We wrapped up our time in North Carolina and reluctantly headed back to Atlanta. From cool nights with our windows open, we were going back to temps in the 90’s and dry. We’d have a very busy two-weeks of catching up with friends and family as well as many, many doctor appointments (ah, the joys of getting old!).
We decided to stay at the KOA in Cartersville again. It was a basic campground but we had liked it the last time we were in town. But, that changed big time during this visit. As noted previously, we had a lot of doctor appointments. One in particular was some minor surgery that Jill required to remove a skin cancer growth above her eye (a little more about that later). We got up at 5 in the morning so we could get to our 7 AM appointment, took several hours while they ensured they had removed all that was required, and finally got back to camp around 1 PM. About an hour later, we started hearing a bulldozer scraping the road next to our RV, followed by a steam roller, and next came a truck laying down tar. At this point, I went out to move our car which was only a foot from all this work.
After moving the car away from our site and potential damage from the rocks and tar, I went to one of the campground managers to see what was going on. My first question was, “Jay, what’s going on?”. The answer was “What do you think is going on?” Not really being in the mood for twenty questions, I replied “I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking” . Well, Jay didn’t seem happy to have to be answering questions so he indicated that this was “progress”. After more questioning, he finally informed me that some of the roads were getting paved. I tried to understand why they hadn’t given us a heads up but Jay indicated they had no warning and that I should just shut up and accept it. At that point, I was done with Jay and went into the campground office in order to cancel our planned visit in November (which we had already decided to do before this since the campground was too dusty, no grass, and farther out from Atlanta).
Jay followed me into the office and continued to harass me about complaining and at that point I reiterated that I was just looking for an apology for disturbing us or for at least not giving us a heads up of what was coming. Jay was not having it and called me names (belligerent, arrogant, etc.) and kept arguing with me while I waited for another customer to finish with Jay’s wife (Ann). When it was my turn, I indicated that I wanted to cancel our November visit. Ann advised me that she was refunding our money and that we were to leave immediately. When queried as to why I was being made to leave I was told that I was rude and complaining in front of a customer. Basically, they don’t like anyone to complain or disagree with them and if you crossed them, they were happy to kick you out. For those who remember Seinfeld, I felt I was dealing with the “Soup Nazi” – if you violate any of their unwritten rules, “No campsite for you!”
Thus, in less than an hour, we packed up our RV and headed out, happy to move to a better and more friendly campground closer to Atlanta, on Lake Allatoona. In a way, we felt we had gained a badge because we must not be having enough fun if we don’t get kicked out of a campground somewhere!
As a follow up, we complained to KOA Corporate (this was a franchised KOA Campground). They responded quickly, apologized, provided a $50 gift card and followed up directly with the campground.
As noted earlier, Jill had some minor surgery which we thought would be really minor. What we didn’t realize was that this would be very impactful giving how close it was to her eye lid. By the time we got to a restaurant after the procedure, Jill was having to assure the staff that no domestic violence was involved!
Looking good!
Holy crap, who punched Jill?
The other big news was regarding the reconnection with our son Chris. For those who may not know the background, we adopted Chris when he was 6. We had some great times with him but also lots of challenges. When he turned 18, he went his own way and soon after we lost connection with him. A few weeks before we returned to Atlanta, Chris (now 32 years old) reached out to us. After many challenging years, he had settled down and gotten much more responsible. He is now managing a Papa Johns shop in Atlanta and working almost all the time. In addition, he’d been in a very steady relationship for several years and was now expecting identical twin girls!!! So, in the course of a few weeks we had gone from having few family to having a son, a daughter in law, and future grandparents (call us Lolli and Pop).
Back with Chris
Chris and the expecting momma, Sarah
We’ll be heading back to Atlanta in November for a baby shower! In the mean time, heading west thru Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana! And we know that at least the first portion of the trip will be HOT!
Sorry for the long delay in updates. A combination of busy schedules and poor WiFi! As we write this, we have actually already returned to Atlanta and are now back out on the road in Alabama. It’s late September although with temps still in the 90’s, you could have fooled us! It’s been a very crazy few weeks so let’s jump in and get everyone caught up!
We left Atlanta on Labor Day and headed back to our old stomping grounds around Murphy, NC. We have spent many enjoyable years up in that area, first while camping and paddling our canoe and kayak with friends, and then from our family cabin just outside Murphy. We hadn’t been back since the cabin was sold so we thought it would be fun to spend a few days in the area checking things out and catching up.
