Michigan – Part I

We arrived at Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping on Friday, July 1. We’d worked out our travel so that we could arrive by about 1pm, giving us a bigger part of the day to get set up and acclimated. Mosquitoes greeted us while checking in and I was NOT happy (they seem to love me). But I must say that they weren’t very much of an issue after that first day. Thankfully!

This picture was taken later, but this is our site.

Our site is very large and looks even larger since the sites on either side of us are empty. It’s beautiful here, lots of trees and a short walk to Lake Huron.

Saturday was spent exploring the area. We went into Mackinaw City and loved walking around all the shops and eateries. We picked up tourist info to pursue later to decide what all we wanted to do while here. When we went into the IGA for some basic food supplies, we realized we needed to go to Cheboygan and the Wal-Mart there. So that’s what we did after lunch.

We had dinner in town at the Admiral’s Table. I highly recommend this restaurant. We had great food! Fresh fish right out of the lakes. And our waitress was the best – efficient AND friendly!

On Sunday, we drove north all the way to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. If you get up this way, don’t bother. There doesn’t seem to be anything of interest and even with a GPS, we couldn’t find the 2 things we were looking for. Even the Customs Guard on the way back into the U.S. told us there was nothing there. NOW they tell us. (LOL)

We did enjoy Sault Ste. Marie, MI. We drove down to the waterfront and walked over to see the locks in operation. Lake Superior is 21 feet higher than Lake Huron. This is a picture of the locks as we went over the bridge into Canada.

The two locks happened to be operating at the same time. This large ship was heading down into Lake Huron.

These two smaller boats were on their way up into Lake Superior.

   

We’d been through the lock of the Panama Canal while inside the ship. That was awesome. This was every bit as interesting and gave us a little different perspective.

We had lunch and then decided to make a stop at the local casino. No, no luck there. Bummer.

We had crossed the Mackinac (pronounced mackinAW) Bridge earlier in the morning. This is a 5+ mile bridge completed in 1957. They all said it couldn’t be built because the distance was too great and the water too deep.

We saw a sign for a bridge view area just before heading back over it into Mackinaw City. So we took it and got our best shots of the bridge (so far).

On Independence Day, we drove for nearly two and a half hours to get to the northern part of the Upper Peninsula, to the town of Munising. From there we took a two and a half hour boat ride up the coast of Lake Superior to see the Pictured Rocks. “That’s a long drive for a boat trip” you say? Let me assure you: we both felt it was worth every second!

Unfortunately, the photos of the Rocks don’t really do them justice – it’s just never like really being there. We started taking pics almost right away and the captain said to wait and not use up our cameras as it all got way better up the line. And he was absolutely right. So I’ll just share the “good stuff”.

This is Bridal Falls:

This is called something like Battleship Row. As you look down the shore, the outcroppings look like the back-ends of battleships all lined up. (You may want to click on this one to see it full size.)

There was a bald eagle sitting in a tree.

This tree wanted so badly to grow on this rock that it spread its roots across to the left. Isn't nature amazing??

Can you see the people basking in this little water fall? I’ll bet that water was C-O-O-O-O-L-D.

All the different colors on the rocks are caused by different minerals seeping through the rocks. And we saw just about every color you could imagine. It was all so gorgeous!

When we first got to Northern Michigan, we saw all sorts of ads for “pasties” (pronounced pass-tees.) I learned that they are pastries filled with meat, veggies and spices. We hadn’t had the opportunity to try them until getting off this boat ride. We walked a block or so to the main street and found a restaurant that served them. We both ordered one and really enjoyed them. They remind me a little of Runzas that you can get in Nebraska, only a little more bland. They were really good and we’d have them again.

Our last day found us on the ferry to Mackinac Island. This turned out to be another real treat!

We chose a time when the ferry actually went under the Mackinac Bridge prior to heading over to the Island. It was overcast and raining off and on, but Julian braved the weather and went up to the open deck to shoot some pictures.

It’s a beautiful structure. They told us all sorts of facts about it, including that it was completed one year ahead of schedule and one million dollars under budget. That’s a lot of dollars in 1957.

The island was just fun! It’s a bit unique in that no motorized vehicles are allowed – no cars, no golf carts, no motor cycles nor scooters. To get around, you walk, you ride a bicycle, or you use a horse-drawn carriage. (I’ve never seen so many bicycles in my life!)

We had decided against an organized tour as the stops were not of real interest to us. So we walked the downtown area. It was beautiful, especially after the sun came out. There were lots of quaint hotels, tons of fudge stores and shops of just about any kind.

I have to post this one – Julian said so. It’s me coming out of one of the shops while he was snapping other pictures.

This was a real, live dog sleeping in the display window of one of the shops. It just cracked us up.

We returned to Mackinaw City where we had lunch at Scalawag’s. We had fresh whitefish baskets and loved every bite. We’ve had  a lot of fish since coming north and it’s all been wonderful.

