Amazing new shore finds from the Dollar Tree

I mentioned last week that the Dollar Tree had a Shore Living line that can't be missed.  I really mean it. I have not been this excited about a new line in quite awhile.   There are so many items that I want to buy.  They remind me of the vacation we took a few years ago along the lake shores of Lake Michigan. It was one of the best vacations I ever took, and I look forward to taking again. (you can see links the the posts with pictures below) 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I have not seen any of these items in store yet, but these amazing items are on their website and can be shipped for FREE to your local store.

Here are just some of my favorites 

Metal Embossed Oval Buckets

Vertical MDF Wall Decor Sentiment Sign

Metal DIY Wall Banners

Starfish Wreath Forms

Anchor Wreath Form

Starfish Ceramic Decor

                                                           Cork Wall Tags

Wooden Hanging Mermaid Signs

Beach Inspired Wall Signs

Nautical Wood Signs

Wooden Mermaid Tails 3 ct pack

There are just too many items in this collection that I love to post. You can see them all on the Dollar Tree website.  

If you want to follow along with with my Dollar Tree Finds, Reels and more come join me on Instagram

If you are interested in learning more about great places to visit on vacation in Michigan.   Check out the posts below 

Spilling the Beans.. What I have been up to

Our Visit to Holland, Michigan

Our visit to Lake Michigan, Grand Haven, Ludington, Manistee

Our visit to Lake Michigan, Traverse City, Charlevoix, and Petoskey

Our Visit to the Michigan Upper Peninsula

Our Visit to Mackinac Island

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Our visit to Mackinac Island

  

After we saw the sunset in Petoskey (read about it here) we moved on to Mackinaw City for the night.  The next morning we stopped at the Old Mackinac Point lighthouse, and to see Mackinac Bridge from the shore.  It is the the bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. 

The lighthouse is another nice one that we would like to go back and visit when it is open to the public again.  It has such a pretty view of Lake Huron and the Mighty Mac.  (the nickname for the Mackinac Bridge)  

To get to the island, you need to take a ferry.  You can take a ferry from Mackinaw City, or you can cross the bridge and take one from St. Ignace. We decided do the latter, because we were planning on going north into the Upper Peninsula after our trip to the island.

There are a couple different ferry companies to choose from.   we chose to take the Star Line.  Since we had about 45 minutes before our ferry was due to leave, we decided to check out the small lighthouse that was very close by. 

This is the Watawam Lighthouse.  It is much  different than the other lighthouses we saw on our trip.  It was built in Monroe, Michigan and then moved to St. Ignace in 2006.

While on the ferry we passed the Round Island Lighthouse. It was built in 1895 and help the ships find their way through the Straits of Mackinac. 

When the ferry pulled into the dock, this is the first beautiful building we saw. The pink flowers were gorgeous.

The Mustang Lounge claims to be Michigan's most historic tavern.  When I went to find out why, I saw that the building is made from 200 yr old timbers from the fur trader warehouse that used to be located there.  

The Lilac Tree Hotel is the only all suite hotel on the island. As you can see there is a horse drawn carriage hauling supplies parked in front.  There are a lot of horses on the island, because cars are prohibited. 

This beautiful bed and breakfast has a beautiful of the water and belongs to a relative of a friend of mine. 

This is the equivalent to a traffic jam on the island.  A carriage carrying supplies to the Grand Hotel and the trash carriage met up at the corner. 

There are approximately 500 people who live on the island year round, and this is where the children go to school. 

The Grand Hotel is probably the most famous building on the island.  You may have seen it in the movie Somewhere in Time.  It was built in 1887, and every single room is decorated  differently.  It is also pretty expensive to stay there. We checked the prices the week we were there in August, and they were over $700 a night. There is also a $10 a person fee is you are not a registered guest, and you want to go up to the grand porch for pictures. We decided not to do that this time, but might on our next visit. 

The main type of transportation on the island is the bicycle.  They are everywhere, and can be rented for the day. This was the bike parking lot outside of the Grand Hotel  

All of the buildings on the island have historic significance. This beautiful house is the medical center. 

