Michigan is a State of Mind, Part 1, South & West Michigan

During our extended stay in Forest City for H2's punch list to be completed, it turned from late winter to full blown spring. The place literally exploded with colorful blooms overnight. Spring in Iowa is something to write songs about. The front porches of the old Victorian homes were lined with flowers of every imaginable color. In the yards, trees and shrubs in all shades of green, purples, white, reds and oranges, yellows, and even blues showed their brightest looks of the year.

Spring in Iowa

  Since H2 was polished up, tightened, and reworked inside and out, it was time to head east towards Three Rivers, Michigan, and the home of our RVin' buddies, Craig and Linda. The drive from North to Southeastern Iowa and in to North Central Illinois was pretty uneventful. We were mostly paying attention to all the systems on board that had been tweaked, to make sure all was well. So far, it was. With Mary Ann captaining the rig now, I navigated us through the south extremities of the giant Chicagoland area and around Lake Michigan, through a small piece of Indiana, and then into Southern Michigan. We really had no idea what to expect. Mary Ann has never been here, and the only experience I have with this place is a couple of family visits to South Haven from St. Louis when I was around five or six. (Lots of Midwest families headed to the cool waters of the Great Lakes back in those days). Craig and Linda are in the rv business...they own a rep company that sells to many of the rv manufacturers, so they are well equipped to host H2 and us. We pulled in behind their lovely home in Three Rivers, about 40 miles south of Kalamazoo, to what they call The Barn.

H2 & Smart at The Barn

Actually, it's a very large metal structure that houses their motorhome, G2, an exact matching model of H2 except for the exterior and interior colors and a few minor variations of equipment. There is an additional 50 amp electrical hookup there for us, so we could stay with our friends, behind the house, which is actually about two or three acres and a wooded area away from them. We visited a little in their guest room and split it up by sleeping in our own bed in H2. Michigan boasts an abundance of micro breweries, but there's a small one in Northern Indiana that is actually our hosts' favorite. It's Iechyd Da (pronounced simply..Yacky Da). We tried some great Porters, IPA's, and Stouts here! Cheers!!

H2 with Cousin G2

 A trip up to Kalamazoo took all of us one evening to a locavore restaurant called Food Dance. Most everything they serve is from farms in the area, and we were to find that Michigan is indeed a local farm to table kind of place. They've been doing it that way forever and don't make too big a deal of it. We also got to visit the Elkart, Indiana area, with probably the most concentration of rv suppliers and manufacturers in the country (and the reason our buddies live nearby!). The RV Hall of Fame Museum and complex is there and a special stop of interest to us, of course.

A Flight of beers from Iechyd Da

  After several days of visiting, we left Craig and Linda temporarily, and headed over to the shore of Lake Michigan. Our plan was to see as much of the western side of the state as we could, since that would take us up to the UP (Upper Peninsula). South Haven, where some of my oldest vacation memories are from, is typical of many towns that line the western side of Lake Michigan. These small summer holiday places, with brick streets and small shops and restaurants, and a sizable marina with lots of sizable (some ocean going!) boats, have been entertaining people on holidays since the 1800's. In fact, a lot of the second homes there belong to Chicagoans, Detroiters, and other Midwest folks. One exception is a fireman we met from Dallas, whose family has had a lake house near Traverse City for years. He said the small house was probably worth $80,000 and it's small lot right on the shoreline...maybe another $1,000,000! We found a nice little off the radar rv park right in South Haven and spent a week there, enjoying the beach and using it as a launch area for a few trips south towards more lake towns; St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, and as far down as New Buffalo (which is almost a Chicago suburb). For one of these trips, we'd heard of a legendary bakery in Stevensville, Bit of Swiss (http://www.bitofswiss.com/) . Naturally, if there's a Danish or other goodie within reach...I'm there. Well, it turns out the legend is true. The chef has won awards here and in France for excellence, and this is probably the culinary highlight of our entire Michigan visit! The array of pastries there is mind boggling. Everything is made from scratch in the European tradition. I was like a kid in a pastry shop! Not since Chocolate Maven in Santa Fe have we seen the likes of this place. Our only regret is that we didn't take more for our freezer. Craig and Linda

Linda, Craig, and M A in South Haven

drove over to South Haven from Three Rivers on one of their inaugural cruises in their new coach. All systems tested well for them, and when we'd all seen all there was to be seen of South Haven, we headed in a caravan up to another cool lake town, Pentwater.

Bit of Swiss Bakery in Stevensville..mmmm!

 Pentwater and other towns along the western side of the lake are idyllic places that reminded me of New England. Of all the places in this area, the little water town of Saugatuck has the most charm, but the others are close runners up, with B and B's, little bistros and bars, great walking venues along the water, and quaint little shops lining the perfect streets. As usual though, we wondered what these towns look like in the dead of winter! Again, Craig and Linda headed home, and we headed inland to Gerald Ford land, Grand Rapids. This place surprised us because it has a whole healthy and serious food thing going on. We ate at Trillium Haven (upscale, casual, total farm to table) and Marie Catrib's (http://www.mariecatribs.com/), a really eclectic mix. We shopped at a small but very well stocked store called Nourish, and we found some bread and buns from a bakery named Little Rooster (http://www.lubbersfarm.com/), which is a part of a farm that does healthy meats and eggs as well. Grand Rapids is a nice sized town, old but mostly well kept, and has a good feel. The east side is especially inviting, with neighborhoods that look like the picture book of The Quintessential Midwest.The people were warm and mostly very friendly. Again, think favorite son, Gerald Ford.

Trillium Haven

   From Grand Rapids, we travelled back over towards the lake and drove through places like Ludington and Manistee. Our next major stop, towards the northern part, and our next posting, is Traverse City and beyond.