Starting a Southwest Michigan Girls’ Getaway

 

My friend, Lynn, and I left 21C Museum Hotel in Chicago in the afternoon to start our trip north to Michigan. It had been years since we were last in the state together. We were both huge fans of the state and were looking forward to the opportunity to check out some new towns.

We didn’t have a chance to get lunch before we left and decided to stop in South Haven, Michigan, for dinner. It’s a quaint waterfront town and we headed to a strip by the water to park. South Haven Brew Pub was on that block and looked like a casual place to eat.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple as there didn’t seem to be a way for me to get in the restaurant with my wheelchair.

As we were trying to figure out if I could get in, the manager of the Old Harbor Inn next door came out and led us through her hotel to a downstairs path that led to the brew pub. We thanked her and found a table in the busy restaurant.

I had a pulled pork sandwich with house made chips and coleslaw and Lynn had a salad and tacos with chips and salsa. It was all good, but we were tired and anxious to head to the hotel.

We walked outside in time to see the first of many incredible Southwest Michigan sunsets. It made us especially excited about the upcoming sailing trip we had out of this town.

It only took about 40 minutes to get to Holland, which would be our home base for the next few days. I had wanted to come there to their famous Tulip Festival for many years. It never seemed to work out. I finally decided to at least spend some time exploring this town in the summer.

Our hotel was the Haworth. It is right in the middle of the area where Hope College is located. The modern hotel had a very spacious lobby, the first clue I had that it would be wheelchair accessible. We had a nice spacious room, though it was a little tight around the furniture at the wall.

The bathroom was large and easy to wheel around in. The shower had a chair that I could safely get in and out of.

 

Lynn and I unpacked and wound down for the night. We had a very full next day, and we wanted to be ready for it.