July 17, 2018
What to Do, Where to Stay and What to Eat in the Fennville, Michigan Area
We just got back from the best trip where new memories
were made and we reflected on many previous times when we used to live in
Fennville, MI. Troy and I moved to Fennville when we were married for 8 months
and we had all of our hopes and dreams ahead of us.
Troy hadn’t finished his Bachelor’s degree yet and now
he is a successful teacher with a Master’s degree. We knew we wanted kids but
didn’t know when- we now have two amazing kids. We dreamed of owning a home and
now own our own. I wanted to be a dietitian and hadn’t done my internship yet-
I am now a full-time dietitian blogger living my dream of working and being
home with the kids. Life has come a long way since our dreams that we discussed
on long walks on the beach in Fennville and we love reminiscing about our two
years spent in Fennville.
What better trip than to take the kids on and show
them our old stomping grounds. It was a trip filled with laughter, good food,
beaches, pools, blueberries and more. I am so excited to share my
recommendations with you for visiting the Fennville area.
Where to Stay in Fennville
I highly, highly recommend staying at Hop and Vine Inn
in Fennville, MI. It is one of the best places that I have stayed in with so
many family friendly amenities.
They have an indoor pool with a 1 foot, 3.5
foot and 5 foot sections. The 1 foot pool was amazing for Oliver while Adalyn
loved the big pool where she got the courage to jump in by herself for the
first time.
The inn owners Amber and Dan will feel like your good
friends with friendly smiles, recommendations of what to do in the area and a
delicious homemade breakfast with options for everyone. Adalyn really took to
both of them and enjoyed seeing them work hard to run the large inn that they
took ownership of a year ago.
For breakfast, each morning they had different
delicious flavors of waffles, tater tots, fresh fruit, yogurt, sausage or ham,
different muffins and danishes, eggs and more. Everything was wonderful!
Our room was perfect and recently remodeled. It
featured a couch that turned into a bed and a bed, bathroom and full kitchen. The
bed was comfortable and everything was top notch. We enjoyed having the kitchen
for easy lunches in the room.
The best part of the room is that we had an
outdoor patio which was essential in the evenings for hanging out while the
kids were trying to fall asleep. Troy and I enjoyed some local Saugatuck
Brewing Company IPA out on the patio.
The inn has a playground for kids, volleyball court,
lots of games, an indoor porch, cute garden sitting areas and much more. It is
the most family friendly place that we have ever stayed. The inn was full of
families and the owners were so accommodating for my family including an early
check-in for naps, high chairs in the breakfast area and all of the amenities
that kids love. We are seriously already planning our trip back to Hop and Vine
Inn and I couldn’t recommend it more.
Where to Eat Near Fennville
-Taste in South
Haven
We loved trying small plates at Taste in South Haven.
The best three dishes that we tried were the Korean Chicken which was packed with
a ton of flavor, the potato pancakes which were perfectly crispy and the sweet and spicy shrimp which had an awesome sauce.
Everything was super tasty and the restaurant also
specializes in a bunch of different martinis. They have regular types of meals
as well as the small plates. Since I love to try lots of different dishes, I
really enjoyed the small plates.
-Marro’s
in Saugatuck
OMG I have the best appetizer in the world to share
with you from Marro’s in Saugatuck. The Shrimp Fra Diablo features a spicy chunky
tomato sauce with lots of garlic, huge shimp and toasted cheesy garlic bread. I
highly recommend this sauce and would order my pasta with this sauce next time.
The kids both loved it as well.
We ordered shrimp alfredo for the kids to split, Troy
got chicken parmesan and I got chicken with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes.
Everything was delicious. It was our second time there and both times were
wonderful.
-La Pinata in
Kalamazoo
Near and dear to our hearts is La Pinata, a Mexican
restaurant in Kalamazoo that Troy and I visited often in college for
anniversaries, birthdays and graduations. A fun place with a delicious Mexican
menu.
What to Do in the Fennville Area
We have so many recommendations as we love the area
and visit often!
-Kayak rentals in Big Lake Outfitters in Saugatuck- In
the couple of years that we lived in the area, we never went kayaking or did
anything on the water in Saugatuck so this was especially awesome. We rented
double kayaks for a couple of hours with the kids and had a beautiful, calming
kayak trip.
It was definitely a great way to see more of Saugatuck. We enjoyed going by some lily pads and exploring.
-Shopping in downtown Saugatuck- the shops are super
cute and we had a picnic at the waterfront
-Blueberry picking at Crane’s U-Pick- for $1.50 a
pound, this is a must-do family event. Even Oliver at 1 year old could pick and
it means so much to the kids and I to pick fruit. It’s one of my favorite
things ever to do. The farm is so beautifully taken care of. They also have
u-pick peaches, raspberries, apples and more depending on the time of year.
I think that my kids may have eaten their body weight in fruit!
-Visit Pier Cove Beach- my favorite beach in the area
that makes for an amazing long walk on the beach. There is barely ever anyone
there so you have tons of beach to explore mostly to yourself.
-Visit Saugatuck Dunes State Park- this was our second
time there and I loved the 0.6 mile hike through the woods on the sandy dunes
to the beach. The beach is not huge but there are big sand dunes to run up and
down which my daughter and I really enjoyed. The beach is all sand and makes
for awesome swimming.
-Grab beer at the Saugatuck Brewing Company.
-Playing in the sand at any of the beaches.
-Visit downtown South Haven for cute shops and a great
walk along the water including a nice lighthouse.
-Catch a sunset at the beach! It is the best on the west side of the state of Michigan.
It was the best trip and I can’t wait to return in the
next year or two most likely.
Thank
you to Hop and Vine Inn and some of the restaurants in the area for providing a
complimentary stay and meals!
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