Hello Everyone. It’s been another great week on the road out here in southwestern Michigan. I had to slow down a bit because of the holiday weekend, but it’s been nice to spend some time at the beach and to have some quiet time to catch up on some work. The beaches on the shores of Lake Michigan are beautiful, and the temperature has been perfect to enjoy them without getting too hot. The water is a little chilly, but it’ll sure wake you up if you jump into it. It’s been great to see some of the beautiful lighthouses out here as well and wander through some cute little towns. Most of the 4th of July celebrations in the area were cancelled due to Covid, which was understandable but also a shame. It’s definitely been a crowded week as well and I’d just as soon avoid the crowds, so I’ve been laying lower than usual this weekl. All-in-all it’s been a good week, though, and I’m still enjoying my time in Michigan. I should probably be moving a little bit quicker than I am, but my goal is to stay happy and healthy and not wear myself out so on that front, I’m doing well. Shadow Catcher is also doing well and while I need to replace the city water connection (which I just had replaced a few months ago), that seems to be the only issue at the moment which is great.
When I left you last week, I was on my way to the Gilmore Car Museum in Richland, one of the premier automotive museums in the country, and it did not disappoint. It was clear from the minute I walked into the first exhibit that this was a museum designed and built by genuine car enthusiasts. That first exhibit was on the evolution of the Corvette from a concept car (one of which was a station wagon!) into one of the most notorious American sports cars in history. From there I went on a somewhat chronological tour through cars of different decades from the early days through to the 70s, after which cars lost all style and excitement. There were also outbuildings with different collections and themes and even an old diner brought to the museum from Connecticut. One of the coolest items was a mock-up of a Ford Model A cockpit which walked you through the steps of how to get it started. I giggled with glee and did it three times in a row (nobody was waiting or watching). I spent about 4 hours at the museum and after it closed, tons of classic cars started pouring in for some kind of event. I just enjoyed standing in the parking lot and watching them go past.
Kalamazoo Reflection
From there, I headed back to Kalamazoo and straight to the Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café. I’ve been a lover of Bell’s beer for many years now and was excited to try some of their brews that don’t make it out of their backyard. I put Bell’s right up there with Dogfish Head as one of the absolute best and most consistent breweries in the country. They didn’t disappoint and I enjoyed a few beers in their back garden while I was there. I wandered around downtown for a bit and ended up stopping in the only other brewery that was open on a Wednesday night, which was Final Gravity. Their beer was truly terrible, but the bartender was both a fellow Penn Stater and a fellow former teacher, so I really enjoyed chatting with him over my barely palatable beer. It was definitely nice to have someone to talk with for a while.
Thursday I got up and got some photos edited at Starbucks and then was enjoying some lunch in my van when an older gentleman approached and wanted to talk about what I was doing and where I was going. He had wanderlust in his eyes and asked a lot of good questions about how this lifestyle works and how I get what I need to get by. It was a nice discussion and he walked away with thoughts of buying a van in his head. From there, I made a beeline for Silver Beach in St. Joseph, on the shores of Lake Michigan. Silver Beach is a really beautiful beach and I spent the afternoon laying out, getting some sun and reading my book. I’m reading The Time Traveler’s Wife which has been a nice break from more serious topics and is perfect for beach days. After a few hours, I went back into town for some food and a wander before heading back to the beach for sunset at the lighthouse there. I got to the beach a little bit later than I wanted to, but I was just in time to watch the sun slip into the lake which is one of my favorite things in the world.
I spent Friday doing much the same thing. I got some work done in the library, spent a few hours on the beach reading my book and working on my tan and then had some dinner in town and a sunset stroll on the beach. These are the kinds of days I’ve been looking forward to all month. It was also the start of the 4th of July weekend, so I knew it was going to be busy and crowded and I wasn’t going to move too far because I didn’t want to deal with traffic and crowds.
Saturday I headed back into St. Joseph to visit the Farmers’ Market and then head on up the coast. I ended up walking past the small history museum and decided to pop in for a quick look around. I was definitely glad I did. In addition to some interesting displays on the lighthouse and shipbuilding, they had a fascinating exhibit on the local Potawatomi People which was very well done. In the next room, they had an equally fascinating exhibit on the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s not often that I find something about slavery and the Civil War which is so well balanced and, in my opinion, accurate so I really enjoyed it. The exhibit was unapologetically challenging of the narrative that when formerly enslaved people made their way to the north they found some sort of Shangri La, and instead presented a more truthful story which was more difficult and full of racist attitudes. The only point of dispute I had with the display was that it, like so many others have, pointed to Juneteenth as the end of slavery. In fact, slaves were held in Delaware and Kentucky right up until the 13th Amendment was ratified, months after Juneteenth which marked the end of slavery in the South. But overall, I was very happy I stopped in.
