My feet are blue, Hannah’s are purple and Nana’s are orange. And these three feet had a wonderful weekend in Michigan! When Nana asked us to go away for the weekend it seemed so far away and it kind of snuck up on us.
How bad can your weekend be when this is your back yard?
Once we got settled into the house, it was time for lunch. Thanks to blog readers Esther and April who suggested Clementine’s. Long time readers will know that Tony and I dislike onions. A lot. The only onions we will ever eat are in the form of an onion ring. But even then, we are super picky. There has to be more batter to onion ratio, and the onions have to be really skinny.
They offer a 6 inch and 12 inch spike of onion rings. Since we were going to order lunch too, we went with the 6 inch.
Yep, that is the short stack! When Tony saw this picture that I posted on facebook, even he was shocked that I ate these. But they were perfect – the batter stayed with the onion the whole time – I hate when you bite into an onion ring and then the whole thing comes out at once. So good!
And I figured, what the hell, I am on vacation, I’ll get the Reuben!
Holy cow was this good – the corned beef was so tender, the thousand island dressing was served on the side so the bread stayed nice and crisp. I ate half. My mom ordered the walleye which came with a baked potato. The next morning I made a hash out of the remaining corned beef and her potato. 
I think we averaged about 4-5 hours of walking each day. So many shops!
On Saturday we went to the beach. The water temperature was the same as the air temperature – 75!
The beach was super clean and the water was really clear too. Although, I don’t like to go into bodies of water much past my knees. I got pulled into a rip tide in Nags Head, NC when I was 16 and got dragged 100 yards down shore – my actual lack of swimming skills probably saved my life because I just went with it.
We loved watching all the ships go in and out of the marina. We decided next time we go up we will take a boat ride.
Our house we stayed at had a lovely patio. Friday night we ate such a big and late lunch, that we ended up only having cheese and crackers (and wine!) for dinner. The house also didn’t have any t.v., only a DVR. Friday night we watched a movie and then we played Banana Grams – so fun!
The day we got to the house though, they got a DSL line in, so Hannah could use her iPad and stay in touch with the world. My mom even checked her email – it was funny watching her use the iPad – she couldn’t get used to touching the screen.
And you can’t have a weekend away without ice cream! That was Hannah’s, but I got a kid scoop of no sugar added butter pecan – so good.
We went to both South Haven, Saugatuck, and St. Joe’s and each place had a Christmas store. I thought this ornament was a bit strange – it was “Diver Dan”
And no trip to Michigan would be complete without blueberries! This box cost $12.50 for 5 pounds. This is just over half because I gave some to Hannah too.
So leave me your favorite links to blueberry recipes! I know I’ll be making some muffins later this week.
I only down loaded pictures from my good camera, I am sure I’ll post some more from my phone and other camera later this week.
It was relaxing and busy all at the same time. I think we did everything we wanted to, although Sunday came all too soon. But to have this opportunity to spend so much time with my Mom and daughter? Priceless!
I missed Tony though, so I was happy to hang out with him last night and watch some of the Olympics. It was weird to be so out of the loop for so long!
What was the highlight of your weekend?
Back to the grind . . .I haven’t been to the store yet so it will be interesting to see what I can put together for breakfast and lunch. Make it a great day!
I absolutely love your photos of the South Haven lighthouse! My boyfriend has a lakehouse near there, so these pictures are especially great to me
Clementine’s is the best!
How fun! The onion rings and the fries look freaking amazing. Love all the lady family time!! Highlight of my weekend? Probably Kaylin’s swim lessons- shes so darn cute. I can’t believe she is going to be 1 on Wednesday!
I can’t believe it either – she’s getting so big! Love that she’s becoming such a fish!
Looks like such a fun weekend and I am jealous of all those blueberries! I was raised going to Nags Head, and the rip tides are pretty bad. I got caught in one once too, but my Dad always drilled in our heads “swim parallel to shore!”. I ended up way down the beach and exhausted, only to make it back to my parents & they never realized I wasn’t right in front of them playing in the water. Ha! Way to watch mom & dad
Yep – I just floated further out and parallel to the shore, then a big wave kind of pushed me to the shore. The ocean just scares the bejesus out of me!
