Tourism
A couple years ago - I think it was the weekend before Labor Day - Irish and I wanted to go to Redamak's https://www.redamaks.com/ and drove up to New Buffalo. We planned on driving by the beach and turning around (it costs to park and since we were only taking a quick look we didn't plan on parking in the first place), which just takes a couple minutes. It took a least 5 that day because the line of cars both trying to get into the beach parking lot and trying to turn around and go back was so long. Plus the lot was full. We got back to the main road and drove the short distance to Redamak's, saw the line to get into their parking lot and just kept going. That line - I don't think I'm exaggerating - had to be about 1/2 a mile long and probably made up of mostly tourists and summer people. We ended up driving further north to Bridgman where we ended up eating at a little drive-in we'd never noticed before. It was delicious and we planned on going back but last summer they were closed because of covid. This year they didn't reopen in May because a water main broke and ruined their interior. They were finally able to open in August and we drove up there. Shrimp basket was as good as I remembered and I got onion rings this time instead of fries. Yum! Mikey's Drive-In is on our permanent at-least-once-a-summer must do list. After Mikey's we drove south to New Buffalo so we could get ice cream at Oink's Dutch Treat https://oinksdutchtreat.com/, another must-do.
While we were in New Buffalo, we did our usual drive-by at the beach then drove a little farther up that road so we could look at that expensive summer homes overlooking the lake before we went to Oinks. The road to and from the beach is the main east-west road through town and has all the touristy shops and restaurants on it. There's a small Amtrak train station there, a marina with a lot of fancy boats, pricey condominiums and of course the big summer houses overlooking the lake with private beaches and more summer houses across the road without private beaches (just as big and fancy as the ones with a water view but no doubt much less expensive - still out of range of the locals though). Where the road turns north, just passed the beach and heading up to the big houses, it eventually becomes a private road. All summer long, the road is full of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, and it can be hard to find a place to park. It's clear that everyone caters to the tourists and summer people. If you're not one of those, it can be a lot more pleasant once the summer's over, it's less crowded, and you don't have to pay to get on the beach. The town tends to look a little deserted by then, though.
Every time I go to New Buffalo, I can't help remembering when I first started going up there. There was still a grocery store in town and a drugstore. Those big summer houses were there - I suppose they've been there for decades - but the marina didn't have as many fancy boats, there wasn't, as far as I can recall, a train station, no condominiums. The beach would still be busy in the summer but I don't remember having to pay to park. I could just be forgetting though because I've been going there for at least 30 years. There were still plenty of summer people but it wasn't quite as crowded or touristy. The summer people were just as rude back then as they are now and just as poor drivers. They're mostly people from Chicago and the locals have called them FIPs for as long as I can remember (effin' Illinois people). I always feel weird being there in the summer - not that it stops me! - because I'm not from New Buffalo, I don't live in Michigan, and while I'm not at FIP, technically I guess I am a tourist. But I sure don't want to be classed with them!
Anyway, every time I'm there I end up thinking about tourism and whether it's a blessing or a curse - or a mix of both. I've lived in more than one place that depended on tourism for a good chunk of income and in the past I've toyed with the idea of working for the Holland, Michigan tourist board or even state tourism but I never did more than toy with it. But then I think of a place like New Buffalo which, during tourist season, isn't all that nice anymore and I don't even know where the locals go to buy groceries. Maybe Michigan City, Indiana, just a few miles south. (There is a Dollar General - it's the Midwest - where isn't there a Dollar General! - but it's not likely to have produce or anything in the way of meat except canned meat, lunch meat, and hot dogs.) I haven't eaten in a restaurant there in a long time so I don't know what the prices are like. Are they small-town Michigan prices or Chicago prices? I think it's safe to say that New Buffalo is as thriving as it is - and it is! - solely due to tourism and summer people. I suspect it looks as good as it does because of tourism and summer people. But I always wonder what the personal cost is to the locals. I wonder about this any time I'm somewhere that clearly depends on tourism for income.
Do you, or have you, lived somewhere where tourism is one of the top industries? Is it a blessing or a curse, or is it a mix of both?
The first glimpse of Lake Michigan, heading toward the beach. (We went on a Friday so it wasn't particularly busy though I imagine weekend traffic started come in as we were headed out.)
Oink's Dutch Treat.
Where the beach road become a private road.
While we were in New Buffalo, we did our usual drive-by at the beach then drove a little farther up that road so we could look at that expensive summer homes overlooking the lake before we went to Oinks. The road to and from the beach is the main east-west road through town and has all the touristy shops and restaurants on it. There's a small Amtrak train station there, a marina with a lot of fancy boats, pricey condominiums and of course the big summer houses overlooking the lake with private beaches and more summer houses across the road without private beaches (just as big and fancy as the ones with a water view but no doubt much less expensive - still out of range of the locals though). Where the road turns north, just passed the beach and heading up to the big houses, it eventually becomes a private road. All summer long, the road is full of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, and it can be hard to find a place to park. It's clear that everyone caters to the tourists and summer people. If you're not one of those, it can be a lot more pleasant once the summer's over, it's less crowded, and you don't have to pay to get on the beach. The town tends to look a little deserted by then, though.
Every time I go to New Buffalo, I can't help remembering when I first started going up there. There was still a grocery store in town and a drugstore. Those big summer houses were there - I suppose they've been there for decades - but the marina didn't have as many fancy boats, there wasn't, as far as I can recall, a train station, no condominiums. The beach would still be busy in the summer but I don't remember having to pay to park. I could just be forgetting though because I've been going there for at least 30 years. There were still plenty of summer people but it wasn't quite as crowded or touristy. The summer people were just as rude back then as they are now and just as poor drivers. They're mostly people from Chicago and the locals have called them FIPs for as long as I can remember (effin' Illinois people). I always feel weird being there in the summer - not that it stops me! - because I'm not from New Buffalo, I don't live in Michigan, and while I'm not at FIP, technically I guess I am a tourist. But I sure don't want to be classed with them!
Anyway, every time I'm there I end up thinking about tourism and whether it's a blessing or a curse - or a mix of both. I've lived in more than one place that depended on tourism for a good chunk of income and in the past I've toyed with the idea of working for the Holland, Michigan tourist board or even state tourism but I never did more than toy with it. But then I think of a place like New Buffalo which, during tourist season, isn't all that nice anymore and I don't even know where the locals go to buy groceries. Maybe Michigan City, Indiana, just a few miles south. (There is a Dollar General - it's the Midwest - where isn't there a Dollar General! - but it's not likely to have produce or anything in the way of meat except canned meat, lunch meat, and hot dogs.) I haven't eaten in a restaurant there in a long time so I don't know what the prices are like. Are they small-town Michigan prices or Chicago prices? I think it's safe to say that New Buffalo is as thriving as it is - and it is! - solely due to tourism and summer people. I suspect it looks as good as it does because of tourism and summer people. But I always wonder what the personal cost is to the locals. I wonder about this any time I'm somewhere that clearly depends on tourism for income.
Do you, or have you, lived somewhere where tourism is one of the top industries? Is it a blessing or a curse, or is it a mix of both?
The first glimpse of Lake Michigan, heading toward the beach. (We went on a Friday so it wasn't particularly busy though I imagine weekend traffic started come in as we were headed out.)
Oink's Dutch Treat.
Where the beach road become a private road.