Venturing to the Grand Haven State Park beach today I was surprised by the empty parking lots downtown. Everywhere we gazed, empty spaces. The tourists have all but vanished. School back in session. Overnight, we regained our town. The joyous months to come… not worrying about crowds. Minimal traffic. Eating anywhere we chose, at anytime. And eerie. Just a bit eerie… will take a week or two to get used to the emptiness. The weather still warm. The people mostly gone.
As we toured three beaches today, it was as striking as the dead downtown lots. Scattered survivors of the tourist season. Windy, but the breeze not blowing as fiercely as the waves would imply.
No volleyball today, just a few days ago it was packed.
As we lounged in the warm breeze and snapped photos of the waves, a woman stopped by and ask if we were residents. “Yes, yes we are.”
“Wow, I would love to live here! We were just heading back to Indiana and stopped for just a few more minutes.”
“Safe travels.” And then, the last tourist was… gone.
As we turned our gaze back to the waves, the water was free from humans. The surfers had left for a short break. No one was on the dangerous pier. Five to ten foot waves forecast today. We were seeing 5 footers. A surfer dude told us that the waves would be building further within the hour. Then, as we were about to leave, came a woman with her super duper pineapple safety device. Seriously?
I’ll skip the shots of the frolicking in the waves. At least the Coast Guard was out, ready to rescue the foolhardy.
No one else out on the water today but the Coast Guard, surfers, and the pineapple floater.