Discover St. Joseph

Summer came to Southwest Michigan with gusto the past couple of weeks. The weather was sunny and in the mid to upper 80s much of the time. Woo Hoo! (I love it hot!) I worried that the heat wave would be over by the time the weekend got here but that was not the case.  :-) Friday D and I arrived in St Joe at dinner time on Friday and since the weather was soooo beautiful we decided to head over to the Bistro on the Boulevard where we could dine out on the patio overlooking the lake. It was much cooler in St Joe than I expected (64F) due to a north breeze off Lake Michigan. I was glad I'd thought to bring a light jacket (always a good idea to have a sweater or light jacket handy when you're in a beachtown ;-). I ordered filet mignon and D ordered a spicy tomato-pasta-shrimp dish. Both were excellent, but as usual when I dine at the Bistro, everything was not as expected. This time the Yukon Gold mashed potatoes were cold, not luke warm mind you, but cold. Every time w...

The Christmas/New Year holiday season in St. Joseph was wonderful. I didn't get a chance to write about it simply because I was too busy experiencing it. I left off writing about the lovely "Light Up the Bluff" display so I have to go back to that same weekend to share what came next. Saturday, December 5th was a day for the dogs. It was brutally cold, windy, and snowy. The day started out with "Bark for Breakfast", a fundraiser for a local animal shelter and rescue organization. The breakfast was held at the Silver Beach Hotel which itself was festively decorated for the season. This breakfast wasn't just any old breakfast though. It was extra special fun because dogs were welcome too! There was a breakfast buffet for people and a separate table for dog treats. Santa-Dog was there for anyone who wanted to get their pet's picture taken... Around the edges of the room were a few caged cats up for adoption and an area of hand-crafted pet accessories and tr...

It's the dog days of summer here in Michigan and it's my dog's first birthday to boot (Happy First Birthday Kaj!). So in honor of my canine best friend I'm going to feature ten dog-friendly things your dog (and you) will love about St. Joseph, Michigan. 1. First off, I have to say that St. Joseph is the dog-friendliest town I've ever been to. And because dogs are so welcomed and accommodated here, you see them everywhere! Probably the most popular spot for dog walking and dog socializing is Lake Bluff Park. Beautiful view of Lake Michigan too! In various places along the sidewalk of the park there are "Mutt Mittens" so you can clean up after your dog. Very handy to have around because no dog wants to step in some else's poo! 2. St. Joseph has a terrific off-leash dog park! It's located in Kiwanis Park on Pearl St. just off Langley. It has two good sized, fenced in areas, one for big dogs 30 lbs and over and an adjacent area for the little ones un...