Our campsite in Murphy had some shade but with that can come a very close/tight parking site (see pic below). The campground was next to a nice valley stream and was pretty quiet even though it was close to the highway.
The neighbor is close but that tree is closer!
After setting up, we planted a new flag which we got from Dan’s mother as a late birthday present. After all, we need to show our college spirit now that football season is in full swing! Of course, anti-UGA wasn’t too happy about that.
We spent one day traveling over to the Nantahala. The river was actually “closed” due to a flash flood and landslide that had created several blockages in the river. Luckily, the road had been cleared so we were able to make it into the gorge, see the riverbed, and have lunch at the NOC. It was also good to check out the road since we’d be bring Lola thru the gorge on our next leg!
Another day were were lucky enough to catch up with very long time friends, Dan & Lisa Adams. They actually sold the mountain cabin to us way back in 1990. We have kept touch with them over the years, particularly when Lisa was going thru some medical challenges, and it was great to have dinner and catch with them after so many years.
Our final day, we checked out the Murphy branch of the Cherokee Casino. We dropped $10 and have pretty much decided the gambling bug is not biting us.
We loaded up and headed farther east to Maggie Valley, NC which is just west of Asheville. As noted above, this required taking Lola thru the Nantahala Gorge which wasn’t very bad at all since we are very familiar with that road. We made it thru fine and before we knew it, were settling in at our next site, enjoying much cooler weather (50’s-70’s, aaahhh).
Great campground!
Our view
Given the great weather and cool temps, we were looking forward to getting out and exploring as much as possible. As many times as we have visited much of Western NC, including Asheville, this was our first time to Maggie Valley and the Waynesville area and we really fell in love with the area. Cute shops, nice small towns, lots of trails, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and eastern access to the Great Smoky Mountain park.
For our first outing, we traveled over to Soco Falls. This is a short but very steep trail down to the falls. It is so steep that there are guide ropes along the way to help with grab holds. This was Jill’s biggest excursion on her new leg and she did awesome!
After the hike down to the falls, we traveled up the Blue Ridge Parkway and while Jill relaxed, Dan hiked up to the top of Waterrock Knob. It was a beautiful cool, clear day with wonderful 360 vistas everywhere!
The highlight of our visit to Maggie Valley started early, before sunrise, as we set out for the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Our objective was to arrive soon after sunrise in order to observe a herd of elk. Elk used to be all over the area but have since been eliminated due to hunting and human encroachment. In 2001 and 2002, an effort was made to reintroduce elk into the Cataloochee area, starting with about 75 elk coming from the western US. Today, the total herd is estimated to be around 300 spread throughout the park.
As we descended into the valley after a long drive over a dirt road, we joined a few other cars and people stopped on the side of the road next to a meadow. Along the tree line was an entire heard of elk while a large male was closer to the road, watch warily. We were so amazed by the sight that we forgot to get our phones out to take pictures until the male was already turning around and heading back to the herd. He let out a loud “bugling” call as he was heading back and that brought us out of our trance and we were able to get several great shots.
After moving on from the elk, we came across lots of turkeys (none seemed near ready for Thanksgiving!).
And finally, we explored man’s influence on the valley. Starting in the latter part of the 1800’s, settlers established a village of about 1,200 people across the village. In the 1930’s, as the GSMNP was established, these settlers were moved out of the valley but some of their structures were retained for historic purposes. First up was the Caldwell home and barn.
Next we visited the old schoolhouse
And finally, the church
This was just a wonderful morning, very peaceful, very few people, and great corner of the park that few take the time to explore. On the way out, we were treated with one more elk to bid us farewell.
And then, as we left the park, we passed by this fellow…
Bigfoot!
Our last big adventure while in NC was to finally bite the bullet and decide to say goodbye to our trusty Volvo so that we could finally have a car we could tow behind Lola and the whole family could ride together. We had originally considered a Honda Fit since it was inexpensive, light, and seemed like it would be a good car to tow. After test driving one, we realized it was too small, even for short trips while camping. We then tried out a civic and were very happy with the entry level model and what it already had going for it (warranty, Honda reputation, etc.). Next thing we knew, we had a new Honda Civic. Jill still had to drive the car back to Atlanta with the dogs where we would then get it set up for towing but we were very close to being one family in one vehicle at the same time!
Thus, we headed back to Atlanta with a full two-week schedule ahead of us as well as plenty of drama and big news for the family. But, that will all have to wait for another post.
