On the west coast of the state of Michigan, tucked nicely into the Blueberry region of the state, South Haven (see map) is a place that Cindy and I went to for a few days a couple three years ago. I don't quite remember how Cindy came up with the place - she read about it on-line or something. And it's not that far from Davenport - about a 4 hour drive if you hit traffic right going through the south side of Chicago.
We found a place called the Lake Bluff Inn overlooking Lake Michigan just south of town. Parts of the place are older, but they just added on a new wing that updated their facilities nicely. We opted for one of the older suites - it was cozy, but dated. And since we went so late in the season, they gave us the winter rates on the room, which knocked about 35% off the price compared to summer rates.
South Haven bills itself as the "Blueberry Capital of the World" and they have a big festival celebrating blueberry harvests in late August. We were a little late for blueberries from the big places that sold them, but we did find a road side stand just outside of South Haven that was selling very good blueberries.
South Haven is a typical tourist town - and we're glad we didn't go in the summertime. There are shops of all kinds in the downtown area. Some are the typical tourist traps, but others are pretty nifty - Cindy especially like the Rambling Rose, kind of an artsy store along the main street.
They have a number of good little restaurants, but nothing really outstanding. However, a couple restaurants - Tello's Trattoria and Pigozzi's - did stand out. Tello's is an old Italian supperclub just outside of South Haven that was very good. And it wasn't overly expensive, either.
Pigozzi's is located in the North Beach Inn - a little bed and breakfast on the north side of South Haven. Actually, the owner of the Rambling Rose and her husband own the North Beach Inn and Pigozzi's. We went to dinner there one night after meeting her and her husband at her shop. Actually, the food was very good there. We even went back for breakfast the day we left South Haven. They took us on a tour of their B&B and Cindy and I both said that we'd like to stay there when we go back.
Pigozzi's and North Beach Inn is open from March thru January 1. They were telling us that they used to close in December, but South Haven has become such a neat destination for the Christmas season - and the fact that they are packed for dinner and the inn is full on New Year's Eve every year - they decided to stay open longer.
South Haven is also just down the road from Saugatuck - a neat little artists community along the lake. We went up there for a day and hung out, looking at the shops and other things. And Holland, Michigan is just a little further up the road. It's a nice midwestern community that has more of a larger city feel to it. It's a Dutch community and they have a Tulip Time festival that rivals the one in Pella, IA.
But I wholly recommend going to South Haven for a nice little getaway. I know we'll go back.
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