Busy, Busy, Busy

Thompson, MI.

51 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 70F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 15 mph.

I don't know what got into Jim yesterday, but he was busy, busy, busy, all day!!!

Well, most of it. ;-)

It started out in the morning with him cleaning out a small outside compartment that always seems to get water in it whenever it rains real hard.  The other day, we had over an inch of rain in just a short time, and there was actually some water standing in the compartment. He only keeps a few boards in there for leveling, and the lug wrench that came with Bobbie T, so nothing has been damaged.

He has adjusted the latches, and sealed around the door frame with silicone, but nothing seems to help. So, he started looking farther up, and he thinks that the water may be coming in around a window above the compartment and running down in the wall. In fact, after close inspection of the window, it looked like there may be a place where the water could be entering.

By this time, Linda was ready to head to a grocery store to pick up a few items, so they headed back to Jack's again.

The grocery shopping didn't take long, and on the way back, they stopped at an ACE Hardware Store where Jim picked up a tube of silicone sealer.

When they returned, Jim went to work, sealing all around the window.

After he finished with that, he decided that since the weather was so nice, he'd go up on Bobbie T's roof and install that vent cover that he purchased when we were in Shipshewana. Then, since he was already up there, he checked the TV antenna.

Our TV has been "spotty" at best. sometimes we have almost no TV and other times, it seems to come in fairly well. This RV antenna has a booster on it that is operated by a switch inside. For the booster to work, there has to be 12 volts on the center conductor of the coax cable going to it when the switch is turned on. Well, when Jim checked the voltage up there yesterday, he only had 3.4 volts!!! :-(  Not Good!!!!

He checked the coax connector where it attached to the antenna and it looked ok, but was only on there finger tight. Then, he pulled back the boot  on the coax where it goes down into the roof, and found another connector there. This was a splice connector and none of the connections were tight!!! In fact, when he moved the connection around, the voltage would fluctuate at the antenna connection.

After taking the connection apart,  cleaning it up and putting it back together again, (tightened this time), he had 12 volts at the antenna!!!!!

After getting all his tools and sealants put away, he came inside and tried the TV. Now, TV isn't good at all up here, but we haven't been able to get any stations at all since we've been here. But, after repairing the Coax connection, we now have 2 channels!!!! Fox and CBS!!!!

Hooray!!!!!!

By this time, it was getting close to dinner time, so after getting cleaned up, he and Linda headed into town and to a Bob's Big Boy Restaurant, where they had breakfast for dinner. ;-)

After returning, Jim took a little nap, and then they watched TV for the first time since we've been here.

Today is our last day here at Driftwood Shores. Linda wants to do a few more loads of laundry, and I'm sure that Jim will be checking everything outside so that we'll be ready to leave tomorrow morning.

From here, we'll continue heading West into Wisconsin. We'll be taking our time and by Friday, we'll be at Linda's brother's house in River Falls, WI, where we'll stay for a few days before turning South and heading back down into Illinois.

We had another pretty sunrise this morning. Jim went out a took a few photos so I thought I'd share them with you. As usual, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Did you know that the Great Lakes — Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Erie — make up the largest body of fresh water on Earth, accounting for one-fifth of the freshwater surface on the planet at 6 quadrillion gallons? The area of all the Great Lakes is 95,160 square miles.

Woof!!!

What Kind Of CG/RV Park Do You Enjoy?

Thompson, MI.

47deg. Partly cloudy, W. wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = High of 59F. Winds from the West at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Did you ever wonder why people pick the campgrounds that they do, or even the sites they choose for that matter? Since our move the other day to this site, I've been thinking about that.

Some folks choose campgrounds or sites that are in the desert, with no trees, bushes, (except cactus and very small plants). Some like the mountains out west with their rugged peaks and valleys and others, the tree covered mountains of the East. Some like it way back in the forests, others prefer finding a site near a river, lake, or the ocean. Some like manicured, high end parks with all the amenities and some folks look for busy parks or campgrounds where there is always something going on.

I can't help wondering what makes people pick the type of CG or RV Park that they do.

Jim and Linda's favorite parks seem to be ones with a view of a stream, lake or the ocean. Next in line are parks that are in wooded areas and are away from crowded, busy areas. They also enjoy parks that are fairly quiet most of the time in a rural setting.

