This morning we left Van Buren State Park earlier than originally planned to instead come further north to Conestoga Campground where Doug and Sandra Stelma are spending the summer. Doug takes care of the fairways at a local golf course during the summer. He loves his job and takes great pride in the work he does on each fairway three times a week.
We loved the view from our site. It’s not Lake Michigan, but a river is much more than we had as a view at Van Buren.
The four of us went to Hobo’s Tavern for dinner.
Since Doug was off on Tuesday, he took Barry and me to play pickleball! We had a great time with some really good games. We played for a good three hours.
A bit later the four of us went into Grand Haven. Since the Coast Guard Festival was starting, Doug suggested we head in for an early dinner at Snug Harbor so we’d be able to sit outside, and not have to wait an hour or more to get in at all.
Views from the outside deck.
Food was awesome!
After dinner, Doug and Sandy led us to their “must stop” – “Barefoot Dave’s”. Both Doug and Barry found a new t-shirt. (They both purchased the same design, but in slightly different hues. Great minds. LOL It was a nice t-shirt.) From there we went along the waterfront where some of the USCG boats were anchored, and then on out to the pier.
The inner light and the fog house outer light are connected by a lit catwalk that extends to the shore. It would have been cool to come back after dark to see it all lit, but I didn’t think about that till now. LOL Once again the clarity of the water was impressive.
Our timing out on the pier was perfect. We watched the Canadian Coast Guard Ship, CCGS Samuel Risley from Ottawa, Canada come into the channel to join the Coast Guard Festival! The Risley is classified as a Lightweight Ice Breaker and Navigational Buoy Tender. It works all winter with the CCGS Griffon and USCG ships to keep all Great Lakes safely navigable for commercial vessels.
Wildlife seen near Conestoga Campground – wild turkey(s) and two deer.
Another gorgeous sunset.
Since heavy rain was on its way, Doug needed to head to the golf course about 10PM to start mowing the fairways before an early morning tournament begins, so we had a little dessert at our place and thanked them for such a wonderful time together. We enjoyed our time with both Sandra and Doug, and fully appreciated their hospitality as they showed around the area. See you in Yuma!
OK, Steve has been talking about Michigan for a while now and your pictures have convinced me!! It is my birthplace, so guess I should do some exploring!!
I had no idea that was where you were born! What area? We thoroughly enjoyed everywhere we went. The amount of waterfront/boardwalks/parks was amazing. Fills our souls.