A Weekend in St. Joseph, Michigan

My 20 Year High School Reunion:

A Weekend in St. Joseph, Michigan - Sunday

By: John B. Holbrook, II

Sept. 24th, 2008

After a whirlwind of activity on Friday and Saturday, Sunday morning came and the reunion weekend was almost complete. But, there was still some essential sight seeing to be done, so Karen and I packed up our things, and checked out of the hotel.

Our first stop of the day would be Warren Dunes State Park. I had every intention of showing Karen this wonderful place which holds so many memories more me growing up, but when we arrived we learned that recent storm activity had washed away the beach access road.

Not being able to see Warren Dunes was a disappointment, but it also meant we'd have more time to see the beach I spent more time at than any other in the area I grew up - Weko Beach:

All the "cool kids" in my school usually went to Silver Beach, but I actually preferred the beach experience at Weko Beach and spent more time there growing up. Not too much had changed since I last was here:

The Official Weko Beach Welcoming Committee - miss me guys?:

From Weko beach, you can barely see the Cook Nuclear Power Plant wehre my Dad worked - Here's a zoom shot with my 70-200 lens:

Being a native of Dayton Ohio, Karen had never seen Lake Michigan and was really amazed at how beautiful the beaches are. After walking around the beach we decided to climb these dune steps to get a better view:

It was essential for us to stop several times to get photographs on the way to the top...not that we're getting so old that HAD to stop mind you....oh no.... :D

It was quite a climb, but the view from the top was worth it.

Karen and I are both "beach people" and really enjoyed walking around Weko Beach. But before we knew it, my old buddy Jason was calling me to let me know he had arrived in town and that we'd meet for lunch at the Tosis Cafe in down town St. Joseph - time to head back down the steps:

It had been far too long since I'd seen Jason - we met when he moved in next door to the first how we owned in Stevensville, and tried to get together when we could through the college years, but lost touch after that. Unfortunately, Jason had a wedding to attend in the Detroit area, but made a special stop on his way back to Chicago so that we could, together with our wives have lunch and catch up.

We had a great lunch together - some of my classmates had changed very little in the last 20 years, while others I didn't recognize. Jason on the other hand hasn't changed a bit - amazing.

Much like the rest of the weekend, our time together for lunch went by in a blur, and we said our goodbyes. It's been waaay to long since I've been to Chicago, so Karen and I hope to visit in the Spring. The entire reunion weekend experience exceeded my highest expectations - everything was really great. On the drive back to Dayton Karen and I talked about bringing my son back over the 4th of July weekend next year - this time we'll listen to Jason who recommends The Boulevard hotel. Until then, we added to some great memories I have on the shores of Lake Michigan.

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