Fall Fun: Day Trip to Michigan

Pretty fall colors in the midwest are fleeting.  They certainly do not wait for one to rest after a busy month of vacationing and marathoning.  So when we saw that the weather was going to be absolutely gorgeous for Saturday we knew that this would have to be the weekend for a little day trip to Michigan.

 

We packed up the pups and headed to St Joseph, a little harbor town on the southwest corner of Michigan.  The dogs were in need of some excitement so they were up and monitoring where we were driving the whole time instead of napping. Both Dan and I felt instantly relaxed once we arrived and the dogs were instantly wild.  We walked around the quiet little streets checking out the pretty old houses before heading to the beach.

 

The beach was fun of course.  It was a perfect day- sunny and warm yet with a brisk fall breeze.  We really loved St Joseph. But a true roadtrip has multiple stops... so we headed off for our next spot.

The next part of the day was a series of trial and errors.  We were going to stop by a winery or two... but the first impression wasn't doing it for us so we skipped on by.  But the big huge sign for Fruit Acres that we stumbled upon by accident drew us in instantly.  I started taking photos (instantly) and headed into the little stand to find my husband munching on an apple... I was all set to be embarrassed when he pointed to the sign for samples with a little impish grin.

Then the chocolate place was a flop (all pre-packaged, really!?  Parisian chocolate shops may have added a layer of expectations for such places).  We stopped by an orchard with a cider shop but seeing the lines nearly immediately turned around.  So that was the end of Coloma.  Next we headed to South Haven for more strolling around.

The dogs were still going at 150%.  It is like they can instantly sense the direction of the lake. We ended the day with a walk out to the lighthouse.

And then back to the city.  It was a fun day.  Maybe not the most restful after our action packed month... but so much fun that I am glad that we fit it in before we hit the dreary part of fall hits.