Lake Effect on Lake Michigan

Once a year go someplace you've never been before. I've seen this on social media memes, t-shirts and even a spiral notebook that I take notes in and write my plans to take over the world. I have always been a lover of travel periodicals and an unofficial student of the geography of mother earth. Yes, there are a ton of places on my bucket list that are mapped out across the globe. Yet, there are beautiful landscapes and adventure state side. More specifically, in the state of Michigan. My home state.

It still amazes me sometimes that I have lived in this state my entire life and had never set sights on Lake Michigan from the shores of Michigan. Yet here I was at work 3 nights before the 4th of July holiday planning a last minute excursion for favorite son and myself. Somewhere along the way I managed to entice a friend and her son to accompany us on our  last minute venture out west.

GO WEST DIVA

So of course booking anything 3 days prior to the holiday is going to be next to impossible, but I'm Chelle Possible. Giving up is never an option. I sat on my computer half the night trying to figure out which west coast town I wanted to visit. One of my coworkers saw my dilemma and offered what turned out to be some very helpful advice. He suggested we check out Grand Haven, Michigan. Since I had no idea which beach town to hit I took his advice. I'm so glad I did. It's a quaint little town on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. The beaches on the western side of the state rival anything in Florida during the summer months. The lighthouse and pier served as inspiration to my son who is a brilliant artist. We did a short trip up to the Silver Lake Sand Dunes where we took the Mac Woods Dune Buggy Ride excursion. I had no idea how awesome sand dunes were, much less how close they were to the metro Detroit area.

We enjoyed the sand dunes, the beauty of the beach and nicety of small town America. The quaint shops and friendly restaurants and cafes make you feel like a local. Grand Haven won me over. I can't wait to get back to that side of the state again this summer. Once a year go somewhere you've never been before. It doesn't have to be on the other side of the world. It can be in your own backyard. For me that place that brought about a new adventure with new experiences was Grand Haven, Michigan.