We spent the afternoon sort of resting up. We’d been on the go for four days straight and there were things that needed doing. Heading into new territory on July 6. National Cherry Festival, here we come!

Happy trails.

Oh, Ohio!

We’ve come from central Florida to the ocean and then to the mountains. Our next stop is north Ohio, just off Lake Erie.

We’ve been to this RV park before and really enjoyed it. We’re not close to the lake, but it’s a short drive into Port Clinton and the water.

The weather was great, breezy with temps in the high 70s and low 80s. No need for air conditioning here, either.

Our first full day here was spent exploring. We drove into town and then out to the Visitors’ Center. (Even with a GPS in the car, it’s nice to have maps and tourist propaganda to help make decisions.) We stopped in Cheese Haven where they have nearly 200 different kinds of cheese. Most that we tasted was pretty darned good, too.

We found a great restaurant in Marblehead where we shared a fish and chips dinner – the fish being walleye. It was SO yummy! Why can’t you get walleye in other parts of the country? Hmmm?

Once we got back home, we had some decisions to make. We’d planned to go back out to Put-In-Bay, primarily because of the Heineman’s Riesling that we had enjoyed so much the last time. When we saw it in Cheese Haven, we realized we might not need to go again, if there wasn’t anywhere else on the island we wanted to re-visit. There wasn’t so that trip was scrapped from the possible agenda.

The next day we went off to Sandusky to explore. We had never been there, so it was fun. We drove down to the waterfront, stopped at two wineries (didn’t buy anything), drove out to Cedar Point (the  self-proclaimed roller coaster capital of the world), but didn’t go in – I guess we’re getting old. (Picture taken from the waterfront, across the bay.)

We had lunch at a place called Margaritaville (no obvious connection to Jimmy Buffet). It was pretty cool, though. Just outside the booth we were at was a great waterfall. Behind the restaurant was a small park area with the river the water fell into. It was so pretty. (Sorry, no pics. Duh!)

The next morning, we saw the swan and goose families as we were leaving the campgrounds. They were just too cute not to shoot… pictures, that is.

We headed west to try to find some good shore fishing on Lake Erie. We talked to people at three different bait shops. We bought our licenses and wound up going back east to the Sandusky Bay area to actually put in our lines.

Here’s Julian (and a friend) out on the jetty. He’s hard at work, wouldn’t you say?

We caught a couple little guys and threw them back. Then Julian caught a pretty decent catfish.

By around noon, we decided to call it a day with only a couple keepers in the bucket.

But after lunch at the coach, Julian suggested we go try the pier on the Portage River located right on the grounds. It was SUPER windy, but we stayed until we got a couple more fish. By the end of the day, we had enough for a small fish fry… which we did the next evening. And they were really good!

On our last day, we headed to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They don’t allow any photography inside, so there aren’t any other pics to share. We spent a couple hours inside and enjoyed it all, especially the Elvis section. We happened to catch a few songs by Simon and Garfunkel in one of the movie theaters and sure enjoyed that, too.

We had scouted out restaurants before leaving home (thank you, internet). We even had a coupon (LOL). We went to Fat Fish Blue, which is a New Orleans style restaurant. And it was awesome! Julian had a salad with fried crawfish and I had a muffaletta. Both were terrific!

As we had a short distance to our next stop, we didn’t leave the campground till about noon. So we spent the morning leisurely packing up and preparing for a night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. (Hey, it’s FREE!)

Our next stop is new territory – places we’ve never been before. So, we’re both looking forward to the next adventure.

Happy trails!

Into the Mountains

Our next stop was Lenoir, NC, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our campground was in those mountains, outside of town. It was a gorgeous location. All the RVs were dwarfed by the tall, tall trees.

We were allowed to drive the park to pick out our site location. We found what we liked fairly quickly. We got set up before the rain started, though it had obviously rained off an on prior to our arrival. This photo was taken later, when we had sun, but it shows what a great site we had.

There was a small babbling brook just below and to the left of the wood deck in this picture. Most of the sites had wood decks – it was hard to choose a site.

It was raining off and on during our first morning there. So we decided to head to the Visitors’ Center and get help deciding what to do during our four-day stay.

We realized that the towns of Blowing Rock and Boone were not far up the road, so we drove there after picking up the tourist brochures. Lenoir is around 1200 feet above sea level. Just before entering Blowing Rock we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide at about 3600 feet. We’d been to these two towns before, so just drove around for a bit.

We stopped in the downtown of Boone to walk the shops, but quickly decided against it. First and foremost: it was cold! We’d been in 90+ degree weather since well before leaving home, so the 65 (or so) of this area with high winds was COLD! (Yes, I’m a weenie, but I was not prepared for that at all.) We drove back into Blowing Rock and had lunch at British pub where we’d eaten before. And it was just as good as before!

