The lifestyle of a small town lake girl at heart!
For my birthday dinner we ate at Salt and Peoper, a local restaurant in Holland, MI. It was so cute. Darker with a pub atmosphere. The walls were lined with salt and pepper shakers of all kinds. We had a wonderful waitress that fully understood gluten free. We enjoyed salads, steaks and a delicious flourless chocolate torte!!! It was a very special evening!
That evening we watched another incredible sunset over Lake Michigan!!!
While in the southern west side of Michigan, we had to make sure we visited one of John’s childhood friends. Chad is a park ranger for the Palisades Park and lives there year round with his wife and son. To be honest with you, I’ve never really seen a private park rangers home inside a gated housing area. It was literally like something out of a movie. Chad, and Fisher, took us all around on the golf cart for a tour. The park had beautiful, older homes, all spaced out in the woods. We saw their soda shop and area where they all gather for activities. The entire park sits along side of Lake MI and Chad has built a gorgeous boardwalk the entire length of the park. Chad also has to keep the clay courts in tact every single day! He does so much work there, but it’s beautiful. Most people only live there over the summer, so he said it is pretty quite over the winter, but it allows him time to get all the projects done.
That evening we ate dinner with Chad and his family in South Haven, which is just about 10 minutes from his park. After dinner John and i fished and watched one last MI sunset at South Beach. Is it me or does it feel like every sunset just gets better and better?
Well as a daughter, sister and niece to Coast Guard men, this was a real treat to see their Coast Guard Station. We walked up and down the beautiful boardwalk. We walked all around the station and as bonus we got to see a boat coming back in to harbor. The water was really rough that day, but it doesn’t stop the Coasties. We saw many “walking” groups, dogs, and families. There was a campground right on the beach and we both decided if we were ever camping, that would be the best place.
Can we now talk about the real star of the show….oh my goodness this is by far my favorite light house in MI. Every single light house in MI is gorgeous, but just something about this one captures my eye.
Ok full disclosure this city was way bigger than i expected. Our hotel was located in an area of the city surrounded by many stores and restaurants. We were about 10 minutes from the lake. Our first evening there we went out to eat, at Boatwerks, and then headed to the lighthouse. This is one of the top attractions. The lighthouse is referred to as Big Red and sits at the entrance of the channel connecting Lake Michigan with Lake Macatawa. The beach area is the largest beach we have ever seen. It is surrounded by bike paths, marinas, fishing piers, a playground and many areas to have a picnic. The area is absolutely beautiful!
We are up and ready to head out of town. Well John and I….sorry Abby you have to stay with mom and dad!
We headed to Michigan from my parents house Monday morning! It was a beautiful morning and we were excited to spend the week out of town! We of course had to stop at one of the huge Cabela stores in Dundee, Michigan. John wasn’t kidding when he told me the store was large. It was the size of a mall 😂. I also couldn’t believe all the animal displays they had. Dick Cabela sure has hunted a lot of different species! The way they had them all displayed was so creative. I was blown away!
We of course had to stop at Tim Hortons before hitting the road again. How cute is this coffee shop???
We finally made it to the hotel and when i tell you we made it just in time, i am not kidding. As we were driving the last few minutes, the sky turned black. As we entered the hotel, the sky opened up. It was like a monsoon and oh my goodness so much lightning. I’ve never seen anything like it. We later found out that area was hit pretty hard and there was a lot of people without power. We were spared but yikes was it scary. So glad we were not driving during it!
Lake Girls Adventures 