So, you saw on Saturday that I had a shout-out for Union Pier, Michigan. Well, here’s my Top 10 Reasons we enjoyed our vacation – other than the obvious one that it was ONLY A 6-HOUR DRIVE from Cincinnati.
1. First things first, as a family we LOVE the beach. And we are the ones that get all ready in the morning, pack lunches, pack up the wagon and get to the beach by 10 AM (because it takes me at least an hour to get sunscreen on all of us!) and not leave the beach until 3 PM. I love some sandcastle building as much as (if not more) than the kiddos.
2. Sometimes it rains and you have to have a back-up plan. Ours was the St. Joseph Curious Kids’ Museum and the Curious Kids’ Discovery Zone. It was a 30-minute drive that was well worth it. We actually went two separate days and explored each one. An added bonus was that our entire family got in free to both due to our Cincinnnati Museum pass.
3. Luckily, one of the days in St. Joseph the clouds broke and the sun peeped out. We had brought the girls’ suits just in case. So they were able to enjoy the Whirpool Compass Fountain.
4. And near our cottage the New Buffalo Splash Pad was a huge hit with the littles on another afternoon after a drizzly morning.
5. Our first night in town we tried the yummy burgers at Redamak’s and they did not disappoint. However, bring cash…no credit cards.
6. Who doesn’t love ice cream? Oink’s was one evening treat. Another cash-only excursion. Who carries cash anymore??
7. After long days at the beach, the girls enjoyed playing in the yard at our cottage while we all took turns scrubbing the sand off of us! And, boy oh boy, it was in places on those kids I never imagined.
8. Andy and I had one date night (since my mom and brother were with us) and really loved being able to walk from our cottage up to the Red Arrow Roadhouse. No designated driver needed! (In fact, the food was so good all of us walked up another night and then the boys carried-out a third night. I’d say the crabmeat enchiladas and peach/blueberry cobbler were my faves.)
9. Then we took a walk down to the beach and watched the sunset over the lake. Awwww…totally romantic.
10. And did I mention how much we LOVE the beach? Especially this little man. All he wanted to do was crawl straight into the water. He loved it all…the sand, the rocks and being in the water. We’ll keep him!
I’ve been to the St. Joseph Children’s Museum! My aunt & uncle have always had a house on the lake, one close to there. Great place!
One of my friends that I just met up with in Indy lives in St. Joseph. Small world eh? Looks like a great vacation. The cobbler sounds yummy.
I’ve been wanting to go to the children’s museum in St. Joe’s. It looks so great! Maybe during the school year I can call it a “field trip” 😉
@Kara – Getting smaller and smaller!
@Dwija – It entertained them for awhile. Smaller than some other places I’ve been, but we weren’t disappointed. Older kids might not be as amused. Discovery Zone was very tiny. Museum seemed to have more.
Aww, cool! St. Joe is a fun little city to spend a day in, we’re north of there in Grand Rapids but head down a few times a year. Isn’t Lake Michigan AMAZING?
@Jen – We really hope to explore more of Michigan…we’ve heard your areas up north are just gorgeous!