Thursday August 30,2007 Holland, Michigan

Well, yesterday was another great day and we did the Dune Schooner Rides in Saugatuck. Now after living here 25 years we had never done that and it was fun. In fact I think Larry and I will take the grandchildren this weekend. After our thrill ride we went into Saugatuck and did some more shopping and then went to Cranes Orchard for lunch. Before we had lunch Jim managed to sit on a bench in Saugatuck and get "Bird Poop" all over this pants. He thought we were teasing him but finally after Larry taking a picture he was convinced . The apples are just starting to come in and they will be picking on Saturday. Linda wanted to get some Tulip Bulbs for her Mom so she and I went to Veldheers Tulip Farm. Everyone else thought they should go back and take naps. My friend, Clare came over around 5pm and we visited with her until around 9 pm. when the mosquitoes were running us inside. Some of you know Jackie Edmonds my dear friend in Virginia. Her father passed away yesterday. It is bitter sweet as he had been ill for sometime and was really tired and ready to go to God as he told them on Sunday but I really am struggling with not being there for her. Today has been another beautiful day and the weekend promises to be the same. The Parsons and Mathneys have gone to visit Windmill Island and we will meet them later for dinner at a new restaurant on the water and then check out downtown as they have music and entertainment on Thursday night. The Parsons are leaving tomorrow morning and we will just have a quiet day and wait for the arrival of Noah and Kate. Of course we will be glad to see their parent and Isabella our newest grandaughter whom we have not seen since June. She is now 4 months old and weighs 15 pounds. Hope all of your are enjoying our blog. Oh by the way I do know that some of my pictures are upside down but I am working on changing them.

Ludington & Holland

We got to Ludington on Monday right after noon and we were all disappointed in the campground. It was okay for one night but for the cost it was nothing like we expected. Oh well, it could have been worse. Janice, Linda and I checked out the downtown of Ludington but not much to write about so we went back to the rigs and began the preparations for dinner. Larry cooked steaks for us and we had more corn, potatoes, salad and of course we were all stuffed when we finished. As we said before we are eating our way through Michigan. We started another game of Phase 10 so we have to finish this before Friday. Tuesday morning we got ready to make another short days drive (91 miles) to Holland and arrived around 12:30pm. After checking into Dutch Treat Campground and listening to the owner, Darlene, give Mem a hard time, just for the heck of it,we got settled in our sites. Later we took a tour of Holland. We showed everyone where we lived for 25 years, Downtown, houses on South Shore Drive and then went out to the Holland Lighthouse. I got to actually touch Big Red after all these years. Linda and I put our feet in Lake Michigan. Janice had hurt her toe and had to give up the walk to the Lighthouse and return to the car. We had a nice dinner at the Piper Restaurant and then went for ice cream. We all finally realized we were tired and returned to the rigs and most of us are in bed or preparing to do so. Tomorrow is another day and I am sure we will find plenty to keep us busy.

Day of Rest and Whatever

Yes, we did have a "down day" on Sunday. I told the girls that I had to go to the Dollar General Store that I had seen on Saturday as we were coming back to the motorhomes. I was completely out of cinnamon mentos and that is not a good thing. Noah calls them "the cinnamon things" so I knew I had to have a supply and you an get them at Dollar General cheaper than anywhere else. Larry says I will go down in history as the grandmother with the "cinnamon things" and the funky earrings. The grandchildren are always checking out my ears. After that we checked out the local K Mart , which was a really nice store, got some groceries and came back and RESTED. Most of us took short naps, some rode bicycles, laundry and then we finally finished Phase 10 and learned a new game called "Oh Hell" and trust me it is named correctly.
No much else exciting happened and now we head on south to Ludington and on to Holland on Tuesday. I will try and get some more pictures on soon.

AnotherAmazing Day in Michigan

It amazes me how I can wake up to downpouring rain and then have the day just turn to beautiful blue skies, white cloud and pleasant temps. We drove over to Leland, Mi (Fishtown) and had a stroll down main street to the waterfront and of course it was time to eat. We found The Cove overlooking the water and sat out on the deck. We could see a freighter on Lake Michigan just moving along like it had a the time in the world but I am sure it was moving faster than it looked. After lunch we just walked and got some smoked fish to have for "Happy Hour" today , came back through Suttons Bay and shopped a little more. Then we rode out to the Old Mission Point Lighthouse , General Store,, which had a gentleman who loved to talk about northern Michigan and I could have listened all afternoon. We managed a stop at the RV Resort to change clothes and go and meet Janice and Ralphs friends who live here in the summer and in Naples in the winter. Larry and I had met them 2 years ago when we were in Crystal Lake at Naples. Joanne lives on Grand Traverse Bay and Tom has a home on Elk Lake that has been in his family since the 40's. They sleep at her house and spend time at his. Neither family wanted to give up the property and I can understand why. We went to dinner with them and again ATE too much. Today I plan to do LITTLE. It is my down day to get rested up to be able to enjoy Ally's two oldest children next weekend in Holland, Mi. We travel on down tomorrow to Ludington for one night and then to Holland until Monday Sept. 3rd.