But, one of the most important things that Jim and Linda look for in a park, (especially if we're going to stay awhile), is that it has trees that will shade the site, especially during the afternoon and evening.

Now, that said, we've enjoyed boondocking in the Arizona desert, had a great time in some parks where the RVs were almost parked on top of one another.

Owners/management/camp hosts also make a big difference of where Jim and Linda prefer staying. If they're pleasant and friendly we've been known to stay at a park for a few days or even weeks longer than planned, even if the park doesn't really have all the facilities/characteristic things that they normally look for.

We'll stay in a CG that is "rustic", but have driven out of a few that look "junky". And of course, sometimes we've stayed at a park that we normally wouldn't stay at because it's close to an attraction or someone Jim and Linda want to visit.

So, what kind of CG/Park do you look for? Is it a high end "Resort", or some little CG next to a stream way back off the beaten path? Do you like the mountains, the desert or the ocean? Do you like to be doing something all the time, or just kicking back and relaxing?

I guess that's one of the great things about RVing. You can pick and choose the type of CG/site you enjoy the most, and it really doesn't make any difference what someone else likes.

And, if you find out that you don't care for the site/CG that you're at, you can always move!!!! ; -)

Did you know that today is "National Milk Chocolate Day"?

Woof!!!

A New Site

Thompson, MI.

62 deg. partly cloudy, SW wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = High of 70F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Although Jim and Linda both liked our site, the view of the lake wasn't the best, especially if you were sitting outside in a lawn chair. There were just too many bushes and tall grasses growing up on the shore to be able to see it well.

So,  ,  , ,  , being that there are no sewer hookups here in this park and Wednesday, we were going to have to go to the dump station to dump Bobbie T's tanks, Jim asked Bill if we could move to a different site for the rest of our stay here.

He checked, and found out that site #9 was available. Jim and Linda checked site #9 out and decided that even though it didn't have as much shade as site #1, we'd move over there.

So, Wednesday afternoon, we dumped and then moved into our new site. Jim took a few photos of it, shown below.

On the photo below, you can see where I marked our old site. Click on the photo to enlarge if you want.

This is now our view of the lake from site #9. There are a few trees, but the view is mostly unobstructed.

The view looking back from our new site. The building directly behind Bobbie T is the bathhouse/laundry building and the building just off to the left is the "lodge" where there are rooms that they rent out.

Yesterday, Linda took advantage of the laundry in the building behind us and did a couple loads. There's 2 washers, 2 dryers, a few chairs, a table for folding laundry and a hanging rack. It is very clean in there and you can tell that everything has been well taken care of.

Really can't complain because as you can see by the photos above, it's been pretty dry around here, but we had a pretty heavy rain storm go through here last night. Lots of rain and some lightning, but not too much wind. There's forecasting more rain for today, but right now, it's pretty nice out. ;-)

Don't know of any specific plans for today. I do know that Linda has more laundry to do, and I think that Jim would like to do a little sightseeing in the area, but a lot will depend on the weather.

Oh, by the way, I don't think I told you, but we'll be here until next Wednesday. At that time, we'll leave here and head over to see Linda's brother who lives over on the West side of Wisconsin. (Actually not too far from the Minneapolis / St. Paul area). We'll stay and visit with them for 3 or 4 days before heading South towards Rantoul.

The way it looks now, we should be getting back to Rantoul somewhere around to 10th 11th or 12th of August. (We may stop and see Linda's sister, who lives in the South Chicago suburbs, so I'm not real sure of the date).

Did you know that Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes?

Woof!!!

Buying Groceries At Jack's and This And That

Thompson, MI.

43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 72F. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the SW in the afternoon.

Brrrrrrr!!!!! Did you see that temperature that I posted above????? I think summer might be over!!!!!!!!!

Jim caught this interesting shot last night. Although we're one day past full moon, you really can't tell.

Then, this morning, we had another pretty sunrise. :-)

Yesterday was grocery day. I think it was about 11:00 when Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to Jack's Fresh Market. CLT says that it's a new store on the East side of town and from the outside looks quite large.

Well, I'm sure glad that it's large, because if it wasn't, all the groceries that Jim and Linda bought would have depleted the stock on the shelves!!!! :-O  I still don't know where they put everything. Once again, they had many more groceries than I thought could possibly fit inside of Bobbie T!!!!

