It was a big birthday. So big that I don’t want to say how big.
I just wanted to leave town.
The escape criteria was very specific: Trees, lots of them, in which to hide; water and a beach; bird sounds. I also wanted all the comforts of home and some extravagances: fine food, great wine, candles, music, a real fireplace. And I didn’t want to drive for hours to get there.
But most of all, in this tough transitional time, I wanted the unconditional love, enthusiastic “Let’s go!” attitude and to-the-death protection afforded by the one soul I count on most.
In short, I wanted my dog to come too.
Usually I’ve had to sacrifice creature comforts to be on the road with my favorite creature, Torrie, a shepherd-huskie mix. But on this special splurge weekend, I craved the largest luxury of all: the ability to lazily creep out of bed, fling open the door and simply let Torrie out to go.
But when I fling open the door at our cottage in New Buffalo, Mich., I’m not prepared for the sight that made me, a late sleeping, second-shift worker, actually want to wake up at dawn.
Our three-room cottage is set on the edge of a small lake, which at that moment is doing its misty best rendition of “Brigadoon.”
Torrie, on the other hand, is less impressed. She quickly takes care of business, glancing nervously at the lake steaming like an overexcited giant tea kettle, then high-tails it back inside. We happily collapse back to sleep. A dry stack of wood had supplied us with hours of fiery bliss the night before after we had navigated the back road drive to the inn.
The magic and steam has lifted by late morning as we set off on a mile-long stroll around the lake. Then we go into New Buffalo, where downtown amounts to a couple block stretch of specialty shops just off Lake Michigan.
Tourists’ time confusion (Michigan is on Eastern Time) is the subject among locals when we enter the Naturally New Orleans Kitchen & Deli. After buying a carryout lunch, I eye the plump tuna fillets in the case, remembering the grill outside the cottage. However, the two-legged companion tagging along with Torrie and me promptly announces he is going to catch our dinner in the manmade, but spring-fed, lake.
There’s no dissuading him since a rowboat and fishing pole come with the cottage. Several hours and psychedelic pork lures (purchased in a nearby Wal-Mart) later, we are cruising the local grocery store for a roasted chicken to go with our leftovers.
Our hunt the next day for a public Lake Michigan dog-friendly beach is not much more successful.
After considerable time driving up and down Red Arrow Highway between New Buffalo, Union Pier and Lakeside (with a side trip to pick up wine from one of the local wineries), we have still not found one. Some locals tell us no one cares much about dogs on the public beaches in the off season, but we decide not to challenge the official Warren Dunes State Park signs prohibiting canines.
Instead we head for the nearby dog-friendly Warren Woods State Park where Torrie can legally romp with us for miles in the “primeval forest” that is sliced by the Galien River. We gulp down the delicious homemade “liverbest” sausage, mustard and pickles we’ve discovered along the way in Three Oaks, Mich. The old-fashioned, family run Drier’s Meat Market has sawdust on the floor and memorabilia on the walls recalling customers both famous and infamous: poet Carl Sandburg, actor Larry Hagman, the late Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, gangster John Dillinger.
It’s the last night in the cottage. Despite more psychedelic pork lures and calm lake waters, I find myself cracking open the wine, lighting a few candles, throwing a tape on the stereo, a log on the fire, and as Torrie lounges on the grass between the cottage and the lake’s lone rowboat, I phone Brewster’s to order a carryout pizza.
THE BOTTOM LINE %%
Weekend expenses, for two — and dog:
Cottage (2 nights) $371
Meals $71
Groceries, fishing lures $10
Bottle of wine $7
Gas $20
Total $479
%%
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
New Buffalo, Mich., is on Lake Michigan just north of the Indiana border, about 60 miles from Chicago on Interstate Highway 94. Depending on traffic, it takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get there.
LODGING
We stayed at a cottage at an inn listed as dog-friendly in two publications (reconfirming by phone that they would accept my dog). But when we contacted the manager for this story, she asked not to be listed for fear of being swamped by pet lovers.
But here’s another place we visited and checked out that accepts dogs:
White Rabbit Inn, 14634 Red Arrow Highway, Lakeside, Mich. (616-469-4620 or 800-967-2224). Billed as a romantic couples’ retreat, this quaint B&B set back from Red Arrow Highway is bordered in back by woods. With prior approval, dogs (or cats) are allowed in the two cabins, which have private outside hot tubs. Cabin rates are $175 to $200 a night, including continental breakfast. Web site: www.whiterabbitinn.com.
A bi-monthly publication, DogGone, features pet-friendly accommodations throughout the country. Subscriptions are $24 a year. Write: DogGone, Box 651155, Vero Beach, Fla. 32965-1155, or call 561-569-8434 or e-mail: doggonenl@aol.com
DINING
Drier’s Meat Market, 14 S. Elm St., Three Oaks, Mich. (616-756-3101). Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (closed January through mid-March). Cheeses, smoked meats and homemade sausages in a family-operated business.
Naturally New Orleans Kitchen & Deli, 14 N. Whittaker St., New Buffalo, Mich. (616-469-6976). Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday (later hours in summer; closed November through February). New Orleans transplant Keith Smith promises “authentic Louisiana cooking”; if you like Cajun, you can’t miss here.
Brewster’s Deli & Cafe, 11 W. Merchant, New Buffalo, Mich. (616-469-3005). Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday (open all year). Plenty of pastries, muffins, cappuccino and espresso. Also tasty are wood-fired thin-crust pizzas (one size only — 10 inches); our combo cost $8.50.
Hannah’s, 115 S. Whittaker, New Buffalo, Mich. (616-469-1440). A longtime local restaurant standby, with bar, featuring — among other things — “Little Bohemia specialties” (pork loin, duck, pot roast) and some Southwestern fare. We had roast Long Island duck and chicken tacos, with shrimp appetizer, one glass of wine and two coffees for $38, including tip.
St. Julian Winery, Union Pier, Mich. (exit 6, just off I-94; 616-469-3150). Prices range from $6 to $20 a bottle. Web site: www.stjulian.com
INFORMATION
Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce, 530 S. Whittaker St., Suite F, New Buffalo, Mich. 59117; 800-362-7251 or 616-469-5409.
