Today was our first of three days touring with friends from the Snapper's Region of AACA.  We left Kalamazoo with the threat of rain, some of the group getting really wet.  Luckily, we did not get rained on.  Later in the day as we did our laundry, we heard a weather update and realized that we had been just ahead of a severe thunderstorm and hail.  Really  glad we missed it!

We traveled a total of 124 miles today through rural Michigan farming country with lots of corn, vineyards, and orchards.  

Vineyards near South Haven , Michigan.

Joe and I weakened and bought truffles at The Chocolate Garden, where they make handmade chocolate candy.  They are featured in Midwest Living Magazine as the #1 truffle maker in this area and have been featured on the Food Network and on the Travel Channel. They were good but not worth the $12.00 for 4 small pieces of candy.  We paid handsomely to feel so guilty.

We visited Hov-Aire, an airplane restoration shop that specializes in the restoration of Ford Trimotors.   

Above is a portion of a 1930's Ford Trimotor airplane that was shot down in the jungles of South America.  It was not retrieved from the area until the 1980's as head-hunters inhabited the region.  Hov-Aire has been restoring it for the last couple of years but has a lot of work still to do on it.  It is not being restored to fly but to be a museum exhibit.

They had several restoration projects underway - this one a 1950's Indian Chief motorcycle, a real classic.

We motored on to South Haven, Michigan, where there is a great Maritime Museum, a quaint lakeshore community, marina and beaches.

Beach and 1903 lighthouse, a 36 foot cylindrical red metal-plated tower which the Historical Association of South Haven is trying to raise $300,000 to restore.

There are always crazy things to see on these trips as you will see below.

I spotted this wild bench made of skateboards in front of a skateboard shop in South Haven.

My favorite sight, though, was this really neat"sputnik" mailbox.  I'd love to take it home with me.

The car ran well today, the bad weather stayed to the south of us by just a "hair" and we arrived safely in Saugatuck, Michigan in time to do our laundry at the laundromat.  What fun! Has to be done, though, when you are traveling.