Measure for Michigan

I spent a few weeks in Grand Haven, MI, working on a production of Measure for Measure. For the last week, my family joined me. I love having them there, and we got to visit old favorite places, as well as discover some new ones.

Before they got there, I had a good time connecting with people I love and seeing them perform, checking out Jurassic World Live, visiting the beach and the forest and the library, and focusing on putting together this very strange show.

The kids were annoyed that our travel plans had them away from home on Halloween, but JC made it up to them by taking them to a Spirit Halloween for the first time ever.

On the way there, my family made a stop in a tourist trap that has been on the list for a while.

On the first day they were there, we went all over downtown Grand Haven. I took them around to see the skeletons in the shop windows (there was a contest!). We visited a toy store, got snacks at a cafe, checked out some cool art in a gallery, and stopped in at the Bookman to see Scott. On Halloween, a freak snowstorm dumped 9 inches on the lake shore. Trick-or-treat was canceled! And I made them go for a walk in the first snow with me, as tradition dictates. They are still mad about not getting to trick-or-treat with their friends.

We made it up to them, though, with a trip to Meijer Garden. They hadn’t been there since they were very small, and they didn’t remember how incredibly cool it is.

They maybe hadn’t seen the Chihuly before, and they’d forgotten how beautiful the Japanese garden is. They remembered and were excited to come back to the rainforest room. And JC and I marveled that we have these little people who are excited to go to a botanical garden, who comment intelligently on the art and notice specific details of the plants.

On our last day in Grand Haven, we went to Rosy Mound to see the red pines, and then visited the Midwest Miniatures Museum, where the kids completed a challenging scavenger hunt and learned all about scale.