Visiting Saugatuck, Michigan

What a crazy summer it's been! How is it already July 17th?? I told you all the way back at the beginning of June in this post, that I wanted to share more about my May trip to Michigan with my mom. Well lucky for you the train is leaving procrastination station, and I'm ready to share all the fun details and pictures with you!This year we stayed in Saugatuck, Michigan, which is nestled between Holland and South Haven (both of which we've also visited and stayed in). My mom and I always talk about how we'd love to live in Michigan, specifically among those towns, but we just don't know how we feel about weathering the winters there. Actually, we do know how we feel about it. Not thrilled. But we've heard it's not that bad, and overall worth the trade off for living in the area and enjoying the outdoors when the warmer weather comes around!We booked the cutest little Airbnb apartment above a jewelry shop where the owner works (props to my mom for finding this gem!). Our place had a nice sunny, tree-lined view of downtown including the coffee shop we visited every morning. Michigan turned out to be chillier than I thought it would be, so all the cute summer dresses I brought were in vain. I lived in jeans and sweaters most of the weekend, but we had sunshine and breezy days, so it was all good. Side note: Y'all, I highly recommend Airbnb. I've had nothing but positive experiences, and it's so nice to rent out a whole, cozy apartment to yourself, and usually for a comparable or lower cost than a hotel room.While in Saugatuck, we walked around, shopped at the cutie boutique stores, relaxed... it was such a nice change of pace. We drove to the coastline, but it was one of those times where we didn't have the right shoes on, we were on our way somewhere else, blah blah blah... so basically we just stopped in the parking lot and had a mini photo shoot (have to get my glamour shots from my mom's phone). It was still nice to be by the water with the dunes right behind us!One of the things we both love about traveling is going out to eat and trying the local restaurants. At the coffee shop, Uncommon Coffee Roasters, I tried a few things that were completely new to me, like a spirulina smoothie and a honey lavender latte. I actually loved the smoothie, because with all the fruit and yogurt I really couldn't taste the spirulina (whatever it's supposed to taste like...), but I still got all the health benefits. The latte was really good but definitely a once-in-awhile-drink. For Mother's Day, we went to a super fancy steak place called Bowdies Chophouse, and it was amazing. But tell me, why are expensive steaks so salty? This wasn't the first time we've noticed this. What's up with that, foodies?On Saturday, we drove to Holland and got to experience the Tulip Time Festival, which celebrates Dutch heritage and is characterized by massive amounts of tulips lining the streets, parks, etc. and people everywhere taking pictures of said tulips. We didn't plan to make it in time for the parade (or at least not stand and watch), but while we had an hour wait at one of our favorite restaurants, New Holland Brewing, the parade was going on right outside the door, so we got to watch most of it after all. My favorite part was all the marching bands that marched in Dutch wooden shoes! That takes some mad skill, yo. But like, how do you roll heel to toe in those things? So many band geek questions...After lunch, we walked around and stopped to watch some Dutch dancing in the street. SO many dancers of all ages! Again, how do so many people know how to walk - let alone dance! - in those shoes? I must know their secrets. That night we went to Second City, an improv group from Chicago. It was a pretty good performance! It was the second time I've seen them, and I feel like each skit is hit or miss within the overall performance. They always make me laugh though, so that counts for something.The next day we decided to visit Fenn Valley Vineyards in Fennville, MI, which is only about 20 minutes from South Haven. When we got there and found out they didn't open for another hour, we decided to take a selfie and head to Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant and Winery right up the road. I can't believe I didn't come through on a pic of our lunch... or our wine tasting... or the pie we came back and ate after the winery. I must've been too focused on stuffing my face. But trust me, all of it was delicious, especially the pie.We visited South Haven a couple times during our trip, and of course on the last day the weather was GORGEOUS. People were actually out in their swimsuits, so you know it was pretty warm, at least by Michigan standards. I walked the pier one last time, and then we had to start the long drive home. We were both so sad to leave, especially on such a beautiful day. I've been reminiscing pretty much weekly about how relaxing the trip was.Can't we just live a life where we have slow, easy mornings at a cute coffee shop every day? What is this 8:00am work life? Can you retire at 25? Someone help me with this.What exciting places have you visited this summer? Do you have any upcoming adventures? Happy travels!Sara