Places to Go (Vacation) - South Haven, MI - Kids' Corner & The Beach - The First Stop On Our Michigan Roadtrip

As I mentioned on Monday, during our trip to visit my mom we spent a few days at my aunt and uncle's cottage in South Haven, MI. For most people, this sort of family gathering probably happens everyday. But for us, it was sort of a big deal, as my mom and her sister had been estranged for the past 30-some years.

The reconciliation occurred when my aunt and her daughters attended my father's funeral in February. I met my cousins for the first time that day (Yay! I have cousins! Smart, beautiful, funny cousins!!). I'm not really sure why my mom and my aunt stopped talking, my mom has never said anything bad about her sister, just that their relationship didn't work (a large age gap, a mom who died when they were young, an evil stepmother - that sort of stuff).

Now my aunt and uncle are back in our lives. And the kids and I had a blast hanging out with them and getting to know them (odd that last time I saw my uncle I was the same age as F is now). As we pulled into the driveway, we immediately spotted a large homemade sign welcoming the kids. F squealed "look mom, there's my name! It says my name!" Across from the sign, a large baby pool with floaties waited for the kids to dive in. Plus my aunt prepared hot dogs, mac and cheese, graham crackers, tons of fruit and all the other delicacies that children (especially my children) love. At night we went to a HUGE maze-like playground called Kids' Corner where the kids explored for hours. Then the next day we blueberry picked and visited the beach. So much fun.

Odd, how as I get older every moment seems so precious as life seems so short. 30 years go by and all of a sudden you have cousins and an aunt and uncle - who welcome you into the family with hand-made signs.


Kids' Corner playground had all these maze-like, kid-sized entries and exists. At first I worried that T would get lost or scared in all the little passageways, but he seemed to love having a toddler-sized space to explore. Often ten or so minutes would go by when I couldn't see him at all, until, finally I'd spot a little hand peaking over the wood and waving, "Hi mama!"


And, of course, lots of mazes = lots of shadows = really fun picture taking for me.



South Haven has a beautiful beach, with a playground and everything, which was nice because T DOES NOT like sand (hence the swing picture). The waves were pretty high, with a bunch of kite surfers in the water, who we couldn't stop watching jump through through the waves. We walked all the way to the lighthouse, but T kept saying "mama, I don't like this" every time a wave crashed into the pier.