Great Lakes Grooving: Day 16 Muskegon

CrispyA · 6 Oct 19, 04:21 PM

Monday 22 July

As the breakfast had been so disappointing the day before, we decided to give it a miss this morning. So we were up and out and on the road. We had figured that Ludington was a reasonable distance away and had done some research on breakfast options, deciding on Chef John's which sounded good.

It was easy enough to find and was a little bakery/cafe with lovely friendly staff. It was quite quirky and charming, with the food served on mismatched crockery. The breakfast was very nice, even if the quiche that Hannah had asked for turned out to have just sold out. We spotted the quiche claimers at the table next to us and were relieved that at least they had eaten it all. The toilets were quite quirky as well, with funny poems and sayings up on the walls - a good way to pass the time while you were in there! We gave Chef John's a big thumbs up.

Ludington itself seemed nice as we got back on the road, heading for Muskegon. We also had to stop for a potty break before too long, having all drunk rather a lot of coffee with breakfast.

Muskegon wasn't actually too far away but we were too early to check into our hotel. Instead we headed for Bat'n'Putt, which was a mini golf and batting cages place - unsurprisingly.

The mini golf course was well themed and challenging and we had really good fun there. Three of us also managed at least one hole in one!

The boys also had a go in the batting cages which were great value. We did watch in awe as a young guy in the next cage was using the Little League setting, which was far too fast for us, and hitting every ball. We though the softball setting was challenging enough . . .

Our hotel was near a mall, so we headed there next, calling into TJ Maxx, Bath and Body Works and Dairy Queen. It was then time to check in, so we went to the hotel.

When we got into our room, we saw that it was 1 King Sized bed and a sofa bed which was far too small for 2 people. I checked my email and realised that I had actually booked this, rather than the 2 queens or 2 doubles that I usually book. Still, it was worth talking to Reception so we headed back down there.

Jonas on Reception was lovely and really helpful, even if I did deserve an amount of idiot points for booking the wrong sleeping configuration. (To be fair, I do all the hotel bookings etc for our holidays and this is the first time this has happened, so I think I do pretty well on the whole.) Anyway, Jonas very kindly moved us to another room with 2 doubles which was much more suitable. And we had Netflix on the TV. Hurrah!

Grand Haven beach had been recommended as a nice spot on Lake Michigan, so we got our swimming stuff and headed there. It was a nice sandy beach but it was quite windy which made it feel a bit too cold to swim. Also, the wind had caused some fairly big waves so it wasn't safe either. We decided to have a swim back at the hotel instead.

We had a quick swim and hot tub before getting ready to go out. Annoyingly, the internet had stopped working so there was no Netflix either. There was a line of people complaining about it at Reception and we did feel sorry for lovely Jonas who was trying his best but getting some very loud and angry complaints.

We headed past the queue of disgruntled guests and went to Red Robin for our tea. For the uninitiated, Red Robin is a chain that does really good burgers and is also famous for bottomless sides, in particulary, steak fries.

We had a lovely server who explained it all to us and told us how good the dipping sauces were as well. He told us he would bring us a couple of baskets of fries to start off with and then keep bringing them until we told him to stop - and then he'd bring a couple more!

The other sides were also bottomless, so we ordered broccoli and salad as well but it was the fries that we really enjoyed - and the burgers. The baskets weren't overflowing - just a good amount of fries and they were very tasty. In the end we managed 9 baskets between us which we were quite impressed with. Evan reckoned that if he came here with a couple of his friends, they would easily be in double figures!

As we were leaving, we passed a table of young men who had clearly managed a number of baskets, judging by the empties. One was looking at his buddy with some concern, asking "Are you okay to drive or do you need some time?" which made us smile.

Back at the hotel, the wifi still wasn't working and Jonas was looking quite fraught. So we watched TV and played the post its game, where the family thought it was hilarious to keep making me be people I cannot abide. Gee, thanks guys!

Melbatb · 6 Oct 19, 09:10 PM

Bottomless sides sounds like my kind of restaurant!

So who didn�t manage a hole in one?😂

The beach looks lovely. Hard to believe it is a lake and not a sea!

katiebaz · 7 Oct 19, 08:11 AM

We love a bit of mini golf and always brings out the family competitive edge! Bottomless sides sound awesome too

CrispyA · 12 Oct 19, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Bottomless sides sounds like my kind of restaurant!

So who didn�t manage a hole in one?😂

The beach looks lovely. Hard to believe it is a lake and not a sea!

The beaches are gorgeous generally, it's a lovely part of the world. Hannah didn't get a hole in one this time . . .

