After a very uninspiring continental breakfast at America's Best Value Inn we headed north in search of the St. Joseph Lighthouse. When we arrived in St. Joseph I was struck by three things: the McMansions that line the streets, the housing developments that looked like they had been transplanted from Florida, and that everyone was 150 years old. Our driving around town trying to figure out how to get close enough to the lighthouse for pictures put us in a tiny park on the south side of the St. Joseph River (not where we wanted to be) just in time to watch Amtrak roll into town across a turning bridge. I shot a short video of the train arriving and might try to post it on here if I can figure out how. A quick reconsult of the map indicated we needed to cross the river and meander through a few rather narrow streets to a park where we could walk out the breakwater to visit the lighthouse. On our way we passed a huge Whirlpool plant. A-ha! A clue as to the source of the money paying for the McMansions!
The St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouses were beautiful, as we knew they would be. You can read more about the them here, on Lighthouse Friends.
On our way out of town we passed a large office building with an immaculately manicured lawn... Whirlpool Global Headquarters. Mystery solved! There's a lot of washing machine money in St. Joseph.
The South Haven South Pier Light could be a wonderful if the local hooligans didn't choose to cover it with graffiti.
Lunch time, and Crane's In the City, 11 East 8th St in Holland, was perfect. Lu tried a bowl of ham and bean soup and a slice of red raspberry pie; and I ordered a chicken Caesar salad followed by a slice of apple cheese strudel and coffee. Lu's soup and pie had to be good because it disappeared rather quickly. My salad was HUGE, and the strudel... well, let's just say that had anyone tried to steal a taste they surely would have suffered a fork wound. They make their own bread, pies, etc. and their own preserves. A jar of red raspberry jam and a jar of apple butter are making their way back to New York with us.
Next was a stop at the Windmill Island Gardens. This was a lot of fun, and very educational. I was most amazed at how the brick was laid for the windmill. It's not flat. It slopes outward to force moisture out of the building. Very ingenious. Afterwards we tried to visit Big Red, the famous Holland Harbor Lighthouse, but it's in a state park and Michigan feels it's appropriate to charge out of state visitors $8 to spend 15 minutes in their park taking a few photographs. I didn't agree, so I parked a little ways down the street (illegally, don't tell...) and walked back a bit and took a few pictures from what was too far a distance. I'm sure they didn't turn out well, but I have a pictures of Big Red!
The Grand Haven Lights were next, again $8 to park in an overcrowded lot. We found a spot near the Coast Guard station and walked (and walked, and walked) the beautiful brand new boardwalk to get to the lights, and it was totally worth it. Gorgeous! Stunning! We have the bright red sunburns to match the lights!
Our last light of the day was the Little Sable Point Light, and it was a perfect finish to a day full of beautiful lighthouses. She stands majestically at the beach, tall with classical features, and she still has her third order Fresnel lens. The natural-color brick of the tower and it's beautiful location with wind-twisted trees, sand dunes and driftwood made for perfect pictures, and I took a lot of them. Oh, as an aside, the pics posted on this blog so far were taken with my iPhone 4 and emailed into the blog. At some point I'll post better pictures taken with a higher quality digital camera.
On our way to dinner at House of Flavors in Ludington we took a little detour to the harbor to check out the SS Badger, a huge passenger and car ferry that makes the trip across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc WI twice a day this time of the year. It's a big ship, and it's a coal-fired boiler, too. The Badger kicks it old school. Anyway, back to dinner. House of Flavors is a must for anyone visiting Ludington. The place is decorated in a fun throwback style, the waitstaff is friendly and efficient and the food is out of this world. I had the best meatloaf dinner I've ever had. And then came dessert... I had to do it. I ordered "This Little Piggy", and I ate the whole thing! Two scoops of ice cream with two toppings served in a trough. Lu had two scoops in a cup, and he daringly tried the Blue Moon, a house favorite for which the actual flavor remains a secret. I tried it, and it reminded me of Maalox. Thank goodness I opted for This Little Piggy!
That wraps it up for today. Time for bed... Zzz...
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