Thank you, Happiest Seaside Town!
This
morning, I sat staring at multiple empty marina slips while enjoying a hot cup
of coffee, beautiful trees lining the shore, gentle water flowing by, and happy
birds tweeting their morning tunes.
Grand Haven is truly a gift with all it has to offer with the
ever-changing landscape graciously provided by Mother Nature and the exciting events
consistently offered by Grand Haven and the strong community behind this town.
Last
weekend, there was not an empty marina slip as far as the eye could see due to
Grand Haven Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau hosting a multifaceted event
called Salmon Festival. This festival
features many entertaining activities, such as a gourmet salmon cook-off, purple
grape stomp, fish boil, adult local beverage tasting, art fair, and a fishing
contest, just to name some of the options for the weekend of pleasure. Salmon Festival has become a tradition for
our family and some of our closest friends over the years. My husband reserves a slip for our boat
called “Ruffin’ It” at the Grand Haven Municipal Marina six months in advance
and not a day later or else the marina is usually booked after that time
period. With a marina slip, we have a
home in Grand Haven for the fun-filled weekend.
As most of
us do, I wear many hats, including being a Physical Therapist for 19
years. As a P.T., observing people was
part of my training at Indiana University so I could become comfortable with
the variations in how people walk, move, etc. in an attempt to determine the
cause of the pain and therefore appropriate treatment for each patient. Thankfully, observing people or “people
watching” over salmon festival was beneficial in other ways as well and provided
much enjoyment for us on Ruffin’ It.
Who provided
the most entertainment? Maybe it was one
set of energetic grandparents with a busy toddler and an adorable baby in tow. The grandpa crawled around the vibrant green
grass with the toddler on his back while the grandma giggled and held the sweet
baby. Or possibly it was the kids running
and playing in the splash pad in the 80 plus degree weather in their regular
clothes and no bathing suits. Was there
a shortage of bathing suits last weekend?
Perhaps people watching combined with four-legged friends was the absolute
best entertainment of all. Most of the
weekend, our 3 year old black Lab named Groovy and our 3 month old yellow Lab named
Sparkles were on our boat making friends with all dog-friendly people and
posing for picture after picture after picture.
One lady even yelled, “Oh my gosh!
I have to run back and get my camera.
Make the dogs stay.” Another man
replied, “I don’t think they are going anywhere for a long time!” Multiple four-legged lovers even stopped to
share stories of their dogs with us as they strolled the boardwalk each sunny
afternoon.
The
festivities last weekend along with “people watching” all led to something very
important: Smiles of all shapes and sizes.
Research shows positive emotions and smiling help us to effectively
handle stress which improves overall health and increases happiness. Thank you, Grand Haven, for all of the
smiles, keeping us healthier, and truly being the happiest seaside town. Cheers! We are already looking forward to next salmon
festival😊
Grand Haven, MI, was chosen as America's Happiest Seaside Town by Coastal Living Magazine in 2017. Congratulations, Grand Haven! I am thankful to be part of your community!