On August 22nd, we returned to Georgia for the first time since May 19th, over three months later. It was a great 3-month tour. We learned a lot about ourselves, how to work together in a small place, how to diagnose and fix things that Lola threw at as, and enjoy a ton of sights along the way. Here are some data points about this trip for your information (data below is from May 1st, when we started back on the road, and includes days before we got Atlanta):
Miles traveled – 2,898
Stops/Campgrounds visited – 23
Nights of camping – 124
Gallons of diesel consumed – 347 (this doesn’t include gas for the Volvo)
Average MPG for Lola – 8.35 MPG
We planned to stay in Atlanta for 11 days so we could catch up with friends and relatives as well as make some visits to various doctors. We’ll take a short, two week run up to the NC Mountains in search of cooler weather, then back to Atlanta for a couple more weeks.
Next update will be after we return from North Carolina in a few weeks. Looking forward to fall and our next trip!
After some good times in Kentucky, our next stop was Tennessee. This time, we’d be camping near Pigeon Forge, which is near Gatlinburg which is the western entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We selected a campground with high marks but not having a lot of the extra amenities (no pool, no outdoor games, no laundry room, no bathhouses, etc.). It was known for large, shaded campsites along two creeks and it lived up to its reputation. Up the Creek RV Camp may have won the award for the best campground of the trip. Paved roads, lots of space and shade, a nice shaded dog park, and very quiet. But only 10 minutes from all the shopping and sights at Pigeon Forge!
Our campsite at Up the Creek RV Camp
Although this is a mecca for tourists with tons of shops, restaurants, and activities, we didn’t really have a ton of plans for this stop. We knew we wanted to do a few things, particularly see some of the mountains but otherwise wanted to take it easy. This was also a stop to get some long overdue maintenance work completed on Lola’s shade awning but more on that later.
We knew we wanted to check out the new section of the Foothills Parkway that had just opened in 2018 (we’ve been to the park many times over the years including Cades Cove, Newfound Gap, and various trails). It was a nice little ride with good views of the park although the heat and humidity limited visibility somewhat.
Another day, we tried out a few wineries. Not really at the level like what we enjoyed in Michigan but given the tastings were free, it was a nice way to see parts of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. And we got a couple of wine glasses as part of the deal!
On another day, Jill remained back at camp while Dan explored two things that were of great interest to him:
The Titanic Museum – Yes, Dan realizes the ship sank but he’s still interested even after 100+ years and this was a unique chance to see many artifacts from the wreck as well as 6 or the 12 known existing life jackets from the ship.
Moonshine tasting – we’ve tried wine, we’ve tried bourbon but if we are in Tennessee, we have to try the moonshine!
Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the museum but Dan was able to get some exterior pics as well as pics of the largest lego model of the Titanic (built by a 10 year old!).
Ready for boarding
Damn iceberg!
Amazingly realistic Lego model
After some history and culture, it was time to head over to Ole Smoky Distillery for some moonshine tasting. They have a great process where you step up to the bar and for just $5 (which you get back if you buy anything) you get to taste 13 flavors! It was a challenge Dan was happy to take on!
So many choices…
But probably the most important and exciting plan we had was to have our awning repaired. A little background on this awning:
The day we took possession of Lola back in February of 2018, the awning (which is on the right side and provides a ton of shade when it is open) worked the afternoon we got her but then went in and would not extend again.
We had it repaired back in Atlanta
We took it out to Stone Mountain in May 2018, it extended and then would not go back in. We had to pay a Mobile Tech to come out on Mother’s Day to get it manually pulled in and secured so we were able to leave the campground.
We got it repaired prior to going full time and it worked a few times in Florida before it refused to go out again.
We had another mobile tech come out while in Florida and he wouldn’t work on it – too complicated.
So, we basically gave up on it for awhile. We did reach out to a few mobile techs along our travels but in all cases, they either didn’t work on awnings or didn’t even bother responding or showing for appointments
But this all changed as we contacted Longship Mobile RV based in Pigeon Forge. They responded to our questions and even showed up for the appointment as planned. They were able to diagnose the core issue (poor wiring done by the previous owner) and then built an entire new wire harness to replace the mess that we had. They came back multiple times to ensure the awning was repaired correctly and was functioning reliably. So far, the awning continues to work, a first in more than 1 1/2 years! Now we can have shade even when we are in a campground with no trees!!!!
After a great week in Tennessee, it was time to turn south once more, back to Georgia for the first time in over 3 months. This would bring a close to the Mended Bones Tour but not the end of our adventures. Stay tuned for the next adventure!!!