Noting the high winds, we decided to head back to the coach and hope that our awning was not torn to shreds. But about half-way back down the mountain, the winds stopped and the temperature rose to about 80. I’d forgotten about the changes going up and down the mountains – it was just like Colorado!

Later that afternoon it rained some more. But the air temperature was cool enough to leave the sheltered windows open and not use the air conditioning. That was a nice change from the weeks before.

The next day, we headed into “historic” downtown Lenoir. We weren’t impressed. The shops were scattered all over and there wasn’t much we were interested in, anyway. So we headed home for lunch and a new plan.

We decided to drive out to Wilson Creek. It’s a small gorge to the west of Lenoir on Hiway 90. After a wrong turn (full of beautiful scenery) we did find our way into the gorge. It, too, was beautiful. We took Brown Mountain Beach Road north along the Wilson Creek. It wasn’t long till it turned into a dirt road.

Here are a couple photos we took along the creek. Lots of folks were enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

We were ready to hit pavement again when the map and the road signs pointed us back onto Hiway 90. Wrong! Several more miles of dirt road – more narrow than we’re used to and still a winding road. I guess that was the price we paid for the gorgeous scenery.

Not long after we got home, it started to rain again. Enough already!

Wednesday was clear and beautiful. We decided to return to Blowing Rock to see The Blowing Rock. We hadn’t gone in the last time we were in the area because the wind wasn’t strong enough for the effect to occur. There wasn’t much wind on this day, but we went in and really enjoyed it.

This is the blowing rock:

It’s not really very big. I won’t go into the legend here, but we heard a man tell his kids that when he was there as a child, his father threw his cap over the rock and it blew right back up and into his hands. I’m sure there wasn’t enough wind to try it on that day, but it’s a cool story.

The views from this area were spectacular. Here are a few shots we took:

And these shots give you an idea of the beautiful grounds.

After leaving the attraction, we went up the road a very short distance to a restaurant called Canyons. Here’s why:

This was the view from our table on the deck. Oh, and the food was really good, too!

Our last day in the area was spent getting ready for travel. With all the rain we’d had, it was smart to get all the outdoor stuff put away while it was at least partially dry. We needed groceries and had other chores to do. The day actually passed pretty quickly.

We’ll be back to the North Carolina mountains later in our trip. But for now, it’s farewell as we head to our next destination.

Happy trails!

The Coast

Let the summer RV trip begin!

After lunch on Saturday, June 11, we took off in our motor home for a three-month trip. Our first night was spent in Walkabout Park in Woodbine, GA. We’ve stayed in this park before, before an Aussie couple took it over recently. Not much change in the park itself, but the new owners are VERY nice.

By mid-morning on Sunday we were pulling into Hilton Head Island Resort and Marina. This is a beautiful park located on the Intercoastal Waterway. We hopped in a golf cart to go around the park to pick the site we wanted. That didn’t take long and we set up in a great corner site one row in from the water (which cost extra, of course).

We walked over to the on-site restaurant for lunch. Who knew it was a Sunday Brunch? We had a really nice lunch, but it sure was pricey! That’s Hilton Head, I guess.

On Monday we went out exploring and saw a whole lot of the island. It’s a beautiful place, without a doubt.

One thing I found in the tourist mags that I wanted to see was a statue of Neptune which is also one of the largest sundials in the world. It was really big and cool.

We checked the time and it was dead on! I don’t know how long it’s been there, but long enough to get some corrosion.

We walked around the plaza and went into a couple shops, but didn’t buy any thing.

From there, we drove down to Coligny Plaza. We walked those shops a bit, too, but then decided to head down to the beach. It was just a short walk and we were at the Atlantic Ocean.

It was pretty hot, so the water really looked inviting. But by this time we were in search of lunch and headed back to the car. I thought this walkway was pretty cool between the street and the beach.

We went around to the lighthouse, but didn’t take photos as we’d been there before. Then we found a great place for lunch.

The next day, we drove to Bluffton, which was supposed to have great antebellum houses to look at. However, we never found them. We followed the signs to the historic district, but didn’t find anything of interest.

Not to worry: Savannah, GA, was only another 25 miles, so we drove over there. We walked the river district and had a great lunch at one of the spots there.

Our last day was spent driving north, to Beaufort. There were loads of great houses to look at there and we really enjoyed that. We stopped at a little place that touted the best fish and chips in the area. We tried them and I don’t think they were lying. Yum!

On Thursday, we drove to North Myrtle Beach. We’ve stayed there before and really liked it. On Friday we took a gambling boat out into the Atlantic. We enjoyed it, but didn’t have any great luck to speak of. It happens. (LOL)

Saturday was spent doing those ugly chores that must be done – even on the road. So we did laundry and cleaned the “house”. It was a good day and the important stuff got done.

Sunday found us driving again, heading north and away from the water. So stay tuned for the next installment!

Happy trails!