Just to finish this adventure, got to Crossville, TN on Sunday and hung out with Mikki and her family until Tuesday adternoon. Got a much later start on Tuesday but did get south of Atlanta on Tuesday night and pulled in to our own driveway about 7:30 Wednesday night.
A most excellent summer adventure!
We're off!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Tuesday, August 4 - Saturday, August 8
Started the day with breakfast at the Suomi Restaurant (took pictures of the menu for Randy!) with good friend Marlene Gilpin. So fun to catch up with her!
Our last day with Taylor consisted of a movie (Pixel. Cute!), lunch (pizza!) at Ambassador, bowling, ice cream, and a quick stop at DQ. She is certainly a joy to be around. Very polite, appreciative, and fun! Great kid!
Had dinner with Susan and Bob - great meal with good friends and lots of catching up! Fun times!
Wednesday we headed to Green Bay. Stayed in Oconto on the river. Very pretty. Visited with Tom's brother Lee and sister-in-law Nancy. Went to Packer Practice Thursday morning and more visiting with Lee & Nancy.
Friday, headed south. Quick stop in Sheboygan to visit with step-mom Evelyn and then made it all the way to North Utica, Illinois where we stopped for the night amidst the soybeans. And made the ever-important phone call to the first teenaged grandkid! Cyd turned 13 on Friday!!!
Today, Saturday (August 8), we were on the road by 8am and are making fast tracks to Crossville, TN. Crossville will be our last "visiting" stop before we high-tail it home. Mikki doesn't think we can get to her house fast enough!
We stopped for lunch at the George Rogers Clark National Historic Site in Vincennes, Indiana (need to put Indiana on the map now... Unless we decide to leave it off just to annoy Denny!) and are now traveling south on US 41 making our way to I-24 and Nashville, TN!
Our last day with Taylor consisted of a movie (Pixel. Cute!), lunch (pizza!) at Ambassador, bowling, ice cream, and a quick stop at DQ. She is certainly a joy to be around. Very polite, appreciative, and fun! Great kid!
Had dinner with Susan and Bob - great meal with good friends and lots of catching up! Fun times!
Wednesday we headed to Green Bay. Stayed in Oconto on the river. Very pretty. Visited with Tom's brother Lee and sister-in-law Nancy. Went to Packer Practice Thursday morning and more visiting with Lee & Nancy.
Friday, headed south. Quick stop in Sheboygan to visit with step-mom Evelyn and then made it all the way to North Utica, Illinois where we stopped for the night amidst the soybeans. And made the ever-important phone call to the first teenaged grandkid! Cyd turned 13 on Friday!!!
Today, Saturday (August 8), we were on the road by 8am and are making fast tracks to Crossville, TN. Crossville will be our last "visiting" stop before we high-tail it home. Mikki doesn't think we can get to her house fast enough!
We stopped for lunch at the George Rogers Clark National Historic Site in Vincennes, Indiana (need to put Indiana on the map now... Unless we decide to leave it off just to annoy Denny!) and are now traveling south on US 41 making our way to I-24 and Nashville, TN!
Monday, August 3, 2015
Thursday-Monday, Juky 30-August 3
Camping at Michigamme Shores was really fun! We played pickleball every morning and took the kids out to play at leadt one more time. The kids swam every day - several times a day. On Saturday, we took Gabby out for a canoe ride (it was the first day that the winds had died down enough to attempt going out on the lake in a boat!).
The weekend at the camprgound is very different than during the week - as evidenced by the large number of campers that arrived and the parade that went by Saturday evening! Very fun group!
We had rain Sunday morning that sent the kids home early and we caught up to them in town later in the day. Visited a little more and then sadly said our goodbyes...
This morning, we said goodbye to the nice wheels and got new wheels and tires put on the truck and then headed north/west to Houghton. We're at the City if Houghton RV park with the lake righr out our door. Such a fantastic view!
Picked up Grandaughter #2, Taylor, and headed out on a mission to find waterfalls. We climbed the trail at the top of the gorge headed to the Hungarian Falls... Did not find them; went back and climbed down to the riverbed and headed upstream to try and find the falls... To no avail. Went back and headed for a snack of ice cream.
After that, we went for a journey down Memory Lane as we went past the place where we took our very first line dance lessons and went out to Bootjack to see where Grandma Nara's campground was.
Then, still on a mission to find waterfalls, we drove out to Gay. And we actually found the Tobacco River Falls. And Lake Superior. And some old stone structure that Taylor thought was the coolest! We had fun.
Then we drove some more and ended up back in civilization where we found Burger King and finally had our dinner at about 8:00pm.
Excellent afternoon with Taylor and we look forward to one more day with her tomorrow before we start venturing south.
The weekend at the camprgound is very different than during the week - as evidenced by the large number of campers that arrived and the parade that went by Saturday evening! Very fun group!
We had rain Sunday morning that sent the kids home early and we caught up to them in town later in the day. Visited a little more and then sadly said our goodbyes...
