~ Local Culture ~
Wander around the local towns and walk the piers and beaches.
Hang out with the teenagers downtown at the java hut,
or the fishermen at the lighthouse hut.
~ Shopping ~
If you're me, you don't like shopping. Browsing antiques is fun though. But when the antique market is closed, what are you going to do?
You go "photo shopping," snapping away under the watchful eyes of Mother Mary and a golden-eyed cat, who make sure you don't take more than photos.
~ Walking ~
If at all possible, walk in the fog.
~ Nature ~
And if you want the most rejuvenation, get it from nature. Walk in a nature preserve with a back-dune forest of hemlocks and beeches (your favorite trees), knowing this is the only place in the world with dunes and forests like these.
A rain shower is not at all detrimental to a getaway. It makes you stay indoors to read and write. And when it stops, everything is clean, clear and covered with drops.
~ Hosts ~
Your hosts should have a lovely, restful home a half mile from the big lake, serve you coffee, let you read in bed, and let you come and go as you like.Your brother's name is James, and he and his gracious wife offer you their guest room. They live on James St. near Lakefront Drive.
And they should walk you to the big lake at least once for the sunset.
24 comments:
Sounds like a perfect couple of days ... so still, surrounded by beauty, and room service too! I can almost imagine being there. Oh, and I'm using Firefox and the pics are just beautiful, no problems.
Thanks, Sharon. Glad you can see them. I think sometimes on Firefox they pile on top of each other when set up like this.
I use Firefox too and it looks fine...
the whole entire entry looks so restful and that you were the only one about..... you pack a lot into a couple days... great shots..
You are a lucky lady to have a retreat that is right in the family...
Oh how I love Grand Haven... We vacationed there every year as I was growing up. We would rent a big house up in the hills across from the state park. That pier was my stomping ground as a teenager. The town has really changed over the years, all for the better. Your pictures are so wonderful! I love the pier and the watchful Kitty;) Is that hand chair made of cement? We have a purple plastic one just like it at the school where I teach.
When I was a kid, we had a cabin cruiser moored in Grand Haven, and a little cottage on Spring Lake. The photos remind me of walks between the two towns. When I think of Top 40 radio songs of 1965-66, they come accompanied with memories of the top down in a convertible Buick, driving across the Spring Lake-Grand Haven bridge....
I know, Gwen, I am most fortunate. Thank you.
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Anet and Loring, I think I need you to show me around Grand Haven. I had never been there before a few years ago, and I grew up in MI. Where you go as a kid is so strong in your psyche. I grew up going to Crystal Lake up by Frankfurt, and I adored it.
See Loring, I didn't know there was a Spring Lake. I think I need more days there.
Thanks, Anet, glad you like those pics. Yes, the chair is cement. Strange, no?
If you were driving north out of Grand Haven on US31, you'd cross the Grand River, then turn on Savidge Street and go across a second bridge, and there you'd be in Spring Lake! The towns are so connected, they have joint chambers of commerce and tourism bureaus, though Grand Haven is the bigger sibling and closer to Lake Michigan. Spring Lake is the Avis of the river delta.
Sounds like a restful time complete with beauty all around you. That glimpse of the bedroom looks so inviting for a nap or a good book. Loved the beautiful photos. I may be off line for the next few days unless I can fit in visits to my favs...Son and his wife and my granddaughter from the Bay area are coming into town.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading your post today.
All rightie then! Next time, I'll explore up that way. When I was a kid I longed for a cabin cruiser.
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Sandy, I read, wrote and napped in that bed, besides sleeping at night. It was good. Have a wonderful Mother's Day with your family.
Sounds lovely :)
I really like the first & last photos. The first because of the fog...it's so romantic. Fog always reminds me of Catherine & Heathcliff on the moors.
And that last photo...the colours! The blues! I wanna paint it!
I love that you go on these trips by yourself, Ruth. So soulful. I would do that. Maybe I should start doing that when I'm in Atlanta and Donica has short trips away. Goergia has several nice getaways in the foothills of the Smoky Mtns.
I, too, have Firefox and had no problems with your pics! What a beautiful keepsake of your time away!
Such a beauty in those pictures!
Makes me longing for the summer place.
I will go tomorrow to see Melli and after that I will stay next week in Lahti. Annukka is in Nice then.
I can go to the summer cottage after next week.
A pleasant weekend to you and your family!
WOW, these are really great photos. I also really like your other blog 'Flying'. I see that I still have a lot to learn. Come visit my blog and let me know your comment
Ah, escape! The joy of getting away. I can't wait to be able to do this, too. Right now, there is just too much work and school in my life to accommodate escape, but it will happen, I'm sure.
I will live vicariously through you until such a time when I can escape for myself.
Drowsey, thanks! Do you paint?? That evening was perfect for sitting and watching the sun set.
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Boots, I'm glad Firefox wasn't a factor this time! Maybe Google/Blogger has worked something out. You should get away by yourself if you want to. It's funny, people always look at me like I'm weird and say, "Isn't Don going with you?" And then I ask myself why I don't feel guilty about that. :|
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Oh Leena, you have that restful place too. It seems like you just closed it up for the winter! Please give Melli a big squeeze from me!
Andre, thank you! How nice of you to say, and I'm glad you visited. I looked at your photos and I see you love nature too, what a nice blog. Good work, and I'd like to keep talking photography if you wish.
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Oh Heather, I just ache for you. But it's all right, it will end one day, that must be what keeps you going. I can't remember what you said about this summer . . . another class?? When you're done, you and Critter will take a proper getaway.
Great pictures, Ruth this is of high quality again, love your tour, theone with the long boardwalk seen alittle from the top is my favourite, love the way it goes into the distance.
Thank you, Astrid. The blank space is the lake! Invisible in the fog.
ruth - I try to paint...mostly just play around with it, but I love those blues.
Beautiful photos; thoughtful text--your blog never disappoints, Ruth! It's inspirational in a literal way: I want to go out and walk and see!
Why did I NOT go with you? That long boardwalk is probably not visible to most tourist as the dune grasses grow and cover it. I feel like I was there with your photos.
Drowsey, that's great, I didn't know that about you. The colors that night were very soothing. If you decide to paint them, let me see, eh?
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Laura, what a great compliment, thank you.
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Don, I won't go again without you, not to those spots.
Hey Ruth, I'm commenting from lovely Kelowna, more exactly Winfield, love your story and images, I was out walking in the rain taking images of the local landscape. Love your Sunset.
Hi Bob! I hope you're enjoying California! Walking in the rain, mmmmm. Glad YOU like the sunset, Mr. Astrostuff.
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