After enjoying some time in Ohio, it was time to move farther south, back thru Kentucky, this time farther east than our northern route had taken us. First stop was Georgetown, KY, just north of Lexington. Our campsite was at one of our lesser enjoyed campgrounds, in wide open gravel with little grass and no trees. About half the camp was occupied by long term campers and/or work trailers so it was not the most “family friendly” location. But it worked for our needs for our short time.
Hot and dusty site
We had three main objectives while in the area:
Visit the town of Georgetown which was supposed to be quaint full of unique shops and restaurants
Visit Lexington and specifically the home of Henry Clay
Take a tour of the Toyota manufacturing plant
We drove into Lexington our first day and took a tour of the Clay home. It was full of history and artifacts and was well worth the time to discover more about this man who helped mold the nation and (some say) delay the civil war by several decades by his compromising approaches to issues.
On another day, our plan was to take a tour of the local Toyota manufacturing plant. What we didn’t realize was that this was a very popular attraction and tours booked up in advance. We had failed to lock in our tour so we had to go standby. We arrived an hour before the 11:30 am tour and we were lucky enough that two spots opened up for us. It’s an amazing facility, more than just an assembly plant. They build the engines here, fabricate most of the metal and plastic body parts and then assemble both the Camry and Lexus sedans. We were not allowed to take pictures, unfortunately, but it really was something everyone should see if they get the chance.
Pace Car for NASCAR Kentucky race
First Camry to roll off the assembly line
We wrapped up our time in Georgetown by visiting downtown, having a great local lunch, and picking up a souvenir for Dan.
Great lunch stop
Downtown Georgetown
Yep!
It was time to move farther south into Kentucky, down to a town named Corbin. You may not recognize this name but it has a famous place in Americana history. More on that in a bit. For the first time, our GPS really messed us up, taking us down a road that was very narrow with very low hanging branches that eventually became a dead end (at a church, of all things). We retraced our tracks and eventually found our way to our campground. We finally had some shade but it was accompanied by a very dusty road and campsite, the result of no rain for some time in the area.
Lola tucked into the trees
Our campground was very close to Cumberland Falls and the Cumberland River so most of our focus was outdoors. We spent one day just scoping out the river and the falls which are truly spectacular. At certain times of the month during a full moon you can go to the falls at night and see a moonbow but we were not there at the right time. But that didn’t stop us from seeing a wonderful daylight rainbow!
We loved our time next to the river so much that we decided to take a guided rafting trip on the river. The trip started just below the falls, paddled up to the foot of the falls (and the nice cool mist from the falls) and then ran about 5 miles downstream thru mostly class II and III rapids. It ended with a pickup by a river boat where we could cool down and have lunch as the boat continued downstream to the takeout and the shuttle back to our car. The rafting company, Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort, was terrific. Great process to get everyone equipped, loaded and on the river. And our guide was super sensitive to the needs of the folks on our raft – one lady was on a river for the first time and of course, this was Jill’s first trip on a river after breaking her leg! I’ve included there link below for those in the area and/or interested
It was a wonderful day of fun! No pics were taken but we grabbed a couple of pics from the brochures for an idea of what it was like:
Raft at the falls
Our ride to the takeout!
We had some spare time before departing so we drove up to the dam of Laurel Lake to see what the lake looked like. We also headed into town to visit the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yep, the one and only Harland Sanders set up his cafe in Corbin and perfected his secret recipe for fried chicken. There is still an operating KFC at this location along with an attached museum (and it was free!) so how could we resist?
Sanders Cafe
Sander’s office
Recreated original kitchen
Hotel room model
Jill flirting with the Colonel
In addition to his restaurant, Sanders also had a motel back in the 40’s and 50’s (“motor court”) and to help entice his customers to stay the night, he installed a model of a hotel room complete with bathroom. And he installed a phone in the closet of the model so that those who needed to make a call, would also have cause to see the model room. Pretty slick marketing for the time 😉
That brought us to the end of our time in Kentucky, time to journey farther south back into Tennessee (and hotter temps!). We were really hoping for a great campsite and to get our awning repaired at our next stop but more on that in our next blog.
With Lola’s makeover complete, it was time to continue on our travels, heading south into another new state! Our next stop was Wapakoneta, Ohio. Never heard of it? Yeah, neither had we when we booked it. It just was a good short drive and looked like a nice place to spend a few days. As it turns out, this is a rather famous place and we were stopping over at a really unique time. You see, Wapakoneta is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon! And the 50th anniversary of that landing was happening right before we arrived in town! So, here’s a short run down of our visit to Wapakoneta:
Campground – we stayed at a KOA that was nice but wins the award for the most narrow site we have stayed in. Each site had a nice deck with picnic table but we were so close to our neighbor that their slides overlapped onto our deck (and our slide overlapped our neighbor). Luckily, the neighbors were quiet and nice.
