August 20, 2009
Today is the 19th of August. Where have we been since last i posted???? dang, trying to remember. Well, we found a campground right at the entrance to the island and decided to splurge and stay there. There were only 6 other rigs in the campground, and it was the 4th of July weekend!!!! Don't know where everyone was, but it was great! We spent 3 days there, and went all over Bar Harbor. The drive up Cadillac Mtn was really pretty. It did rain the whole time we were there, except for a few hours. When we got to the top of the mtn, we were able to take pics of the harbor before the fog rolled in around us. I took a video and you could watch the fog come in all around. Was pretty neat. Not the rain however. We had a few hours to walk around town, and that was on July 4th. We just happened to catch the last bus back to the campground until after the fireworks. We didn't want to leave trav alone during fireworks,so we headed back to the cg. We had planned on going thru Canada on our way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to meet my family, but it was so cold and rainy, we decided to hunt for sun. We headed south along the coast and came to the mother of all outlet malls!!! Just north of Portland in Kittery, ME. The whole town is nothing but outlet stores! We spent about an hour going thru Cabella's and a few others, then took off cause it was raining. Headed south and west toward a COE park where we stayed before. Had a great site and loved every minute of it. We stopped again at the casino Nan played at on our trip out and lost again, but she did enjoy herself and that's the main thing. Off to another COE park. Many of the parks were half full because of all the rain which was a good thing for us because we didn't make any reservations and were able to get some prime spots just as walk-ins. One of the parks, St. Ives Run, in PA was just fantastic. Our spot was right on the water and it was a huge spot. We did some investigating in the area and had a great time seeing all the ..........GREEN!!!!! 
A small town just south of there had some very interesting decorations along the main drag.....Lots of back roads and beautiful areas. Our next stop was at a small COE in PA called East Branch Lake. 
It's a very little known campground that is away from it all. The first nite, I awoke smelling something aweful. I thought Nan was in a very bad way with the gas department. Went into the front to sleep and looked out the windows. Couldn't see anything, and I mean ANYTHING! It was pitch black. The next morning, Trav was out behind the rig and I was walking with him. Color me surprised when I almost stepped in BEAR SHIT! Now I know, a bear DOES shit in the woods! Up went my antennae and it was now time to hunt for bear. The ranger at the park took a shining to us and offered to take us over the damn (which was closed to the public) and into the tower that controlled the gates and into the out-run. It was really interesting and we enjoyed her and our private tour!! She also told us about a mother bear with 2 cubs in a state park about 3/4 of a mile away. So, in the car we went to find out wil
dlife!! YES!! we found her and her cubs!! They weren't any bigger than Trav and were so cute and full of fun and games. We watched for a while and the Ranger came by a couple of times to see if we'd seen anything. He was in charge of keepin mama and babies OUT of the dumpsters!! He and mama had this game they played every nite
. How soon could mama get into a dumpster before the ranger caught her and her kids. It was quite a fun time to watch. We talked at length to the ranger and he told us it was a daily ragime with her and him. It was quite exciting to see the kids so young and precocious and full of fun. We eventually had to leave this little part of heaven and head to the next piece of paradise. We headed to another COE in Ohio. It was the first COE park we weren't all that excited about and only stayed a few days. Still raining, so we headed up to Michigan to visit my family in the Detroit area. My sister and her husband have a place in Pinckney, MI. They have 15 acres, so we parked the rig there and stayed for about 3 weeks while we visited all the kids and folks. We took advantage of the time there to do a few repairs on the rig. First, we took up the floor and did some re-allignment so it would lay better. Fixed the air conditioner. Found that there was a duct that was never blocked off and went from the front of the rig to the back. It should have been blocked off at the kitched so the back conditioner did the bedroom and bathroom and the front air did only the front room. Now it works much much better and much more efficiently. We did some adjustments on the door, and various other little things to fix up. I have a brother (who is perfect!) and 2 sisters in the area (who are also pretty special!) My mom is also there and i was able to spend some time with them all. Nan was very welcomed and she had a pretty good time with them. While I was home last august, we all decided to get together at my sisters place in Paradise, MI. It's just this side of heaven!!! We also planned to celebrate my little bro's 50th bd!! I have another sister who isn't in the area and she flew home to be with all of us at the Paradise house. 
Margo's place is a little 3,000 sq ft "cabin"
right on 
Whitefish Bay. We watched the freighters come and go from Sault Ste. Marie past Whitefish Point into Lake Superior and on down to Lake Michigan and Chicago, etc. Except for the bugs! it was a fantastic time with my family and we hope to do it every year! 