After returning, getting all the groceries put away and having some lunch, both Jim and Linda took naps again.

This is getting to be a habit!!! ;-)

For dinner, Linda cooked a large smoked pork chop and some asparagus. That along with some bakery bread, made for a fine dinner. Then for desert, they had some strawberry/rhubarb pie that Jim found in the bakery section at the store.

Yummmmm!!!

Being that it was quite cool and windy outside, the rest of the day was spent inside, reading and fooling around with the computer.

Today, I think the plan is to do some laundry. They have 2 washers and 2 dryers in the laundry room here at the park, so they may just go over there.

Did you know that on this date in 1965 - The Beach Boys' "California Girls" was released?

Beautiful Weather and "The Sidetracks Bar And Restaurant"

Thompson, MI.

56 deg. Clear, NW wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 66F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Even though they were forecasting a 50% chance of rain yesterday, it turned out to be a beautiful day here in Thompson and I think that Linda had a very nice Birthday. It was a little breezy, but the temperatures got up to around 76 deg. and it was quite comfortable for Jim and Linda to sit outside and enjoy the view of the lake and listen to the birds singing. ;-)

After lunch, they took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to Manistique and picked up their mail that they had sent to them, via General Delivery. It had been a couple weeks since they had received any mail, so there was quite a lot this time.

After returning here and checking out the mail, both of them took a little nap. :-)

When Jim was taking the garbage to the dumpster yesterday morning, he met Bill and Diane, (the owners of this park), and asked them for a suggestion of a good place to eat in this area. Without hesitation, Bill suggested the Sidetracks Bar and Restaurant in Cooks, MI, which is about 10 miles West of here on US 2. He gave Jim directions like, "Take 2 to Cooks, which is around 8 or 10 miles west of here. When you get to the U. P. Tire Store, make a right and go about a mile and you'll see it next to the railroad tracks. You can't miss it"!!!

When people say, "You can't miss it", Jim gets a little nervous. Too many times, he's found out that you definitely can miss the place they're telling you about!!!  But, after leaving here a little before 5:00, Jim and Linda found out that Bill gave them very good instructions and they didn't miss it!  :-)

Now, I understand that the Sidetracks is "packed" on Friday nights when they have their "fish fry" special, but being that it was Monday night, there were only a few people there eating, and a few others at the bar. The Sidetracks is noted for their fish dinners, so Jim ordered the Perch and Linda ordered the Fantail Shrimp.

First the friendly waitress brought Jim and Linda huge very fresh salads with lots of homemade dressing. Then, when they were just about finished with that, she brought out the heaping plates full of food!!!! Linda had very large baked potato to go with her 7 very large shrimp and Jim had a very large quantity of excellent french fries to go with a very large amount of very tasty fish!!!

Both Jim and Linda thought their meals were very good and highly recommend the "Sidetracks Bar and Restaurant". They have steaks and many other items on their menu, and by all reports, those meals are very good also.

Oh, and don't try to look up the directions to get to the Sidetracks on the Internet. Those directions will take you way out in the country someplace. Just ask one of the local people, they'll be glad to tell you how to find it.

You can't miss it!!!! ;-)

Did you know that Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams?

Woof!!!

Happy Birthday

Thompson, MI.

53 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. High temp. 73 deg. Breezy. Winds S. @ 10 to 20 mph.

Today is Linda's Birthday!!!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!

Because the color blue is Linda's favorite color, I've decided to do today's blog post in blue!!!! Hope you don't mind. 

Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday. Both Jim and Linda sat outside and enjoyed the view of the lake and the peace and quiet. 

A few of the RVs that were here pulled out, but a few more came in, Jim took a walk around the park and took a few more photos of the lake shore.

For dinner, Jim cooked a large steak for he and Linda to share out on the grill, while Linda cooked some cauliflower and garlic bread inside. 

For the most part, yesterday was just a kick-back day. ;-) 

OH!!!!! This morning we've had another very nice sunrise. 

I really liked the colors of the sky. ;-) 

This evening, Jim is planning on taking Linda out to eat someplace. He's been doing some research of restaurants in the area, and has a few picked out. He'll probably ask Bill or Diane, (the CG owners), if they have any suggestions too. 

