A Few Days in South Haven

60 Lakeshore

We have rented 60 Lakeshore several times over the years but not recently.  Our last posting in the guest book was from October 2014.

The cottage was probably built before 1900 and enlarged bit by bit.  It could sleep 14 with six beds stacked in very small rooms on the second floor.  However, it has just one bathroom!  The location is wonderful in the off season--right on North Beach.  During the summer, it would be very busy with cars parked in front and plenty of traffic.  There have been some problems with mobs of teenagers gathering there on summer nights.

But in October, it is quiet and lovely.  Most of the time!  Within a half hour of our arriving on Monday, there was plenty of excitement.   I was resting in the back bedroom when Jim called to me to look out the front.  There was a boat in flames with smoke billowing out of the top just off shore.  An emergency vehicle had sped by and soon there was a fireboat shooting water or retardant on the burning boat.  It took a while to get the fire out; the boat drifted ashore north of us.    Later that evening I googled "boat fire in South Haven" and learned that two boaters were rescued by a couple in a passing boat.  They had no flotation devices; they had no choice but to jump into the cold water.  The woman apparently could not even swim and just hung onto a buoy.

The rest of the three days were spent in walking, reading, eating, and this year, watching the Cubs on TV.  Jim golfed on Wednesday with friends from Grand Rapids and South Bend--the former "pastoral support team" from a few years ago..  He had been concerned about an RA flare-up on his hand but with the help of Aleve, he was OK for play.

The view from inside

Monday night we ate at a new restaurant in town--Kitchen 527.   I had a pretty spicy Tiger Shrimp and Gnocchi dish; Jim played it safe with a burger.  Restaurants in South Haven come and go as the ones that stay open are really profitable just half of the year.  However, the ever popular Clementines had a 15-20 minute wait even on a Tuesday night so  we went to Black River Tap and Grill for burgers for both of us.  And then for night number three, it was takeout pizza from The Vineyard.

Kal-Haven Trail

The second night I had insomnia and ended up on the couch for about three hours of interrupted sleep.  I had been overwhelmed by some obligations that occurred to me earlier in the evening.  Yet the next day was such a day of peace in this restorative spot.  I spent time recording bits from Frank Cunningham's Vesper Time, a serendipitous find on a shelf in the cottage.   He talked about his 8th decade as being one focusing on memory, intimacy, diminishment, acceptance, and gratitude.  I felt I had to recognize that it is OK to feel diminished in ability to take on obligations and just to accept that as part of aging! The next night I fell asleep trying to watch the Cubs.  They won anyway without my help!  (after three losses, they had to win to stay in contention in the NLCS)

We told ourselves we would do this more often.  The next three months will be busy but we could have a wintry stay in February  and we could try 60 Lakeshore again in May instead of our usual condo.