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Monday, September 28, 2009

Blustery Day!

In the words of Pooh, today has been a "blustery day" here in West Michigan. It was really windy all day, so a friend and I decided to drive to Grand Haven and see what Lake Michigan looked like in the wind.
Lots of other people had the same idea, so the road was busy. It was also filled with sand, which was all blowing up from the beach.


We were parked and looking at the waves, when I saw something coming in on the water. Do you see that dark spot on the bottom right hand corner of the picture? We were surprised when we realized it was a person.


Here's a close-up of the surfer, coming up on the beach.


He must not have been too tired, because he joined his friend and went out again. Take note of the sand blowing in the foreground!


We decided to brave it and try to get closer to the water to get a few pictures. I can honestly say I've never been out in anything like this. The wind was gusting up to 58 mph, it was raining and we were being blasted by the sand. It was hard to stand, much less walk! I know this is nothing compared to what some of you have gone through who live in the hurricane belt, but I felt like I was in a small hurricane!
When we got back in the car, my jacket was soaked, my shirt was wet, my jeans were soaked to the knees and coated with sand. We were laughing though, and were really glad we took the time to see this.

30 comments:

Unknown said...

It was truly amazing wasn't it!! I love seeing the lake kick up like that. I have a few pictures myself just haven't posted any yet.

Kayren said...

I don't think we were quite that blustery over here. I also don't think I would have enjoyed going out in that quite as much as you did. I thought at first that the rain had flooded the road.

On my 41st birthday we were down in Virginia Beach (December 30). We went down to the boardwalk for a few minutes by the beach and there were lots of people in wet suits surfing. We had our winter coats on. It wasn't Michigan cold, but it was colder than it was here today. I remember being shocked, but I guess their special suits keep them warm.

Jean said...

You're crazy, girl!! I'd have been too scared to be out there in such wind. Actually, the crazy people are the ones surfing in that kind of water! The pictures are amazing, though.

A Captured Reflection said...

Wow it really is pretty wild there, oh but I love the wild waves, the salty tang - and that red lighthouse. Thanks for sharing! Don't you go catching a cold now - get nice and warm, cup of tea, nice biccie.

Andrea said...

What an awesome adventure. Your pictures are awesome. Those should be blown up and framed for your home.

Blessings and prayers, andrea

Justabeachkat said...

Sorry but these photos brought back bad memories of how it looked on "my" beach before the last hurricane. Not fun!

Hugs!
Kat

Hootin Anni said...

Ho'boy!!! Does this ever look familiar! I have albums and albums of Lake Michigan...and to top it off, my MIL was BORN in Grand Haven.

Love the light house.

You were brave going out there in that wind!!

Sorry, it's been a while since I visited. We've been busy as you know. Hope your week is treating you well so far.

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

Oh my goodness! I'll bet those surfers had fun!
I must be honest and say that I've never seen a lake that had waves. Ours has an occasional ripple lap the shore. :)

Beth Cotell said...

What great shots!!

remistuff.blogspot.com said...

WOW! YOUR PHOTOS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. THAT PINE CONE PHOTO WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Perri said...

Great pictures. I love them. Can't imagine being in the water, though. That's just crazy.

Brooke said...

*cranks up heater*

you're so blessed to live that close to a beach :D

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Beautiful pictures! I love watching the ocean during a storm.

Anonymous said...

Looks cold and wet lol... beautiful pictures though!! I think I would of stayed in the car and watched...

Anonymous said...

It's such a fun time to go to the beach and see the water! I'm so glad you posted your pictures since we didn't make it this time!


Brrrrr Mari, fall is here!!!!! My furnace is running!

Pat said...

My kind of gal! You took wonderful pictures, I wish I would have been there.
It's hard to believe that body of water is a fresh water lake and not the ocean, isn't it?
It was a pooh day here too, so I decided I needed to go shopping. I have no sense.

Staci Danford said...

What incredible images.. Blowing sand I totally understand living in West Texas. We've had it blow in the early Spring so hard that it cuts your face. I can't imagine wanting to surf in that.... but then again I don't know how.. What fun images...
Staci

Julieann said...

Awesome pictures. I have been to Lake Michigan:)

I sure wish the weather would be a little Fallish around here too.

When I was 25 I learned to surf at the San Clemente Pier, oh, how fun was that...LOL:)

Happy Tuesday Mari!

Julieann

Betty W said...

I´ve experienced something similar when we were in Brazil at the beach there. A rainstorm came up and blasted us with sand too. That really hurts, so I know how brave you were to get these pic´s! Awesome!

septembermom said...

Glad that you were laughing through it! What an experience. Great photos!

Heart2Heart said...

Mari,

If I was with you I would have been right beside you! I love weather like this and sometimes the more extreme the better. Probably because where we live it doesn't vary much!

Thank you for sharing pictures of your very blustery day. I guess Piglet must have blown away.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Grandma Elsie said...

What good pictures .
I bet you felt refreshed and happy after that outing. thanks for sharing with us.
Elsie <><

Connie said...

We were in Pentwater when it was blowing like that. Packing up getting ready to come home. Actually we did most of our packing up the night before because they said it was going to bad out on Tuesday. Some waves but I didn't get any pictures. I had my camera but left the film at home. (not to bright, eh.) I'm back to blogging again too.

Cherdecor said...

You two should be called "storm chasers." I bet your blood pressure was up just a tad.

Shell in your Pocket said...

I can almost feel the wind with those pictures!
sandy toe

Raise Them Up said...

How beautiful! We'll be heading to the Indiana Dunes for fall break. I sure hope it isn't quite that windy then! Lol! Our little tent will blow away!

Debra said...

Those are awesome pictures Mari! It's amazing the things we'll do for an adventure! We get 100 mile an hour winds all the time in the winter where I live and one time during one of those storms, my husband and I decided to hold hands and try running all the way around our house....mind you all kinds of things were being blown through the air (not real smart on our part)in fact our entire chicken shed was torn to pieces and blew away. We made it around the house and decided not to ever do that again, but it really was crazy fun!

So glad you and your friend made it through those wild winds ok! You really captured some great shots and I love the one where the sand is blowing around....that looks so cool!

Rebekah said...

although rain can make for a muddy, slushy mess (like here this past weekend) I love storms, especially over the ocean.

I love the red lighthouse

A Stone Gatherer said...

We wanted to go out there so badly, but we had to get our trailer! Hey with the sand you exfoliated yourself for free!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Great pictures! ANd blustery indeed. I think I could feel the wind blow through as I read!