7.28.12 - St. Joseph Lights to Grand Haven Pier!

7.28.12 - 
Today I visited:

1.) St. Joseph North Pier:
Absolutely beautiful beaches surrounded this pier on a windy day that had waves crashing the sides of the pier and sprinkles of Lake MI water rained on Layla And I as we walked with the sun in our faces.  I had never been here before in my life so I loved walking to the beach by the yacht club and traveling down 63.. a very scenic drive! 
On our way down to St. Joe, I had a big gatorade and never hit the bathroom.  Right in front of the dunes leading to the lighthouse, I tried to hit the bathroom but they were locked!  So I kinda peed my pants :)  but I quickly got over it and pushed on.  The houses were a little old and rusty, but they were beautiful!

these lighthouses replaced the first ever lighthouse on Lake Michigan!  the history here is magnetic. 

 2.) South Haven South Pierhead:
...A little guy!  But perfectly layed into the foundation that is the South Haven beach.  Funny, a Gus Macker tourney was going on right in front of it and that's the product of a TON of people in a condensed area.  Futhermore, it was an absolutely glorious day and that always makes the beach the destination of the day.  South Haven is such a cute little town... easy to fall in love with.  The pier is cute too, with a cute little red short (not tall) lighthouse that serves its purpose.  A focal point, yet gets lost in the beauty of the golden coastline dazzing with whitecaps as the waves punish the shoreline. Good times!  People loved Layla... she was great all day!  Plenty of great pics!

Layla & Me @ South Haven Pier Light, she was a good doggie...

Even though it was windy, people still were boating and walking the  pier!

3.) Holland Harbor Lighthouse "BIG RED" (pictured Below):

Layla was a climbing freak! hilarious! 

First, the only way to Big Red is by a gated community (for the rich and famous apparently!).  A lovely village, but a lot of security. You cannot access Big Red from the regular beach/pier.  It's across the way and luckily, Layla and I trekked the way there through the dunes!  What a beautiful time! That dog needed some high quality H2O! Big Red is more like Big Pink these days though after all the heat we've been getting.  Lots of History here actually - at one time the Lighthouse service wanted to demolish it, but now the historical commission owns it and has it kept, there are some museum-like things inside, but alas.... it was locked like all the others.


4. Grand Haven Lights: 


honestly, I have been here 50 times before... but it was still fun. A gorgeous day and tons of people hanging out by the outer pier!  This is most definitely the most popular beach of West Michigan shorelines.  The best part was driving up Lakeshore Ave N in between Holland and Grand Haven... the most amazing homes that have the ridiculous views.  I think i'll check on some of that real estate...

Layla and I had fun though, it's a great beach... we were swangin' through the foot-traffic along the pier, and lots of "awwww's" from the women passer-bys (for layla obviously)  Everyone is so nice. I am very much looking forward to heading north to my next stop, the Muskegon South Pier Light and White River Lighthouses.

One thing I've noticed that each of these has in common:  the color red.  Perhaps it pops against the beach and water so captains can find it easier? Interesting little factoid.

The GH lights are owned by the city of Grand Haven and thus, closed to the public at this time.






The Journey Continues.................................................