Marine City

The downtown waterfront of Marine City, MI, featuring the famous lighthouse. This is another photo I took while kayaking down the St. Clair River. I grew up in Marine City, and it’s always fun to go back and visit. Nobody quite knows why, but around 40% of the businesses in MC at any given time are antique shops. Some have been around for decades, though most close after a year or two and are then in turn replaced by new businesses that themselves have relatively high likelihoods of being antique shops. So goes the cycle.

Many of the other businesses in the tiny downtown area are inexplicably niche, like a combination art gallery, specialty kitchenware shop and TTRPG/TCG store. Two different performing arts theaters. An old-timey candy shop. A shop that only sells popcorn. We’re talking about a town with a population of 4,079, as per the 2020 census. It’s a weird place, at least an hour out of the way of anywhere you’d actually want to be in Michigan, but it’s got its own unique charm.

So, this is my lighthouse photo. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Growing up, I saw tons of photographers out on the waterfront, all hours of the day and all seasons. Gigantic lenses, usually taking pictures of the lighthouse, freighters, birds, or various bundles of sticks protruding from the water.