Lake Michigan Beach Trip

Here We Come

I was very excited for this trip as it was going to be my first time to the beachtowns of Michigan.  I did not really know what to expect.  I was in for a big surprise.  Megan on the otherhand has been to St. Joseph a handful of times with her family and loves it there.  After a lot of pleading I was able to convince Meg to camp for two nights.  She doesn;t like the outdoors as much as me, but I believe I can convert her into a camper.  The last two nights though we were going to stay at a nice cozy hotel. 

8/05/08

After battling a power outage at my parents house in Shorewood, Illinois for the previous 12 hours, we finally set off for Michigan!    We left about 9:00 am and were headed to Michigan City for some shopping at the Lighthouse Outlet Mall.  It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there.  It was a very nice outlet mall and we found some good deals, especially at Hollisters.  Meg got two pairs of jean shorts and a tank top for $30.00 and I found a sweater for $10.00.  The biggest highlight for Meg was the Coach outlet store. She found a white purse with green highlights on clearance for $80.00 that she absoloutely loved.  She almost convinced herself to buy it.  I promised her that I would buy her one for a wedding gift and to show off on the honeymoon. OOOPS,,,,,We were going to eat lunch at McGinnis Irish Pub across from the mall (recommended by my parents for the burgers), but we were running a little behind schedule.  Instead we made a quick stop at Michigan City Burger King!   From there it took us about 2.5 hours to reach Muskegon State Park.  If your going to a state park make sure you remember about the parking permit that is required for all campers.  For non-residents it cost $6.00 a day.  We stayed in the Lake Michigan camprgound at campsite #4.  It was a great campsite, especially since I had only reserved it a few short weeks ago and was the last one left.  After researching Michigan campgounds for a few weeks, it is important to reserve a campsite months ahead times if staying at Muskegon, Ludington, Hoffmaster, or Van Buren.  After setting up camp we made a bathroom stop (for a campground the bathrooms are VERY VERY nice) and headed to the beach.  The beach was only a short 100 yard walk away.  The view from the stairs was unbelievable.  I was in heaven.  The shoreline and beach of the stae park is beautiful with great dunes and beach areas.  The rest of the evening was made up of making italian sausage on the grill for dinner and getting a fire started for smores.  A fire was definitely as the nights were much cooler than expected.