Who am I and what am I all about?
This question may be answered better of me by my husband. After my 30th birthday last week I have realized that he knows me. . really knows me. And I guess after 10 years together, he should. This year for my birthday my husband took me on a weekend getaway to the Chelsea House Victorian Inn Bed and Breakfast in Chelsea, Michigan. When we arrived we enjoyed some shopping and wine drinking in the quaint little downtown shoppes and restaurants. After dinner at the fabulous Common Grill, where we sat next to movie and television star Randolph Mantooth, we enjoyed an intimate live theatre performance at The Purple Rose Theatre. I loved every moment of it. So is this who I really am? An art loving, theatre going, wine drinking woman? Yes, I am. I am so proud of my husband for really thinking about who I am this birthday and for planning something that was so true to me.
I know you are all curious about the details of this awesome weekend, so here ya go! Join me on a quick tour of the sites and sounds of Chelsea, MI. . . the “New York” of Michigan.
When you pull into downtown Chelsea, don’t blink. You may miss the town. Yes, it is small but it is packed with amazing experiences you can not get anywhere else in Michigan. The town is made up of historic homes, eccentric shops and an off Broadway theatre that practically puts you into the play (plus the Jiffy mixes plant!).
We stayed at the Chelsea House Victorian Inn, a quaint home built in the 1880’s. The home is immaculately taken care of and clean (something that as you know if super important to me). I was a bit concerned ahead of time about feeling comfortable staying in someones home. However, the owners went out of their way to make us feel welcome. It sort of felt like we were staying with family. They even made it a point to learn our names ahead of time. You could tell that we were more than just a paying customer to the owners, we were now friends. I highly recommend staying at this beautiful home if you are ever to visit Chelsea, MI.
Before the play we made reservations at The Common Grill. Apparently this is a quite popular place to eat in this town (or it may be the only place, I didn’t really see any other restaurants) because the wait to get a seat was long. We sat at the bar waiting for our table to become available and a homeless looking man came and sat next to us. This caught our attention because everyone else was dressed nicely. We later found out that it was Randolph Mantooth , the lead actor in Superior Donuts. He was dressed for his role and grabbing a quick bite to eat before going onstage. Where else would you be able to rub elbows with actors? Our table was called and we enjoyed our meal. FYI, the bread is a-maz-ing!
Finally we entered the small, intimate Rose Theatre to see “Superior Donuts”. The venue probably seats around 100 people, if that. Truly, there is no bad seat in this place. Every seat is within a frog hop of the stage. This made for a quite amazing experience. As I was drawn into the screenplay I almost forgot that I was sitting in a theatre and not sitting in the donut shop as a customer watching everything unfold. And if that in itself isn’t cool enough, I recently found out that the theatre is owned by “Dumb and Dumber” actor Jeff Daniel!
Superior Donuts Trailer courtesy of YouTube
I must say that this little gem of a town is worth the trip. While enjoying breakfast at the Chelsea House, another guest who had met and spoken with Randolph after the play said this: ” I asked him (Randolph Mantooth) why after all of his fame in acting he would choose to work in Chelsea, MI and he replied. . This place is like making it in New York, only better”.
Happy Travels!
<3 Dick and Jane
Looks like a lot of fun!