Did you know that on this date in 1587 - A second English colony was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina? The colony vanished under mysterious circumstances.

Happy Birthday, Linda!!!!!!

Woof!!!

St. Ignace to Thompson and The Driftwood Shores Resort

Thompson, MI.

44 deg. clear, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 68F. Winds from the SE at 5 to 10 mph.

Brrrrr!!!!! Cool this morning!!!!!!

Jim and Linda knew that yesterday was going to be a short travel day, so they didn't even start getting things ready to travel until around 10:00. Even taking their time getting everything put away, the slides pulled in and CLT hooked to the back of Bobbie T, we still pulled out of the CG in St. Ignace at 10:55.

Once back on US 2, we continued in a Westerly direction all the way here to Thompson. The only stop we made was to get Bobbie T a drink of 87 octane and to buy some milk and bread at the convenience store at the station.

Even with the stop for Bobbie T's drink and 87 miles of road, it was only 12:55 when we pulled up to the office.

We are now at the Driftwood Shores Resort.

I really wouldn't call it a "resort" because it doesn't have anywhere near the amenities I think a resort needs,  but we were here in October of 2001, and Jim and Linda really liked the atmosphere and the fact that most of the sites are quite close to the water. It's a quiet little park with only about 15 sites and some cabins for those without RVs.


The last time we were here, we had a site right next to the water, but the lake seems low, and you now are a little ways away at any of the sites.

Being that none of the sites are now real near the water, Jim and Linda decided to take site #1 which is actually quite secluded and apart from the rest of the sites.

There's a nice bench to sit on if you want to,

a small picnic table and a fire ring,

and a pretty decent view of Lake Michigan. ;-)

We'll be staying here for at least a week and possibly longer. This site is available for up to 11 days if Jim and Linda decide that they want to stay that long.

Oh, and we did have a pretty nice sunrise this morning. Jim took this photo, standing in front of the seawall on the above photo and looking off just to the left, but I could also see it out of the windshield and the window over the dinette.

A Point to Ponder :  Everyone experiences fear! It's what you do despite that fear that defines you!

Woof!!!

Clean-up Day

St. Ignace, MI.

64 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning, then clear. High of 73F. Winds from the NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Yesterday was clean-up day here at the park. They brought this equipment the night before, to clear the trees that were on the wires, (knocking out the power for about 12 hours), and by daylight, the crew was back here again and proceeded to remove all the downed tree limbs and most of the damaged trees.

In the above photo, they've already removed and chopped up the tree that had landed on that 5th wheel, as well as the ones that had fallen on the wires.

In the afternoon, they got down to our end of the park and started working on those trees that had fallen. As you can see, many of the RVs had to move to different sites so that they could get in with their equipment to remove the trees.

This chipped pile of wood is all that's left of the above tree and about 3 smaller ones,

including the branches from the tree right in front of us.

They'll be back Monday morning to finish up removing the last trees and trunks.

This storm has sure changed the personality of this park. There was a beautiful row of trees along the front of the park where you could sit in the shade and enjoy the great view of Lake Michigan and feel the cool breezes off of the lake. Now, there's hardly any shade at all, and I doubt if many people will want to sit out there in the hot sun. :-(

Today, we'll be heading over to a park in Thompson, MI. It's only about 90 miles over there so it should be a nice short travel day.

Did you know that Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights?

Woof!!!

More On The Storm, The Aftermath

St. Ignace, MI. 11:00 AM EDT

73 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast = Overcast with thunderstorms and rain showers. High of 81F. Breezy. Winds from the West at 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%


Wow!!! What a storm!!!! It came out of nowhere and without any warnings. At first it started raining and then all of a sudden, the wind picked up and before anyone could get out of their RVs and to any kind of building, the storm hit!!!!

Below, is a photo, (taken last night), of the tree that fell right in front of Bobbie T. As you can see some of the branches are laying on top of her hood. Shortly after this photo was taken, Jim unhooked the utilities and backed her up about 5 feet,

as shown in this photo, which was taken this morning after daylight.

This photo shows what is left of the tree. Not much!!!

We were very lucky and Bobbie T came out without a scratch!!!

This RV, (just 2 sites to our left), was also very lucky.

However, the 2 RVs in the next 3 photos were not. This travel trailer has extensive damage to the roof and to the other side, including the slide-out.