Originally Posted by katiebaz

We love a bit of mini golf and always brings out the family competitive edge! Bottomless sides sound awesome too

No point in playing if you're not going all out to win, to be honest! And Red Robin is great - can thoroughly recommend!

**WileyCoyote** · 30 Oct 19, 09:05 PM

Nice day. Some great names too of these places you are visiting. Pronunciation challenges a plenty. Mini golf.. so competitive. The kids say it�s a highlight of our Florida holidays, never mind expensive park tickets, give em crazy golf and it�s a winner.

Dinner sounds fab, if a bit belly busting. Were the fries very salty ? Great you could move rooms , not so great with no WiFi though.

6 Oct 19, 04:21 PM	#1
	6 Oct 19, 04:21 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	Great Lakes Grooving: Day 16 Muskegon Monday 22 July As the breakfast had been so disappointing the day before, we decided to give it a miss this morning. So we were up and out and on the road. We had figured that Ludington was a reasonable distance away and had done some research on breakfast options, deciding on Chef John's which sounded good. It was easy enough to find and was a little bakery/cafe with lovely friendly staff. It was quite quirky and charming, with the food served on mismatched crockery. The breakfast was very nice, even if the quiche that Hannah had asked for turned out to have just sold out. We spotted the quiche claimers at the table next to us and were relieved that at least they had eaten it all. The toilets were quite quirky as well, with funny poems and sayings up on the walls - a good way to pass the time while you were in there! We gave Chef John's a big thumbs up. Ludington itself seemed nice as we got back on the road, heading for Muskegon. We also had to stop for a potty break before too long, having all drunk rather a lot of coffee with breakfast. Muskegon wasn't actually too far away but we were too early to check into our hotel. Instead we headed for Bat'n'Putt, which was a mini golf and batting cages place - unsurprisingly. The mini golf course was well themed and challenging and we had really good fun there. Three of us also managed at least one hole in one! The boys also had a go in the batting cages which were great value. We did watch in awe as a young guy in the next cage was using the Little League setting, which was far too fast for us, and hitting every ball. We though the softball setting was challenging enough . . . Our hotel was near a mall, so we headed there next, calling into TJ Maxx, Bath and Body Works and Dairy Queen. It was then time to check in, so we went to the hotel. When we got into our room, we saw that it was 1 King Sized bed and a sofa bed which was far too small for 2 people. I checked my email and realised that I had actually booked this, rather than the 2 queens or 2 doubles that I usually book. Still, it was worth talking to Reception so we headed back down there. Jonas on Reception was lovely and really helpful, even if I did deserve an amount of idiot points for booking the wrong sleeping configuration. (To be fair, I do all the hotel bookings etc for our holidays and this is the first time this has happened, so I think I do pretty well on the whole.) Anyway, Jonas very kindly moved us to another room with 2 doubles which was much more suitable. And we had Netflix on the TV. Hurrah! Grand Haven beach had been recommended as a nice spot on Lake Michigan, so we got our swimming stuff and headed there. It was a nice sandy beach but it was quite windy which made it feel a bit too cold to swim. Also, the wind had caused some fairly big waves so it wasn't safe either. We decided to have a swim back at the hotel instead. We had a quick swim and hot tub before getting ready to go out. Annoyingly, the internet had stopped working so there was no Netflix either. There was a line of people complaining about it at Reception and we did feel sorry for lovely Jonas who was trying his best but getting some very loud and angry complaints. We headed past the queue of disgruntled guests and went to Red Robin for our tea. For the uninitiated, Red Robin is a chain that does really good burgers and is also famous for bottomless sides, in particulary, steak fries. We had a lovely server who explained it all to us and told us how good the dipping sauces were as well. He told us he would bring us a couple of baskets of fries to start off with and then keep bringing them until we told him to stop - and then he'd bring a couple more! The other sides were also bottomless, so we ordered broccoli and salad as well but it was the fries that we really enjoyed - and the burgers. The baskets weren't overflowing - just a good amount of fries and they were very tasty. In the end we managed 9 baskets between us which we were quite impressed with. Evan reckoned that if he came here with a couple of his friends, they would easily be in double figures! As we were leaving, we passed a table of young men who had clearly managed a number of baskets, judging by the empties. One was looking at his buddy with some concern, asking "Are you okay to drive or do you need some time?" which made us smile. Back at the hotel, the wifi still wasn't working and Jonas was looking quite fraught. So we watched TV and played the post its game, where the family thought it was hilarious to keep making me be people I cannot abide. Gee, thanks guys! __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022