May 23, 2013 - Niagara On The Lake

I spent the morning exploring Niagara-On-The-Lake - a charming town just minutes after crossing into Canada from Buffalo N.Y. The Shaw Festival is what most people come for but it's worth visiting just for the small main street and all of it's charms. The path along the waterfront makes for an easy stroll to enjoy the view. Next time I am in this neck of the woods it won't be for a morning - it will be for a few days. Once again, it rained, but worse than that was the wind. Yesterday it was 91 degrees in Buffalo and I was steaming in the...

May 23, 2013 - Tahquamenon Falls to Fayette, MI

We stunned ourselves as we did not wake up until 8:45! I had promised Bob bacon, eggs and English muffin for breakfast. We didn’t leave camp until 10:30. Drove to the Upper Falls which was only 4 miles up the road. Most unusual is that there is a brewery and pub in the middle of the state park. The Barretts, who were a logging family, bought all of the land around the falls in the 1950s. The family created Camp 33 (logging) but were committed to preserving both the history and the beauty of the area. The Barretts gave the MI Department of...

May 23, 2013 - Fayette to Marquette, MI

Is a sunny morning although it rained all night. Off to Marquette via Munising. The distance is only 100 miles so decided to back track a bit to see some of the south Lake Superior shore. Went west on Hwy 2 to Hwy 41 north and cut over on Hwy 67 and Hwy 94 to Hwy 28. The winds were really gusting and the temperature dropped to 38 degrees! When we stopped in Marquette it was snowing. Yikes! Marquette is the home of Northern Michigan University and iron ore smelting. On the NMU campus is the Superior Dome that opened in 1991 and is the...

May 22, 2013 - Covert MI

We had some rain overnight, and it continued till about 11:30 this morning. When it stopped we took that as our cue to head a bit south to the booming metropolis of Coloma MI to have some lunch at The Friendly Tavern. It was a nice place, and since there ain’t much around here, it was kind of an “any port in a storm” kind of scenario. I had Fish & Chips and MB had a Salad with Grilled Chicken and we were both pretty happy with our choices. And since it was the first thing we ate today, we were actually very happy. From there we headed north...

May 22, 2013 - Lord Willing Campground

Well after the mountains of N Carolina Tennessee and W Virginia, the hills of Kentucky, today we enjoyed the literally flat landscape of Ohio and the vast farmland that was everywhere. We also out ran the rain storms behind us so it made for a very nice trip today to the S of Michigan. We have watched the price of gas go from 3.09 to a high of 3.87 today ouch. we are only about 20 miles south of Detroit and 80 miles from home so tomorrow will be a nice slow day. Laundry done again as well as dog beds and blankets so they will smell nice for...

May 21, 2013 - Covert MI

Today, unlike the last few, was a busy one. Not a lot of photographic proof of that statement, but you can trust me. We had a line of storms go through here about 2:00 this morning – actually the northern end of the line that went through Oklahoma yesterday – and it was pretty windy with a lot of lightning but not a lot of rain. By daybreak, the only noticeable damage was to my sleep. We left here about 9:30 with the intent of heading about 45 minutes north to Holland MI to look at the potential new RV. We stopped in South Haven and got...

May 21, 2013 - Mackinaw City to Paradise, MI

Our sausage and vegetable soup last night was terrific. Too bad I really don’t know all that I did to make it! We watched an old Denzel Washington movie, Man on Fire, and I managed to stay up until after 10:00 to see then end which is very unusual. Rained all night and was windy. What we did not realize was the horrible tornado in Moore, NE. Once we look at the news in the morning we don’t realize what else in the world is going on other than perhaps some yahoo news when we check email on the PC. Bob noticed a crack in the hitch so we are...

May 20, 2013 - Mackinaw City

We had a foggy welcome this morning. Were picked up by the ferry folks and bob had breakfast across the street. We were the only ones in a fairly large restaurant. Most importantly, we learned that the “flies” are called “midges”. They come out in hoards in May to breed only, have a life span of a day and a half and don’t bite. We may see more of them in the UP!! The ferry to the island was full of high school seniors on a field trip. In fact, there were many school groups all over the island and at the Grand Hotel buffet lunch. We took a...

May 20, 2013 - Covert MI

The Reader’s Digest version of today…woke up kind of early, left at 8:45, stopped twice – once for gas and once for lunch, got to the campground in Covert MI on the east side of Lake Michigan at 2:45, set up, did a little maintenance, called RV guy in Holland MI, ate dinner, watched TV, took a shower, watched some more TV. There; that about covers it. Gonna head to Holland tomorrow morning to take a peek at the reason for this westward quest. Then, depending on how that goes will set the tone for the rest of our time here. We are booked...

May 19, 2013 - Frankenmuth to Mackinaw City MI

Today we left for the MI Upper Peninsula, Mackinaw City, driving 200 miles up Hwy 75. The terrain was relatively flat with a few farms as we started. The farms then gave way to aspen forests the further we drove north. As we approached Mackinaw City the temperature suddenly dropped from the upper 70’s to the lower 60’s. The motels, hotels and camps are nearly deserted even though this is the Canadian’s Patriot Holiday. ( In Frankenmuth we saw many Canadians down in the US for holiday.) We are camped in Mill Creek camp on Lake Huron where...

May 18, 2013 - Charlevoix/east Jordan

Arrived at Greg and Marlene's in East Jordan. Rose came up with them. Al came alone. Went to Petoskey. Greg cooked another gourmet meal. Sunday went to a couple of vineyards and we had dinner out. They left Monday morning and I'm hanging out here for a couple of days because the weather in the UP is supposed to be bad the next few days. Will leave Thursday the 23rd.

May 18, 2013 - Columbus, OH to Frankenmuth, MI

Friday afternoon we went to the Franklin Park Conservatory to primarily see more Chihuly glass. There were rain forest, Himalayan, butterfly, bonsai and other botanical exhibits. After seeing the Glass House in Seattle last fall, the few Chihuly pieces were disappointing. The butterflies were wonderful though! Nice visit. After a Target visit for a new collapsible ice bag (the old Rotary one was leaking terribly) and a trip to TJ’s for the next few night’s dinners, we were back in Powell anxiously awaiting Steve’s smoked ribs, Donna’s cole...