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Family Fun in South Haven, Michigan Posted: 22 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT  by Dottie Quick Some of my favorite childhood memories revolved around the vacations I took with my extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents – at times our group exceeded 20 travelers. When my sister suggested we plan a vacation with our parents and our four children (all under five years), I couldn’t wait to make some memories with our children. We scoured the web for a family friendly location within a day’s drive from St. Louis, Missouri. My mom (the tripadvisor.com fanatic) and my sister’s friends (the summer rental connoisseurs) agreed. South Haven, Michigan was the place for us. With clean beaches, flavorful seafood and blueberry farms, South Haven had exactly what we wanted. Luckily for us, South Haven also had exactly what we needed – a very considerate emergency response team – because even the best planned vacations don’t always go as planned. As we drove along Interstate 94 towards Harbor Club South Haven, I wondered if our rental house would live up to its name, the Daydreamer. Our two young children squirmed in the backseat with the kind of anticipation only a seven hour car ride can produce. When we arrived we found the four bedroom, three and a half bath cottage well stocked with games that our children quickly dismantled with their equally enthusiastic cousins. (Did I mention they were all under five years old?) My sister and father were unpacking a ludicrous amount of food from their first of many trips to the market. The gourmet kitchen had already inspired my sister to attempt baking her first blueberry pie from scratch, but first we needed a beach day… Beach Day One: Coming from St. Louis in July when temperatures regularly reach into the upper 90s, we were completely unprepared for Lake Michigan's frigid temperature. Unlike our children, couple of big toes were about all the adults could submerge. The kids were in and out of the waves, which seemed to be the perfect size for them, until we decided they had turned an unsettling shade of blue. Beach Day One ended with a trip to the heated pool at the Harbor Club. The next couple days greeted us with tepid weather. We picked more than enough blueberries at Degrandchamp Farms to fulfill my sister's goal of making a blueberry pie. Although I have a strong aversion to pie, I can testify that the smell was delicious. I did sample the mint chocolate bark sold in Degrandchamp's shop. (Yes, we hid it from the kids. Some may call it greedy. We like to think of it as responsible parenting.) Other items on our take home list included blueberry honey, blueberry coffee, blueberry butter and Fire Stix style pickled asparagus. Admittedly, that last item is a bit out of place considering our blue-theme, but it was without a doubt the perfect thank you for our house sitting (and at times fire-breathing) friend. We made a stop at Barden's Farm Market and snapped a couple of photographs of their vibrant bouquets. I was intrigued enough by my first encounter with a Plout to purchase a few for us to sample. Unfortunately, this apricot – plum hybrid didn't wow me like I expected. Luckily, the tomatoes made up for their lackluster market mates. Beach Day Two: We started this beach day with a visit to Kids Corner Park and were shocked at what we found. The playground consists of a massive wooden labyrinth. Some planks shifted as you stepped on them, others lead to tiny crevices only the children could maneuver through. Macabre faces were cut out of the wooden railings. Slides, tire swings, monkey bars and even an area to perform a song were all part of Kids Corner Park's main attraction. Despite the fun at Kids Corner, we did make it to the beach. Again we were shocked, but this time it was by the warmth of the water. We all took turns relaxing in the sun and taking the four children into "the deep" as they called it. "The deep" was actually only a depth of about 2-3 feet of water that continued about 50 feet out from the shoreline. This was perfect for our little ones. They jumped in the waves far from the beach, while still keeping their heads above water – for the most part. Our vacation was topped off by a night at the Black River Tavern. Our waitress recommended the Coastal Cakes, cracker crusted crab, lobster and crawfish finished with roasted garlic and red pepper aioli on pretzel buns. Although seafood rarely makes it to the top of my list, I would travel back to South Haven just for this dish. A few Leinenkugel's Summer Shandies were the perfect complement to these cakes. As we prepared to leave the Daydreamer, the children played outside the cottage. They had spent the week exploring a nearby pond, picking wild flowers and pretending to put on shows for each other in what we deemed the perfect place for a destination wedding ceremony. Without warning, their giggles were interrupted by a sharp scream from the front of the house. My sister's attempt at leaping from the back of her truck left her crouched in pain on the road. We were not completely sure what had happened and when she lost consciousness, we decided to call 911. (Here's a tip from our experience: learn the exact address of your rental house. "The Daydreamer" and "it's by a really cute pond" are not sufficient explanations in an emergency situation.) After a quick run to find the nearest street sign, the emergency team arrived. My sister regained consciousness and was diagnosed with a sprained ankle. That didn't stop her from running a half marathon a couple or months later or stop us from remembering our week in South Haven, Michigan as the relaxing, fun family vacation we had hoped it would be. Dottie Quick is a writer, artist and owner of PepperedNestDecor living in St. Louis, Missouri. Travels have inspired many of her creations.

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