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Muskegon offers a selection of beautiful Lake Michigan beaches, boasting both state park and city beaches, including one of Michigan’s few nationally certified clean beaches,Pere Marquette Beach.

Pere Marquette Park Beach
Not only does Pere Marquette Park have what is considered by many to be Muskegon’s finest beach, but it’s free to enter. As you might expect, this can lead to crowds on weekends, so get there early. Pere Marquette offers picnic tables and grills, a snack bar, playground and a 200-foot walkway down to the beach, so you don’t have to slog through thick sand in order to arrive at the water’s edge. Then there’s that great view of Muskegon’s picturesque red lighthouse. Pere Marquette hosts a number of events throughout the summer months, including a popular family “movie on the beach,” held once a month, please check the Visit Muskegon events calendar for more information about this and other beach events.

Pere Marquette Beach

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park Beach
Located south of town, P.J. Hoffmaster State Park features three miles of beach along Lake Michigan. Visitors can hike along the dunes and check out the view from the observation platform, or pop into the visitor’s center to learn about the plants and critters that call the park home. There’s concessions, a beach house, picnic facilities and a campground.

P.J. Hoffmaster State Park

Muskegon State Park Beach
This little gem of a park boasts miles of shoreline along Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake, camping and one of the few public luge runs in the country. The Lake Michigan beach offers a beach house, great views of Muskegon’s lighthouse and there’s a picnic shelter and boat launch along Muskegon Lake. The park offers a choice of two campgrounds: a 105 site space along Lake Michigan or 139 sites on Muskegon Lake. If you’re a thrill seeker, check out the winter sports compound located at the north end of the park, which offers a luge run in winter and a wheeled luge run in summer.

Muskegon State Park

Norman F. Kruse Park Beach & Dog Beach

Norman Kruse Beach is a small, picturesque beach on Lake Michigan, with a separate dog beach for your favorite four-legged friend.

Kruse Park

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Whether you’re looking for luxury or you’re on a budget, there’s a hotel for you in or around Chicago.

Sitting room off the Talbott lobby

Check out the links below for other Chicago hotel recommendations.

Tripadvisor: Chicago Hotels – I always check out the reviews on this site when I’m booking a hotel sight unseen. I find that if I read enough of them, I form a fairly accurate perception of a hotel’s pros and cons.

Travelpod: Chicago Hotels - This is another site with reviews by people who have stayed at hotels in the Chicago area.

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Whether it’s devouring tasty tidbits at the Taste of Chicago Festival or watching the daring feats of stunt pilots from a lounge chair on Oak Street Beach at the Chicago Air and Water Show, Chicago offers an abundance of fun and varied activities to enjoy. Check out the following links to learn more about Chicago’s many festivals and events.

Chicago Seasonal Festivals - Visit this web page for a comprehensive list of Chicago’s summer festivals as well as detailed info about a few standouts.

Chicago Festivals – Offers descriptions of Chicago’s top festivals and events, as well as a monthly listing of other area festivals.

Chicago Reader – The Reader is a great resource for learning what’s going on around Chicagoland. Check out the agenda for the latest events in music, literature, arts & culture, film and dining.

City of Chicago: Chicago’s Festivals – The latest info on festivals citywide provided by the city government.

Continue reading »]]> Chicago offers dining options from foie-gras topped hot dogs to Italian tapas and half a dozen ways to prepare goat. Here are some favorite blogs with great suggestions for your Chicago dining experience.

Jeff Eats Chicago
Yeah, he does. Then he offers up his opinions on his blog, complete with descriptions of the atmosphere and, of course, the food. He even has his own rating system, 0-5 pearls. Reviews are broken down by neighborhood, type of food and pearl rating.

Rapp Eats
This blogger reviews and rates restaurants in his hometown of Chicago as well as locations farther afield. While he doesn’t seem to be as active lately, there’s a solid archive of reviews on this site.

Passport Delicious
This blogger writes with a fun voice as she eats her way through Chicago’s restaurants and delivers her verdict on each. Check out her Chicago recommendations on Passport Delicious.

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During Restaurant Week Grand Haven’s eateries are offering select lunch and dinner options at great prices to encourage diners to get out there and try something new or just enjoy some old favorites. I’m planning to try the trout or osso bucco at Jelly’s or maybe that shrimp diablo at Porto Bello. That pulled pork sandwich with kick butt beans on the lunch menu at Anthony’s sounds scrumptious too.

