LakeShore Haven, our cottage on Lake Michigan

You may or may not have noticed, but I haven’t written a blog lately…

Last time I wrote, though, we were on a boomerang trip to Michigan (visiting Richard and Shannan, and family – they come up in my blogs from time to time) where we stayed for a month.  (More about that trip later.)

One night, during our visit, we were all sitting up having some inspirational drinks (wine for the girls, scotch for the boys) and having one of those inspirational conversations that people often have at 2:30 in the morning, and it went something like:

“Hey! You know what we should do? We should all by a house together and rent it out!”

“YEAH! LET’S DO IT!!”

and then, it didn’t come up again – I completely forgot, until on the way home.

I said to Peter: “I wonder if they thought we were serious about that? Or if they thought it was just one of those fun-to-talk-about-at-the-time conversations?”

Not too long after that, we got a text: “Look what we found!”

Maybe just the cutest cottage EVER!

It’s 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom cottage walking distance (maybe 3-5 minutes) to Lake Michigan.  We can see The Lake from the living room window.

It’s right beside a nice park with a playground, and 630 feet of white sand beach!

Richard’s family already has a cottage here and he’s been coming for 30+ years to visit the area.  So, we know all the ins-and-outs of the place – where’s the best restaurant, where’s the nearest golfing, where can you find a local chocolateria, and don’t forget the wineries!!   (Also, Michigan has recently voted a #1 place to come for beer connoisseur with all of their local Craft beers!)

Basically, there’s something for everyone in Michigan, and especially at our cottage! 😀

Let me tell you all about it! (This has been all-encompassing for me, which is one reason I haven’t been around in blog-world.)

As soon as we decided to purchase it, I decided I had to make a quilt. Having never had made quilts before, I decided the best thing for a LakeShore cottage was a “rag quilt”.  I could go on and on about rag-quilts, but then my blog would be about quilting.  Suffice it to say: I bought a sewing machine and made my first quilt, and now it’s in Michigan, in the main bedroom.

As mentioned, the Cottage has 2 bedrooms. One is on the main level with a super comfy queen size bed, and the second is kind of like a loft bedroom with 4 (also comfortable) twin size beds.

The most picturesque thing about The Cottage is that it has an enclosed front porch solarium area with summer screen windows – I cannot wait to have a nap out there in the summer.   That is, if the hammock (which will hang between two of the oak trees) is occupied!

Right now, the Cottage is a one bathroom place, but we have big plans for that second bathroom, and there’s talk about an outdoor shower, too.

The area is mostly known for summer activities (wine tours, bicycling, hiking, walking around the cute little character towns – Saugatuck, South Haven & Douglas (we are about 5 minutes from Saugatuck, 3 from Douglas, and 10-ish from South Haven) but we all agree that it is gorgeous in the winter and people should be invited to come – maybe cross country skiing, snow shoeing, snow fort building… possibilities are endless!!  (To this end, we’ve added a gas fireplace – well, like a wood stove fireplace.)

We have a currently undeveloped basement (home of a future bathroom), but it does have a laundry utility room down there, and we are working on converting the rest into a social place for kids.  (One portion for a TV, DVD player, books, etc – a movie area – and the rest for a playground for smaller children.  So far (because we just have arrived Thursday night and are leaving Monday), we have added those rubber prime colored square puzzle flooring pieces, and it seems to be a hit with Shannan & Richard’s 4-year-old son, so yay!!

We’ve installed cable, Wi-Fi, and free long distance phone calls.

Let me see… what else!!? Well, I’m sure I’ll have more to say the more I get to know the place and the more the updates continue, but for now:

JUST COME VISIT!!

http://www.facebook.com/lakeshorehaven1
www.vrbo.com/511943

North Kohala Coast and Waimea

Once upon a time (1878),  Thomas R. Gould, a sculptor from Boston, living in Florence Italy, sculpted a statue of King Kamehameha I.

Now, the way I heard the story is that there was a debate over where the statue should be placed – the people of the Big Island wanted to for North Kohala, where King Kamehameha was born.

