October 12th 2022 - Fall road trip Days 5 and 6 - Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Douglas/Saugatuck and Holland Michigan

 We left the cabin pretty early Tuesday morning.  Finally, my cold is on its way out and I didn't need a box of tissues at my side every minute of the day.  The trip to Douglas wasn't very long, maybe 90 minutes since we choose to mostly avoid the freeway (US-131).  When we arrived in town we drove just past the gay resort where we are staying (The Dunes) and did laundry.  Laundry is an odd chore to do on vacation but Brian and I agree that trying to pack every last piece of clothing you need or might need for 7 or 8 days is just a pain and never works out.   We pack 4 or 5 days of possibilities and do laundry once.  This trip for example, I hoped or expected to be wearing shorts and the attendant short socks a few days but in reality, while mostly nice, the weather hasn't been quite warm enough for shorts.  Not having to wear short socks (or dirty socks) because my packing plans and the weather didn't align is a small freedom I appreciate.

We were able to check into the resort very early.  Our cabin was super cute and clean and spacious.  Unfortunately, it (the front room where the front door was mostly) was also crawling with stink bugs.  There were numerous good sized bugs on each curtain on each window in that front room. Brian dutifully escorted at least 15 bugs out one by one but we soon realized they were marching in under the large gap of the front door and we were not going to be bug free for any length of time. So we ended up asking the friendly front desk guy for advice and he offered to check out a different cabin with us (there are only 4 cabins of this type on property) and the other cabin was, and has remained, bug free since its front door closes much more precisely.  We walked into downtown Douglas which was an easy pleasant mile long walk.  The town is very cute and has a lot of nice historical exhibits including a steel hulled life boat used by the predecessor to today's Coast Guard back in the late 1800's.  It's amazing to me that they would have ever built a 1500 pound open lifeboat (essentially a really big row boat) back then out of metal.

 

After our lunch we came back to the cabin and had some much needed (for me at least) down time watching TV.  Later we headed out for a short drive to Saugatuck which is just North of Douglas.  I was thinking Saugatuck would be the heart of the gay business community here but really this Dunes resort is pretty much the entirety of it.  It's odd because when I lived in Illinois years ago I distinctly remember people talking about going to Saugatuck, not Douglas.  I think Saugatuck has the prestige and money but for 40 years the nightlife has been at the Dunes.  There are 2 different traditional motel type buildings here, about 8 cabins (some upper and some lower cabins cleverly makes them feel like 8 separate buildings when they are really only 4 of them I think) and a few large free standing houses that can be rented.  There is also a large pool with its own bar, something of a place to eat and a large multi roomed multiple service area bar with dance floor and lounge space.  This area is still highly seasonal and even during the summer a lot of places aren't open Tuesday and Wednesday each week.  Bizarrely, the Dunes bar and hotel are open year round but the pool, restaurant and I suspect some of the cabins etc are seasonal.  Judging by how empty it is here in Mid October I can't really imagine why they stay open but I suppose in some ways buildings work better if they are occupied and tended to all the time and I'm sure there are a few random winter theme weeks or groups that come through.  

After walking around very high class Saugatuck we wanted some ice cream but only 1 stupidly expensive place was open in town and there wasn't even anywhere to sit there.  We headed up to Holland (maybe 8 miles farther North than Saugatuck) and lucked out at Whit's frozen custard.  It was absolutely delicious. We also got in a mile and half worth of walking along the shore of Lake Macatawa right in town. A few drops of rain fell on us during our walk.  Our Tuesday night ended with a surprisingly entertaining 2 hours at the bar here at the resort.  The bartender was friendly as were the few locals and 2 other tourists that dropped in.  The rain poured the entire time we were at the bar and all night long.

Wednesday morning I wasn't in a hurry to leave the cabin.  I posted onto the blog and we headed out for breakfast around 10 am.  The plan was to have a bagel in Grand Rapids then attend either or both the sculpture garden or the Gerald Ford Museum.  Both came recommended to us from people at the bar.  Unfortunately, the bagel place we first hoped to go to had a tiny parking lot, no on street parking and was surrounded by other businesses, some with tow away warnings.  We made a few attempts (in heavy traffic) to try to find some way to park near it without parking in some other business's private lot but we couldn't find a safe spot we agreed on and ended up frustrated.  We eventually headed for a different bagel place but it required paying for parking and then trudging around looking for a bagel shop in heavy rain.  It just wasn't a great start to the day.  I didn't really think a long serious museum visit was the best idea since we had already been to 2 museums this trip. We ended up going to see Bros at the theater here.  The theater was a nice facility and just opened earlier this year.  Unsurprisingly, there were just 2 other people in our theater at the first showing (12:30 pm) on a weekday. The movie itself was a mixed bag but it's often hard to judge gay films fairly because we often come to them with unrealistic hopes and wishes that a single movie, aimed at a mass market, could never possibly meet.  After the film we did swing by the sculpture garden but it immediately started raining pretty hard again so we just walked through the lobby which is a shame because it's clearly an impressive collection and a very prestigious showpiece of a building and grounds.  

To kill some time before dinner at Outback Steakhouse we headed to a very enjoyable pinball/arcade place in Rockford, about 10 miles north of Grand Rapids.  We initially imagined playing for just 1 hour but at the end of the hour it was clear we weren't done so we extended to 2.  We always enjoy playing pinball but we don't get the chance very often. Brian is quite good at those games and watching him play multiball is very amusing for me because he gets very intense when he's trying to manage all those balls flying around.  Dinner was a typical Outback experience, nothing amazing but nicer than the average dinner we'd have at home on a Wednesday.  The drive back to Douglas (about 45 miles) was very peaceful and low traffic and the rain seems to have let up.

Tomorrow we head North and then East (hopefully along Lake Michigan shore for part of the trip) to stay at a motel in Gaylord MI near Hartwick Pines state park.  It's our last 2 night stop of this trip so we hope it is a good finish.