weekend in ludington, mi

The other weekend Michelle and I celebrated our four year anniversary.  I know everyone says that it is hard to believe they have been married as long as they have but it really is difficult to believe four years have gone by since we said some vows and exchanged some rings.  This is our last anniversary pre-kids so we were definitely getting out of town while we still had the freedom.

Michelle heard about a bed and breakfast so she made reservations at The Cartier Mansion for a very reasonable $99 a night.  The five room bed and breakfast is a mansion built in 1905 and has had very few owners so is in its original condition.  We walked in the front door and were greeted with the typical "If you are looking for the high school prom you are in the wrong place" look.  When the women who greeted us saw that our names were actually on the reservation list she went to get the key to our room as we looked around.  She took us up to our room and told us when breakfast was.  The room was small but we expected that because the price was the cheapest of all the rooms.  It had a quaint bed and breakfast feel (not that I really know what that means since this was our first B&B experience) with a nice, modern bathroom.

I had picked out all the places we were going to be eating at and made some reservations ahead of time at a few restaurants.  Our first night we were headed to the Jamesport Brewing Co.  I am a fan of microbreweries so I was really looking forward to trying out some of their brews.  We had some time to kill before our reservation so we enjoyed some tea from the guest services station.  At the guest services station they had single serving french press coffee, loose leaf tea, DVDs, and popcorn.  The coffee and teas were fantastic!  At Jamesport, we were seated right away (nice move on the reservation).  The atmosphere wasn't anything special.  Very simple.  Our server didn't explain anything about the beers and wasn't overly friendly.  The food was average as I had a burger and Michelle opted for a pear, brie, and turkey salad.  However, I didn't go for the food, I went for the beer.  I got a beer sampler and enjoyed most of what they had.  My favorite was their Scottish Strong Ale that had great flavor. 

Saturday we woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast.  There was a quaint dining area where we sat at a table with another couple.  They served a great Eggs Benedict with potatoes and fresh fruit.  It was awesome!  The inn keepers/owners are a husband and wife from California who moved there 5 years ago when they bought the place.  The woman will make friends with anyone and the husband was very laid back but gave us some good suggestions of things to do.  We then hit downtown Ludington for some shopping which lasted about 30 min.  There isn't much in Ludington and I wouldn't suggest going there for shopping.  We were there to relax so we went to the public beach to hang out and read.  On the way down we saw some kind of art show going on in a large park so we stopped but after seeing no art and lots of cheesy crafts we ditched after about 2 minutes.

The Ludington city beach is awesome!  You park right next to the beach so the walk is very short.  There is a ton on beachfront so the beach is never crowded (well at least not once when we where there).  Best of all...it's free!  When lunch rolled around we were in the mood for pizza.  We were given the suggestion of an Italian restaurant downtown for some pizza on Facebook when I asked for recommendations before we left.  The pizza was average but the atmosphere was very plain and boring.  Michelle and I are atmosphere people so it didn't do the trick for us.  Again, we weren't impressed with Ludington customer service as we walked in the door and were told to sit "somewhere over there."   

After lunch we went back to the room to take a nap and then headed to The Blu Moon for a drink.  We thought it was a coffee shop so we were planning on getting coffee but it is a restaurant and bar.  The atmosphere was great.  Very eclectic!  The bartender made Michelle a nice foofy drink since babies and alcohol don't mix.  We would have eaten dinner there had we not had reservations at another place that had high reviews from the locals.  The food we saw others eating looked wonderful.  If we go back to Ludington we will try the food at The Blu Moon next time. 

After the Blu Moon we had more time to kill before our reservations so we went to a coffee shop to actually get coffee this time.  We went to Redolencia which had a great atmosphere.  There was a variety of styles of furniture and art.  For you in Holland, it is like a more homey Lemonjello's.  The one downside to this place is that they only do french press coffee which tastes great but you have to wait awhile and it is more coffee than most people need.  The frozen drinks only come in one flavor too which are huge and of course cost a lot.  But the atmosphere offset this downside and provided a great place for us to read and talk.

We were supposed to go to dinner but we weren't hungery at all so I called PM Steamers and asked them to move back our reservations.  We were glad we did because outside the coffee shop a band playing world fusion music jamed for awhile.  We sat outside and enjoyed this great music until it was time to go to PM Steamers. 

PM Steamers is discribed by our innkeepers as well as the employees of the B&B as the best and nicest restaurant in town.  We shared the cherry salmon since we still weren't hungry. It was awesome. Lots of great flavors.  The customer service was fantastic.  People smiled, often asked how we were doing, and were overall pleasant.  I always try to tell people when they are doing great at their job so I told our server that her and the rest of the PM Steamer staff had the best customer service we had experienced all weekend in Ludington.  She was grateful for our comments and opened right up.  She asked why we were in town and when we told her it was for our anniversary she brought out a free piece of chocolate cake for us to enjoy! 

After a great day, we headed back to the hotel room.  It was then we discovered another reason why we were glad we moved back our reservations.  Outside at the bed and breakfast, they have a tent set up and a redone carriage house for parties.  There was a party going on.  Not just any party - Ludington High School's 15 year reunion!  The music was blasting and I of course was entertained so I went outside for a few minutes but after seeing a bunch of middle aged intoxicated people trying to rekindle the flames from high school, I went back inside.  Michelle and I ended up putting in a movie and cranking up the volume to cover the bad mix of music from the 80s and today.  At 11:15 things finally quieted down and we went to bed.

Sunday morning we went downstairs to another great breakfast!  A quiche with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and mushrooms.  We packed up our stuff and then headed to the Ludington State Park.  This state park is huge!  There are many hiking trails and it looked like some great camp sites if you are interested in camping.  We walked the 2 mile hike up to the Big Sable light house.  For $2 a person you can get a tour and go all the way to the top.  Be sure to bring cash as they have a $10 minimum for credit cards.  We didn't have cash but they took pity upon the pregnant woman and ran our card anyway.  The view was great and worth the hike.  We then walked back to our car and headed out of Ludington.  Next time we will spend more time at the state park.

On the way home we stopped through Pentwater.  It is another small lakeside town about 20 minutes south of Ludington.  I had a few people tell me to stop at the Brown Bear for the best burger I will ever have.  The burgers come in 3 sizes - wimpy (1/4 lb), cub (1/2 lb), and big bear (1 lb).  I opted for the cub while Michelle got the wimpy.  The burger was very good and I will agree one of the best I've ever had.  Definitely worth the stop.  From them were headed back home after a great weekend away!