Birthday Getaway

G took me away for my birthday. He tried to keep it a surprise, but I got it out of him. I mean, we do usually give each other trips for our birthdays. But he tried to keep the location secret but he gave a few hints and I guessed. I know my vacay spots in Michigan, ha! So we left Friday morning after taking Manny to boarding. We got to West Olive at noon and stopped at Sandy Point Beach House for lunch. 

We shared the burger with caramelized onion and bacon relish. It was AMAZE. The fries and house sauce were also incredible. Highly recommend! I ordered a beer, but the waiter brought me a cucumber martini and it was just meant to be. A fun start to a fun vacation!

We got a call as we were paying our bill from the inn keeper, Jack, that our room was ready if we were in the area. We were in the area!! Actually we were only two minutes away so it was perfect. 

G booked the Birthday Suite at Pigeon Creek Inn and it was gorgeous. Immaculate, luxurious, comfortable and private. I would recommend it! We got a tour of the house and asked about the best beaches to visit. 

Per Jack's suggestion we went to this out of the way beach on Stanton. There was only two other families there so we had lots of room to spread out and float on the lake. Lake Michigan is 72 degrees right now and just amazing. The water was calm too so we could float all afternoon.

We liked The Beach House so much that we went back for dinner after the beach. We should have had the burger again but we tried the lobster mac and cheese and were not fans. Too much lobster and not enough cheese flavor. 

Jack was a great host and also a great chef. We came downstairs to amazing smells in the kitchen.

We served ourselves Kuerig coffee and then headed to the screened in porch for breakfast. We had french toast with farmers market peaches and blueberries. G and I both declared it the best breakfast we ever had. So flavorful and fresh and delicious. We sat with two other couples and talked about where we live, what we do and what we care about. We got into some deep politics and healthcare conversation but it was interesting and everyone listened to each other and we had a good discussion.

After breakfast we headed back to the beach. This time we went to West Olive Beach and it was so busy. It was a fun atmosphere though!

This is how we do the beach. Wine in these Thermos mugs that keep cold for 12 hours. Cheez-its. Laying on our tubes with our feet in the water. I read all afternoon and took dips to cool off. It was absolute perfection. We floated a bit too, but it was pretty wavy which makes it more fun to swim.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but we saw a boat race going on with a helicopter following. It made for good entertainment during the afternoon.

After a day at the beach we were beat. We picked up a pizza and headed back to our room. We ate on the balcony, watched a few movies and had a relaxing night.

Sunday morning was another amazing breakfast. Tomato and spinach quiche with cherry jam on sourdough. Not I'm not a jam person. I even tried to give my slice to G, but he insisted I try it. I'm so glad I did. The jam was so sweet, tart and fresh. And the sourdough complimented the flavors so well. So good! 

We sat with two different couples this time. These were my people. We talked about food a lot and our favorite restaurants and all shared pictures of our food. We talked about faith and house projects and how we met our spouses and it was a fun breakfast.

We checked out and headed to Grand Haven. It was raining so it wasn't a great beach day.

As we walked around downtown and then to the beach it cleared up and turned out to be a really nice day. Super hot and humid. 

We walked the beach for a while and soaked up the beauty of Lake Michigan.

On our walk back to downtown we saw this huge ship so we stood and watched it pass us by. I even waived to a few of the workers on the ship and they waved back.

We walked over to Snug Harbor for lunch. This was our view. LOVE IT. I could watch boats go by all day long.

I had a cosmo. That is my drink of the summer. So good. I had the crab sandwich and it was amazing.

We drove home after lunch. As we were driving home my SIL asked if we would want to go to Charlevoix with them to babysit Bennett while they attend a wedding in a few weeks. Ummm yes please! Planning a vacation after a vacation is the only way to do it. It makes coming home from vacation so much easier!

Per tradition we stopped at our favorite restaurant for dinner and a drink while we waited for Manny's boarding place to open. It was a beautiful evening and there was only one other couple on the patio and we talked for a bit. We were coming home and they were actually on there way to West Olive where we just came from. Small world. 

So that was my birthday weekend. Lots of beach time. Delicious food. Meeting new people. Quality time with G. Relaxation. New memories. Perfection!