About Us

Nicholas DeGrazia

Sandy White

When you stay at Adventure Inn Bed and Breakfast, we know you didn’t come to see us, You get as much privacy as you want. Guests describe the atmosphere in our B&B as warm, welcoming, fun, and yet elegant in a non-fussy way.

We don’t inflict our stories on guests, but some people ask about our background or that of the inn, so here goes…

Who we are: Your hosts at Adventure Inn are Nicholas DeGrazia and Sandy White — Captain Adventure and the Missus. The third family member is Pucci, a Labrador retriever.

Arriving at the top of Colorado’s Humboldt Peak, 14,000 feet, was just the start of the adventure. Those clouds behinds us? Thunder, lightning and snow!

Was running a B&B our dream? Nope. We inherited this nice, large house on Lake Huron, moved from downtown Detroit, and over a ten-year period made it nicer and larger. Too much space for two people and a dog.

On a 2004 trip to the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario, we stayed in a couple B&Bs, and there, while relaxing on the top of someone’s boat shed, we hatched the idea. Nine months later, Adventure Inn was born. We like the way we live — and the way our house looks — when company is coming.

What about the name? A friend once called Nicholas “Captain Adventure” after hearing  Nicholas’ adventures in ocean and Great Lakes yacht racing and in climbing Fourteeners in Colorado.

We get involved in our community. Here, Nicholas and his wonderful dance partner Sue cha-cha to raise money for scholarships at the community college.

It’s also true that Nicholas is a licensed boat captain, approved by the U.S. Coast Guard to pilot vessels up to 100,000 tons. We currently don’t offer charters, but in season, if he’s available, Captain Adventure can be persuaded to take you for a shoreline cruise in our humble little aluminum fishing boat.

What did you do before? What else do you do now? Sandy is a writer and designer who had editing roles at three newspapers over 20 years in North Carolina, Florida and Detroit. She edited three coffee-table photography books and is writing a young adult novel. She’s originally from Columbus, Ohio.

Nicholas left Chicago for Michigan in pursuit of his higher education, including a Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State. At University of Detroit for more than two decades, he was on the business school faculty, then dean of the graduate school and later vice-president for finance.

Pucci, now in semi-retirement after a stellar career in marsh and field, will fetch only two tennis balls. If you’ve thrown only one, retrieve it yourself.

He was president of Lionel Trains Inc. in the early 1990s, when the company still manufactured products in the U.S. It was during that time that we acquired most of decor for the Toy Box, except for the slot machines. That’s a whole other story.

He serves on a number of boards, including as a trustee of St. Clair County Community College.

What do you like best about running a B&B?

• Making our home welcoming and inviting.
• Delighting guests with a tasty, attractive breakfast.
• Sharing our slice of Pure Michigan.

This is a good spot to recognize and thank people who contributed photography to this website:

• Sheila Springsteen Greilick and John Greilick (most Sandy Cottage images plus many exteriors and beach shots). John is a staff photographer for the Detroit News. Sheila has a Metro Detroit photography business.
• Elaine Marchand of Port Huron (most Toy Box and Aft Cabin photos), owner of Great Lakes Photography.
• Michele Favoretto of Troy (some beach photos). Michele is founder and CEO of a company that produces enterprise web and mobile solutions, but I’m sure the passion she’d most like for us to tell you about is her innovative philanthropic endeavor called My Inch of the Earth.
• Larry Modesitt of Denver, our friend, who, along with his dear late wife Abby, led us to the top of Humboldt Peak and safely back down. He took the photo above of us at the summit of Humboldt Peak.
• Ray Ruszczynski of Port Huron, who captured the above photo of his wife cutting a rug with Nicholas.