St. Joseph, Michigan

ST. JOSEPH sits at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, where it empties into Lake Michigan. Thirty-miles away, the river flows through South Bend, also giving that city its name.

Sunday was the warmest day in South Bend since I got here, so I got in the car and drove to St. Joe, the most pleasant town in the area, at least in my mind.

I had a good time. It was a good day for walking around. The Caffe Tosi is a good place, with WiFi, and forever Books is a good bookstore. Good, good, good. I never put it on my list of bookstores, because it's small and not especially attractive. But I've been there three times, and each time I've bought books. And that's my test for a good bookstore.

Here's what I bought this time:Stumbling on Happiness and Dr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson

The problem is that on my way to St. Joe, and in my walk around, I kept on running into our uglification of America. See below.