How To Enjoy a Long Holiday Weekend in St Joseph (Day 2)

Day Two

What a difference a day makes. The sun was shining this morning and people were heading out to the beach early. The forecast was for 90 degrees and sunny.


But summer means more than great beaches in Southwest Michigan. It means lots and lots of fantastic fresh produce as well. Southwest Michigan is known as the "fruit belt" of Michigan for good reason. There are orchards and farms all over the area.

After breakfast at the beach, we started out with a drive to Coloma, to Fruit Acres, where the picking season has begun. The u-pick farm is off exit 39 on Friday Rd. But the owners have a fruit stand right at the exit (south of the freeway). We stopped in and bought some fresh cherries and raspberries.

Then we drove up Friday Rd. to the farm to take a few pictures.


After buying this wonderful fruit we headed home to make lunch... salads topped with fresh cherries and raspberries! YUM!

It was a hot and humid day so after lunch we headed to the beach. Lake Michigan is still a bit cold, water temps in the 60s, but it's not bad when you get used to it. D and I spent some time in the lake and some time laying out on the warm sand beach (Lion's Park beach). Ahhh, summer.

After an afternoon at the beach, we showered up and had dinner at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Stevensville. Good southern cooking and shopping there. For dessert we headed to our favorite soft serve ice cream stand, Dairy Korner in St. Joseph.

We ended the day with the most popular evening activity in St Joseph, watching the sunset over Lake Michigan. The golden rays of the setting sun cast a warm glow on Silver Beach as people made their ways home.

One popular spot for viewing the sunset is along the south pier, next to Silver Beach. The pier fills up with folks of all ages.

Just across the St Joseph River channel is the north pier with the famous lighthouses.

Be sure to bring your camera if you decide to watch the sunset. It is so beautiful and you'll want to remember it. As the sun sets the light and colors will change every few minutes.

Once the sun goes down the crowds leave the pier and another day on the lake comes to an end.

Comments