Wedding in Jonesville Michigan

The groom chose to spend an evening with his friends at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast on the night of the rehearsal dinner in Jonesville. The wedding reception was to be held the next day on the grounds of the old train station. My friends Dee & Grigor have tansformed the building into a bed and breakfast known as the Rooms at Grayfield.

The groom explained that he and his friends were staying at the Munro House, his fiance and her friends were staying at Grayfield, and the rest of the gang at the Days Inn in Hillsdale. After the rehearsal, the whole gang was going to the Saucy Dog for dinner. Then the groom's friends would go one way and the bride's would go the other way for a night of social intercourse.

The groom has the nicest friends. They checked in, made themselves at home, commandiered my patio, and had me build them a fire in the conversation table. They spent the evening having fun, telling stories, and enjoying a beautiful evening at a Southern Michigan Bed and Breakfast. They were up late and got loud at times, but we received no complaints from the neighbors. I took these pictures and told them they'd be on the internet soon. They jumbled their social website names and came up with new ones--"Face Page", "Tube Place", and "My Face".

We let them be themselves. They had a great time on the eve of a good man's wedding. We'll be talking about them for awhile and wish them all a wonderful life.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

GeoCache in Jonesville Michigan

Several years ago, a fellow asked permission to plant a geocache on the property of our Michigan Bed and Breakfast. I had no idea what a geocache was, so I looked it up. According to the geocaching website: "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment."

He then planted a camouflaged water tight container in the bushes under our Munro House Bed and Breakfast sign, tagged the coordinates on the geocaching website, and directed people from around the world to come here and sign the log book. Since then, hundreds of people have come to Jonesville, found our cache, and mentioned their experience online. Gilly, our lone remaining guard dog, is getting old and spends most of his day indoors. I am sorry to disappoint the many treasure seekers who had also hoped to meet our resident Scottish Terrier.

I spied a group of geocachers from Wisconsin looking for the treasure this weekend. I greeted them and offered a tour of our great old house. They accepted and enjoyed hearing about the oldest house in Hillsdale County, its use as a station on the underground railroad, and stories about its namesake, local resident and entrepreneur, George Munro.

Geocaching has become a cool way to discover interesting places in small towns and big cities all around the world. We welcome folks to find our geocache and our property. If I happen to notice treasure seekers, and if I have time, it would be my pleasure to show folks around my great old house.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Jill and Kevin Heinz Wedding Entrance

We have hosted our share of weddings at the Munro House B&B in Jonesville, Michigan. We have a great house to entertain in and we welcome people who want to be themselves and have a good time. All of the weddings we have hosted have been traditional or semi-traditional. We have witnessed some outrageous antics from time to time, but they never occurred as part of the ceremony.

I am a sentimental, feel-good kind of guy. When my wife showed me this video of Jill and Kevin Heinz' wedding dance entrance, it surprised me that no one had thought of this before. The entire wedding party dancing down the aisle is so fun and sets the mood for a real celebration. Chris Brown's "Forever" has instantly entered the wedding must-play list for everyone... forever! I was surprised that this performance was done in a church and I was even more surprised that, judging from the look on her face, the pastor was in on it and approved it--my kind of preacher!

I am sure that this is the first of many similar aisle routines that will be developed in the weeks, months, and years to come. I can't wait to experience one in person.

Best wishes to Jill and Kevin!

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

August Rush Is a Favorite Movie

I have my share of spare time between chores and guests at the Munro House Bed & Breakfast in Jonesville, Michgan, so I watch a lot of movies. If the previews look really good, I see them at the theater. Otherwise I get new-release movies at Blockbuster and watch them on the big screen at my house.

I had never heard of "August Rush". It was released in 2007 and has probably been on video since 2008. By chance, I happened upon it on cable in 2009. I have watched it over a dozen times already. It is now one of my all time favorites.

I like feel-good movies, so this one is right up my alley. It is the story of an orphaned boy who believes his parents are around somewhere. He hears music everywhere and decides that if he makes music and plays it loud enough, his parents will find him.

The flick is full of interesting characters and unconventional music. There are several stories going on that all link together. It is kind of predictable, but the story is told very well.

I have been telling everyone I know to check this one out. Somehow, it got by me at the theater and at the movie store. It has probably gotten by a lot of people. I have been making it a point to tell my friends and my B&B guests about this one. It has been worth my while to watch it over and over again.

