An Orchard Inn & Suites

Farmer's Market

by deecat

We read in all the literature, were told at the Tourist Bureau, and were recommended by people at our B&B that we should not miss the Farmers Market on the Wednesday morning of our last day in town. So, after breakfast, we walked to the market...it was a cool morning, cooler than the other two mornings by far.

When we arrived at the market location, we were disappointed at how few booths there were. Of course, it was late in the season, and it was quite cool.

The people there were very friendly and helpful. We both wanted to purchase Michigan Peaches and discovered that this was the last week that they would be sold. We each purchased 6 peaches [quite large ones] for $6.00. I might add, that once home, both my husband, daughter, and I all agreed that they were delicious!

We also wished to purchase some sweet multi-colored corn, which we bought from the same farm. Mickey took 4 and I took 2, and the six cost $5.00. They, too, were excellent.

City of South Haven Farmers Market
New Huron Parking Lot
[Behind Dyckman Park
(269) 427=0423

Wednesdays and Saturdays
8:00 am to 2:00 pm
May-October
Growers only market

I did not take my camera because we walked, and I wanted my hands free to carry produce.

Golfing in the Dunes

by riorich55

Even though I played 4 years of golf in high school I usually only get out once or twice a year and don't take it too seriously anymore. This course happened to be the golf course at the Inn where my wife and I stayed at in August, 2009. Since it is not very far from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in a sand dunes area a lot of the course is similar to Pine Valley in New Jersey according to the brochure I picked up.

Prices for 18 holes including cart range anywhere from $35 to $75 depending on the season and day of the week. If we had golfed on a Saturday in August it would have been at the max of $75. It is a member of the Arthur Hills Michigan Golf Trail and according to Michigan Golf Magazine rated in the Top 25 golf courses in the state. Depends on how good or serious a golfer you are as to what you bring.

Fishing Off The Pier

by riorich55

I did a little fishing in my teens after my parents moved to an area close to a couple of small lakes (actually lagoons), but the inactivity of the sport and then trying to unhook the fish and then clean them to eat wasn't my cup off tea. However, if you have the fishing bug Lake Michigan, being one of the 5 Great Lakes in the U.S. is a great place to try your luck.

Although much more people in the South Haven area enjoy the beach for swimming or taking boats onto the lake there were a few fishermen out on the Sunday when we were at the pier.

The first picture shows a boy with his parents close at hand testing his luck.

The second picture is a more experienced fisherman who had actually landed quite a large fish, but he was a catch and release guy and was down off the pier unhooking the fish and setting it free again. From just a pole, worm and hook to much more sophisticated equipment

Celebrating Summer's End

by deecat

"Enticing Setting & Unrivaled Cuisine"

My friend of twenty years, Mickey [Michelle], and I decided we needed "an end of summer celebration"; thus began a planning session for a three-day trip to Michigan. We knew that we wanted somewhere low-key, relaxing, beautiful, packed with choices, and that assured us some delicious food.

[We don't ask for much, do we?]

I had been to Saugatuck, Michigan over 25 years ago but had never been to Douglas or South Haven, Michigan; Mickey had not visited any of these locations. We had heard that the Fall was a good time to visit in order to avoid the crowds. Now, we just had to select a time and a Bed & Breakfast. Mickey is especially busy commuting between here and Miami [where her husband has a 6-month assignment] so our times were limited.
Finally, we chose September 14,15,16. Then, after much research, we selected South Haven as our central location and Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast for our accommodations.

All of these decisions turned out to be perfect. South Haven is small but filled with shops, restaurants, beaches, and parks. Fall, especially the three days in September that we chose, turned out to be picture perfect. The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast turned out to be just as excellent as all the literature indicated. And, fortunately, the food establishments [at least all of our choices], turned out to be fantastic.

We treasured each day of our stay, and now I want to take my husband Allan there to enjoy the glorious sunsets, the outstanding cuisine, the beautiful beaches, the lovelyl Bed and Breakfast... and, with the addition of playing the great golf courses.

South Haven

by Dabs

I woke up Saturday morning and happened upon a travel forum post asking about where to find the best leaf colors within a few hours of Chicago and someone happened to post information about the cranberry festival in South Haven, something we found fun on a previous visit so we jumped in the car and headed off.

South Haven is a popular summer destination along the coast of Lake Michigan, there are lots of B&Bs that you can stay at that you probably need to book well in advance in the summer. Chicago is close enough that you can make the trip in a day.

It's been an unusually warm fall here in the Midwest, not to mention dry, so I was a little disappointed that not many of the trees on the way up weren't the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows you sometimes get in Michigan in the fall. And when we got to DeGrandchamp Farms, there was a loooooong line for the cranberry festival hayride that takes you out to the harvesting site but we had come all this way to do it...We waited for over a 1/2 hour in the blazing sun, yes you are reading that right, it's October and it's 90 degrees! But it was worth it, I found the harvesting process to be very interesting.

After our visit to the cranberry festival, we headed to the beach, it was 90 degrees out after all. The water was chilly but it felt good to kick off my shoe and feel the cool water on my toes. Did I mention that it was 90 degrees in October?

Our final stop was in downtown South Haven, a collection of unique shops selling the usual things you find in seasonal resort areas, baked good, antiques, crafts, jewelry and clothes.