The Government Seat, though, is in Honolulu, and the plan was for the statue to be placed there.

Well!  Mr. Gould forged the sculpture in Italy, and sent it off to Honolulu by ship.  The ship sank somewhere around the Falkland Islands, near Cape Horn, and the statue was lost at sea.

Mr. Gould made another sculpture and sent that one, again, to Honolulu. That one arrived safe and sound and was erected in in front of Aliiolani Hale (Hawaiian State Supreme Court), and dedicated in 1883.

BUT THEN, in 1912, the original statue was recovered, restored, and guess where it now sits!  North Kohala, in a little town called Kapaau.

I don’t know which town is which, when I remember them, but there’s Hawi and Kapaau, and they are only  about 2.5 miles apart.  So, if I tell you all about it, and you get there and it’s not how I explained, just go on to the next town.

Here’s what I know: there’s a little boardwalk, quirky art stores, galleries, and ice cream parlor and patio, some yummy little restaurants, and a grocery store.  I think, technically, you could spend a whole day walking that 2 block strip and going in and out of stores, and stopping for coffee and lunch.  (I think it’s Hawi.)

But, we (each time) have been passing through – to and from Pololu Valley Lookout.

  Actually, this year is the first year that I’ve hiked down INto Pololu.  Totally worth it. Take water.  (And your inhaler, if you need one.)

W

Pololu Valley is like the sister valley to Waipio Valley, and in fact, you can see the jut-out from Waipio if you look way beyond Pololu.

It is about 1000 feet deep and cuts into the Kohala Mountain, and the Pololu Stream runs through it.   (By the way, further inland, Pololu Valley is Privately Owned, so you need to stay near the Shoreline.  I guess there are tours, too, that can help you navigate properly.)

Hmmmmm.  There was a tour and trail that went to, and around, Kapaloa Falls.  Apparently, the waterfall dropped 300 feet above and 200 feet below the trail! However, the trail was destroyed in Hawaii’s big earthquake a couple of years ago, and there’s no access anymore… Keep your eye out, though. Maybe someday it’ll be re-opened?

It’s ANOTHER spectacular view from the Pololu Valley Overlook and I completely forgot to add it to my Top Favorite Views on the Island. (Obviously, the almost entire Island is beautiful and my list of “Absolute Favorite View” is growing…)

Enroute, between Waipio Valley and Pololu Valley is Waimea, also known as Kamuela. (“Kamuela” was adopted later (because of some confusion with the Postal Service) in honor of a resident named Samuel Parker, but Waimea is the original name and means “reddish water”. )

We haven’t spent a lot of time there, but always like driving through the little town of just over 9,000 (according to the 2006 Census).   It’s a “western” town, partly made up of Hawaiian cowboys (Paniolos) who work on Parker Ranch, and the Stop Signs say “Whoa” instead of “Stop”.  🙂

It’s a good place to stop for lunch or dinner, or to pick up your supply of Parker Ranch beef at the local grocery store.  (For non-meat eaters, the veggies and fruit are generally locally grown too, and high quality.  It is Hawaii, after all.)

Just down the road (30 minutes South of Hawi and 20 minutes West of Waimea) is Hapuna Beach.  I’ve talked about black sand and green sand beaches.  This is the WHITEST sand beach I’ve ever seen!

There is now a $5 entrance fee for non-residents, but not only does that include almost 62 acres of fine, white sand, but it has restrooms, drinking water, lifeguard services and is right beside the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, which has restaurants and lounges, and, of course, accommodations.

OK! So if you’ve been looking at a map at all, you will know that we’ve gone around the whole island, and are now coming down the stretch to the Kailua-Kona area.

Many would say I saved the Best for Last 😀 (refer to my Kona vs. Hilo blog!) I love both sides for different reasons.  But, for a certainty, without bias, Kona-side as ALOT to offer!

We are going to talk about… the Seahorse Ranch next. And, Petroglyphs, I think.