Discover St. Joseph

There is a time for every season and so this time must be for winter. We can't cheat winter, can we? I must admit I'm dreaming of spring and summer and autumn... all the seasons I haven't seen from the windows of my new condo. I have seen winter in St Joseph. It is cold, very cold. And it is white, very white. I imagine it is pretty when the sun is shining on the brilliant white snow. I have not seen that facet of winter in St Joseph yet. What I have seen is ominous dark clouds drifting into the city from the even darker waters of Lake Michigan. I am spending this time planning the home improvements I will need to do on my condo. It's fun to dream, imagining the bright and cheery colors I want on my walls. Shall it be yellow in my kitchen? Yes, I think it shall. And pale green for the dining room? Yes, that would do very nicely. The living room must be blue and white I think. But not a sad or drab blue! No. It must be a cheerful blue for the living room. Oh who knows, I...

I recently bought a vacation condo/second home in St. Joseph, Michigan. The area, southwestern Michigan, is almost totally new to me. Oh sure, I've been there before, but only a few times. If you don't count driving through it on my way to Chicago from Detroit, I've been to St Joseph exactly 3 times... once on a day trip in the summer of 2007 to visit and photograph the city, and twice this month looking for condos. The second trip was the charm when I found just the sort of condo I was looking for. I'm waiting now to be "approved" by the condo association and to close on the property. I'm excited by the prospect of having a second home in a resort area that I don't have to spend time maintaining. :-) OK, I'll have to spend some time initially because this condo is a "fixer upper". It's in good condition except that it's all a bit dated. I'll have to buy all new appliances and replace most of the cupboards, sinks, vanities, li...