Saugatuck and Douglas are some of the most beautiful resort towns in Michigan. Virgin beaches, blue waters and clever shops. When you are there, you will notice gaggles of same-sex couples canoodling and cavorting on the boulevards. Don't be concerned. It's not the National Republican Congressional Committee. In fact, Saugatuck has been a Gay Mecca since 1951. That’s when Judy Garland stumbled into town when her train, the Mackinac Hustler, broke down on the way to Chicago. A call went out to the Lavender Army to ease her stay with buckets of Vodka Gimlets, Slap and Tickle Charades and Guess What's in My Bag. Judy departed days later, her constitution revived by the breezes off Lake Michigan and a handful of amphetamines. She left nothing but a rainbow scarf tied to a pole stuck in the sand and thus a tradition was born.
Continue your gourmet tour at Uncommon Grounds (127 Hoffman St.). The friendly and attractive cafe offers the best tasting coffee and baked goods in town. All of the coffee is roasted on site in small batches and organic and fair-trade whenever possible. Miss Carolita likes something sweet with her latte and Uncommon Grounds bakes everything in-house. Casey, the manager, suggests the Michigan Cherry Turkey Sandwich. The shop also fosters a sense of community in Saugatuck by hosting a free music series. July performances include folk singer Clifford Babcock from Battle Creek (July 3), indie artist Jes Kramer (July 10), Chicago blues artist Keith Scott (July 16) and Grand Rapids punk band Four For Smoking (July 24).
When hotdogs and chalky fudge get old, make your way to Marro's Italian Restaurant (147 Water St.). Frank and Lyn Marro opened the restaurant in 1971 and it continues to offer the
finest authentic Italian food. According to co-owner Frank Marrow, "My favorite dish is the Linguine Ala Pescatore with clams, mussels shrimp and scallops. I like it on the spicy side in a red sauce." The most popular dish is lasagna and the thin-crust pizza is a favorite with families. Look for the Wednesday Pizza Special: any large two item pizza for $10. A metamorphosis takes place at 10 p.m. as Marro's changes from a restaurant to the hottest dance club in Saugatuck. Cool off with one of its signature chocolate martinis or sip a glowing concoction of rum, triple sec and pineapple juice known as the Lucky Charm. "They're magically delicious!"Everyday People Cafe (11 W. Center St.) in Douglas offers a fresh take on gourmet classics in a casual, hip atmosphere. The restaurant's history goes back to 1977 when Margaret Balmer began waiting tables at what was then the Douglas Dinette. She and a partner bought the dinette in 1980 and eventually she was the sole owner and cook with help from her son Matt. When he graduated with a culinary arts degree in 1997, the dinette was transformed into the Everyday People Cafe. The restaurant still serves food cooked from the soul and served with kindness and respect. You will find eclectic comfort food like Otto's Farm Chicken and Dumplings, Grilled Lamb Chops rubbed with smoked paprika and sherry and Dancing Goat Salad with goat cheese, Bibb lettuce, purple onions and rhubarb vinaigrette. For dessert, try the Napoleon Crème Brûlée sitting in a puddle of raspberry sauce. The five-course Monthly Wine Dinner is a steal at $55 per person.
Families will love Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant (6054 124th Ave.), which is 20 minutes away in Fennville. Crane's was founded when H.B. Crane bought the H.H. Hutchins Farm in 1916 to start an orchard. Today it offers a variety of delicious fruits and baked goods "We just wrapped up putting 8,000 pounds of rhubarb into desserts," said Becky Crane. She said that the pantry's bestseller is the double-crusted 10-inch apple pie. "It's all American!" she said. They also offer cherry, blueberry and red raspberry pies. Crane's Farm will have U-Pick sweet cherries by the end of June or the first of July. Peaches in August, and apples in September through October. Hay rides and a corn maze start in the fall. The antique-laden restaurant offers homemade sandwiches, burgers, soups and salads. Look for Crane's new venture on 8th Street in downtown Holland this summer. Crane's in the City will serve all of its tasty foods in a more urban setting.After all of that noshing, spend a couple nights at the Belvedere Inn Restaurant (3656 63rd St.). The inn humbly refers to itself as a "Mini Versailles." Sitting on five acres of beautifully manicured grounds, the upscale hotel is charming yet dramatic. The Prairie style structure was designed by Dwight Perkins, a colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1913 as a private summer home for the Williamson family. In 1995, the "Big House" was fully restored by two former Chicagoans, Shaun Glynn and Pete Ta. Reserve the Belvedere Suite ($325/night) on the second floor and lounge like the Sultan of Brunei with a queen bed, fireplace and whirlpool. Or get a standard room Sunday through Thursday for only $595.
