Lake Michigan

Just a week ago, our plans for the 4th of July weekend were pretty much non-existent. All that we had planned for our three day weekend was taking my grandma out for lunch on Sunday (which was great! ...so glad to be able to spend time with family again!). So we started talking about taking a trip to Lake Michigan, where--believe it or not--Matt had never been! We're planning on heading that way for our anniversary, but I think I've talked it up so much that Matt was getting awfully anxious to check it out! We figured we could head over that way on Monday, making it a budget-conscious day trip. Then I figured, why not just check out Hotwire's last minute deals? Ya never know... And so we scored a great, cheap hotel room in Grand Rapids! And it turned into a day and a half, still-budget-conscious last minute trip!

So after eating lunch with Grandma on the east side of Detroit, we headed all the way across to the west coast. We decided to hit up Grand Haven that evening, and enjoyed strolling their very busy downtown. People were everywhere! Turns out they were having their fireworks show that night. We walked the boardwalk for a bit, grabbed a bite to eat, and decided we wanted to check out the beach. The beach, at Grand Haven State Park, was a mile away, but we knew we wouldn't be able to park anywhere near it with all the people around. So we walked the mile and enjoyed the views on the way. In flip-flops. Remind me not to do that again! Owww.... Anyway, the beach was awesome. It was clearing out a bit at the time (a storm was threatening the party... but it ended up passing). Matt couldn't get over how sandy the beach was! No more gingerly navigating seemingly endless rocks and stones! I knew he'd love it... We didn't stick around for the fireworks since we wanted to get a good start on our sleep before the next day.

On Monday, we stopped in at Holland's State Park. (We bought the year pass recently when mountain biking at Maybury State Park, near Plymouth, and we are taking full advantage of it!) We played frisbee in the water and layed out for a bit. If only Matt would let me post a pic of his t-shirt looking burn!


It was so heavenly! Who needs Florida when you have Lake Michigan?? (OK, I've never been there, so I'm probably not in a position to say... but still...)

After getting some yummy BBQ in Holland, we headed to our next state park--Saugatuck. And, oh my goodness... It was so perfect! The 2.5 mile, wooded hike to and from the beach (not in flip flops) was beautiful and worth it. The sky was blue, the waves were huge, the water was warm, the sand so perfect... Can it get any better than this? I say all of the time how much I love water, and I really mean it. It feeds my soul.


I feel so incredibly blessed to be living in Michigan again. Sandy beaches, huge lakes, beautiful scenery... And so much more. I think I could seriously write a list of 101 Things I Love About Michigan. Hmm...