July 20-27, 2019

We stayed the East Point RV resort is at the mouth of the Grand River that leads to Lake Michigan. The sites were large and paved. It was gated and had a swimming pool in the middle of the park. Chris had to travel Wednesday-Friday, we stayed an extra day so we could run in the Coast Guard race.

I enjoyed riding my bike and jogging around the park daily to prepare for the race.

Lake Michigan

The girls and I went to the state park on Lake Michigan to put our feet in the sand. The water was cold but the girls still went boogy boarding. I had never seen so many giant kites at one place. It was interesting how they would set them up on the beach and just let them blow in the wind while being tied down with sand bags.

We had a view of the lighthouse while we swam in the fresh water and read our books.

Girls signed up for a 4 day dance camp that was across the street from the RV park. We would walk or ride our bikes there together. They are old enough to walk alone but when you don’t know an area very well it’s hard to trust so I walked them there.  I enjoyed the hour alone daily. This was the first time the girls were away from me on this trip and Chris was out of town. It was weird to be in the RV by my self. It’s so quiet.

We had fun trying new dance hair do’s for each class. The class put on a little show on the last day. The girls have missed dancing over the last 2 years so they really enjoyed this time in the studio. I just happen to run by the studio one morning at the beginning of the week and saw the sign out front and to my surprise there were still openings.

The YMCA Coast Guard Festival Run

Chris found out about this race early on and signed us all up for it.

He signed up for a10 K and we did the 1 mile. The girls did great. They ran the whole mile with no training. We ran it in under 9 minutes.

We took off after Chris’s race started and then we got back to watch him come across the finish line.

Finish line as a family.

After the race we walked along the river and then down to Grand Rapids State Park. The park was closed today because the waves were so high. It’s hard to believe this is a lake and not the ocean!

We carefully walked down to the lighthouse. It was slippery because the waves were splashing up on the concrete walkway. The Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Light is the inner light of two lighthouses on the south pier of Grand Haven, Michigan where the Grand River enters Lake Michigan. The lighthouse was first lit there in 1839.

 

After our walk we checked out the US Coast Guard Festival. They have annual festival, started n 1924, celebrating first coast guard city in America and the men and women that serve in the Coast Guard. They give out ice cream, food samples, and swag all for free. They have a really cool cardboard boat race every year which is the coolest thing ever. We sat in the river side outdoor amphitheater to watch the competition. Children and adults spend months designing a boat to paddle in the river out to a buoy and back. The one that has the best time, lasts the longest and coolest design wins a prize.  This blue one is the star destroyer from Star Wars and it won the contest for coolest design. Yes, that is made of cardboard!

Afterward we found a farm where we could pick our own Blueberries. Chris had never been blueberry picking before and it had been years for us. We stopped at the store to get ingredients to make a pie when we got home.

The girls received goodie bags from dance camp that included a coupon for a local pizza place, Murph’s,  that you go to the store to order your own personal pizza that bring home and bake yourself at home.

Gerald Ford Presidential Museum

Unlike other Presidential libraries, the Ford library and museum are in separate locations. The Library is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while the Museum is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 130 miles apart. We visited the Museum in Grand Rapids. This is also the resting place of he and his wife. The museum has a replica of the Oval Office and his cabinet room. His desk is on display as well as a piece of the Berlin Wall.

Grand Rapids Public Museum

It is across the street from Ford Museum which the employee at the front desk recommended as we were exiting.  I’m so glad she did. After we ate our packed lunch we walked across the street. Both of these museums are included in our travel membership.

This museum is among the oldest history museums in the US. It was founded in 1854. It has a 1928 Spillman Carousel, which we took for a spin. We really took our time in this museum, playing with the giant sized games and reading the special exhibit for anniversary of Apollo 11.

They had a temporary exhibit of the timeline of toys which we have not seen at any other museum.