Here We Are

We arrived here in Ann Arbor and as soon as we pulled into camp it started to sprinkle. We checked and got the electricity hooked up it started to pour. We took a nap and listened to the rain. We have just kicked back here so far=done laundry, got my hair cut and nails done. Mei fixed dinner for us last night and we played a game of cribbage which the boys won. Also showed one another our pictures. Today has been partly cloudy and in the 80's with humidity. We're going to BBQ steaks for everybody tonight after they both get home from work. Not much else to report.

Macinaw City Days

Sun We ate breakfast and relaxed. We took the trolley tour of Mackinaw City and the surrounding area-us and one other couple. We rode across the Mackinaw bridge-West is Lake Michigan and East is Lake Huron. The lakes are so clear and aqua blue in color. We have eaten the whitefish from the Lakes and it is very good. Also had a seafood dinner with whitefish, perch and wall-eye. Monday, we took a drive and went to the Soo locks. which are located between Canada and US at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan's oldest city. We woke up to rain showers and John was walking dogs when it really started to pour and had to change his pants, shoes and hat. It was a great 2 hour tour and now we have been on 3 of the Great Lakes=Lake Superior. We had to be raised 23 ft to get through the locks which only took about 15 minutes. There was a big German freighter that went through in the other lock. We saw a large steel plant on the Canadian side=they make steel for a lot of places probably cars in Michigan and else where. Also a huge long rock building that is an electrical plant=the longest one in the US. We have had great cool weather up here in the UP (upper peninsula) and enjoyed the lakes and scenery. We would recommend traveling Michigan. We now need to come back for the Spectacular Falls that are in the UP. Michigan in the Fall would be especially delightful with all the colors. JVP

Michigan Days

We arrived here at Mill Creek Campground in Mackinaw City. Our campground has 800 spots and we are on Lake Huron and can see the Mackinaw Bridge. It is a small city which has about 4 blocks of restaurants and souvenirs. On Sat we took the ferry to Mackinaw Island-there are 3 different companies all the same price and take same time. We took the catamarin but was fun to watch the jet boat ferry with the big spray behind. First thing you see is the big white hotel the Grand Hotel. It reminds me of seeing the Empress Hotel in Vancouver. We can see the hotel way over here in the campground, sitting on the side of the mountain. No cars are allowed on the island so you either walk, ride a bike which you can rent or bring yours over on the ferry, or horse and buggy. You have never seen so many bikes in one place. We took a cart ride with two horses pulling and toured the island. There are alot of hills so glad we could just sit back and enjoy things. There is a fort here which French & English occupied. They have costumed people and show how life was. It cost extra and we have been in one like it before and seen the muskets loaded and fired and how life was in these forts. Mackinaw City is know for its liliacs.

The guides get up early and wash and groom their teams for the day =usually 5 0r 6 horses and work 13 hour days. we changed teams of horses at the top of the hill and got 3 Belgian horses to take us back into town. Rooms are over $300 a night and honeymoon suite costs $3000 a night but it comes with a chef and butler. Everything that is delivered anywhere is done by horse and cart. We had a beautiful ride through the forest which is the first National Park. We had a drink and snack in the Pink Pony Bar & Grill, walked through the shops and headed back home on the ferry. There are lots of fudge shops each with their own recipes here and we tried alot of them but we were full of samples and didn't need to buy any. We had dinner in town=had a pizza which was good but all pizza's up here have thin crust and different stuff on them. There was a beautiful shop next door with woodsy furniture, decor and such but it was first class and just beautiful stuff.