This morning, we said goodbye to the nice wheels and got new wheels and tires put on the truck and then headed north/west to Houghton. We're at the City if Houghton RV park with the lake righr out our door. Such a fantastic view!
Picked up Grandaughter #2, Taylor, and headed out on a mission to find waterfalls. We climbed the trail at the top of the gorge headed to the Hungarian Falls... Did not find them; went back and climbed down to the riverbed and headed upstream to try and find the falls... To no avail. Went back and headed for a snack of ice cream.
After that, we went for a journey down Memory Lane as we went past the place where we took our very first line dance lessons and went out to Bootjack to see where Grandma Nara's campground was.
Then, still on a mission to find waterfalls, we drove out to Gay. And we actually found the Tobacco River Falls. And Lake Superior. And some old stone structure that Taylor thought was the coolest! We had fun.
Then we drove some more and ended up back in civilization where we found Burger King and finally had our dinner at about 8:00pm.
Excellent afternoon with Taylor and we look forward to one more day with her tomorrow before we start venturing south.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, July 27-29
Sorry to keep you in the dark!
We got to Ishpeming on Monday... Got all set up, connected with the kids...
We got to Ishpeming on Monday... Got all set up, connected with the kids...
Tuesday, we took the truck in to Midas because the brakes were feeling a little "soft" as we were traveling. And they evaluated everything and the work they proposed needing to be done sounded reasonable, so we had them do the work. That all seemed to work out pretty good.
Then we drove to Walmart afterward. And it all went down hill from there. They forgot to tighten the lugnuts on the right rear wheel. We heard this noise, but didn't know what it was. Tom ended up looking at the wheel and discovered the problem. Some (2?) of the lugnuts were totally gone, the others were barely hanging on, and it was clear that the wheel was ready to just fall off the truck!
Midas came to us, got the wheel back on, we took our groceries home and then went back to Midas so they could put the truck up on the lift and really assess the damage to the wheel. In the meantime, I called a tire guy that Bill (son Bill) knew from work - and told him what was going on and asked his opinion on what he thought would be "safe" from a wheel standpoint. And he was adamant - no matter what anyone else told us - if there was damage to the holes where the studs go through the wheel - it would not be safe to drive. Period.
So... the truck goes back up on the lift, the Midas guys take a look, they call us in to the garage to look at what they're talking about... They show us the damage and that in their opinion, the wheel, while damaged, was safe to drive. Tom told them that we had talked to a wheel guy who told us that in no uncertain terms, it was NOT safe to drive. Period.
They were really good about it. No arguments at all. They're buying us four new wheels, and giving us a discount on four brand new tires, are mounting them, balancing them, etc. all for free. We end up paying for the 4 new tires - at below cost. They'll do all this work next Monday. We're not driving that far to go camping with the kids on Wednesday and will be back in town Sunday night so we'll take the truck in to get the new wheels/tires Monday morning.
Tom, while happy with what Midas is doing to "make it right", is very unhappy that he's losing his "cool wheels" that he really loved. So sad.
And now we're up to today. We headed out of Ishpeming at 11 this morning (after running up the road this morning to catch some pickleball, of course!) toward our next stop - the Michigamme Shores Campground - a whopping 17 miles up the road! We're right on Lake Michigamme, there's a beach, playground, paddle boats/canoes/kayaks, and tennis courts - one if which has pickleball lines painted on the court! How awesome is that!
It was too windy today to play - even this morning the winds were pretty tough to do anything eccept practice dinking at the net - so hopefully tomorrow we can play and teach the kids how to play, too.
Kids have been in and out of the lake, have walked around the park, have taken their showers, ate their s'mores, and now we've got the TV outside watching a movie. Awesome way to camp!
And now we're up to today. We headed out of Ishpeming at 11 this morning (after running up the road this morning to catch some pickleball, of course!) toward our next stop - the Michigamme Shores Campground - a whopping 17 miles up the road! We're right on Lake Michigamme, there's a beach, playground, paddle boats/canoes/kayaks, and tennis courts - one if which has pickleball lines painted on the court! How awesome is that!
It was too windy today to play - even this morning the winds were pretty tough to do anything eccept practice dinking at the net - so hopefully tomorrow we can play and teach the kids how to play, too.
Kids have been in and out of the lake, have walked around the park, have taken their showers, ate their s'mores, and now we've got the TV outside watching a movie. Awesome way to camp!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saturday, July 25 & Sunday, July 26
We were a bit out of range yesterday - needed to wait until we got back to civilization in order to access the internet. As we were driving it really struck me on how isolated everything is! All we see are trees!!!
We left St. Ignace late morning and headed up to the Tahquamenon Fall State Park. There were no camping spots available at the mouth of the river, so we drove around to the other side of the park where we were able to get an electric only spot. (We typically don't do a lot of "wilderness" camping but figured we could "rough it" for one night!)
After a quick lunch, we headed to the Lower Falls, which were right there at our campground. Not a bad hike and really pretty falls. There are 5 sets of waterfalls with the Lower Falls.