If you get in trouble while on the island, this is the police station and courthouse. 

Douds Market is America's oldest grocery store. It was founded in 1884 by James and Patrick Doud. 

After dinner the sun began to set, and we knew it was time to head back.  The last ferry back to the mainland was at 9 pm. We decided to go back on the 8 pm ferry just in case it was too crowded.  While waiting for our ferry we saw the pirate ship ferry that we did not know about until the end of the day.  It looks like fun, and we might try it next time. 

One look back at the Grand Hotel as the sun began to set.  It was such a beautiful day and visit. We will definitely be going back again, hopefully one day soon! 

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Our visit to Lake Michigan - Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petoskey

If you have been following my posts from our trip around the state of Michigan, you know I ended my last post  in Traverse City where we saw the most beautiful sunset I think I have ever seen. 

Our first stop of the day was Clinch Park. It is right on Lake Michigan, where they have a beach, and a lot of things for kids to do. 

Right next to the park is the Clinch Park Marina. It is a beautiful sight to see all the boats sailing out on the lake. 

After a couple of hours, we left Traverse City and head north about an hour to the town of Charlevoix.  One thing very unique to Charlevoix are the mushroom houses.  They do have tours where you can learn about all the houses. Since we missed the last tour,  I did my research on google. :) This is Boulder Manor, one of the biggest mushroom houses.  Back in 1924, a man named Earl Young purchased several acres of land.  That land was full of boulders left from the glaciers many, many years ago. He started this house in 1928, but could not finish it until after the depression in the late 1930s.  I do not have a picture of the entryway, but there are large boulders built into the house. 

The Thatch House is a big reason why these unusual houses are called mushroom houses.  This house probably looks the most like an actual mushroom. It was built in 1918, and its thatch roof was made in Europe and shipped to the US. It took two years to built because of the extra timberwork needed to make it is unusual shape. According to the site I found on google, you can rent this house for a vacation. 

Another one of the more famous mushroom houses is the Half House. It is called that because it is the smallest of the mushroom houses.  It was built in Storybook style. (as were many in this neighborhood) Storybook is a type of architecture popular around the time these houses were built, and as you can see they look like they are straight from a storybook. You can almost image Snow White and the Seven Drawfs living  there. 

Our last stop in Charlevoix was the South Pierhead Light Station. It was not as crowded as some of the lighthouses we visited, but it was still fun to see.   At this point we decided to travel just a little bit farther, and have dinner in Petoskey. 

Petoskey is known for Petoskey stones.  There are a large number of rocks along the shoreline.  We loved the quaint downtown, and gaslight shopping district.  We decided to eat dinner at the Noggin Inn at the Perry Hotel. Reading up on the Perry Hotel, Ernest Hemmingway stayed there during his time in Petoskey. 

This was our view at dinner.  We ate outside in a garden overlooking the lake. It was such a nice place that had reasonable prices. We really enjoyed our dinner there. 

After dinner we walked around a bit more, and got some pretty pictures of the area.

Since it was getting close to the time the sun was going to set, we went down to the lakeshore.  This is what I was talking about earlier about all the rocks, they were everywhere. 

We found a comfortable place to sit, and watched another beautiful sunset.  

Afterwards we got back in the car, and decided to head to Mackinaw City for the night.  The next day we had an exciting day planned, we were heading to the Upper Peninsula and going to Mackinaw Island. 
 

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Our visit to Lake Michigan - Grand Haven, Ludington, Manistee

After a couple week delay (because of a broken computer) I am finally back to post about our vacation all around the state of Michigan.  If you missed the first post, click the link to see Our visit to Holland

Grand Haven

Our first stop in Grand Haven, which is just north of Holland, was the state park. There you could see the harbor and lighthouse.   On top of big hill over looking the harbor there is a large anchor in honor of the Coast Guard.  Grand Haven is called Coast Guard City USA 

One thing interesting about the lighthouse in Grand Haven, you get two for one.  The Inner and Outer Pierhead.  The inner tower was built in 1905.  The outer building was built in 1875 and originally in a different location. In 1922 the pier was rebuild with a concrete pierhead, and the outer building moved to that location. At the time it contained a state of the art foghorn.

