A Michigan Sunday Morning
It is a delight to travel. I’m in Michigan wine country, just outside of St. Joseph. With a brief two hour drive, the big city of Chicago is west of us. Benton Harbor and St. Joseph are situated on the other side of great Lake Michigan. The environment of soil and weather and proximity to the lake has shaped the culture of those communities. Yesterday I enjoyed the farmers market situated within Silver Beach. The bottle of blueberry wine produced by the Lazy Ballerina Winery that I purchased did not disappoint. The vineyard is owned by two women Lauren and Melanie. “Lazy Ballerina” refers to the trellis that the vines grow upon.
Silver Beach overlooks the harbor that utilizes the mouth of the St. Joseph river to make this one of the busiest ports on Lake Michigan. Of the monuments on display a sculpture fountain entitled Maids of the Mist was a shining white reminder of our cultural roots in late antiquity. I felt a calming presence as I contemplated the generations represented by the sculpture. The monument was dedicated in 1892.
We visited The South Bend Chocolate Company. Who could possibly 
resist such a feast for the palate and the eye! Coffee, ice cream, and some sweet pastries that I’ve never seen 
before compelled my interest. How about this Chocolate Peanut Butter Stack! Surely a taste of that would be heaven. I resisted. The coffee was freshly made and up to standard. The staff made us feel welcome so we lingered for a bit.
Silver Beach contained reminders of a grimmer aspect of 
life in the numerous memorials to the war dead. The monument to the Civil War was a massive 11 inch Dahlgren gun that was dedicated in 1897. The gun had a 11 inch bore and could hurl a 200 lb solid shot for two miles with 15 pounds of gun power. Now it serves for climbing play for children and a photo backdrop for their parents.
Lake Michigan itself is the main feature of this area. Walking though the woods, down a steep ravine we emerged onto a narrow 
sandy beach that curved out of sight in both directions north and south. The lake waves gentle by comparison to ocean surf make a rhythmic booming sound. The sandy bottom made swimming pleasurable and safe, for quite some distance out into the lake. There is a child in all of us that is delighted to play in water. I hope that I never forget the scene of our grandchild, a bit older than two, greeting the lake for his first time. May I allow myself to be delighted by Natures gifts in the manner of a child for the rest of my life.