This 5th wheel had a huge tree laying on the the rear of it, and it fact, before they removed the tree, the front jacks were about 2 feet off of the ground from the weight of the tree. If you look closely, (click on photo to enlarge), you can see a buckle in the sidewall, just in front of the slideout. The rear half of this trailer is bent down about 4 to 6 inches.

This a rear shot of the 2 trailers above. You can see the remnants of the trunk and root system of the tree that landed on them.

But, probably the most important thing that happened was that no one in the park got hurt, including the 6 adults and 8 or 10 little kids, (some of them very small), that were camping in these 2 pop-up trailers and the travel trailer.

The kids were scared to death, but everyone is OK.

There were other RVs in the park that received  some minor damage, such as broken vent covers and AC covers. And a few had some minor dents and bruises, but all in all, all of the RVs did a fine job of protecting their occupants, and, like I said, not one single person was hurt.

That's really all that matters.

Woof!!!

Storm

St Ignace, MI

We had a very bad storm go through here this evening. Lots of trees down, RVs damaged, lots of damage in CG, power out.

We're OK and Bobbie T seems to be OK too. Will post more when I can.

Woof!!!!!

Cool Breezes, Some Rain, and The Big Eraser Again

St. Ignace, MI.

69 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain. High of 81F. Winds less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Not much to report. We've all be just kickin' back the last few days. Oh, there was a short trip to the grocery store for a few items, but other than that, both Jim and Linda have been spending quite a bit of time outside, under the nice shade trees that we have here, or under the awning, (depending on the time of day), enjoying the nice cool breeze blowing in off of the lake.

I understand that it's been quite hot many places, but right here on the north shore of the lake, it's been cool enough that Jim and Linda haven't had to run the A/C since we've been here!!

Yesterday evening, just after Jim cooked a couple of brats on the grill, a line of storms came through the area.

There was some lightning, some rain and a little wind, but nothing severe. Then in the middle of the night, it rained some more for awhile and then this morning we had a pretty heavy shower go through the area.

Originally, the plan was to head on down the road today, but again, Jim got out that big eraser and made some changes. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , yesterday, he went up to the office and paid for 2 more nights here. ;- )  That means we'll be here until Saturday and then head farther West to a CG over near Manistique, MI where we have reservations at yet another park that is also right on Lake Michigan.

Today, Jim and Linda are planning on going out to eat. They have been told about 2 very different restaurants that are supposed to be very good, so they'll have to decide which one they want to patronize. :-)
One is a small Cafe' that is supposed to have excellent food and the other is a steak and seafood restaurant right on the lake, that is also supposed to have very good food.  

Hmmmm!!!! decisions, decisions!!!!

Did you know that Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office? The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years.

Woof!!!

Heading Further North, Crossing "The Bridge", and A Neat CG

St. Ignace, MI.

68 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 82F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.

By 10:10 we were pulling out of the Everflowing Water CG near Williamsburg and heading West on Bracket Road. When we came to US 31 we turned North and followed it all the way up to just South of Mackinaw City, where it ended when it joined up with I-75.

Along the way, we stopped to get Bobbie T a drink of 87 octane in Elk Rapids. The highway wasn't too bad until we got up to around the Charlevoix area and then it got really rough!!! :-(  At times Jim slowed Bobbie T down to 45 mph, to try to make the ride better. I really don''t think it helped much though and we bounced along almost all the way to the Interstate.

Once on the Interstate, it was only a few miles before we came to "The Bridge"!!!!  I'm usually pretty brave and I usually don't have a problem crossing bridges, but I just couldn't make myself look out of the window as we were going across this one cause it's so high!!! So, I covered my eyes. :-{

At least this time, it wasn't windy, and there was some construction on the bridge so the speed was down to less than 45 mph and sometimes almost stopped.

Oh, anyone heading up this way that wants to cross the bridge,  ,  ,  ,  they charge you $5 per axle for the Motorhome and $2 per axle for your vehicle that you're towing. For us that meant $14.00!!!!!

Once across the bridge and into the U.P. we took exit 344B to US 2. We followed 2 for a couple miles until we came to Pte. LeBarbe Road where we turned left and followed it for another mile or so, until we came to the Lakeshore Park Campground.

It was 12:40 when pulled up next to the office,

so it took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to stop and get Bobbie T her drink and travel 103 miles.