More than 20 restaurants are taking part in Restaurant Week. See the list of restaurants and menu options here:

Grand Haven Restaurant Week

Restaurant Week 2013 takes place from February 22 through March 2.

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I love this video. I think the point is that Michigan’s college kids can take Amtrak to Chicago for fun mini-breaks?

But I think it’s useful to note that Amtrak serves Lake Michigan Towns from Holland, MI to Michigan City, IN on to Chicago, IL and up to Milwaukee, WI.

So if you’re craving a beach vacation but don’t feel like driving, relax with a good book for a few hours and let Amtrak take you there.

http://www.amtrak.com/midwest-train-bus-stations

Continue reading »]]> Maple syrup cream, walnut flavored olive oil, a Venetian glass pendant, and pink knit baby booties that look like shoes – these are just a few of the items Ive discovered on expeditions into Saugatuck’s excellent downtown shopping district.

Art
Saugatuck is home to the century-old Ox-Bow School of Art, and the town’s commitment to the visual arts is evident in its dozen downtown art galleries, with everything from high-end sculpture to inexpensive reproductions of famous works.

Unusual Shops
Tucked among the usual array of clothing stores and souvenir shops are several fun and different shops. Those looking to decorate a beach house or who just love all things sea-related should check out Uncharted Courses, which features three rooms filled with ship models, mermaid bookends, sea turtle mirrors and much more.Tuck’s sells Christmas ornaments and decorations and gourmet cupcakes. The banana split cupcake is divine. The scent of exotic spices accosts you the moment you step into the Spice Merchants, where you can find a few out-of-the-ordinary flavors to add zip to your next meal. Saugatuck even has a pagan supply store, Mother Moon, selling everything from polished rose quartz stones to magickal altars. It definitely wins the LakeMichiganTowns.com award for most unusual shop on the lakeshore. It’s next to the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop.

Sampling
Several of Saugatuck’s shops allow visitors to taste the wares before buying, which my daughter always enjoys. We’ll stop into the American Spoon store and try a few fruity concoctions like wild elderberry jelly and cranberry mustard, though we usually leave with cherry salsa and maple syrup cream (it’s in their fridge – yum.) The Olive Mill offers samples of their flavored oils and vinegars. It felt a bit unusual to sample olive oil and vinegar straight, but how else would I have learned that I love pear vinegar and walnut olive oil? Kilwin’s often sets out a tray with bits of fudge or other sweets for visitors to try. Tabor Hill Wine Port and Fenn Valley Tasting Room both offer wine tasting in their shops.

Playground
When my kids were small I rewarded good behavior with a stop at the playground located on Butler Street where the shops end.

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A thought-provoking work of modern art hangs in the space usually taken by a painting of frogs sipping coffee at a local cafe, and people are traipsing into an auto parts store to admire the art. It’s Artwalk time in Grand Haven.

During Artwalk visitors can enjoy Grand Haven’s small-town charm while viewing fun or thought-provoking works of art in the city’s shops, offices and restaurants. The works are scattered from Centertown down to the waterfront, all within easy walking distance of one another. Maps are available online and at the venues.

After viewing the various works of art on display, festival attendees can vote on their favorites. Winning artists receive a cash prize.

While in the area you can visit the Artprize festival in nearby Grand Rapids, the inspiration for Artwalk.

The 2012 Artwalk Festival takes place from September 19 through October 6.

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It’s no secret to those of us on the lakeshore – but Grand Haven’s Lake Michigan beach made Travel & Leisure Magazine’s list of fifteen Best Secret Beaches on Earth. Grand Haven is listed alongside such far-flung locales as Mozambique and Turkey, as well as three other U.S. beaches.

The article cites Grand Haven’s “trolley cars, a 2.5-mile harborfront boardwalk, and two 19th-century red lighthouses give a sweet, old-time feel to this Lake Michigan town. Boaters and fishermen flock here, and hikers like the short-but-strenuous climb to Rosy Mound that includes 1,000 feet of stairs up and down the sand dunes to the shore of Lake Michigan. There are warm shallows for swimming, and the soft sand of two public beaches squeaks when you walk on it. After sunset, the local restaurants, ice cream parlors and shops come alive.”

Read the entire article here:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-secret-beaches-on-earth