While we were in the Detroit area, we decided to take advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" deals and purchased a new car. You know, Nan has always wanted a car to match the rig and that looks good with the kayaks, so, we decided on silver (that's the only color they had of our list of requirements) instead of charcoal or black. We were very happy with the car and decided that it would work perfectly. This is the first year it is capable of being towed 4 down and we were happy to get something 1,000 lbs lighter and wayyyyy better gas mileage (28mpg). We were concerned that we weren't going to be able to get a tow plate put on it before we left and they made special arrangements so we could do that. However, at the last minute, they told us the part hadn't come in and it would be another week. DANG!!! We figured out a way to come back down with family after the week up north, and pick up the car and drive back to Paradise. It is a 6 hour drive, but I figured if Margo (sis) could do it EVERY weekend, I could do it in one day!! Well,we did it, but it took us about 8 hours. We do stop a lot, and don't go too fast. Especially since the wind was pretty stiff and the kayaks didn't want to stay put. We stopped about 4 times on the way to re-adjust them, then got to a wal-mart and bought tie-downs and strapped those suckers down so well, they'll NEVER come off without taking about an hour to undo all the straps!!!! Anyway, we made it! Oh, guess i should tell you what the car is........FORD ESCAPE XLT!!! We really like it. Got the 4 cyl automatic. Rides great! We arrived at Paradise and it was fantastically clear. We could see the windmills all along the Canadian Coast across the bay. The stars were magnificent! With all the rain, it's been a while since we were able to see so many. It was breathtaking. I stood outside just staring at the stars at about 2am. What a site! We left Paradise, after making sure everything worked with the car and rig, (which was a bit frustrating in that the wiring was wrong and
our left blinker on the car co-insided with the right blinker on the rig! Try and follow THAT down the road!!) and headed west again. We went by the Upper Falls of Taquamanon State Park and naturally had to stop!! The falls are root beer colored from the tannin in the water. It is from the iron from all the iron mining in the upper peninsula. Makes for beautiful waterfalls tho!! When we got to Munising, we stopped at the parking lot for the Munising Falls and Nan and I re-wired the car and got it working correctly. We found a campground right on the water in Munising, MI. We had been here on our last trip thru he
re in 2002, but wanted to be on 
the water one more 
time. So we stopped for a couple of days and took the cruise out to Pictured Rocks National Seashore. 
It was very very pretty. And it was really calm, thank goddess! The day was overcast so it made for some pretty cool pics. Not washed out with the bright sunshine. And besides, it isn't like we aren't very used to rain by now!! When we got back, we sat on our chairs right about 4' from the shoreline. Had some coffee and just listened to the gentle waves and watched the water. Our last water til we stop at Lake Powell after the Huntsman games. Tomorrow we are headed to Rockford, IL to visit with Jennifer and Sherri. We'll stay there a few days then head to NE to see Nan's family. After that, we head to Colorado for Dr.'s appts and on to St. George. I just hope I'll be able to play, it's been a terrific, but lazy, summer and I'm not in very good shape. So I'll kill myself the week before the Huntsman and be exhausted by the time I play in the tournament! What a plan! Something about it just doesn't seem right! Hmmmmmmmm. Anyway, we have had a fantastic summer and we have enjoyed each other every day. Oh, by the way, Trav finally went into the water tonite! The first time in all the times we were right on the water! What a brave little boy he's becoming.....NOT!!!!!!!!!
Well, family and friends, we will be back in Arizona before we know it. Seems like it has all been a dream, but a really, really terrific one.
We'll talk to all of you again as we go along. Take care and HUGS from all of us!
A small town just south of there had some very interesting decorations along the main drag.....Lots of back roads and beautiful areas. Our next stop was at a small COE in PA called East Branch Lake. 
It's a very little known campground that is away from it all. The first nite, I awoke smelling something aweful. I thought Nan was in a very bad way with the gas department. Went into the front to sleep and looked out the windows. Couldn't see anything, and I mean ANYTHING! It was pitch black. The next morning, Trav was out behind the rig and I was walking with him. Color me surprised when I almost stepped in BEAR SHIT! Now I know, a bear DOES shit in the woods! Up went my antennae and it was now time to hunt for bear. The ranger at the park took a shining to us and offered to take us over the damn (which was closed to the public) and into the tower that controlled the gates and into the out-run. It was really interesting and we enjoyed her and our private tour!! She also told us about a mother bear with 2 cubs in a state park about 3/4 of a mile away. So, in the car we went to find out wil
dlife!! YES!! we found her and her cubs!! They weren't any bigger than Trav and were so cute and full of fun and games. We watched for a while and the Ranger came by a couple of times to see if we'd seen anything. He was in charge of keepin mama and babies OUT of the dumpsters!! He and mama had this game they played every nite
. How soon could mama get into a dumpster before the ranger caught her and her kids. It was quite a fun time to watch. We talked at length to the ranger and he told us it was a daily ragime with her and him. It was quite exciting to see the kids so young and precocious and full of fun. We eventually had to leave this little part of heaven and head to the next piece of paradise. We headed to another COE in Ohio. It was the first COE park we weren't all that excited about and only stayed a few days. Still raining, so we headed up to Michigan to visit my family in the Detroit area. My sister and her husband have a place in Pinckney, MI. They have 15 acres, so we parked the rig there and stayed for about 3 weeks while we visited all the kids and folks. We took advantage of the time there to do a few repairs on the rig. First, we took up the floor and did some re-allignment so it would lay better. Fixed the air conditioner. Found that there was a duct that was never blocked off and went from the front of the rig to the back. It should have been blocked off at the kitched so the back conditioner did the bedroom and bathroom and the front air did only the front room. Now it works much much better and much more efficiently. We did some adjustments on the door, and various other little things to fix up. I have a brother (who is perfect!) and 2 sisters in the area (who are also pretty special!) My mom is also there and i was able to spend some time with them all. Nan was very welcomed and she had a pretty good time with them. While I was home last august, we all decided to get together at my sisters place in Paradise, MI. It's just this side of heaven!!! We also planned to celebrate my little bro's 50th bd!! I have another sister who isn't in the area and she flew home to be with all of us at the Paradise house. 
