Watervale Was on the Today Show!

The Inn at Watervale, from the internet.

In case you missed it, Watervale was on the Today Show on Friday.

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I think they did a pretty good job (although I don't think I've ever seen anyone rowboating - I'm just saying), but missed most of the highlights about what makes Watervale so amazing for me.

When you're at Watervale, you can enjoy:

• bike riding (bring your bikes);
• hiking for every fitness level through beautiful woods, up Baldy and BooHoo, and along the beach;
• swimming in Lower Herring Lake (small lake without undertow or waves - great for kids) or Lake Michigan;
• kayaking (you can rent kayaks or bring your own);
• sailing (you can rent sailboats or bring your own);
• beautiful sunsets you won't even see in Hawaii (yes, I've been to Hawaii and I believe Watervale sunsets are far superior);
• playing in the sand dunes;
• reading (I typically go through 6-7 books in a week, but if you have kids you probably won't);
  
• tennis (bring your rackets and tennis balls);
• shuffle board;
• volleyball;
• Bingo (on Thursdays, if I remember correctly);
• Hayrides (on Wednesdays after the BBQ);
• card games (there's almost always a game of Hearts or Pinochle going on in the Inn);
• board games (my family has an annual Trivial Pursuit tournament - guess who has the most trivial knowledge?);
  
• peace and quiet (There are no TVs, no WiFi, and only 1 landline phone in the entire resort. You can certainly bring your cell phone, but you'll probably have poor reception.);
• some of the best star gazing and meteor shower watching (if you're there in early August, you can't help but see the Perseid Meteor Showers) anywhere (there's no need for a telescope, but if you have one, it will only enhance your experience);
• actual darkness at night because of the lack of city lights;
• naps; and
  
• a few other things, but this is a family blog, so I'll stop now.
  

To be honest, there is no need to leave Watervale, but if you must, here are some of my other favorite things to do:

• Sleeping Bear National Dunes;
  
• wonderful public golf courses;
• antiquing;
• Traverse City or the Leelanau Peninsula;
  
• Putt-putt golfing;
  
• Cherry Bowl Drive-In that always shows kid-friendly movies;
• movies at the Garden Theater in Frankfort;
  
• lunch at The Cherry Hut, The Fushion or Dinghy's;
• dancing at The Cabbage Shed or Big Apple;
  
• shopping at Gwen Frostic's, C&M Rock Shop, Myers Granary, Olsen-Sayles, or the Book Store;
• a concert at Interlochen; and
• ice cream at The Cool Spot

To paraphrase one of my favorite lines from Field of Dreams, "Is this Heaven? No, it's Watervale."