A closer view of the inner light, and the bridge connecting the two buildings.

Near downtown Grand Haven we stopped to see the Pere Marquette 1223.  It is one of only two surviving 1223 2-8-4 Berkshires.  I don't know a lot about trains, but my travel companion did. It was constructed in 1941 and used to move heavy war equipment. 

Another great place to visit in Grand Haven that we did not get to see this year, because it was shut down for Covid, is the Grand Haven Musical Fountain.  We used to bring my kids there when they were young and watch synchronized music and light shows. (maybe next year!)

Ludington

If you like lighthouses, you need to stop in Ludington.  There we saw two of my favorites of the entire trip, and we saw A LOT of them.  The first stop was the Breakwater.  To get to the lighthouse, you have to walk out on a concrete pier over the water.  This sign is at the start of the walkway. 

You can see the lighthouse, the walkway and lighthouse through the fog in this picture.  I was definitely nervous walking out on the pier.  It was a windy day, and water goes over of the walkway.  On extremely windy days there is a risk that you can be washed off the pier if the waves are big enough. I saw several families with kids walking out there too, so I put on a brave face and did it. 

                                                   

When we were almost there, the waves got a bit bigger.  I moved very fast at that point. The water was about ankle deep and very cold. 

Up close the lighthouse was cool to see. It reminded me of a big ship. The current version was built in 1924.  A car ferry called the S.S. Badger that takes cars from Ludington to Manitowac, Wi, passes by the lighthouse a few times a day. 

Once we were done looking at the lighthouse, I remembered we had to walk back. It seemed a little less scary, but the waves had died down a bit. 

We made a few friends on our way back to the beach.  Even though the walk to and from the lighthouse was nerve wracking, I am so glad that I did it. 

After leaving the Breakwater on the way to the Ludington State Park, we stopped on the side of the road at a lookout spot.  There we saw some interesting small piers with places to tie your boat. Every single one had a seagull on the end. I am not really sure what they are for, but I am guess you can come in and tie you boat in case of bad weather. 

Going to see Big Sable Pointe Lighthouse was also an adventure.  At the start of the walk you see this sign. To get to there you have to hike 1.5 miles along a path that is sometimes paved and sometimes sandy. It does not sound like it would be that far, until you are actually walking it.   A lot of people rode their bikes on the path. 

The long walk was well worth it. It was beautiful. The building and tower were built in 1867.  The constriction materials were delivered to the site by ship, because there was not a road until 1933.  It was the last Great Lake lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing which was not until the late 1940s! 

The tower is 112 feet tall. It was not open to the public this year, but the platform that you normally can walk up to see is 106 feet.  

We spent some time on the beach at Big Sable Point, because we had to rest before our long walk back to our car.  We definitely got our exercise that afternoon. 

After leaving Ludington, we headed just a little bit more north to Manistee. The weather was starting to look a bit dark, because there was a storm heading our way.  

I just learned some interesting facts about the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse. It was originally built in 1869. In October 1871, on the same day as the great Chicago fire, storms caused fires in many other cities.  Most of Manistee also burned down including the lighthouse.  A new one was built in 1872. The wooden walkway added in 1879, was a safer way for the lighthouse keepers to access the light so they could maintain it. 

As we were driving out of town, I noticed an unusual sight.  Two ships were docked right next to a condominium complex that was being built. We did take a closer look and were surprised to see there were only about 20 feet between them.  

We made it out of the path of the storm in time,  and arrived safely to Traverse City for the night.  There we saw probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.  It was so vivid and colorful. It changed from purple, pink, red and orange. I hope I am lucky enough to see one like that again.  

There are several more locations I will be posting about so stayed tuned!..  

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