The Michigan Theater in South Haven
From there it was time to move up the coast a little, but not too far. I went about a half-hour north to South Haven. While St. Joseph is a small town with a beach, South Haven is a small beach town. I found the beach a little less organized than the one in St. Joseph, but the town itself is a little more vibrant and was very busy with the holiday weekend traffic. I caught the tail end of their Farmer’s Market when I arrived and then wandered around and down to the beach. I enjoyed a couple of beers at the breweries around town in the afternoon and learned some history from the historical markers along the river. The river that flows through the middle of town is the Black River and it’s pretty cool to see where it empties into the lake – you can definitely see the different color water and a distinct line which separates them. I enjoyed watching boats go up and down the river and out onto the lake and watched a hazy but beautiful sunset behind the lighthouse there.
I slept in on the 4th of July and spent the first part of the day reading on the beach before retiring to my van for the afternoon. It was hot and crowded in town and I had a nice parking spot in the shade so I spent much of the afternoon reading and editing some photos that needed to get done. It was actually really nice to have such a relaxed day and felt very much like a holiday. As I mentioned, most of the standard 4th of July activities have been cancelled in this part of Michigan, due to the pandemic. Some were cancelled over fear of the Delta variant and lack of immunization and others just couldn’t get it together on the short notice since restrictions have been lifted. It’s a little disappointing, but I definitely understand.
On Monday I made my way north to the twin-towns of Douglas and Saugatuck which I was hoping would be a little less busy on Monday even though I know many people were off that day. I was wrong and it was super busy there, which was a shame. Douglas was much less crowded and quieter and had some interesting history to it, including a restored 1850s lifeboat which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Saugatuck is a charming town with some wonderful shops and a pleasant marina, but was absolutely choked with people wandering around. There was a 2 hour wait at most of the restaurants but, to be honest, the prices would have scared me away anyway ($25 for fried chicken!). I’m sure that had I visited on a Tuesday in September, I would have loved it but as it was I only spent half the day there. I did climb Mount Baldhead which is probably the highest I’ve been in Michigan at a whopping 794’. The climb up the stairs to the top was a good one and it provided some nice views out over the harbor and the town. I’m sorry that so many Americans experience their vacations on these super overcrowded weekends, but I understand that they can take 4 of their precious vacation days and turn it into 9 with the two weekends and the holiday. I hope that they can enjoy some peace and quiet midweek.
Leaving Saugatuck in the afternoon, I made my way north to Holland. When I got here, I grabbed a quick shower at the gym and then headed downtown for an evening stroll and some dinner. I got up early on Tuesday and hit the gym before meeting my friend, Julie, for breakfast. Julie used to work with me as a Tour Guide, but has now started her own travel planning business called Wanderfully Planned. If you’re ever looking for someone to plan a vacation for you, I couldn’t recommend anyone more highly. Julie’s attention to detail will give you the absolute most bang for your buck. She is originally from Holland and has been my Michigan guru on this side of the state, and it was nice to catch up with her. We went to deBoer’s Bakkerij for breakfast which, despite being one of the top tourist spots in town, was both reasonably priced and really excellent. Julie headed off to work and I headed off to the beach. I wanted to take some pictures of “Big Red”, the Holland Beach Lighthouse which is the most photographed in the state. It really is quite picturesque and I enjoyed being there. It was so nice at the beach that I sat down and read for a while in the shade and then took a nice afternoon nap. Well rested, I headed back to town to get some work done at the wonderful library. When I finished up, I went for a wander to look at some of Holland’s interesting and imaginative statues. Then I headed into Big Lake Brewery for a quick beer and then on to New Holland Brewery for some dinner before calling it an early night.
Today I had some shopping to do and some errands to run and then headed to the Holland Farmers’ Market to pick up some freshly picked blueberries and cherries. Now I’m back at the library trying to finish up this week’s wrap-up and the last batch of photos for now. I got some great lighthouse pics last week that turned out really well. This afternoon, I’m off to Grand Rapids and will hopefully have enough time to see the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. There are storms in the forecast, but nothing like what other parts of the country are getting.
So that’s what I’ve been up to this week, y’all. It’s been a little slow-paced, but I’ve enjoyed it. This coming week I will spend a little bit of time in Grand Rapids and North Haven before heading up the coast towards Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I’m not sure exactly what this next week will hold, but by this time next week I hope to be considerably north of here. Time will tell. I do know I will be staying close to the shore and enjoying the views and sunsets whenever possible and hopefully getting some great photos as I go. There are plenty of lighthouses which will keep me happy and the towns will continue to get smaller the further north I go. I hope you are all doing well out there and enjoying your summer. If you’re in the gulf area, be safe with the storms that are brewing down there. Have a great week and I’ll see you back here next week. I put out plenty of Snapshots posts this week (and am almost caught up), so I do hope you enjoy those photos. Thanks for reading.
-Mike