YES, WE REALLY ARE THAT CLOSE TO THE BEACH AND WE TOOK PICTURES TO PROVE IT! So be sure to check out the pictures in our photo album. These pictures, together with our owner's map of Union Pier say it all--from our front door, we are less than a two-minute walk to the beach. (view map, then magnify a few times). We have DEEDED access to our beach through the Luna Gowdy Beach Association. Our beach is private for the residents of our small subdivision of about 50 homes. The designated beach area is about 300 feet of lake frontage, so there is plenty of room. Our beach is seldom crowded, although it is crowded for holiday weeks, like the 4th of July and Labor Day.
Another nice feature regarding the beach is that our unit is located on the lake side of Lakeshore Road. You never have to cross that road or any other road to access the beach. Our cozy condo/cottage (585 sq. ft.) is one of only nine units, surrounding a spacious courtyard. Our cottage is attached to another cottage. We are a corner unit and we share a wall on one side with our next-door neighbor. When we renovated our unit, and we wanted to keep all of its 1930's charm, but we wanted to add some contemporary comforts too.We loved all of our cottage's wooden, wrap-around casement windows, but we added plenty of skylights as well.
Our full kitchen is complete with a Whirlpool dishwasher, Quartz countertops, a brand-new Whirlpool fridge, and a new microwave. Be sure to check out our photos.
When it came to the bathroom we looked for a simple vintage design for replacing the fixtures, but we couldn't resist installing a Jacuzzi bathtub. We furnished our cottage with mostly beautiful antiques that we have collected over the years. Most are over a hundred years old.
Even though it's cooler by the lake, we thought central air conditioning was a must for when the temperatures pushed too high. To eliminate those inconvenient trips to the laundromat, we installed a brand new LG combination washer/dryer (locating it in a bedroom closet, hiding it from view, but making it very, very handy). Doing laundry now is so much easier. However, we kept our outdoor clothesline up for those who still like to air-dry their wet bathing suits and beach towels.
We wanted fast WiFi, so we installed Comcast Internet along with Comcast Cable TV. We have a small DVD library, but we also encourage guests to bring their own DVDs for special movies and programs that they or their kids enjoy seeing. We installed the TV in the bedroom, due to all of the glare and reflections coming from our wrap-around windows and skylights in the living area. The bedroom location makes TV viewing so much easier and enjoyable.
We also have a hooked-up, Weber gas grill right outside our back door---no propane needed! Now, how convenient is that?!
Our cottage rental includes TWO parking spaces (designated on-street parking) and a huge outdoor common area (it is actually to the side of our cottage, about 35 paces from our back door) for picnicking and ball-playing......and of course, our rental includes the use of our spectacular Lake Michigan Beach. We think our private Luna Gowdy Beach is one of the clearest, cleanest, and best beaches in Union Pier! Besides being so close to Lake Michigan, we are an easy walk to the Whistle Stop Grocery and Deli and the Red Arrow Road House Restaurant (3 to 3 1/2 blocks).
We think our cottage is wonderful, but please keep in mind that our cottage is NOT a party house. Our cottage is much too small for a wedding or family reunion or any kind of party with lots of people. Remember it's only 585 sq. ft.--- that's little! Also, keep in mind that we only have parking for TWO cars. Our absolute MAXIMUM IS FOUR PEOPLE, THAT INCLUDES CHILDREN. We must abide by this maximum number, as it is also mandatory as dictated in our rental license with Chikaming Township.
