A Vacation Destination Becomes Home
Written by: Kris McArdle, Thumb Area Business Owner and Marketing Director for the Thumb Area Tourism Council
Growing up the Thumb Area was our family vacation spot. We had ‘roots’ here. Dad was a Thumb Area hometown boy who grew up in the Pigeon/Elkton area and graduated from Ulby High School in 1956. On the other hand, mom was a city girl who had several relatives with cottages along the shoreline from Sandpoint to Harbor Beach, including her parents and grandparents both having places at Oak Beach only a mile apart. Like mom, I was born and raised a city girl. Our family home was in the metro Detroit suburb of Royal Oak.
The Thumb was my second home. It’s where I spent my school breaks and summer vacations. I thought everyone knew the Thumb as I did. We’d travel up M-53, usually stopping for ice cream at Moore’s in Marlette. They had (and still do) my favorite childhood ice cream, Bubble Gum, and plenty of penny candy. Then our next stop was at our great grandparents’ cottage in the heart of Oak Beach.
The cottage wasn’t on the waterside but we were only a hop, skip and jump away from heaven. I can remember our grandparents giving us money to go to one of the local convenient stores for penny candy. We’d buy as much as we could then head to the beach for an afternoon of make believe and adventure. There was so much to do … building sandcastles, collecting rocks, laying in the sun, making cloud images, chasing each other down the beach, and simply just spending quality time with family and friends. It was truly amazing!
Our trips to the Thumb were always an adventure. It’s where I learned to drive, boat, water ski, horseback ride, canoe, motorcycle and snowmobile. It’s where I first fell in love, had my first kiss, and my first heartbreak. It’s where I was introduced to the meaning of God’s country and the beauty of Mother Nature.
Other family adventures included fishing off the piers in Caseville and Port Austin, or searching for suckers at Mud Creek. We’d also take road trips along the shoreline with stops at Walt’s Meat Market, Port Crescent State Park, the House of Seven Gables at Huron City Museum, Grindstone City and much more. There were the competitions for who was the best putt-putt golfer, go-kart racer, or who could get down the big slide in Caseville first.
Those were definitely the good times and I thought life couldn’t get any better. But life happenings … grandparents passed away, cottages got sold and the business of being an adult took over.
As an adult, I spent my early years in Grand Rapids and then returned to the metro Detroit area in the mid-90’s. What surprised me was how less and less people were traveling to the Thumb Area or even knew about its beauty. Well, after two decades of corporate America and city life, I decided I preferred the simpler, friendlier way of life in God’s country. So, I followed my parents to Caro where they had retired years earlier on a 40-acre farm.
Upon my arrival, I knew I was ‘home’ while sitting on the back porch with a glass of wine in hand, watching a sunset and enjoying the beauty of a herd of deer crossing the field. I made it even more like home by taking charge of my future and that of others here in the Thumb Area. I took a leap of faith on this area and opened a small marketing and event planning firm in Caro.
In the short time that I’ve lived here, I have come to understand why everyone else doesn’t know about the Thumb Area like I do. We don’t tell our story enough. Our marketing is done primarily in the immediate area. With today’s advances in technology and communications, we need to reach outside of our immediate area and share our story, our beauty, and our part of the state/world with others. We need to reach the audiences who use the Internet to make their travel plans well in advance of their departure date.
With this in mind, I joined the Thumb Area Tourism Council (TATC) as their Marketing Director. TATC was established to increase visibility of the Thumb Area through a Web-based central tourism resource center. Our intention is to market the tourism industry (and all businesses) in the tri-counties of the Thumb, including Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. We want to share the Thumb’s story with audiences throughout the world. We want others to know about our home, natural scenic beauty, strong cultural heritage, and the plenty of adventures there are to be found here.
I took the road less traveled to Michigan’s Thumb Area and made a childhood vacation destination my adult home. Now I wish to share my ‘hometown’ with others and to welcome you here for a visit. You never know, you just might fall in love with it like I did and want to make it your home as well. There’s something here for everyone and the memories you make will last a lifetime! I hope to see you soon in the Thumb so I can share a friendly, welcoming smile and a warm “how do you do” with you.
For more information about the Thumb Area and TATC, I welcome you to call me at (810) 569-6856.