Great Lakes Grooving: Day 17 Mini golf and beaches

[CrispyA]

Tuesday 23 July

Annoyingly, I woke up really early today and couldn't get back to sleep, which doesn't seem fair when you don't actually have to get up. Apart from the first few days of jetlag, I had slept really well on this holiday, but not this morning.

The wifi still wasn't working, which was pretty annoying by now. Everyone in the family seemed to take forever to get ready this morning which was also annoying. But then the wifi came back on and everyone was instantly in a better mood!

This hotel had a pretty good breakfast so we enjoyed that and called at the desk for a couple more towels before heading back to the room to get ready.

The plan was to explore Muskegon today. First of all, though, we had spotted Craig's Cruisers nearby, which was a mini golf and batting cages place. The course wasn't quite as much fun as yesterday's but it was again a very competitive game, with a number of hole in ones and a course victory for Hannah.

There was also some batting cage action, with the boys and Hannah having a go. I couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo, so there was no point in me trying but I did cheer them all on. The Little League machine was ridiculously fast and nobody was going to take on the Major League one as we all like having all of our bones unbroken, thank you very much.

The boys had some friendly rivalry.

After this, we fancied a swim and Tripadvisor had recommended Duck Lake State Park as a good place to go. We drove there but couldn't find a swimming beach despite having a good look around. There was another beach nearby which was on Lake Michigan but although it looked nice, the water was incredibly cold and there was a bit of a breeze, so it didn't actually feel warm enough to actually swim.

Undeterred, we drove to Pere Marquette Beach which was also recommended. It is a lovely beach with soft silvery sand and lots of space and facilities. Alas the water was arctic and the air still wasn't hot enough to counteract the water temperature. We did hang around on the beach for a while but the wind kept sand blasting us as we lay there, so we gave up in the end. It was a nice beach but I didn't really want a full exfoliating facial while I was there.

The kids had fun with the football though.

On the way back to the hotel, we had spotted a driving range and obviously the boys wanted to practise their swings. We called at the hotel to collect Evan's golf gloves (!) and then headed back to the range. Hannah and I tried to go for a walk while the boys were trying to avoid becoming either Shank Lampard or Captain Hook, but with no pavements (why thank you America!) it was a bit tricky. So she decided to try her luck with Big Golf, as she had done so well with Mini Golf, and I watched them all.

When all the balls were finally used up, it was back to the hotel to get our swimming stuff wet in the pool and the hot tub as we hadn't been in the lake.

As the hotel was in a Mall, there were plenty of eating options. We picked Logan's Roadhouse, as we fancied a steak and we quite like the whole vibe of throwing peanut shells on the floor. Nothing like a health and safety nightmare while you are having your tea.

Evan even managed a pudding, being none too impressed with the extra spoons that had arrived for the people who said that they most definitely did not want a pudding . . .

Back at the hotel we made the most of WiFi and Netflix on the TV and watched the rest of Stranger Things. Nothing will top the first series but this was good.

[Melbatb]

A good golfing day! I am like you with regards to being able to hit a ball moving quickly at me - though I used to be quite good when I was younger!

Hadn’t Evan realised that when you are the only one to order dessert, the others will happily help out if even if they weren’t hungry 🤣

[katiebaz]

Sounds like a good fun relaxing day and the beach looks lovely - even if the water was too cold to go in.

Love Evan’s face with the pudding spoons...

[CrispyA]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

A good golfing day! I am like you with regards to being able to hit a ball moving quickly at me - though I used to be quite good when I was younger!

Hadn’t Evan realised that when you are the only one to order dessert, the others will happily help out if even if they weren’t hungry 🤣

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I'm not great at hitting golf balls that aren't moving either, but I did manage a couple of holes in one.

Evan needs to learn the rules of dessert - it's ALWAYS to share!

Originally Posted by katiebaz

Sounds like a good fun relaxing day and the beach looks lovely - even if the water was too cold to go in.

Love Evan’s face with the pudding spoons...

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He really didn't want to share . ..

[WileyCoyote]

Fun day ,. Shame it wasn’t swimming weather but sounds a lot of fun.
Hah poor Evan with the sharing spoons ... but did you use them ?
Hurrah for WiFi restored. Bathroom sharing is mega tortuous at best of times but worse when there is nothing to entertain you while waiting.
More fabulous poses today too.