Grand Haven, Michigan, is a quaint beach town that is home to around 10,000 people, gorgeous sunsets, and one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire world. If you live in Michigan, you have probably been to Grand Haven to visit the beach, or the summer U.S. Coast Guard Festival. Although we have a lot of tourists, many of us are lucky to call Grand Haven our home. Here are a few signs that you are from Grand Haven, MI.
1. You know that fireworks at the Coast Guard Festival are better than the fireworks for the Fourth of July.
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Yes, we are thankful for our independence, but we are incredibly proud to be Coast Guard City, USA.
2. Your preferred method of transport is rollerblading, skate boarding, or mopeding due to the lack of parking spots in our city.
It is ultimately faster, easier, and a lot more fun than trying to find a place to park a car.
3. You go to beaches other then the state park.
Yes, there are more beaches than just the state park! If you are a local then you know these secret locations and can avoid the huge crowds of tourists while catching a few rays of sun.
4. But when you do go to the state park, you sit by the rocks.
The rocks by the pier are the local hang out spot; tourists, keep walking.
5. You have tried all of ice cream places (over a dozen and counting), and you have your favorite.
There is an ice cream place on just about every corner and throughout your lifetime, you have tried them all and established a favorite. If you are like me then you know that Dairy Treat is the best.
6. You have probably worked at one of the ice cream places too.
On those hot summer nights, everyone wants ice cream so the dozens of shops are almost always hiring. Almost every local has worked at one of them at some point in their minimum-wage-earning career.
7. You are either a Morning Star person or a Dee-Lite person.
When it comes to breakfast, I am willing to wait 45 minutes for a table at Morning Star for their homemade stuffed french toast or fresh fritattas. The locals that don't want to wait for their breakfast hit up Dee-Lite for some eggs or pancakes.
8. You spend your Friday nights in the fall at Buccaneer stadium cheering on the good ol' Bucs football team. #GoBucs
You put on your blue and gold and get ready for the major social event of the week. When the band comes over to play in front of the student section, it is almost as exciting as when the Bucs score.
9. After every major sporting event, you go to Applebee's for half-off apps.
Friends, fun, and food at half price...same time and place every weekend.
10. You know that Pronto Pups opens at least once during the winter to get you through.
These are not your average corn dogs. The best day in the winter is when Pronto Pups opens so that locals can get their fix.
11. You know that even if our "little brother," Spring Lake, beats us in sports, they will always be jealous of our beach.
Any sporting event between the Buccaneers and Lakers is going to be pretty intense, but at the end, we always welcome our rivals over to our superior beach.
12. You know that you will never go to school for a full week in the winter months thanks to lake effect snow.
13. You spend most of your snow days at Mulligans Hollow Ski Bowl shredding it up.
14. You know that the sunsets in the winter are just as beautiful as the sunsets in the summer.
Sure, the snow and ice make it cold, but don't stop the sunsets from being just as colorful and majestic as in the summer.
15. You have at least one shirt from Michigan Rag, even though you aren't a tourist.
16. If you want to file a complaint, the best thing to do is to post it on our Facebook page, Grand Haven Informed.
We all know that quite honestly there is more trolling and complaining that happens on GHI than informing.
17. You complain about the tourists, but at the end of the day you know you are lucky enough to call this place home, and you don't just #VisitGrandHaven.
