I’m going no-where this year. And by no-where, I really mean everywhere except over there (China). It may surprise you to know that the absolute, number one question that friends, family and readers like you send to me is “what trips do you have coming up?” And the answer to that this year, is none. Zero. Nada. Goose Egg. We are currently on the biggest trip of our life – the journey to become parents. And we are trying to work as much now as we can, so that when the little lady arrives in our life, we can chill and enjoy our time together a little more.
With that in mind, we decided it was time to explore as much as we could here locally. We consider local to be anywhere within a 3 hour radius of our home in Indiana. When a recent copy of Midwest Living Mag arrived on my doorstep, I knew I had found our next little adventure – The Fields of South Haven Michigan. I pitched the idea to Dave as a Birthday week treat and he was all-in. Experiences over things, y’all! Happily for The Fields (but giant frown face for us) they only had one night available that week, so we took it!
From the moment you arrive at The Fields, you know it’s special. I mean, they pick you up in the absolute cutest vintage pick-up truck and then drive you down a tree-lined path until you arrive at your glamping tent. Buyer beware though, there is no wi-fi, no tv and we had limited Verizon cell service while we were there – but that is EXACTLY the type of evening we were looking for. Unplugging is the best birthday gift I could’ve given myself.
The tents are a glamorous as I imagined – maybe more so. The king-sized bed was super comfortable (and warm – heated mattress pad!), there were chairs, luggage racks, ample lighting, a desk (bonus little mouse nest in our desk drawer – can’t believe they didn’t charge extra for that!), a private shower, toilet and bathroom sink. Literally all the comforts of home, but in a beautiful tent. We live in the country, so the mouse nest didn’t bother us – fortunately its inhabitant had moved on for the night and we saw no trace of it. While the tent was extremely comfortable, I can’t stress enough that this is still camping. It’s not for the person who is scared of the outdoors and looking to avoid it. Those people belong in hotels, not glamping tents. You will still encounter a few bugs and some nature during your stay. And rightly so. You are, after all, in a tent.
After settling in to our tent, we ventured back up to the main hall. And no surprise there, it’s decorated in the most adorable fashion. As we walked up, the proprietor of The Fields, a beautiful bundle of warm energy named Irene, greeted us and immediately filled us in on what to expect for the night. She quickly grabbed us each a beverage, invited us to the snack on the exquisite charcuterie board they had prepared and to grab a seat indoors or by one of several cozy fires by the pond.
We were at The Fields on a special evening – chili cook off night. Irene had organized several local chefs, as well as friends and family, to submit pots of chili to which we were the judges. There were 8 or 9 types of chili, each as different as could be. I absolutely loved the creativity of these chefs, and yes, they were all chefs in my opinion! Chili is so versatile, I’m not sure I even realized it until that night. Everyone cast a vote, and the winner received a prize of some kind. Afterwards, everyone sort of went off and did their own thing. There was live music, corn hole, games you could play and plenty of people to chat with. We wound up making friends with some relatives of Irene and had an absolute ball getting to know them. If you are ever at a party and don’t know who to talk to, find the oldest people in the group – they are sure to be wildly entertaining and you might even learn a thing or two. They even gave us tips on having a life-long successful marriage. So cute. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when they hugged us goodbye. The husband took my hand and said “I hope you build a real estate empire.” I only wish we had taken a photo with that sweet couple.
We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the cotton candy sunset, a super full harvest moon and sipping on local beer/wine by the fire. It was also a pretty big night for us as we had received the file of a toddler girl from China that we were considering adopting. We spent most of that evening discussing her medical file, reading about her, thinking over what life would be like with her in our family. It was the perfect place to spend an evening away from distractions so we could just process such a big decision.
The next morning we awoke feeling pretty refreshed and ready to take on the day. Irene prepared a most excellent breakfast spread for everyone. It was as tasty as it looked, I promise.
If you get the opportunity to get away for a weekend next year, absolutely book yourself a stay at The Fields. Irene is going places with her glamping concept and I can say with absolute certainty that you better book this gem earlier, rather than later as it will fill up fast. While South Haven is a draw, The Fields is a destination within itself and there is plenty to do. Or maybe do nothing. It’s a beautiful thing to relax and refresh yourself and I can think of no more beautiful place to do so than The Fields. Click here if you’re interested in booking your own Glamping stay in Michigan!
Cheers,
-Stacey
Joydeen says
I didn’t want to sign up for anything but now I’m hooked and I have to follow you (for the rest of our lives it looks). I’m so enjoying the journey. Praying for that little lady, too.
staceymkidder@me.com says
Thanks Joydeen! As to the little girl mentioned in the post, She was a spotlight child at our adoption agency because she needs to get to the USA due to her medical condition. We decided to adopt her, but another family who received her file as well, also stepped up. They were given preference over us since they are ahead of us in the process. So we are still waiting. 🙂 Prayers are always appreciated.