Discover St. Joseph

As we say goodbye to summer today, here's what we have to look forward to...

Saturday, September 19, was the date for the second annual Blues, Brews, and BBQ at the St. Joseph bandshell. D and I are big fans of blues and BBQ, and D's a big fan of brew. So we were really looking forward to this event! The event ran from noon till 6pm. We were busy painting here at the condo and didn't make it over to the bandshell until about 5pm. That was a big mistake. The music was still going strong and was very good. We heard Kevin Q and the Night Crew with Venitia Sekema. A real pleasure to listen to. The bean bag toss competition was still happening... and it looked like a lot of fun! There was a good turnout for the event... And that was the problem! The two vendors who were selling the BBQ were sold out of most everything by the time we got there :-( . D ended up with a 1/2 lb of BBQ chicken from Larks. And I had a pulled chicken sandwich from Charlie's Piggin' N' Grinnin'. Neither of us had eaten BBQ from these establishments before so we though...

In just 2 more days summer will be officially over and fall will be here. In St. Joseph, there have been signs of autumn for a few weeks now... a patch of bright red leaves on a tree here or there, a multitude of acorns on my back deck. Last weekend the weather was unseasonably warm here and we went swimming in the lake and the pool. This weekend, it's a different story. There are still people on the beach, but they're having fun on the sand not in the water. And the beach attire has changed in response to the cooler temperatures... The outer lighthouse is having some work done on it before the weather makes it impossible to do so. This isn't seasonal maintenance but rather a much need face lift. Evidently it's leaning towards the lake and needs some mechanical adjustments and a fresh coat of paint. Yesterday was the last day of business for the Dairy Korner. This soft-serve ice cream establishment in St. Joseph has been in business for 53 years. It closes each fall and...

Today is just the kind of day we saw too little of this summer, sunny, bright blue cloudless sky, and the temperature near 80F. A perfect late summer day. So rather than spending the day inside on the computer I decided to play hooky. K was totally up for the idea. And lucky for you, I took my camera along ;-) My first stop was at Culver's for a chicken Caesar salad to-go. They really do make a great chicken Caesar salad... my favorite of the fast food places. Next stop was Lookout Park in St. Joseph. Lookout Park is located on Lakeshore Drive just south of Hilltop Rd. It's one of my favorite parks in the area. At lunch time, it's lots of people's favorite spot. The parking lot is often full with folks who like to eat lunch while looking out at beautiful Lake Michigan. During the summer there's a hot dog cart parked there during the weekday lunch hour but the cart wasn't there today, hence my stop at Culver's. I must tell you that this is no ordinary hot dog...

D and I took a drive up to South Haven for dinner last night. It was a pleasant thing to do on a Sunday evening. Most of the trees we saw along the drive were still green but we passed one patch surrounding a pond where all the leaves on the trees were dark red and brown. We'd seen the sign for the Thirsty Perch restaurant on previous visits to South Haven. We made this trip specifically to dine there. The restaurant is on Broadway just north of Phoenix. Their sign is easy to see from the street. The restaurant was almost empty when we got there about 6pm. I was a bit surprised that there weren't more diners on a Sunday evening but then it is past peak tourist season. Anyway, the restaurant was nicely appointed with an upscale urban feel to it. It had comfortable seating, soft but not dim lighting :-), and soothing lake colors. The menu had much to choose from but it's evident they specialize in perch. I happen to love lake perch so this was a plus in my book. I ordered ...

This was my first Labor Day weekend in St Joseph. I didn't quite know what to expect. Would people be crowding the beaches for a last hurrah? Or would they be off at the outlet mall in Michigan City buying back-to-school clothes? The weather was delightful, certainly warm enough to be swimming. But the red flags were flying on Silver Beach indicating rip currents. We had a full house at the condo on Friday. D, C, L, & Jo arrived at various times and we all gathered around the dining room table for a pizza dinner before we headed off to the beach for family pictures. There hasn't been a Lake Michigan sunset that didn't dazzle me, and I've taken lots of pictures of sunsets over the last few months. But none of them were as fun to take or as dear to my heart as the ones we took on Friday night. The kids were in a (rare) cooperative mood and the pictures reflect that. We took the first batch out on the south pier and the second batch on Silver Beach. Lots of smiles, the...