Our Little Getaway Part Two

If you missed Part One, you can catch up here. I mentioned in yesterday's Signs post that Saugatuck is an artsy-fartsy town. It has 19 art galleries! With a population of only 1,000 people, that is like a museum for every 52 1/2 people! Of course, during tourist season, there can be as many as 3000 people in town, so they'd have to learn to share more!

To show how artsy this town is, look at the public bathroom! It is painted using "pointillism", (small dots) and is an exact replica of the famous painting, "A Sunday Afternoon on Le Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.

We happened to visit Saugatuck just before the tourist season opened. Luckily some of the shops were open, and in particular, Kilwin's Chocolates where we dined on hand-dipped homemade ice cream in a waffle cone. Wait. Let me wipe the drool off of my chin. Sorry. Didn't take any pictures of us wolfing those down. I didn't want to take the time to put down the cone. But I DID take a picture of this whopping big turtle! Feast your eyes on THIS folks! Yes, it DOES cost almost 8 BUCKS, but c'mon, it's the size of your hand!

We also stopped in at the Saugatuck Drug Store. It is like a throwback to the good old days. It has everything imaginable for sale inside. They even have an old-fashioned soda fountain, which, unfortunately, was not up and running yet. Yep, you guessed it, not tourist season yet!

photo credit

We visited Saugatuck's Oval Beach, which has been rated by Conde Naste Traveler Magazine as one of the best 25 shorelines in the world! Who knew?

Later in the afternoon we went to the Saugatuck Dunes State Park. It was a somewhat easy hike (well, a little difficult for this gal who doesn't exercise very much, but I DID IT!!)

The path

Almost there!

That bench has my name on it! Literally! I carved my name in it! KIDDING!!!! I did sit there till I could catch my breath and be able to talk!

A tugboat pulling a boat in the distance....

The weather was so beautiful that day.....sunny and about 65-70. Rain was expected for the following day so we had to come up with something to do. Stay tuned.

Signs - Artsy Town

The tiny town of Saugatuck, Michigan, population of around 1,000,  is located on the east coast of Lake Michigan. During the summer,  the population swells to up to 3,000. Saugatuck is considered the "Art Coast of Michigan", possibly because it has 19 art galleries.

For more signs, visit Lesley here.

Our Little Getaway

Hard to believe that with all the traveling we did while living in our RV, once we got off of the road we didn't go ANYWHERE this past year. Well, except for the the annual camping trip with the family.

Our 29th Wedding Anniversary was coming up, so I took advantage of a deal I saw and booked a two night stay at a bed and breakfast in Saugatuck, Michigan. It turned out that all the available bedrooms were on the second floor, and I have an issue with stairs. Then I found out that they offered three different cottages right across from the big house. So I was able to book a separate cottage for a slightly larger fee.

Saugatuck, Michigan is a little town on the coast of Lake Michigan and is a little over three hours from the suburbs of Chicago. It wasn't a bad drive at all.

We pulled into the rest stop/visitor's center in Michigan and saw this:

which I got a kick out of, because even though there wasn't any water to be seen, Michigan is known for its many lighthouses.

We arrived at the Twin Gables bed and breakfast, and I was impressed with its beauty.

We entered into the foyer and rang the bell. I heard someone tinkling the piano keys and could tell that it was a child at play. After a long wait the door was opened by a very young girl. She said, "You can come in," and took my hand, leading me into the room. "This is the Common Room", she continued, sweeping her arm away from her body, encompassing the room. I was very impressed with this little tyke, who was obviously used to people coming into her home. At that moment her grandmother entered, apologizing for not answering the door. I told her that it was okay, since this little girl had welcomed us.

Here is a glimpse of the "common room" where guests can mingle:

The breakfast room:

Although we stayed in the cottage, breakfast was included. This particular bed and breakfast is famous for their three course breakfasts. One morning we ate homemade blueberry scones with a dollop of cream and jam on the side, and fresh fruit with some yogurt.

Then we were served Eggs Napoleon, a scrambled egg dish on a muffin.

I forgot to take a picture of the outside of our cottage, but here are a few photos of the inside. It had two bedrooms, large living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.

TO BE CONTINUED.......