Aug 18, 2012 - Manistee MI

Not too long a drive to the Little River Casino in Manistee MI. Big Greg and Judy and Stan and Connie were at the office when we pulled up. Besides giving us a discounted rate for the campsite as part of the rally we also got $100 in food coupons and $100 for use in the slots. What a deal! The campsites are very nice with full hookups but not too many trees. And there is a nice pavilion for our pot luck. And it’s a short walk to the casino and hotel. So, all in all, a good deal. Judy and Greg, the organizers, chose well. We went to Mass on...

Aug 18, 2012 - Back At The Michigan Mini Rally

From Little River Casino RV Park – Manistee, MI We have reached the Mini Michigan Rally once again……….sure seems this year just flew by and that we were just here a short time ago. Guess that is what happens in life when you get older and when you are enjoying your life and traveling as we have been doing the last 4 ½ years. But on the other hand the cooler temps have been a long time coming back around……….it went to 45 degrees over night and has been a beautiful Saturday thus far……….no more “heat wave” triple digit complaining! When we...

Aug 13, 2012 - Casino time

Monday, August 13 Manistee, MI Yesterday, we visited the casino for dinner. While we were there, we registered to play some slot machines. Because it was my birthday this month, I was given a chance to spin the wheel and win some food vouchers or credit on my casino card. I won $10 that I used in the slot machine to win $32. I played no more than 5 minutes and cashed out to take the money home with me.

Aug 8, 2012 - Arrived at Manistee & then off to Ludington

Arrived in Manistee which is a rest break....then we arrived in Ludington today the 15th and afer we got parked I went for groceries then we went to the Amber Elk Ranch!!! OMG it was fantastic....we rode in a wagon pulled by a John Deere Tractor that I really wanted to drive but the young lady driver did a great job....the elk came running knowing we would feed them...the are definately beautiful creatures...we will go back on Saturday to try Elk burgers....

Jul 7, 2012 - Manistee, MI

Left the UP on the 6th and headed south over the bridge. Stopped in Gaylord, MI to have a soda with three of Kathy's cousins. Was so good to see them again. Hope to see them again at the family reunion later this month. Then it was on to Manistee. Little River Resort has a wonderful RV park. Concrete pads for the RV. Lots of grass for the dog. Coffee and newspaper in the morning at the office. And free use of the indoor pool, hot tub and fitness center at the hotel. Made good use of all that already. On Saturday we had to find a Wal...

Sep 23, 2011 - Explorations Around the Manistee Area

Manistee has also proven to be another delightful Michigan village to explore. We hurried to get out and drive around the town today with this schizophrenic weather here of late and take advantage of the sun and mild temps. Prior to going into Manistee though, we headed in the exact opposite direction to the small town of Kaleva to see the Bottle House Museum. The drive only took us fifteen miles northeast of the casino to reach our destination on Wuoksi Avenue. This home was built solely by John J. Makinen, Sr. A native from Finland, he...

Sep 18, 2011 - Moseying Down To Manistee

Really enjoy days like these. Get up, enjoy our morning java and breakfast, and slowly start the process of getting ready to head down the road. And much easier to achieve once we get Zookie in her carrier! Once she's on to us, she's EXTREMELY elusive to letting us pick her up and get her in the carrier. And what makes this funny is that she goes into her carrier ALL the time on her own and yet, when picked up and she senses we are taking her to it she starts to resist and make these funny little internal noises - and yet when we put her...

Aug 25, 2011 - Michigan Mini Wrap Up

From Little River Casino Resort – Manistee, MI Boy, have we been enjoying this rally with lots of new friends, the buffet at the casino where we have been using our “rally promo” casino food coupons and then the casino slots have so far been in our favor as we have used NONE of our pocket money and have taken away as of now, $61 of the casino’s money…….not a bad exchange!! Yesterday 14 of us enjoyed a trolley tour of the city of Manistee where we learned some history and saw some of the historical sites and the Victorian architecture of the...

Aug 23, 2011 - Michigan Mini Rally Update

From Little River Casino Resort – Manistee, MI Sunday the remaining nine rigs arrived making a total of thirteen HitchHikers and 26 people for the rally. We have couples from Florida, Nebraska, Minnesota, another couple from Texas but the majority of the group is from Michigan……..thus the name of the rally “The Michigan Mini”. It was formed a few years ago by several HitchHiker owners from Michigan who met on the NuWa owners forum and has now become an annual affair……..they graciously allowed some “outsider” HH owners from the forum to join...

Aug 19, 2011 - UP In The Rear View Mirror!

From Little River Casino Resort – Manistee, MI We left the Upper Peninsula of Michigan behind us today. The last 16 days we have explored this “upper hand” or as the locals call it, the UP. It is a land carved by the forces of the Great Lakes and home to people affectionately known as “Yoopers”. This Upper Peninsula is physically separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac but comprises nearly 29 percent of Michigan’s area but only 3.3 percent of its population. That last statement we truly experienced in our time in the...

Jun 20, 2011 - Moving Up The Coast

Today was another big travel day as we moved north up the coast to Manistee. The kids were really surprised when we pulled into our destination by 9:30 am, but then we only traveled 58 miles. We tried to wait and leave later this morning but we were both ready early and just decided to push on. I think this is the earliest we have arrived at a destination. -- We are staying at the Little River Casino just north of Manistee for two reasons: one, so that John can enjoy some poker playing; and two, because the adjacent RV park is rated a...

Oct 6, 2010 - Everything's coming up Rosy

Our day had a lot of variety. We started with a stroll through Tunnel Park. The tunnel is a passageway through a sand dune to the beach. There is also an observation point on top of the sand dune. We admired Lake Michigan from both viewpoints. We were driving on a country road along the lake on our way north and we spotted a sign for Rosy Mound Nature Center. Not having any idea what a Rosy Mound was, we went to investigate. We found a trail, no length indicated, and set off. The trail wound through the tree-covered dunes, into large stands...