Day at the Beach

 

Friday, was a good day. We started at the beach and light house in South Haven. I was obviously more excited to be there than the kids, but I expected that because I'm the one that grew up going there periodically. We lakes down the pier to the lighthouse first and took pictures (a must when in South Haven). Then, we walked over to the shore, waded in the water, and played in the sand as we waited for my cousin, Sherry and her husband. 

Then, we went to a tavern for lunch with Sherry before walking around to the shops.

This was followed by another trip to Sherman's Ice Cream where we met up with my cousin, Clint, and his family. Then, we went to Kids Corner (a well known playground out there) and walked back over to the lake.

 At this point, it was finally time to go swimming. I took the kids back to our hotel (only 10 minutes away), left Sean there (at his request), and took Noel back to the lake. We swam and jumped into and over the waves for about an hour before heading back to shore to make dinner plans as Noel and Clint's girls played in the sand and weather a bit more. Then, I went back to the hotel room to shower and change before heading to dinner. 

We met at a brew pub by the harbor for one last meal before going our separate ways. 

I am very thankful to have had this day with my cousins making new memories. It was the best day of the entire trip!

Cemeteries in South Haven

Yesterday, we met up with my cousin, Sherry, and her husband. We met at the lighthouse and headed over to Clementine's, a restaurant my grandpa liked, for lunch. Then, we headed over to the cemetery to visit our grandparents' grave. (They are in a small cemetery not too far from South Haven.) 

Then, we looked up where our great grandparents were buried and found the Flemings were in the same cemetery, so we headed across the grounds to find them. As we did, we saw this really fun unicorn grave marker. 

Then, we made it over to the Flemings. Not only did we find our great grandparents, we also found our great-great grandparents. Their grave markers were covered with moss, and Sherry did her best to wipe it off. There is only so much one can do without the proper tools, though. 

Next, we looked up where my other great grandparents were buried and found that they were in a cemetery on the way back to South Haven. After quite a while of driving around a considerably larger cemetery, we were not finding them, and we each called our parents. My dad said that once we found the Wheelers, they would be to the northwest. The Wheelers were found, but we never found the Mitchells. We eventually had to abandon our search because it was raining. Maybe some day it will happen. Just not on this trip. 

We ended this part of the day with the world's best ice cream, Sherman's.(Seriously, if you are ever in South Haven, this is a must.)

Our Second Destination

Last night we made it to our second destination (the third being home). We are officially in South Haven, MI, and I could be more happy. I thought I would not be back after my grandpa's funeral, but I made it a priority and found a way. 

We dribble about 6 hours from where we were in Illinois to our hotel. I drove the first half and Noel the second half (Sean didn't want to drive). She did both state line crossings in rush hour/vacationer traffic. (We were close the residual traffic from Chicago and drove past a few resort town.) 

I am so happy to be here. It feels like I'm finally home!

Cousin Reunion Planning

I have been missing South Haven, MI for a while. I have so many good memories of visiting there. The best memories include my cousins. The last two times I near them there were for my grandparents’ funerals. I want to see them again with good memories attached. This desire lead me to one conclusion; I need to organize a Mitchell Cousin Reunion. 

A few weeks ago, I made the first big step to make this happen. I made a Facebook group message to hater interest for a reunion in South Haven next summer for our grandparents’ anniversary. So far, everyone is interested and looking into making room in their schedules for the days I chose. 

Now, I am in planning mode. I am going to check out a couple of venues my dad suggested including the Methodist church that we had a few family functions when we were growing up. If there is a way to rent or reserve it, I am hoping to do a big dinner the night of the anniversary. If not, I will check out a state park by the beach my dad told me about. For the other meals, I am thinking everyone will be in charge of their own breakfast. The other three meals can be assigned to family groups. For example, Aunt Mickey’s kids can work on the first lunch, Uncle Bill’s kids can do the other lunch. and my sister and I can do the last dinner. Other than that, I know we need at least one day at the beach. The other day, I am going to do a bit of research on other activities available in the area. 

I am so excited for this reunion! Hopefully, planning it while finishing my last year of school doesn’t kill me.