Saturday, August 25th,2007

I think today is Saturday but sometimes we just do not keep up with the days. This morning I awoke to the pitter patter of rain drops not little feet but hopefully next Saturday there will be little feet in this motorhome as we will have two of grandchildren for the weekend.
Yesterday we went to Petoskey for lunch and to check out the shopping. Ladies of the ODC, don't go shopping with Linda & Janice, they will get you into trouble. However, I think we all did well on what we brought, even some of it is for Christmas presents.
Petoskey is a small town on Little Traverse Bay which was and still is a popular vacation spot for people from Michign and actually all over. There are lots of local artist, jewelry designers and upscale clothing stores. Us girls decided we do not need clothes at the present time but I was looking for petoskey stone jewelry. The petoskey stone is the state stone of Michigan and very unique found only in this area of Lake Michigan. Cherries are grown in this area also so we stopped at the farmers market and I purchased a cherry pie that had just come out of the oven. Dried cherries are available now but we are late for the fresh ones.
Today we had planned to go to Leland, which is a little fishing village but maybe since it is raining we will wait until tomorrow and just crash today. More later, MEM

Traverse City RV Resort

I kept telling everyone that I planned this trip with the "worst" campground first so that when we got to the "good stuff" they would really appreciate it and I think we have arrived. This is definetly this best we have been in yet but the only problem is there is only one more like this and then we start going downhill a little bit again.

We headed out toward Petoskey yesterday and had a little problem finding a place to park these "big a buses" so we just came on to Traverse City and plan to go back to Petoskey by car today. Tomorrow we plan to go to Old Mission Point and Leland.

After we got set up here it was time for Janice and Linda to do major laundry. I had done some when we got to Mackinac but still had a little more to finish up. We also had pizza at the Club House for dinner and then started a game of Phase X which we will have to finish tonight if we are up to when we get back from our travels.

Now you people who know me and tease me about how I go"like a house a fire" all time and think I should slow down. Well let me tell you something. I have met my matches. Janice and Linda have about worn me out on this trip. Janice is older than me and Linda is a little younger but I am about to think my candle must be burning a little slower these days. This is information for you and Doug, Ally. Ha Ha

In all seriousness we are having a wonderful time and enjoying showing our friends the lovely State of Michigan. They are just fasinated with the Lakes. Linda now has to dip her toe in Lake Michigan somewhere so that she can say she has been in 3 of the Lakes. Janice and I have already done it.

Mackinac Island

When we awoke on Wednesday morning Larry and I thought oh no. We have had wonderful weather and the day we plan to go to the island it is cool, cloudy and misting rain. Oh well, we decided that it was now or never for our friends to see Mackinc so off we went to the ferry. The day was Beautiful. No rain, sunshine and very comfortable. They are starting to tease me about the weather control but I keep telling them it is just the luck of the draw as all my friends from Michigan know it can CHANGE quick.
Anyway it was a great day. We took the carriage ride around the island which tells Larry and me that we are much older than the last time we were here when we rode bicycles on the Island. We got off at the Fort and enjoyed some of the history there and had lunch at the Tea Room which overlooks the Harbor. What a great view. We walked back down to the main street so I could purchase some famous fudge from Murdicks for Ally and arrived back on the mainland around 4:30pm and were ready to start on Phase II. Had dinner at Audies and then came back and sat down by Lake Huron and watched the traffic on the Bridge and a freighter going under the Bridge. Today we are heading south to Traverse City by way of Petoskey. We plan to do lunch in Petoskey and check out some little shops and then on to the RV Resort. MEM

Crossing Back Over the Bridge

Everyone wanted to go out for breakfast this morning so Linda and I thought we should do Curves first. However she nor I either one like to get up early. We left the motorhomes at 8:15 am and she says to me, "so this is what it looks like this time of the morning". You have to realize she commuted to the Washington DC area for many years and was on the road by 4:30 am. After a great breakfast we got the coaches ready and got "On the Road Again". With only approximately 60 miles to go we just took our time and of course crossed the bridge at 20 mph. It was rather windy but not bad. After getting set up at the campground which is located on the shores of Lake Huron us girls thought we should check out the shopping in Mackinac City so off we went. Man did we have fun!!!!!!!!!!! Everything is really on sale since this is the last of the season for this summer. I found the sweatshirt that I wanted with a picture of the Bridge on it. This is the 50th anniversary of the Bridge. We came back and Janice made supper for all of us tonight which was a Columbus, Georgia treat called scrambled dogs. It consist of hotdogs on an open bun, chili, onions, relish, cheese and oyster crackers. I know it sounds awful but oh it is GOOD. After that we thought we would all need an antacid so we thought ice cream would do the trick so back to the little town we went in search of ice cream and guess what, we found it. Next was sightseeing trip down to the water to see the Bridge with all its lights on. Now we are definitely in Phase III, it is time for bed.

