We pried our hands from the keys to our suite in Saugatuck and headed out this morning after breakfast. We weren’t entirely sure where we were going, but we knew we didn’t want to head straight home. We don’t get to the west side of the state very much and wanted to take advantage of the sunny (yet cool) day we had.

South Haven Pier

South Haven wasn’t very far from Saugatuck so we drove there to check out yet another yarn shop which turned out not to be open until later that day and Shannon didn’t want to take the time to wait. While we were there we swung by the beach and lighthouse. Surprisingly there were several others there bundling up that planned on walking out to the beach to see the tiny red lighthouse. With the blustery winds near the water, Shannon and I decided to sit this one out. Before you say we’re wimpy, keep reading.

On a side note, there was a great deal of work being done near the pier and beach area. From the looks of it, it’s going to be very nice when completed.

St. Joseph Magical Ice Carving Festival – 6th Annual

From South Haven, it was just a short jaunt to St. Joseph and there we struck proverbial gold! Before we even headed into town, we stopped off at the North Pier to see the lighthouses. The sun came out in full force and Shannon and I couldn’t resist taking a walk up the frozen sand dunes to snap off a few shots of the lighthouse. Once we headed out, despite the snow and the wind, the sunshine made our walk far more tolerable. We were rewarded with some great pics. We slipped our way across the ice that leads out to the lighthouse, but at one point it was way too slippery to head out any further.

At times the waves crashed up on the pier and even along the snow/sand mounds. As you can see the ice coated the railings which made it virtually impossible to tread out any further to get a closer look at the light.

From the pier we headed into town and we had no idea the 6th Annual Magical Ice Carving Festival was underway. We spent about an hour our so being fascinated by the craftsmen/women who were hard at work shaping blocks of ice into creatures ranging from a dragon fly, to dragons. They even had a putt-putt course constructed of ice sculptures for kids to play. It was such a beautiful day and such a beautiful setting. This was certainly a fitting way to end our weekend getaway. What made it even ‘cooler’ was it was unplanned and unexpected. You would have thought we knew what we were doing! It turned out to not only be a wonderful 20th Anniversary, but a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

20 Years in Retrospecct

I had a wonderful time with my sweet bride on this weekend getaway. It’s difficult to believe we have been together for 20 years. She officially has been living with me longer than she had with her parents. See our children grow so quickly, and seeing how much God has blessed us is truly humbling and gratifying. It truly has been only by God’s Divine Grace and Favor that we have enjoyed the life we have. Keeping God first has been and will always be the key to longevity in a marriage. When God is first in both of your lives He gives you the center, and from there, despite life’s challenges, God grants you His Grace to see them through.

Below are a few of the pictures we took at the festival…