked their wine cellar (the first major project they completed upon buying the B&B) with their local favorites.
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