the other side of the lake

g and i have been talking about visiting saugatuck, michigan for a long time.  we've just never made the 2.5 hour trip over there.  well, we both had wednesday off work so we decided to make a day trip out of it, just to check it out.


the drive wasn't bad at all.  it seemed broken up.  drive to indiana, enter michigan, switch interstates, and before you knew it you were exiting for saugatuck & douglas.  upon entering douglas, i was immediately reminded of home.  small downtown with quaint shops.  we drove around briefly before heading to saugatuck (a mere 2 min drive).  saugatuck has a bit more going on.  people were walking around, going in and out of the various art shops, wine stores, restaurants, and bars along main street.  we then drove along lake kalamazoo before parking the car and walking around downtown saugatuck.

we went into a few stores, g stopped for an ice cream cone, and then made our way to saugatuck dunes state park.  when we made the plans for the day trip, i didn't expect to go hiking through the dunes.  in fact, i had brought our swimming gear just in case we decided to lay at the beach.  instead i found myself traipsing up and down sandy dunes.  i didn't wear nor pack the proper footwear, so my slip on shoes were literally filled with sand.  but it was a lot of fun and the views once we reached the lake were so serene.  it was there that g and i discussed the desire to spend much more time here, possibly even making it home someday.

after our sandy hike we drove to mount baldhead.  i had no clue what this was other than it came as a highly recommended attraction.  when we reached the park we saw stairs...lots of stairs....282 stairs, to be exact.  we made the long climb to the top and were rewarded with great views of lake kalamazoo and sugatuck.  after we made our way back down to the bottom, we walked along the river, enjoying the views.

we finished our day trip with dinner on a patio overlooking lake kalamazoo.  we talked to our server about the area, events she enjoyed, the best area to stay/live, and the best things to do in saugatuck and douglas.  needless to say we were very impressed with the area and look forward to spending a long weekend there.