Going Home...

How many of us as kids couldn't wait to "get out of Dodge" as they say.  Graduate and leave home never to look back.   No matter how hard we may run, chances are we find ourselves turning around and heading back home at some point in our adulthood.....  When we do, have you noticed how we manage to revisit our favorite hangouts?  Here are a few of mine.

                             My childhood home, where it all began...         

 

I walked so many miles on this pier, even when waves were crashing over the lighthouse....yes we were all idots at that age,  even jumped off and did some surfing, I wasn't very good at that particular sport but it was sure fun!  It's a beautiful sight every time I go home....actually I swing by the beach on the way to mom's.  Priorities....

Known as the World's Largest Musical Fountain,  (at least when I was growing up)  I would listen to the music every night.  When the wind off the water was just right, the sound would carry up to our house on Lake Street.  Later, when my parents moved closer to the harbor, I would fall asleep to the sound every night I was home visiting.  I still do, but now its from my sister's summer house.

This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember.  The Whippy Dip....ignore that name "Dairy Treat."  To us and especially our kids it is simply known as the Whippy Dip.  My dad coined that phrase for the grandkids when they visited.  Sometimes it was Whippy Dip for breakfast and another Whippy Dip for a bedtime snack....while watching the Musical Fountain...multi-tasking....

Killer corn dogs, the BEST!  Cholesterol worry warts were asked to keep moving...usually these came before the Whippy Dip, but not always.  Oh, and you didn't order just one, a minimum of two with a Dr. Pepper was required.  Then we'd sit on the grass and watch the boats go by or the cute Coast Guard guys during the summer.

Hostetter's News Stand...the largest selection of penny candy you could find from wax lips to candy cigarettes.  Every week my sister and I would go down and spend some of our allowance.  It would take ages to decide which candy we wanted.  I don't think I've ever bought a paper here...

Grand Haven, Michigan is recognized as the Coast Guard City USA.  Here the ice cutter Mackinaw, one of the most well known Great Lakes ice cutters, enters the harbor for our annual Coast Guard Festival which happens every August for 10 days.  Several CG ships come in during this period & it is an amazing sight.  Love this time of year with the ships, the carnival, art festival, parade, and an amazing fireworks display on closing night...

A classic Great Lake steel ship coming into a harbor.  They would blow their horn a certain number of times when entering and leaving port.  My dad knew many of the men on these ships. He grew up in Rogers City MI where the ships would often pick up their cargo--his childhood friends in this case.  They're amazingly huge, incredible to watch as they move and very dark beneath deck as I learned once while visiting the Captain on one of the ships with my dad.  

My hometown, Grand Haven, Michigan.  




What are your favorite hometown memories?