"Saugatuck is great for shopping," said Felicia Fairchild, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Convention & Visitors Bureau. She recommends the Spice Merchants (115 Butler St.), a fragrant shop offering exotic dried herbs, spices and teas; Del Sol (201 Culver St.), which offers t-shirts and many other fun products that change color in the sun; Art Glass Alcove (142 Butler St.), a beautiful boutique with artisan jewelry, fashion accessories, art glass and bath luxuries; the Summertime Market (176 Blue Star Highway), offering organic and hand-crafted fruit, vegetables, meat, bread and cheese in a charming roadside stand; and, The Olive Mill (220 Culver St), which encourage you to taste olive oils and balsamic vinegars from around the world that can add an explosion of flavor to your Hamburger Helper.
Theatre is an important part of the Saugatuck lifestyle. The Mason Street Warehouse (400 Culver St.) produces professional, New York quality theatre in the Saugatuck Center for the Arts in the former freezer of Rich's Pie Factory. The lively audience hails from across West Michigan as well as Chicago, Indiana and other states. Mason Street specializes in highly rated musical productions, like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (June 25-July 18). The theater offers more bawdy fare like Dixie's Tupperware Party (July 21-Aug. 1), which features the statuesque Dixie Longate straight from the trailer park in Alabama. Individual tickets are $39.75 and season tickets for four shows are $100 and up.
The Waterfront Film Festival turns Saugatuck into a virtual movie theatre. Every June, filmgoers, actors, producers and directors come together to enjoy outstanding independent films from all over the United States. Entertainment professionals from Los Angeles, New York and Michigan launched the festival in 1999 to provide a "middle coast" venue for independent filmmakers eager to show their work to sophisticated audiences. The festival has featured 16 world premieres from 2004 to 2009 and the Midwest premieres of Napoleon Dynamite, Open Water and Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Look for the next Waterfront Film Festival in June 2011. Sitting with 300 people on folding chairs in a boat shed while watching films made far away from Hollywood is a treat.
Get out of the dark and enjoy the beaches of Saugatuck and Douglas. Saugatuck Dunes State Park is rustic yet beautiful. The 1,000-acre park boasts 2.5 miles of secluded shoreline with coastal dunes that are more than 200 feet tall. The park is popular with nature enthusiasts, who will look for three endangered plant species, as well as birdwatchers, hikers and rock collectors like the special Miss Carolita. Oval Beach, meanwhile, is rated among the 25 best shorelines in the world. It has the right combination of sand dunes, seclusion and services that create its cachet. Discover it best by riding across the Kalamazoo River on the hand-cranked Chain Ferry. Climb 282 steps to Mount Baldhead then descend onto the grassy coastal sands.
The northern section of Oval Beach is a private Gay Beach set aside for same-sex sun worshippers. Clean and unspoiled like an altar boy, it is one of the finest gay beaches in the country. There is a gay area with racks for cargo shorts and a lesbian area with a softball diamond. The back dunes are perfect for hot, steamy, oily sunbathing and Greco-Roman wrestling in the nude.
Gay vacationers will want to get a room at the Dunes Resort Bars (333 Blue Star Highway) on 20 acres of forests and dunes. Owners Mike Jones, Danny Esterline and Greg Trzybinski purchased The Douglas Dunes in 1999 and renamed it "The Dunes Resort." Since then, the trio has worked tirelessly to perpetuate a gay-safe haven while offering top-shelf lodging and entertainment. The same-sex motel offers rooms that range from tasteful to trashy while the newly built hotel is more middlebrow. The resort includes a nightclub with the best DJs, a cabaret with live entertainment, an outdoor patio bar and rowdy pool bar. Get your bump and grind on and then explore the woods to release all that tension. Look for the July 2 Tea Dance with DJ Tony Moran.
Do you get saucy in Saugatuck and daring in Douglas? Let your Poppa know at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Photos: Felicia Fairchild and Ryan Pavlovich