Monday, August 20,2007

Larry says today is the day for posting pictures so we will see how that plays out. Sunday was a beautiful day with sunshine and about 73 degrees. We drove over to Whitefish Point to the Lighthouse Museum. The remains of the Edmond Fitzgerald lie about 17 miles from there at about 535 feet of water. Some 20 years after it went down they were able to retrive the bell from the ship and replace it with another with the names of all the people lost on that awful night of Nov 10 1975. Having lived here in Michigan then I certainly remember waking up to that news. I have always liked the song that Gordon Lightfoot wrote about the "Fitz" and they were playing that yesterday at the museum.
Stopped for a little lunch then the Casino and back to the campground to have "happy hour" and then more food. Janice had found the Antlers for us to go try the whitefish and needless to day it was the BEST fish we have had so far. After a little time around the fire it was time for Phase III as Ralph and Jim call it, BED. We have Phase I,Happy Hour, Phase II Eating and Phase III Bed. What a LIFE this isl They say laughter is good for the SOUL so let me tell you, my soul is Good. MEM PS: If you are wondering about the second picture it is called a "BUTT SHOT". Jim was wanting to live dangerously.

Greetings from the "SOO"

Good morning to everyone. We arrived at the Soo Locks Campground on Saturday around noon and got our coaches set up and enjoyed watching freighters go up and down the St. Marys River. Later we took the Soo Locks Boat trip down the river , through the locks and back again. What an experience to go through the locks. Larry and I had done this before but it was fun to watch the others enjoy it as none of them had been through locks . The campground sits right on the river so we have a beautiful view of the ships and Canada is right across the river. Today we plan to go to Whitefish Point on Lake Superior which is where the ship Edmond Fitzgerald went down in Nov 1975 I remember waking up to that news on the radio right after we moved to Holland, Mi.

We think we will do lunch at a Casino so Linda and I can check out the "Slots". We have to try to do something since we are paying almost $3.00 a gallon for disel. Janice is our resident restaurant finder. She doesn't ask for a good one she ask the person which is their favorite and she has not steered us wrong yet. Do you get the feeling we all enjoy EATING?
More later, MEM

Visiting Marquette Area

Thursday did prove to be the day for resting. I did not realize how tired Larry and I were . Linda and I did go to Curves and then just rested the remainder of the day. Janice & Ralph went into Marquette so they were able to prepare us for our trip today. We all enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner and then retired a little early .

Friday a.m. Linda and I went into Curves ( we figure if we exercise we can eat more)and then came back to the "Bus" . Jim and Larry were ready to receive their orders for the day. First stop on the trip was Christmas, Michigan and of course we had to stop and buy something. Next we stopped at the Welcome Center at Marquette and ask for the best place to eat lunch. Go figure, us looking for food. Had a wonderful whitefish lunch and then on to other things.

We took a tour of a working lighthouse and a maritime museum. Linda and Jim had never been inside a lighthouse. Lake Superior was really "kicking" today. The wind was blowing probably 40 mph so we saw plenty of whitecaps. After this we stopped at a Harley Dealership and did some looking and yes, gunslinger, some shopping. On our way back to meet Janice and Ralph for dinner and more fish we stopped so that we could put our feet in Lake Superior. It was cold but I have felt it COLDER.

Tomorrow we leave here and head to the "Soo Locks" for about three days and then back across the bridge to Mackinaw City.

I still have to work on Larry to get the pictures downloaded from the camara and onto this site.

MEM

Another Wonderful Day 8-15-07

We arrived in Munising around noon and got all setup and waited for Jim and Linda to arrive. We are in a small campground located right on the water which is great. It is actually a part of what they call Munising Bay but to me it is all the Great Lakes. After visiting for a while we decided to do the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise this afternoon due to the fact you never know what the weather will be next. What a great trip. The stories of Lake Superior and the formation of the rocks and what you can imagine you see in them is amazing. Our friends keep telling us how beautiful Michigan is and of course we have to agree with them. Tomorrow we plan to just have a "Down Day" as I think we all need it. If Linda and I get really moved we may go to Curves.

Crossing the "Mighty Mac"

We certainly enjoyed Frankenmuth. Janice & I let the guys off the hook about going to the Christmas Store so they did a museum . We enjoyed German food on Monday night, like we don't enjoy all kinds of food. We took a little trip on the Barvarian Belle Paddle Wheeler up the Cass River.

Tuesday we traveled on up the road to cross the "Mighty Mac". Now you know I do not like heights so that is not one of my favorite things especially when we get there and there is a sign saying RV 's 20 mph, high winds. However, it was a good trip over and thanks to Al Friend being on the phone with me he talked me over telling me he was watching on a web cam.

We are heading on West today to Munising and meeting up with another couple from Virginia. They have been in Sturgis SD at the Bike Week so we know they have "Stories" to tell us.

Trip to Michigan

Well, we left Virginia on Saturday, August 11th with our friends Janice & Ralph Parson heading to Michigan. We had great weather and enjoying seeing a small bear cross Interstate 64 in West Virginia. After two days of traveling we arrived in Frankenmuth, Michigan and enjoyed a wonderful chicken dinner at the famous Zehnders. This is certainly a quaint little town which we have enjoyed over the years of living in Michigan and wanted to share it with Janice & Ralph. Tomorrow we head on up and cross the "Mighty Mac" Bridge and of course I will be relieved when we do that. Now we have to go check out the Christmas things at Bronners .