Five stars out of five.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

New Zealand vs. Washington Wine Tasting

Every now and then, my friend Jeffy likes to host a wine tasting party. I have a great house for entertaining, so he has it over here at the Munro House. He has friends come over and he invites my guests to join in on the event. We sample some wines we may not otherwise choose, we have some snacks, we learn a little bit about the subtle differences, and we have lively conversation.

Tonight we sampled wines from new Zealand and Washington. We had whites and reds from each location along with a nice selection of Wisconsin cheeses. Jeffy likes Chardonnay and Merlot, so those were the varieties we enjoyed.

Jeffy is a sociable character and enjoys meeting new people, so my B&B guests are always welcome. Some folks left for dinner after a short time, some were still engaged in conversation 3 hours later. Everyone had a good time.

We have done this 3 or 4 times and have a desire to make it a regular Friday night event. Watch our website or join our Facebook fan page to find out about our next event. Then coordinate your next Michigan Bed and Breakfast Getaway at the Munro House in Jonesville.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Grand Canyon

The best part about a bed and breakfast is the breakfast. The breakfast is not always about the food, but the conversation that goes along with the first meal of the day.

I enjoy running a bed and breakfast in Michigan that attracts a wide variety of people. It has been a great week for interesting guests from far away places. We had peeps from Illinois, California, Guatemala, Colombia, Denmark, and Israel.

Yoav and Relly, the people from Israel, told me that they had been traveling the States all week and they finally had a good night of sleep--at my place, the Munro House B&B. Wooo-hooo! Good for us. We pride ourselves in being comfortable.

The Israelis have taken vacations in the U.S.A. and Canada for several years. They have visited the big cities but have a preference for nature. They make it a point to go to places where there is water, farmland, or mountains nearby. Relly told me that on a recent trip with her family, they went to Las Vegas. The kids loved the excitement of the most extreme city in the world, but Relly wanted to take a side trip to the Grand Canyon, just 5 hours away.

She told the kids that they were going to spend a couple of days in the Grand Canyon. They were more excited than usual about doing something that mom wanted to do. She assumed that they knew where they were going--they didn't. Apparently, the pronounciation of the word "canyon" is the same as the Hebrew word for "shopping mall". Needless to say, the kids were really surprised when they realized what the word means in English!

Yup, just one tidbit of information shared over a meal that I will surely retell for a long time.


Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

August NASCAR Race at MIS in Brooklyn Michigan

The second, and most popular NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn Michigan takes place on Sunday, August 16, 2009. I don't know why it is more popular than the June race st MIS, but it is. It seems like we see a lot of new faces in June and a lot of familiar faces in August at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast.

Mike & Nancy have been staying at the Munro House for this race longer than we have owned the house--since 1999. If there is one sure thing, it is that these NASCAR fans will be back every year for the August race. They are the nicest people and love spending time at the track meeting old friends and finding new ones. They are at the track from dawn until dusk all weekend and seem to really enjoy the atmosphere. We check them in on Friday and rarely see them again until they check out on Monday. We know they come and go because we pack them a "to go" breakfast and it is gone when we get up in the morning. We make their bed and give them fresh towels, so we know they have been in their room--we just don't see them come and go every day.

We are conveniently located about 25 minutes from MIS on highway 12 in Jonesville. It's a straight shot to the the track from our house. The traffic controllers have been very good at getting people in and out on race day. Even when the stands are full with about 150,000 fans, there is usually a reasonable commute back to our house.

We offer a full breakfast, but most guests opt for the "to go" breakfast on race weekend in Michigan. We give them what they want--a nice room in a smoke-free atmosphere at a reasonable distance from the track with all the comforts of home. Our NASCAR people tend to be more interested in the race than with the party atmosphere that some other fans may desire. The all night beer drinking crowd tends to stay in the campgrounds around the track. That means our guests get a good night's sleep after a long day in the August heat.

We are looking forward to the next bunch of NASCAR fans to stay with us. Mike & Nancy are already confirmed. With a little over a month to go, we still have rooms available--but that is subject to change at any moment. We love our NASCAR peeps!


Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Landscaping Project at Bed and Breakfast in Michigan

When we bought the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan, back in 1999, there were several 40' tall pine trees lining the parking lot and shading the brick patio adjacent to the house. The roots from the trees caused the patio bricks to heave in many places and the constantly falling pine needles made the area a chore to maintain. I finally decided to hire a company to cut down the pines and start all over.

Wickham's Tree Service of Hillsdale got the contract when they told me they could do the entire job in less than a day. It looked like a much bigger job than that to me. So my decision to accept their bid was based more on my confidence in the company and the speed of completion than on the final cost--although the cost was very reasonable.

Three guys came out with a cherry picker and a wood chipper. The guy in the picker cut all the branches from bottom to top and dropped them to the ground while the guys on the ground fed the pieces into the grinder that turned everything into mulch. Once the branches were eliminated, they cut the rest of the tree down in 4 foot segments from top to bottom. These experienced fellows did this work while avoiding telephone, cable, and power lines that were in the way.

The job was completed in about 5 hours and they offered me the mulch--which I accepted. It saved them a trip to the dump, and I had lots of areas in need of the healthy debris. Several days of moving the mulch--one wheel barrow at a time--put my landscaping around the house in very good condition. It was time consuming, but the loads weren't heavy and it was very easy to spread. On a nice summer day the job was quite enjoyable.

My buddy brought his Bobcat over to dig up the patio bricks and the extensive root system. Another friend came over to assist in the installation of a privacy fence to give the patio some intimacy. Then I had crushed limestone delivered to put down a base for my new patio. Once that was dispersed and leveled, a layer of sand was added before the paver bricks were set in place in a herringbone pattern.

Old railroad ties were removed, a French drain was dug, a retaining wall was installed, and a variety of vegetation was planted. Pine needles had been a constant source of clogging eaves troughs and down spouts. Overgrown branches were causing roof problems, too. With these problems eliminated, the timing was right to install new gutters all the way around. The GutterMan of Hillsdale was hired to do the work. They completed the job quickly and efficiently with affordability.

We eliminated the old growth and found a house behind it! I guess I'd never noticed how well-hidden our home was. The trees had been overgrown and the work was long overdue. Our house now looks much cleaner from the parking lot approach. It will take some time for the plant life to grow and mature. It is a process that involves a lot of labor and care. But in the end, the final product will be very nice.



Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Professional Photography

I have taken thousands of pictures of my house. I have taken photos inside, outside, still life, action, live, and staged. I have my favorites, but they are a small percentage of the total number of photographs taken. As much as I have an eye for a good picture, I am not the guy who can capture that good look, consistantly.

I am in the process of updating my website which means that I will need fresh photos. I discussed my desire with some friends who are local professional photographers. We arranged a day, a time, and a price. We were in agreement on these points, but then had to break it down to what I really wanted. I want my pictures to be warm, inviting, and artistic. Anybody can take a picture of a room. My goal was to capture the natural essence of the room without a lot of high-tech editing.

I hired two photographers who I trusted to take the kinds of pictures I envisioned. As they snapped shots, I checked them out on the viewfinder and conveyed my likes and dislikes. As I gave them more accurate directions, they required less input and were able to quickly shoot the shots I hoped they could. I moved books, arranged pillows, closed blinds, and hid lamp chords on-the-fly so that editing of the final product would be minimal.

The digital photo files have been burned onto a DVD and I am now taking the time to choose the pictures that will go into the pile that I want to use to represent my business.



As you can probably tell, the picture on the top was taken by me with my pocket camera and the picture on the bottom was taken by a professional with a good camera--night and day difference! I am looking forward to the finished look of my new website for my business, the Munro House B&B.


Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Anniversary Sale

Wow! Today (July 1, 2009) marks our 10th anniversary as owners and innkeepers of the Munro House Bed and Breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan. In 10 years, we have welcomed over 20,000 people in our house as overnight guests, tourists, party-goers, and friends. To commemorate this milestone, we are remembering the Summer of '99 by offering a $99 per night room rate to couples when they come to Jonesville for 2 nights through July 15.

This is our way of thanking old friends and introducing ourselves to new friends. We are doing this as a depression buster in Michigan's strapped economy. Folks who may have decided against a B&B can reconsider the expense with our Anniversary Pricing Consumer Bail-Out Plan.

We invite you to call us and mention the NINETY-NINE special when you book a 2 night stay before July 15, 2009. Come to Jonesville and celebrate our anniversary.

Mike Venturini - Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"