The icing on the cake.

Seeing the kitesurfers was cool. Big Red was pretty neat. But nothing we did on this day compared with catching this sunset. From the beach at Van Buren State Park, near South Haven.

As the title suggests, I almost forgot about visiting this lighthouse. Now that I think of it, I don’t even remember where it’s located. I do remember the parking lot reeked of garbage. I think we visited this one after lunch at Dog-N-Suds and before heading to Holland. Or maybe it was before lunch.

After a while of gawking at the kitesurfers, we headed to the first Dog-N-Suds, the one in Montague, ate lunch there and then headed to the next lighthouse, Big Red in Holland. As you can see, Big Red is popular among photographers because of its bright redness.

The sky was gorgeous, with the streaking yellows and low, silver, pillowy clouds.

While I was walking around the beach at St. Joseph, a couple arrived with their five or six year old boy. I’ll never forget the expression on his face as he exuberantly exclaimed, “Whoa! Dad, did you see that? He was flying!”

A couple of A-10 Thunderbolts flew over the lake too.

A while back, Roger invited us to join him on a day trip to Michigan. His plan was to visit the two remaining Dog-N-Suds there, in Montague and Norton Shores, and also a couple of lighthouses along the way. Karen and I jumped at the chance.

Our first stop was Tiscornia Park in St. Joseph; home to the St. Joseph North Pier Lighthouses. As we made our way over a small dune after parking the car, we were surprised and pleased to find about a half dozen kitesurfers out on the lake. In fact, I was so enthralled with the kitesurfers that I didn’t get any pictures of the lighthouse by itself. I did get a couple of shots with the lighthouse in the background, but those are going in a different post.

Some really stunning clouds showed up over the Chicagoland area tonight. I hope you were out to experience it because these photos just don’t compare to the real deal.

Looking to the northwest.

Looking to the southeast.

Very, very tasty……

It all started in February 2009, when I attended the Maple Syrup Festival in Parke County, IN. At the time, my level of interest in maple syrup was about the same as most people: marginally enthusiastic during traditional breakfast hours.  As I browsed the booths of maple related items, I came to a display hosted by a sweet, elderly woman with kind eyes. On her table was a little bottle labeled Maple Cream.  Hmmmm … maple cream? I chatted with … Read More