A few weeks ago, I read an article about the best beach towns in Michigan. As a family, we have been to many on the list, but there were a few, within a 3 hour drive, that we have not yet visited. Today we ventured to the farthest away (without having to spend the night somewhere). We visited Pentwater first, since it is #10 out of 19, then went to Manistee, which is #7.
In Pentwater, we found the downtown area cute, and we enjoyed the walk along the marina. Since we are somewhat coffee snobs, we decided to try coffee at the locally acclaimed "Village Grounds." It was so much less than we hoped it would be, based on reviews. We drove over to where the beach is, and it was the state park, which means there are no free beaches in Pentwater. The beach was just average, but it did have a nice playground.
We then drove north to Manistee. There is a great public beach in Manistee that contains a beach volleyball court, tennis courts, a great playground, really nice public restrooms, several covered picnic areas, and a great pier leading out to a bright white lighthouse. The beach was just the right size and very clean. Much of the swimming area was clear and sandy. After having a picnic lunch and walking the pier, we drove to the downtown. Their downtown is cute, with huge baskets of pink flowers hanging from the antique lampposts. Each store was different from the other, and the coffee was very good! A bonus was finding a little sticker, in the shape of a heart, that was the Dutch flag, on a mailbox.
Shenanigans occurred in Manistee. As we were walking back to the beach, on the pier, a couple of boys decided it would be fun to wedge Pringles cans in a couple of joints of the catwalk. The teacher in me said, "Hey, guys, don't leave those there. Take them down and throw them away." The older boy grabbed his, but the younger boy ran off, laughing. Cassandra pulled the other can out, and carried it back to the parking lot so that she could throw it away. As we entered the parking lot, I saw the boys, the little one was running, and the older was riding his bike. One of their friends was unlocking his bike, so I handed him the can and said, "Please tell your little friend that he forgot this. He needs to take care of it properly." We watched that boy pedal away, can in hand, all the way to the bathrooms, where we watched the other boys go into. As that boy parked his bike, near a garbage can, he carried that can into the bathroom. We envisioned him throwing the can at his friend, telling him to take care of it. We sure hope he did!
As we drove home, we decided that we liked Pentwater's downtown the best, but Manistee's beach, riverwalk, and coffee the best. Overall, it was a super fun day.
