Hitting Our Favorite Beach

Parking: $6
Picnic Lunch: $12
Tube of Sunscreen: $8

Spending a sunny afternoon playing on a beach on
Michigan’s West Coast: Priceless


So I can already cross off number 12 on my list of Summer Must-Dos – the beach has been hit!

Because it promised to be a perfect July afternoon, we loaded up the boogie boards, beach towels, folding chairs and a cooler and headed to, what is so far, our family’s favorite beach, Kirk Park, part of the Ottawa County Parks system. We love the natural setting this beach offers – boasting more than 68 acres of sandy beach, high bluffs and wooded dunes – it provides the feeling of truly “getting away from it all”, if only for a few hours. We ate a picnic lunch, played in the awesome waves, buried kids in the sand and basked in the sun. As promised, a perfect July afternoon.

There are 18 public beaches between just north of Muskegon to just south of Douglas. Because each one offers its own unique characteristic – from people watching to dune climbing to snapping photos of lighthouses – one of them is sure to become your favorite. To learn more about what makes certain beaches special, visit http://grandrapidsshopping.mlive.com/SS/Page.aspx?sstarg=&facing=false&secid=38200&pagenum=25.

Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to the first edition of my blog, Positively Grand. I hope you had a positively grand Fourth of July. Since my goal for this site is to share a “behind the scenes” look at the many interesting and amazing visitor experiences that are available in Grand Rapids and throughout Michigan’s West Coast (MWC), I think this is the perfect time to launch it.

Like most Americans, I spend each Fourth completely immersed in Red, White & Blue Hoopla - from our hometown parade (my husband, son, and my daughter all participated this year) to a neighborhood barbecue followed by “oohing” and “ahhing” at a sky full of fireworks. But it’s the fifth, sixth and seventh of July which leave me somewhat panicked. Every year at this time I realize that I still have a long list of summertime “musts” to experience, and there’s only 2 more months to get to it all. So, I’ve decided to make this list the topic of my first blog. That way I can hopefully interest readers in the summer fun opportunities available in Grand Rapids while putting a little pressure on myself to take time to experience it first hand. So, here we go:

Claire’s List of Grand Rapids/MWC Summertime Fun

1. Head to Rockford to bike along the White Pine Trail, Michigan’s longest rail/trail stretching nearly 100 miles from just north of Grand Rapids to Cadillac. (The trail’s 100 miles, my bike ride undoubtedly will not be!) http://www.whitepinetrail.com/

2. Window shop (well, maybe really shop) in the many unique boutiques in one of the beachtowns (well, maybe all of the beachtowns) along Michigan’s West Coast.

3. Go to a West Michigan Whitecaps game. With my sincerest apologies to my co-worker Andrea (who has the ability to crash this blog should she so desire) I’m really not much of a baseball fan. But it’s just not summer without at least one evening cheering on the home team at Fifth Third Ballpark. http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/

4. Have a leisurely dinner on the deck of Rose’s on Reeds Lake to enjoy a latin wood-fired pizza (my new favorite) along with the view. www.thegilmorecollection.com/Rose's

5. Stretch out on a blanket on the lawn at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park to take in a concert at the amphitheatre. http://www.meijergardens.org/gardens_experience/amphitheater_schedule.php

6. Share a pitcher with my husband at Founders Brewing Company – I feel somewhat guilty that I’ve been there and he hasn’t. http://www.foundersbrewing.com/home.php

7. (Admittedly, this one is almost too easy to put on a list). Pick up some take-out from Marie Catrib’s for a simple dinner at home on the patio. http://www.mariecatribs.com/. I’m thinking the Linda Flo – roasted eggplant with spinach, tomato and provolone on whole wheat herb bread spread with homemade aioli. Yum!

8. Take my kids to John Ball Zoo to try out the new Sky Trail – a double decker ropes course which includes seven climbing elements on each level. I think I’ll stay on the ground – after all, somebody’s gotta take pictures. http://www.johnballzoosociety.org/

9. Shop for fresh produce, flowers and other goodies at the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market as often as possible. http://www.fultonstreetmarket.org/market.htm

10. Take my daughter to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s performance of High School Musical which runs August 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 & 9 http://www.grct.org/

11. Visit a U-pick Blueberry Farm. Did you know West Michigan is the largest producer of blueberries in North America? So if blueberries are now considered a “super food” thanks to the powers of antioxidants, than our local growers are the super producers.

12. Hit the beach. Problem is, there are at least 18 public beaches along Michigan’s West Coast. Unless I convince my boss to give me some time off in the name of research, I’m going to have to choose carefully. Kirk Park, an Ottawa County Park, is my family’s favorite, but I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about Duck Lake in Whitehall lately. ‘Course if I head to Grand Haven State Park, I have an excuse to snack on a Pronto Pup. http://www.michiganswestcoast.com/beaches.php

Wow, I’ve got a lot to get to before Labor Day. But it’s all good. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.