OK, this is a really old recipe from Cooking Light for blueberry pound cake. Probaby Mr. Helen’s favorite blueberry thing next to a pie. I make it at least once a year during blueberry season: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-pound-cake-10000000222283/
Recently, I tried this Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake that I found through Pinterest. Nothing low calorie or low fat about it but let me tell you it is to die for. Sort of reminded me of blueberry muffins made in an 8×8 pan. Delicious! http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/
Thanks Helen!!
Looks like you guys had a wonderful time! Isn’t Bananagrams such fun! It’s one of our current favorite games to play with people!
Looks like a great weekend! We are headed to St. Joe this week (my in-laws live there) I can’t wait to hit the beach. I anticipate a great salsa from those blueberries.
Hmmm…grilled blueberry salsa maybe??!!
Aww looks like a great weekend!
We’re going right through South Haven on our trip to New York next week. Is it worth the stop there? You gotta let me know if there are any must stop places in the Chicago area too.
Oh, I saw this recipe and saved it. It looks perfect for blueberries. http://picky-palate.com/2012/07/26/blueberry-lime-aid-slushy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PickyPalate+%28Picky+Palate%29
Thanks for the link Debbi! I’ll email you on the side about Chicago . . .
I am a weirdo about blueberries and don’t really like them in things, so my favorite way to eat them is either plain or on top of a salad with goat cheese, but the sailor has made me blueberry pancakes a few times and they were delicious.
Hooray for having your buy make you pancakes!
Ah…your vacation looks so nice! To be on that water right now…
Wow – so beautiful! It looked like fantastic weather, too. Sunburn weather LOL!
I had spf 50 on the whole time!
Love the generational pretty toes picture! What a nice girl weekend.
Looks like a GREAT weekend Vat. LOVE LOVE the foot photo!!!
Love the three generations picture – snazzy toes, all of ya!
Glad you had such a wonderful trip; that is a gorgeous place!!
What a great weekend! Nothing beats spending time with family.
I love blueberries!! Can’t wait to see all the delicious recipes you whip up with that big batch.
That ornament cracks me up!! So random!
Love all the photos. I can’t choose a favorite! Maybe your Mom with the iPad. My 85 y/o old Mother has one and loves it. Crazy.
I got caught in a riptide in Lake Erie when I was around 19. I seriously thought I was going to die.
I’m going with my mother and daughter to Quebec City in the Fall, on the train. It’s one of the few things left on my Mom’s bucket list, lol! Love 3 generation trips.
That’s awesome!! Have fun in Quebec
Look at those onion rings!!! EPIC!
Ha Biz, I have the blue on my toes too, it matches my bathing suit. Love that color. Looks like you guys had a wonderful time and yes, it flies by too quickly. Those blueberries look delish! Sure that Chistmas ornament isn’t Magic Mike…ha ha ha!
Love the foot shot Biz and glad you had a great time!
I have to tell you that you are now famous with all 20-something of my followers. You can read my Awesomely Exhausted post if you want to let it go to your head. I get so busy that I’ve almost missed a couple of mentions so thought you’d want to know
Fun! So glad you had such a great girls’ weekend! Now I’m craving onion rings
My favorite blueberry recipe. Blueberry pancakes.
1. Make pancake batter.
2. Put blueberries in them.
3. Heat ‘n’ eat.
Any questions?
Sounds like a wonderful weekend! My weekend was fun too. Carlos and I traveled to Florida to visit my Dad. Nothing like a grandpa and his grandson spending quality time together. We did nothing but swim. It was fantastic!! I’m so jealous of your blueberries. Enjoy!!
Great photos! I am not a big fan of the ocean either
The highlight of the weekend was definitely the Olympics, I always enjoy watching the coverage.
Thanks so much for adopting me!! I am SO glad you could find a way to enjoy those ckieoos yours look fabulous. And I’m really glad you tried the soup, too, even if you can’t have the potatoes . This is such a great event, I am going to have to participate next time round (once I get back into blogging after my summer break !).Oh, and thought I should clarify: ALL (not just some) of my recipes are dairy free and vegan! PS. Hi from the Girls!
I think cheese soups baeikrng is a result of them getting too hot or being held at too high a temperature for too long? But I’m not totally sure. This one was fine and I even nuked it to boiling in the microwave to reheat it with no ill effect. The flour probably helps stabilize it. Not sure about the wooden spoon thing either, do you mean specifically for cheese soups or just in general?