Snowy/Windy Sunday

I'm sad to say that the weather did not cooperate on Sunday. We woke up to a bit more snow. As it was early morning, the roads were pretty icy once again so instead of going up north to the lakeshore, we decided to go to the part of the lakeshore closer to us. A good choice. It was really quite bitterly cold as the winds were blowing wildly. Husband got out of the car at our first stop and turned around as soon as we got down to the beach. It was SO windy.  The town we were in was under a Gale Warning, so that tells you how wild things were. It always amazes me that a lake can have such high waves!

I stayed out on the beach long enough to get some wave shots

From there, we travelled up the lakeshore to South Haven. The waves were hitting the lighthouse quite right but I managed to get one nice one

While I was wandering on the beach there I was really surprised to see two men come running down the beach and go into the lake water. Brrrr..... there was still some ice on the beach - that tells you how cold the water must have been!

New Year & Start How You Mean To Go On.

I always feel like the dawn of a new calendar years brings with it the possibility to wipe the slate clean and start again. It seems a little silly in a way. It's just another day. Yet I try to think of things I'd like to begin. I don't make resolutions as such as I usually break them. I do however plan on making some goals that I'd like to obtain. There are things I've been wanting to do and the start of a new year seems like the perfect time to begin those things.

One of the things that - as a couple - we're determined to continue with is our Sunday walks. For years I worked every Sunday and Saturdays were taken up by family, shopping, housework and generally catching up from a draining work week. When I decided to leave my job the Sunday walks were one of the things we wanted to do more. Last year was the first year we managed to go out almost every weekend. We've had a lot of fun. We visited loads of new parks and walked new trails. In 2018 we're determined to visit 8 new lighthouses and walk in 8 new parks. Hubby wants to do an overnight hike but that's one I'm not too sure about - maybe I should just take a leap!

Today's walk we planned on going to the lakeshore. I'd seen online where Lake Michigan was starting to freeze. We decided to go to Warren Dunes State park to look at the ice build-up. Nope. Wasn't too be. The drive was pretty bad - it was snowing and blowing. We made it to the park but the wind was blowing so hard and the snow so deep we couldn't even find a way down on the beach!

This was as close as I could get. The wind was whipping across my face so hard it was painful! The temps were really cold too.

From there we took our usual route up the shoreline.

This was the view as we drove along. Yes - this is the main road. Glad I wasn't driving!

We managed to see the two lighthouses nearby before heading back home. Not new-to-visit ones.  I was SO glad to get there! I think tomorrow I'll be staying inside. 

The lake is freezing over. It is strange to watch - especially at the bottom photo. The lighthouse is on one side of a channel and between the channel are chunks of ice. You can see them floating up and down.

Couldn't stay outside long at either one. We were bundled up tightly but with the wind blowing and the temperatures so low it would be too dangerous. There was one brave couple walking along the boardwalk to the top lighthouse. At the end the ice was so deep it looked like they had to climb over it!

Hope everyone had a lovely, safe New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Everybody in my house is back to work tomorrow so a quiet day of cleaning and sorting.

Getting away from it all...

Hubby and I took off for a couple of days up to Traverse City.

Lessons learned -

a) go on trip in week. At the weekend the hotel costs $150 a night. During the week this drops to $59 a night. OUCH!
b) don't trust the internet that a place is still open. Picked out a gun/hunting shop for hubby to go to (I wanted to go to craft store so it seemed like a fair trade lol) only to find it was closed.
c) take sandwiches/a picnic to eat. It's quite a trip and snacks on the road are expensive!

Anyway - we did have fun. We splurged as hubby's workload is getting big and overtime will be a norm. He actually went to work today but at least he had Friday and Saturday off and we got away.

It seemed a lot busier than the last time we went. Also they have started charging for all parking spots. Sigh. We haven't been for a couple of years. It seems like others have 'discovered' this gem on the lake which might explain why the cost of the hotel had gone up.

We travelled up along one side of the peninsula to Mission Pointe Lighthouse which was under renovation.

 It was a beautiful day on Friday. The sun was shining brightly. We were really surprised when we got to the lighthouse that the lake was up so much further than the last time we had ventured there. There was barely any beach at all compared to the last time we were there.

We went out to eat that night at a restaurant. It was okay. Food was okay. Not great. Not sure it was worth the money we spent, but the food wasn't terrible. Next time we'll just eat somewhere else.

Saturday was a lot duller and cooler. Brrr. I actually wore my jumper and my zip up sweatshirt over the top. I even donned my fingerless gloves while I was taking pictures. Autumn is definitely in the air BUT the trees haven't turned colours yet. That was slightly disappointing but oh well.  Saturday we went up the other side of the bay up to Grand Traverse Lighthouse. We checked out the campsite while we were there as the lighthouse is in Leelanau State Park. The campground looks nice so we decided we might go there to camp next year.

The beach was fairly deserted. There were a few people still camping and a few couples walking about, but it was nice to have the place to ourselves. It was chilly though which could explain the lack of people about!

All in all it was a nice couple of days - relaxing. I have some plant/flower pictures to share tomorrow.