Margo's place is a little 3,000 sq ft "cabin"
right on 
Whitefish Bay. We watched the freighters come and go from Sault Ste. Marie past Whitefish Point into Lake Superior and on down to Lake Michigan and Chicago, etc. Except for the bugs! it was a fantastic time with my family and we hope to do it every year! 
While we were in the Detroit area, we decided to take advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" deals and purchased a new car. You know, Nan has always wanted a car to match the rig and that looks good with the kayaks, so, we decided on silver (that's the only color they had of our list of requirements) instead of charcoal or black. We were very happy with the car and decided that it would work perfectly. This is the first year it is capable of being towed 4 down and we were happy to get something 1,000 lbs lighter and wayyyyy better gas mileage (28mpg). We were concerned that we weren't going to be able to get a tow plate put on it before we left and they made special arrangements so we could do that. However, at the last minute, they told us the part hadn't come in and it would be another week. DANG!!! We figured out a way to come back down with family after the week up north, and pick up the car and drive back to Paradise. It is a 6 hour drive, but I figured if Margo (sis) could do it EVERY weekend, I could do it in one day!! Well,we did it, but it took us about 8 hours. We do stop a lot, and don't go too fast. Especially since the wind was pretty stiff and the kayaks didn't want to stay put. We stopped about 4 times on the way to re-adjust them, then got to a wal-mart and bought tie-downs and strapped those suckers down so well, they'll NEVER come off without taking about an hour to undo all the straps!!!! Anyway, we made it! Oh, guess i should tell you what the car is........FORD ESCAPE XLT!!! We really like it. Got the 4 cyl automatic. Rides great! We arrived at Paradise and it was fantastically clear. We could see the windmills all along the Canadian Coast across the bay. The stars were magnificent! With all the rain, it's been a while since we were able to see so many. It was breathtaking. I stood outside just staring at the stars at about 2am. What a site! We left Paradise, after making sure everything worked with the car and rig, (which was a bit frustrating in that the wiring was wrong and
our left blinker on the car co-insided with the right blinker on the rig! Try and follow THAT down the road!!) and headed west again. We went by the Upper Falls of Taquamanon State Park and naturally had to stop!! The falls are root beer colored from the tannin in the water. It is from the iron from all the iron mining in the upper peninsula. Makes for beautiful waterfalls tho!! When we got to Munising, we stopped at the parking lot for the Munising Falls and Nan and I re-wired the car and got it working correctly. We found a campground right on the water in Munising, MI. We had been here on our last trip thru he
re in 2002, but wanted to be on 
the water one more 
time. So we stopped for a couple of days and took the cruise out to Pictured Rocks National Seashore. 
It was very very pretty. And it was really calm, thank goddess! The day was overcast so it made for some pretty cool pics. Not washed out with the bright sunshine. And besides, it isn't like we aren't very used to rain by now!! When we got back, we sat on our chairs right about 4' from the shoreline. Had some coffee and just listened to the gentle waves and watched the water. Our last water til we stop at Lake Powell after the Huntsman games. Tomorrow we are headed to Rockford, IL to visit with Jennifer and Sherri. We'll stay there a few days then head to NE to see Nan's family. After that, we head to Colorado for Dr.'s appts and on to St. George. I just hope I'll be able to play, it's been a terrific, but lazy, summer and I'm not in very good shape. So I'll kill myself the week before the Huntsman and be exhausted by the time I play in the tournament! What a plan! Something about it just doesn't seem right! Hmmmmmmmm. Anyway, we have had a fantastic summer and we have enjoyed each other every day. Oh, by the way, Trav finally went into the water tonite! The first time in all the times we were right on the water! What a brave little boy he's becoming.....NOT!!!!!!!!! Well, family and friends, we will be back in Arizona before we know it. Seems like it has all been a dream, but a really, really terrific one.
We'll talk to all of you again as we go along. Take care and HUGS from all of us!
great pics... glad to hear you had a good time in MI
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