A Quick Trip to Michigan, Home of the Blueberries!

This past weekend, we took a somewhat impromtu drive up to South Haven, Michigan and visited DeGrandchamp Farms, where we have bought most of our blueberry bushes. It was a great experience!

On Friday we toured the building where the blueberries are sorted several times and then packed into those tiny containers one sees in the grocery store. Workers were packing the last blueberries of the season. There were sorting machines to detect blueberries of the wrong color, weight, and firmness, but even after all that, the blueberries still passed on a conveyer belt through about six people who picked out bad quality berries. The berries were then dumped into containers and the containers were closed, all by machine. They went along another conveyer belt and the packages which were too light were “spit” out so a worker could weigh and adjust them separately. Finally they were put in boxes to go to the store! We found out that berries that look as though they came from Florida on the label–really may have come from DeGrandchamp Farms!

We also saw the nursery where the tiniest plants (who would have dreamed a blueberry plant could be SO small!) are taken care of until they grow into plants big enough to buy. Going into a different greenhouse, we even laid eyes on some plants which will probably be coming to our farm, come spring!

Mr. Mike DeGrandchamp was so kind to take us on a very interesting tour of the blueberry and cranberry fields. We learned how to battle the fungus problem better, some tips on pruning, how cranberries are grown and harvested, and more! What a farm! Thousands upon thousands of blueberry plants, and each bush has to be pruned…by hand!! All the berries are hand picked, even the ones that are sent to grocery stores.

With the tour over, we went back to our campground. We enjoyed a swim in Lake Michigan (just two miles or so from DeGrandchamp farms) and a climb on the sand dunes before we camped out for the night in our trusty tent. Abriana and I are grateful to have air mattresses to sleep on like our parents, but Grant always has to rough it with a roll-out pad and a sleeping bag.

The next day, we ventured into South Haven to do some serious shopping. There were many quaint shops…and many adorable dogs wandering about with their owners. We even discovered a store devoted soley to the illustrious blueberry, selling everything blueberry imaginable! Of course we had to take a picture in front of it.

After our fill of wandering about downtown South Haven, we drove to a lovely park to have lunch, where we spread our picnic on a table overlooking the harbor. When we had eaten, some member of the family made the incredible discovery that blueberry plants were growing right there in the middle of the park! And they had BERRIES on them! (We then proceeded to act in such a manner that you would have thought we had never seen a blueberry growing fresh on a bush. It must be because of the unforseen termination of our crop by the obnoxious robins.)

It was fun to walk down to the lighthouse with the gorgeous lake on either side.

Returning again to our home base, we changed into clothes suitable for encoutering the water, and traipsed down to the beach, making sure to bring the camera along since we had not the day before. The water was very chilly, but Grant (who is never deterred by the temperature of water) went right in, and I followed with Abriana. The day before, Abriana had distinguished herself by being the first to immerse herself, and then even swam underwater several times.

The waves were bigger this day, and we had such fun riding them. The water is beautifully clear and clean. It’s almost like an ocean without salt!

Climbing on the sand dunes was also a treat, and so was flying down them after reaching the heights. The view was amazing, as you can see. What a wonderful God who made all these things for us to enjoy!