MichiGal: Lake Huron

We did a little day tripping during our recent vacation in Lexington, Michigan. More than once we drove along M-25 north, looking for restaurants, garage sales, and a little adventure.

One of the few really good meals I had all week was at The Stone Lodge in Port Sanilac. I had a nice, fresh salad, but most notable was the spinach and artichoke dip, as well as the bread spread with spinach and artichoke dip and topped with cheese and tomatoes. Don't judge. There's spinach in it, I firmly believe it can't be all bad.

In this area of Michigan, there are roadside parks instead of rest stops. They typically provide gorgeous views, perhaps a basic bathroom (likely with no running water), maybe a picnic table or two, and beach access. At one such park on the way to Port Sanilac (maybe even in Port Sanilac), I was busily snapping pictures when a man pointed out that there were a couple Christopher Columbus replica ships sailing on the lake.

Is it the Nina, the Pinta, or the Santa Maria? Lake Huron

At an M-25 Roadside Park

Beautiful Lucy with beautiful Lake Huron

M-25 Roadside Park

Meema and the kids

On the final day of vacation, after we checked out of the cottage, we drove to Port Sanilac once more to have lunch at a restaurant we had passed another day, Uri's. I had a baked potato and a house salad, which turned out to be a really good lunch. The restaurant is on the second floor of a sailing school, overlooking the Port Sanilac marina. I was particularly impressed with how they handled our corn dog dilemma. Corn dog #1: dropped on the floor. Corn dog #2: frozen inside. Corn dog #3: success. Number of corn dogs on the bill: one.

Since we were not anxious for our vacation to end, we sauntered over to the nearby playground after lunch. It was a cute little park with a lovely view. Our visit to Port Sanilac was a pleasant way to wrap up our trip. We passed an historical museum that looked interesting and that I wouldn't mind checking out on a future return visit. And I would definitely go back to Port Sanilac again just to eat at the Stone Lodge or Uri's.

Uri's, Port Sanilac, Michigan

Port Sanilac, Michigan

I'm linking up with Mrs. Weber's Neighborhood for My Michigan Memory. This week the prize is a family four pack of tickets to the Detroit Institute of Arts, one of my favorite places in Detroit! Go on over and enter, and if you are a blogger with a Michigan Memory to share, link up for 10 extra entries!

By the way, I won the prize a couple weeks ago for a family four pack of tickets to the Midland Center for the Art, a place I recently wrote about in a My Michigan Memory post! Remember, you can't win if you don't enter!

Almost every summer since Bethany was born, we've vacationed in The Thumb with my mother-in-law. This year our plans fell through when the place we were supposed to be renting was unexpectedly sold at the last minute. So instead we did something different and moved our vacation to Lexington, which bills itself as the "First Resort North." Basically, it's at the base of The Thumb, when we typically stay at the tip of The Thumb.

Sad kids who had to wait until the next day...it was closed!

My grandparents used to have a second home in Lexington many years ago, so I spent a lot of time there as a kid. Even after they sold their place, we would take regular day trips, a tradition I have sporadically kept up with my own children. Lexington is a little beach town, nestled on the shores of Lake Huron. The highlight for me, three plus decades ago, was The General Store. Back then they sold true penny candy, but even now they have a candy counter where kids can stand on a stool and point to everything they'd like, while a very patient employee fills a little paper bag with the chosen goodies. Needless to say, no visit to Lexington is complete without a trip to The General Store in town, and I would have to say I think it's also the highlight for my kids. It's worth a visit to the General Store even if you're not in the market for candy. They have all sorts of unique merchandise in a really cool setting. There's more stuff upstairs too! But do keep in mind that they close early!

Our cottage was an awesome, refurbished (with central air, a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer) old house with lots of space, a heavenly front porch, and a huge yard. We were only about one block from town (ie: The General Store), one block from the beach, and one block from Dairy Queen. In short, a perfect location! The downside would be that several of the restaurants in town have closed and dining options within walking distance were very limited. But we made the best of it and managed just fine.

Sunset at the beach

The public beach is sandy, with warm, shallow water (no rocks! no seaweed!). There's a playground, restrooms, concerts on Friday nights in the summer (we caught a little of an Elvis impersonator), and a long pier to walk along for gorgeous views. It is kind of small and narrow, and it tends to get pretty crowded. We did hang out there some, but since we prefer a little more privacy on the beach, we made the trip to nearby Lakeport State Park a couple times. It was about a 20 minute drive, but there the beach is big, spread out, and sparsely populated. The park is accessed right off of M-25, south of town, with the parking lot on the opposite side of the street. You have to cross a pedestrian bridge to get to the beach, but the walk isn't too bad. This was my first time at Lakeport, and I'd definitely go back for a beach day - it is only about an hour from home. It's clean and the water is warm and shallow, although a bit rocky. You might want to bring some water shoes.

Our first visit to the state park, as we were packing everything up to leave, an older gentleman ran over to tell me how impressed he was with my children. He positively raved about how nice and well-behaved they were, and said he didn't want me to leave without telling me. This stranger's kind comments gave me fortitude the rest of the week every time we had a difficult moment, and trust me, there were plenty. But I'm glad he saw them on a good day and took the time to come over and say such wonderful things about them. It got me thinking that I don't give out compliments often enough, especially to strangers, and how a few kind words can really make someone's day, or even week.

We had a lovely, relaxing vacation. I'll tell you more about it soon...