June 11 - 20 Michigan

We crossed over from Canada at Port Huron Michigan where we stayed for a couple of days recharging, gassing up the RV and doing laundry! We decided to head up to the Upper Lower Michigan area and then the Upper Peninsula and then head down the other way and shoot back over to Dearborn so off we went!

I write this at the end of the day on the 20^th (Happy 1^st Day of Summer)…which is a little different that our norm. Couple of highlights….we managed to see all of the Great Lakes thus far and swam in Lake Michigan, which is cold and put our feet in the other Lakes!

A few days in Mackinaw City was nice and we saw all the local sights. On the Friday we decided that the weather had broken enough (we had quite a bit of rain and clouds) to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island. We had watched a couple of documentaries on this Island and were anxious to see it. The next day was the official beginning of the Lilac Festival so we thought the day before would be a good choice crowd-wise. There is NO Auto traffic at all allowed on the Island. As a matter of fact the mode of transportation is either by horse/carriage/bicycles. We took our bikes over on the Ferry so we could get around easily. It was so fascinating to see how the workers function with the horses, luggage is carried by wagon, lumber, propane tanks, etc. all by horse and carriage. Some of the local hotels which are smaller employ bike messengers to schlep the luggage to the hotel. It’s really neat to see how they get along without any powered vehicles, no motorbikes or motorcycles etc. We did spy out an ambulance in the bay at the local hospital so they at least do have a couple of vehicles that can be used for quick transport. One of the things that we had been wanting to do was to bike around the Island. It was an 8 miles ride, easy to do since it was not very hilly. We did that with ease and then Les decided, of course he couldn’t leave a good thing alone, to continue our bike tour by biking UP to the middle of the island past the world famous Grand Hotel. That was a killer and I was none too pleased with him going the extra 2 miles. He made it up to me by choosing a fabulous little in-town restaurant which we enjoyed very much. We spent the better part of the days on the Island and we were glad that we took the time to do this. It is another thing in Michigan that is well worth the visit.

 

 

We took the Jeep without the RV to the Upper Peninsula, specifically Whitefish Point, the location most associated with the Shipwreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. We visited the Shipwreck Museum (a nice surprise steeped in history) and learned more than we needed to know about the Great Lakes shipwrecks over the years. A whopping 30,000 people have lost their lives to the Great Lakes! Wow…we were really surprised at that number but the shipwrecks are so numerous it’s no wonder. A nice location to learn about the pre-Coast Guard days and how the local men rescued seamen when possible. It was hard work and dangerous. We learned about the Breaches Buoy, a term we heard often and understood what it was but didn’t realize the history of the “seat”. Well worth the trip (plus there was a Casino on the way back that Leslie indulged me in for a little while).

 

 

Then we were off to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore located in Honor, Michigan on Lake Michigan. We climbed the Dunes (which are about 450 feet high and takes about 45-60 minutes to ascend). We only went to the apex because the round trip to the Lake and back is 4 hours!! After the Dune climb we had a picnic lunch and then rode the newly opened bike trail 5 miles through the woods, nice because it was quite warm that day and the trees provided a nice canopy. Since we were a “little sandy” we then went to the Platte River and Lake Michigan for a swim (well more of a dip cuz it’s COLD)…then back to the park for naps!

I feel a little silly touting our bike rides since our friend Bob B. just completed a 65 mile bike run and he is a little older than us! Congratulations to him for his accomplishment and his dedication to the sport.

We stayed in the National Park campground for 3 nights, 2 of which we didn’t get satellite signal so one of the nights we decided to go to the local drive-in theater. The problem for us was that the first of 2 features didn’t start until dusk, which here is 10:20 pm. We stayed for the first movie and then left!

　

　

　

June 6 - 11 Oh Canada!

After a nice relaxing visit with Frank and Joan in Parishville, NY we headed to Canada! Our first couple of nights were in Kingston Ontario. Weather was very nice with only scattered showers. Friday we departed for the Toronto area, specifically a Provincial Park in Brampton, Ontario. We jumped in the Jeep and headed for Downtown to check it out. Very much like any large US city. We stopped by Casa Loma, one of the most opulent and expensive pre-depression homes in this area but opted not to tour the inside but strolled the grounds. It was a bit pricey and we had previously toured The Hearst Castle which dwarfed these grounds.

Saturday night we dined with one of my “Curves Gang” Carole D. who resides in the Toronto area and Florida. A big hello to all the 6:30 am ladies in Oldsmar! Yes that means you too Carrie! She and Tony were so gracious to us and we felt like we were right at home, chilling with friends!

Monday we were off to Michigan but not sure how we will attack the attractions, either Dearborn on the front side of the trip around the Peninsula or the back end.

     

May 26 thru June 4th

Invaded the Conte residence yet again for another visit! Lyla stayed with us on Friday to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend! She has learned so many new words and gratefully no “bad words” from me! We had a fun weekend with all, Lyla in the pool, Jerrod golfing, Liz running, Les flying his kite and cooking for me! Something for everyone at this resort! Come Tuesday we were glad we were here because Lyla’s sitters’ whole family came down with Strep and since it was contagious we offered to sit for her until the sitter’s house was clear. We had so much fun with her Tues, Wed and Thursday that we secretly hoped that she could stay home Friday too but all was clear at the sitters’ house and off she went. We all went to the Sandown NH Memorial Day Parade and Lyla loved the band. Unfortunately there was only one band and a few Boy Scouts and some Law Enforcement folks in the parade, but it was fun and she enjoyed it.

We left on Friday and headed to Burlington Vermont, a weekend stop for us before we head to Brian and Jeannie’s house in upstate NY. By this time I had developed a cold and was feeling generally crummy so of course this was when I was most klutzy! While Les was setting up the RV it was my job to get lunch and I went outside to ask him what he wanted and when I came back around the corner I slammed into the slide-out on the bedroom, splitting my head opened. I knew that your head bled quite a bit even if the cut wasn’t that large but I don’t think Les was totally aware of that…he kept saying OMG, OMG, OMG… I said just get me a paper towel….just another day in our lives!

Rain, Rain and more rain was the mantra for the weekend, but fine with us because we had races on, baseball and basketball so we laid low for the weekend.
Headed to NY today even though Brian would not be home, his “campground” was opened and he told us to go ahead and hook up. His brother and sister-in-law are here also in their 5^th wheel so we are getting cozy for the night.