Jim, Linda and I think this is a really neat campground. When Jim called up here the other day to make sure that they had a site available, he asked if they had a site with a view of Lake Michigan. Well, they did, and here's the pull-in site they gave us. ;-)

This is the view, from in front of Bobbie T, looking slightly off to the right.

Jim walked down to the other side of the road and took this photo looking back at our site.

From the road, there's a pathway going down to the shoreline. From there, Jim took this shot of "The Bridge" that we had come across. Do you see why I had to cover my eyes?????

Brrrrr!!!! I get the shakes, just thinking about it!!!!!!! :-{

I don't know if it's going to be the same every day, but when we got here yesterday, Jim and Linda just opened all the windows and vents and just let the cool lake breeze blow through Bobbie T. Jim and Linda talked to the couple in the site next to us for a little while, and I heard them say that it's like that most days, and that they hadn't run their AC in the last week or so, since they came here.

Don't know of any big plans for today. Jim and Linda are about out of some grocery items again, so they'll probably go find a grocery store. And, I'm sure they'll both be outside, enjoying the cool lake breeze and the great view.

Did you know that the height of the roadway of the Mackinac Bridge at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level?

Brrrrr!!!!!! There's those shakes again!!!!!!!!!!!

Woof!!!

Everflowing Waters CG and A Drive Up Old Mission Peninsula

Williamsburg, MI.

61 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 86F. Winds less than 5 mph.

Jim took a few photos of the Everflowing Waters Campground yesterday morning, so I thought I'd post a few here.

This is the sign out by Brackett road. It's not very large, so if you should happen to come here, watch closely for it.

When you turn off of Brackett and enter the CG this is your first view.

You'll soon come to this little bridge over Yuba Creek.

As your'e going over the bridge, look off to the left to see this pretty view of the creek.

Just across the bridge, you'll see the owner's house/office to your left. If you don't see anyone, ring the doorbell and either Dennis or Mary will assist you.

This was our site for 2 nights. It's kind of an overflow site, but was very serviceable for our needs.

This view is looking from the front of Bobbie T into the rest of the park. Lots of shade, but quite a few seemed to be able to get satellite signals.

We really liked this CG. It's nothing fancy, but it's neat and well maintained. Couldn't ask for better owners either.

Speaking of owners, Jim was talking to Dennis and told him that he and Linda wanted to take a drive up the Old Mission Peninsula to see the sights. Dennis suggested that about 1/2 way up, they stop at the Chateau Chantal Winery just to see the spectacular views from there, if nothing else.

So, that's just what they did!! ;-)

Then, of course, there was the winery itself.

They have a wine tasting room and of course you can buy their wines too. Today though, Jim and Linda just enjoyed the view from the parking lot. : )

All along Rt 37, the route that goes all the way from Traverse City to the tip of the peninsula, you see vineyards and fruit trees. Many of the trees are cherry trees and along the road the farmers have set up little stands to sell their wares. Jim and Linda stopped at one of these stands and bought some "Washed Sweet Cherries" and a bottle of locally made Maple Syrup

Yummmm!!!! How sweet they are!!!!! ;-)

They ended up going all the way to the tip of the peninsula, but didn't see the Old Mission Lighthouse. There would have been quite a bit of walking involved and Linda just wasn't up to it.

On the way back down the peninsula, they followed 37 back down to Mapleton where they turned West on Bowers Harbor Road and took it over to Peninsula Drive. (Another one of Dennis's suggestions). Following the very scenic Peninsula Drive to the South, right along the shoreline, brought them back down to Traverse City.

After a quick stop at a 7-11 store for milk they headed back here to he CG.

After resting for awhile, Jim got out the grill and cooked a ham steak while Linda got out some potato salad and a vegetable. That, along with some of those sweet cherries made for a very nice meal to top off a very good day. ;-)

Today we'll be heading up to St. Ignace, MI. We'll have to cross that big Mackinac bridge to get there and I'm not looking forward to that! :-O   I can still remember the last time we crossed that bridge when Jim and Linda had that old Winnebago Chieftain. It was real windy and I thought we were going to get blown right off of it!!!!

Did you know that although Michigan is often called the "Wolverine State" there are no longer any wolverines in Michigan?

Woof!!!