From there, we got the truck and headed north to Whitefish Point. If Paradise, Michigan wasn't far enough north -- we needed to go yet another 10 miles north to see the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Lots of information about a variety of shipwrecks off Whitefish Point, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald being the one that the Gordon Lightfoot song is about and the most recent in UP Maritime History. I was about 12 when that storm hit in November, 1975, and remember it well!
The very last museum building we went in had a guy doing a presentation about the early Coast Guard - the US Life Saving Service. Very informative. But what was really interesting for us is... WE KNEW HIM!!! We worked with him back in our mental health careers - had no idea he had moved to this neck of the woods! Fun to catch up with him!
Also strolled up to the shoreline of Whitefish Point and got a great view of Lake Superior.
And, on our way back from the Musuem, just had to stop and take this picture!
Anyway... after the Shipwreck Museum, we drove to the Upper Falls and hiked in to see those as well. Much more impressive falls at the Upper - they're bigger and more dramatic!
This morning, since we didn't have to be out of the campground until 1:00 AND since we were only driving another couple hours today, we hiked back in to the Lower Falls again before having lunch and hitting the road to Munising. Where we are now parked right on Lake Superior (who is being warm today and not freezing us out!).
Found tennis courts in town, after dropping off the camper, we went back to town to play some pickleball and pick up a few groceries... Tonight - we actually rented a movie since there is NO TV where we are! Talk about withdrawals! Big Brother is on tonight and we might miss it! Since we do have good intenet, I have to see if I can stream a live CBS channel so we can at least watch Big Brother.
We left St. Ignace late morning and headed up to the Tahquamenon Fall State Park. There were no camping spots available at the mouth of the river, so we drove around to the other side of the park where we were able to get an electric only spot. (We typically don't do a lot of "wilderness" camping but figured we could "rough it" for one night!)
After a quick lunch, we headed to the Lower Falls, which were right there at our campground. Not a bad hike and really pretty falls. There are 5 sets of waterfalls with the Lower Falls.
From there, we got the truck and headed north to Whitefish Point. If Paradise, Michigan wasn't far enough north -- we needed to go yet another 10 miles north to see the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Lots of information about a variety of shipwrecks off Whitefish Point, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald being the one that the Gordon Lightfoot song is about and the most recent in UP Maritime History. I was about 12 when that storm hit in November, 1975, and remember it well!
The very last museum building we went in had a guy doing a presentation about the early Coast Guard - the US Life Saving Service. Very informative. But what was really interesting for us is... WE KNEW HIM!!! We worked with him back in our mental health careers - had no idea he had moved to this neck of the woods! Fun to catch up with him!
Also strolled up to the shoreline of Whitefish Point and got a great view of Lake Superior.
And, on our way back from the Musuem, just had to stop and take this picture!
Anyway... after the Shipwreck Museum, we drove to the Upper Falls and hiked in to see those as well. Much more impressive falls at the Upper - they're bigger and more dramatic!
This morning, since we didn't have to be out of the campground until 1:00 AND since we were only driving another couple hours today, we hiked back in to the Lower Falls again before having lunch and hitting the road to Munising. Where we are now parked right on Lake Superior (who is being warm today and not freezing us out!).
Found tennis courts in town, after dropping off the camper, we went back to town to play some pickleball and pick up a few groceries... Tonight - we actually rented a movie since there is NO TV where we are! Talk about withdrawals! Big Brother is on tonight and we might miss it! Since we do have good intenet, I have to see if I can stream a live CBS channel so we can at least watch Big Brother.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Friday, July 24
Made our way to the UP today. Found a campground just across the bridge right on Lake Michigan.
Went in to St. Ignace for a bit this afternoon. Checked out the tourist strip and found some tennis courts so we could toss the pickleball aeound a little. Awful court condition and very windy. Only played one game. Maybe the wind will die down in the morning.
Beautiful area - feels good to be "home" in the UP!
Here's the view from our campground.
There is a bridge out there... If tou look hard enough between the trees...
Went in to St. Ignace for a bit this afternoon. Checked out the tourist strip and found some tennis courts so we could toss the pickleball aeound a little. Awful court condition and very windy. Only played one game. Maybe the wind will die down in the morning.
Beautiful area - feels good to be "home" in the UP!
Here's the view from our campground.
There is a bridge out there... If tou look hard enough between the trees...
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Thursday, July 23
Didn't get up and rush to hit the road this morning. Took our time, went and played some pickleball, finally got on the road about 10:30 a.m.
The drive theough Canada, with a stop for lunch (did not realize there were NO roadside stops in Canada! Finally found ONE when we were over two hours into the drive!), and the LONGEST LINE EVER at the border, took about 5 hours. We were set up at the campground by 5:00.
This was the trailer's first international trip. He was very excited! Going to need to find a little maple leaf sticker to put on our map!
The drive theough Canada, with a stop for lunch (did not realize there were NO roadside stops in Canada! Finally found ONE when we were over two hours into the drive!), and the LONGEST LINE EVER at the border, took about 5 hours. We were set up at the campground by 5:00.
This was the trailer's first international trip. He was very excited! Going to need to find a little maple leaf sticker to put on our map!
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