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Published: December 19th 2012
1/12 and 2/12
Spring Lake, Michigan
In 1992 we were fortunate enough to meet Sheila and Uli, we have remained long distance friends since then. We have 4 nights with them at their house planned.We fly from O'Hare Airport to Muskegon, Michigan. Where????? well, it is a really small regional airport but is only 20 minutes from their house, and,the flight from O'Hare is about $100 cheaper than flying into a bigger airport. One interesting thing when booking all these flights is that it pays to look at lots of different airport options.
Back to our friends- it is great to see them again. We head back to their place and settle in for a few glasses of wine, dinner and a catch up. Spring Lake is a nice area with good schools, lots of nice houses with a strong community feel. The house blocks are really big and no one seems to have fences. Many houses have woods of the back, it feels very wide open. Uli fires up the grill and we enjoy some home cooking. It's like we saw them a few weeks ago, we just pick up where we left off. Geoff proceeds to anhialate
Uli in table tennis, it's always good to beat an American!
The next day we go for a Sunday walk, take a right out of their driveway and head towards the lake, they live in a community that has access to the bayous leading off the lake. There is a little stairway to the jetty where you can launch kayaks, boats, etc. It is very picturesque, bare trees and big brown leaves scattered everywhere, it is cold but bearable. Spring Lake also seems to be the home of the giant, inflatable Xmas decoration- almost no house is unscathed. There are snowmen and Santa Clauses everywhere. We continue round and pass acres and acres of blueberry farms. We also spot lots of birds, the most stunning being the red cardinal. Head back to the house an hour or so later- well that is the plan. What actually happens is that we see a for sale sign and decide to go have a look at the house. It is situated on the water and has lots of potential- aka "needs work", have we found our next house? Tempting. $450 0000 - compared to Perth prices it is a steal. Food for
Spring Lake
on the walkthought?!
Head in to Grand Haven for lunch. We eat at a place on the lake called Snug Harbour, split a huge sandwich and fries with Geoff and go for more of a walk, this time along the shore of the lake. we head out onto the pier leading out to the lighthouse. Lake Michigan is very, very vast! It is freezing and windy but very picturesque. The town holds an annual lifeguard festival and is totally geared around water activities through the summer. Have a stroll up the main street of the town, very quaint, lots of gift shops. Coffee at a nice looking cafe called Coffee Grounds, decent but an extra shot is required (I miss Scuttis coffee!). Back in the car for some sightseeing through the woods- rewarded with wild deer on the side of the road. We drive around the coast to the National Park and are rewarded with an awesome sunset. Decide to return tomorrow for a hike.
Watch "horrible bosses" after dinner, relax. Weather looking relatively warm-12 degrees C tomorrow and clear. The chance of snow on this trip is now looking grim, the upside though is that we have been able
to do more outside stuff.
3/12
Breakfast courtesy of Uli - is there anything that this man cannot do?? We watch a constant procession of birds at their birdfeeder. Geoff is in his element- lots of great photos.
Head off to the dunes for our hike (North Ottawa Dunes), they are part of the Lake Michigan Coastal Greenway and according to the trail map there are 20 different way points. In our usual true loser fashion we manage to get off the trail between our first set of markers- we blame it on the falling leaves obscuring the path. These leaves end up being Geoff's downfall as he literally falls down the hill after slipping on said leaves. Whilst cold it is not really, really cold, the problem is that it is foggy (hence the wet slippery leaves I guess). Anyway, we find our way through the mist and get back on track. It is a beautiful walk, very atmospheric. The sky is grey but has a very cool light to it and the brown trees look just glorious. Because we dont have much of an autumn or winter the trees here are very characteristic. The forest
seems to be 3 levels, the tall hardwoods, a mid layer of sparse spindly trees and the lichens as the bottom layer on all the dead branches. The walk is not technically difficult and whilst up and down, very achievable. As we hit the dunes I get the deep desire to go for a climb- the view from the top was incredible - the sea that is just a lake is waiting for me. Lake Michigan is really amazing.
At this point Uli pulls out a picnic complete with red wine in a kind of juice box- great concept! We have a very surreal winter lunch alone overlooking the lake. Awesome. Hike back to the car feeling very happy.
4/12
Kayaking time. The Kuesters have 2 kayaks that they take down the road and set off at the public jetty. Geoff and Uli went out first, then Uli and I. Another amazingly temperate day for MI. Paddling around on the lake is very peaceful, there's a slight headwind but nothing too difficult. The white swans are out and it is an interesting paddle down to the town of Fruitport (cool name). Not much wildlife but the houses
Spring Lake
Christmas in MI are interesting (yep- more blow up santas), many places have fake owls stuck on their jetties to deter the ducks and geese apparently. I spend a couple of hours on the water - by the time we get back I cant feel my fingers. Great outing- we have been so lucky.
Head into Grand Rapids late afternoon for a wander around and dinner. Geoff is feeling pretty crappy with a cold by this stage so we have an earlyish dinner and head home. Not wanting to say goodbye tomorrow.
Next stop - Florida
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