Traverse City Wineries

We decided Thursday to go to some of the wineries further up the peninsula. So we drove through the city and on into the country. Actually you drive along the bay and then turn in on different roads to find the Winery you want. I happened to see this barn with horses first, so I had to stop and put them in my barn collection. We looked around and could not decide which winery to go to and finally decided on Black Star farms. What a great choice. This was a winery and a Bed and Breakfast, a restaurant and a Farm, but with class. We bought some wines and tasted some. Very good. I have included some pictures. Enjoy. JVP

Traverse City

We are at the top of Michigan by the big Lake Michigan. We are 7 miles out of town in a big campground with lots of those silverstream trailers. Found out this is a membership park for them and they own sites here along the lake. We had the dirty car washed and ate at Olive Garden. This is a big town with lots of restaurants and stores and fast foods that we have in LA. We are trying to get use to the 3 hour change from home or the hour ahead of where we were just a few days ago. We walked along the waterfront and I put my feet in Lake Michigan. The water is so blue, almost like Hawaii and not cold. We watched a dog swim out, get a rock bring it back to the beach and just roll in the sand and then go back out for another rock. The water is shallow very far out so people just anchor their boats close to the shore and play in the water. Wed= we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, got the dogs situated for the day and took off for Sleepy Bear Sand Dunes. Traverse City is cherry country and we bought some Bings at a local farm and tasted jelly and bought some great apple and cherry turn overs. John loved the farm buildings and took pictures of a beautiful colored rooster. The sand dunes are different than ours as they are coastal and been formed by glaciers. We went to visitor center first and loved the movie scenery and the animals and trees in the area. There are so many blue spruce in this area, a lot of corn fields too. We stopped at a viewing area where it is 484 ft to the bottom of the dune into Lake Michigan. A lot of people were going all the way down, cooling off in the water and then taking the LONG trip back up. Also went to the climbing dune where kids and others were busy climbing and rolling down the sand. BBQ'd dinner and had a fire. Nice Day and Weather has been in 80's with a nice breeze.

Our Days in Michigan

Had pancakes and took our time this morning we only have 150 miles to travel today. We gave Buddy a calming pill as roads through Chicago have been bad but they ended up being better this time.We are now on Central Time (3 hours ahead of LA). We are here at what we call our Blueberry Koa camp. It is surrounded by blueberries and we picked some and will have them along the way. They are so sweet and big. We are along the coast of Lake Michigan. Got some peaches and more tomotoes and did some wine tasting. Bought a couple of bottles. Max & Buddy have enjoyed our camp as we have lots of grass and space between sites. We went to the city of Douglas to see the SS Keewatin-one of last Great Lakes Passengerships. She was in the scrap yard and they saved it. It was fun seeing how people use to set sail on the Great Lakes and she is a beautifully restored ship. We walked around town and had lunch with another stop at Menards, a great midwest big hardware store and John looked around a tractor supply store. The flower pictures were by the boat and look like hibiscus but leaves are different.

Visiting

Since we decided to stay here in Norfolk another day and rest we went to our favorite hardware store Menard's and got alot of neat things and wished we had got others. Did some laundry and had dinner in. We saw our first fire flies tonight and listened to the sacadia's singing in the trees. We found out that they had a bad flood there by our park and were working on the road and the pond. We left early Friday morning as we have a good 400 mile drive today. It has been showering off and on all day. Got diesel and payed $2.84. Got to our park where we had stayed in the past, in Davenport, Iowa. We went to Iowa Tool Shed Rest. for dinner. Since it was Friday John had all you can eat cod and I had Iowa pork chops and mashed potatoes. We were so full when we left there we had left overs. We saw alot of wind towers in Iowa. Now it is Sat last day of July -seems as if time is going by fast. Today we are on our way to Joliet, Illinois to see my cousin and Aunt & Uncle. We parked in a new park next to a Casino. It was really nice with a lot of grass. It had rained pretty hard, as there were several puddles of water and mud. We had a good BLT in the motorhome with Dad"s tomatoes from Nebraska. He's a little disappointed with them but I think they are good. We checked out the casino and weren't impressed since we have a lot of them around our area. My Uncle who is 94 & Aunt Eddie 92 are doing great in their new assisted living home. They are busy with activities there and have good minds although their bodies are wearing out. Had a nice visit with them and my cousin Kathy. We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner and had a great country dinner and then went back to play Spinners (dominoe game) with them. Tomorrow we leave for Michigan and a short drive to our Blueberry Koa Campground.