Grand Haven, Michigan

After spending a week on the east coast with Dan's family, Dan headed home and I headed to Grand Haven, Michigan to spend a week with Jodie. I've been missing Jodie like crazy since she moved back home in June. I arrived last Tuesday, Jodie picked me up from the airport and we went for dinner in Grand Rapids. By the time we got home, it was starting to get dark, but it was still light enough to take a little tour of Grand Haven. Jodie thought it would be nice if I could see the lake ~ Now, I've seen lakes, in fact, I've seen plenty. Nothing could have prepared me for the impact Lake Michigan was going to make! ~ When we hit the water I couldn't believe it...huge, immense, ocean-esque...beautiful.


My first day in town was jam-packed! (I knew this trip was going to be great because Jodie is an expert planner!!) We walked along the boardwalk and out to the pier, stopped off at Jimmy Johns for some sandwiches (delish), and headed down to a little beach to soak in some sun (I will admit that I only put my feet in the water...Jodie was much braver and went in for a real swim!). That night, we were in for a real treat! The American Waterways Wind Orchestra was in town and doing a performance on the waterfront. The orchestra is set up on a huge barge which travels all around the world through different waterways. They were really spectacular. We hooked-up with Jodie's parents and enjoyed the event together. The setting really was superb.


This is a photo of the barge before the lid opened up to reveal the orchestra.


Here it is opened up!(Hydraulic Lifts)


We ended the day with some dinner and a walk along the water while watching the Largest Musical Fountain in the World!


While I was in town, Jodie gave me a great tour of the different areas around Grand Haven. We visited Saugatuck, Douglas, Spring Lake, and the areas between Grand Haven and Holland. I loved walking around Saugatuck because of all its cute shops and galleries. It is also home of the Saugatuck Chain Ferry...that was pretty neat!


This spice store was amazing. It had hundreds of different spices, rubs, mixtures, and grains to choose from ~ Dan would have loved it! (I did pick him up a few goodies.)


Now, not only was the orchestra playing on the waterfront, so was Jeff Daniels. Sadly, whereas the wind orchestra was totally awesome, Jeff was not. It did give us the opportunity to take same photos in front of the water!



While I was in town, we stayed at Jodie's parents' house. Paula's garden is absolutely beautiful and just about everything is in bloom. One of my favorite memories from the week is sitting around with Jodie and Paula during happy hour engaging in girl talk and enjoying the surroundings! Here are some photos from the garden on the balcony.



Now, the entire week was pretty exciting, but Sunday night took exciting to a whole new level. The weather had been gorgeous most of the week, but we knew that a storm was brewing. Sunday night, Jodie and I headed out to dinner at Delight. We were having a wonderful time on the patio enjoying some really delicious lobster dip. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sky became dark and the winds picked up. The winds were so strong in fact, that everyone around us picked up and moved inside. Jodie and I decided that we were tough, we could handle a little wind. Unexpectedly, two of the table umbrellas beside us picked up and flew into the next patio over. We grabbed our lobster and headed inside and within a minute or two the downpour began...tornadic rain and wind. It was probably the worst storm I've ever seen! When the storm finally eased up, we headed down to the beach. I'd been wanting to take some pictures of the pier, and this would be my last chance. The combination of the stormy skies and rough water made for the best pictures! I barely got off the boardwalk before the storm picked up again...the power was already out by the time we got home!



Jodie and I stayed pretty busy all week. In addition to everything I mentioned above, we went antiquing with Paula, walked along the pier and picked up Starbucks with Jerry, visited bookstores, mingled with pirates, people watched, looked for deer, took scenic drives, ate ice-cream, walked along the beach, went out for drinks and a little dancing, chatted over breakfast, snuggled Edy, caught-up, reflected, shared stories, ate blueberry muffins, swapped recipes, went to movies, met extended family, etc. Jodie, Jerry, and Paula were the most amazing hosts! I look so forward to seeing them soon and having Jodie visit Vancouver!