SEASON 6, EPISODE 25

With miles and miles of sugar sand, endless waves of fresh water, and absolutely no sharks, our beloved state of Michigan is a beach lovers paradise. This week’s show takes us to a few top-rated beaches, plus we talk with a beach concession queen, learn some water safety tips including what to do in a rip current, and interview the man himself, Dr. Beach.

SEGMENT 1:
Dr. Stephen Leatherman (Dr. Beach) literally wrote the book on beaches. He is currently the Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, a published author, and filmmaker. For over three decades, he has been visiting and evaluating beaches all over the world, as well as writing about climate change.
 
Now, we just assumed that he would be including the Great Lakes beaches on his searches, because WHY WOULDN’T YOU, but we were mistaken. He focuses on salty, shark-infested waters for his research and rankings, but it turns out that he HAS visited Michigan, and loves our beaches. He shares some of his top picks across the state, and both Amy and John ask the question: how do we get your job?

Dr. Beach brings up a very important topic in his segment, which is beach safety. He brings up rip currents, which are prevalent on the Great Lakes, and talks about things to look for on the water in order to avoid them. If you are swimming in a Great Lake this summer, you need to know this information.

Learn more about beach rip currents and how to avoid or escape them from Dr. Beach here.

SEGMENT 2:
This leads into our second segment with Jim Gallie, the manager of Ludington State Park. He “dives deeper” into beach safety, giving us an excellent tutorial on escaping a rip current. Note: try not to panic, float or tread water, don’t fight the current, swim parallel to the shore until the current weakens. Ludington is one of our most popular state parks not just in Michigan but for the whole Midwest, with seven miles of sandy beaches, 21 miles of trails,and inland Hamlin Lake. A 1-mile stretch of the Big Sauble River runs through the park and dumps out into Lake Michigan. This beautiful and popular spot in the park, which many visitors adore because of the warmer water and shallow spots for splashing, can also be dangerous depending on conditions. Knowing before you go is key.
Check out some of the best beaches from our friends at Pure Michigan.

SEGEMNET 3:
Speaking of Ludington, we’ll do some more of that with our third guest. Brandy Miller, the executive director of the Ludington CVB joins us to share some news. After a very, very friendly battle with a certain city to the north, Ludington was named the SECOND best beach in Michigan by USA Today’s Top Ten, a popular national poll. We discuss this, plus events happening both on and off the beach in this lively tourist-y town this summer.

SEGMENT 4:
Finally, you know we have to talk about food on the show, or it just isn’t truly going behind the mitten, right? We meet Linda Dykert, known as the Queen of Conceesions at Holland State Park and the Ottawa Beach Store. She gives us the low-down on their famous donuts and sliders, how to properly eat at the beach, and just what is beach culture. We can’t wait to go visit Linda and soak up all this goodness.

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