Shady but tight sites. That picnic table on the right, behind the tree, is for our neighbor!
This was really meant to be a shakedown stop, organize and sort out things with our new furniture, storage, etc. Having something to actually do one day was an extra bonus! We headed over to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum on our 2nd day. It was built back in 1972 and it had not been updated much since then so it was a quaint visit. It did a good job of showing how Armstrong’s life progressed to ultimately result in his historic step onto the moon’s surface. Lot’s of artifacts from his life. And perfect timing to visit almost exactly 50 years after the landing.
Armstrong’s Gemini Capsule
Armstrong’s Gemini Suit
Armstrong’s Apollo Suit
After our brief stop in Wapakoneta, it was on to Cincinnati where we would stay for a week. Our campground for this leg was actually a small (about 15 full hook up sites) camping facility run by the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) behind their offices which is available only for members (which we are). It only cost us $60 to stay for a week. Of course, you don’t get much for that price other than a place to park, electricity, water and someplace to dump your “junk”. But it was a nice open space and we had access to a very peaceful paved walking path around a lake next door.
Wide open space
Nice trail around the lake
We relaxed several days at this stop, walking the dogs around the lake as well as riding our bikes. It was very quiet at this stop so nice to just slow down a bit. We did have three major “tourist” stops during this visit.
First up was a visit to the Cincinnati Arboretum at Eden Park. This was a small botanical garden within a larger park along the Ohio River. It was mostly indoors with various sections for different climates. It was very relaxing and a nice option on a very warm day.
Another day we decided to visit the Cincinnati Museum Center. The building itself is a wonderful piece of art. Originally built as the city’s passenger train terminal, it has been reborn as a venue for several different museums all under one roof.
Entrance to Cincinnati Museum Center
Interior Entrance
Dan with the Reds Mascot
Once inside the museum, we visited two sections. The first was the Cincinnati History Museum. It was small but well done. It consisted of two main sections – one that was a miniaturized version of the city in the early 20th century, very detailed with moving trolleys and lots to look at. It is still being expanded but the section we saw was terrific. The lighting even changed to represent the entire day to night transition in just a few minutes.
Old Cincinnati by night…
and by day
The second section was a recreation of what the riverfront of Cincinnati would have looked like at the time of the paddlewheel boats plied the Ohio River. It was very realistic, sort of in the vein of a Disney display (without the animatronics).
We then visited the Natural History section which had the obligatory dinosaurs as well as some interactive displays that the kids seemed to really enjoy. They also had a couple of recreated cave environments to simulate what it was like to hike thru some of the neighboring cave environments.
After a few hours of history, it was time for some lunch and we found a restaurant perched on one of the hills overlooking the city and enjoyed good food and views.
The Queen City
A few days later, we took a riverboat cruise up the Ohio River. This gave us a great perspective of the city from the water as well as getting a little more history about the city. It was a nice way to spend a few hours floating along the river enjoying the views.
As our adventure moved into August, we wrapped up our time in Ohio and pointed Lola back onto I-75 heading south, back to Kentucky. More on that in our next blog.
After nearly a month in Michigan, it was time to turn our wheels west and south back towards Elkhart, Indiana. One of our reasons for planning this entire trip was to get some renovations done on Lola’s interior. A few folks have commented that from what they could tell, Lola looked just fine as she was. Well, that may be true on the surface but let’s just say she was getting saggy a few places and down right uncomfortable in others.
You have to remember that when we first purchased Lola, we were only thinking of her for vacations and long weekends. If the dinette and chairs weren’t that great, so what? We’d be back to our comfy chairs when we got back home to the bricks and sticks. But when Lola became our full time home, it made us realize that there were some things we really needed to change in order to feel comfortable 24×7. For instance:
Captains/driving chairs. The original chairs did not have a lot of cushioning and what there was had been compressed to such a degree that even in a short 2-3 hour drive, Dan’s back and rear were pretty stiff and sore.
Couches – we had two couches and we really only needed one. We had nowhere to put our feet up (other than the passenger captain’s chair which had a partial foot rest). In addition, the “pleather” on these seats were starting to peel, an unfortunate issue with seats made in 2013 and 2014. And finally, although we did not need them for beds, the reality was that neither would be comfortable as a bed if/when needed or for resale. We wanted to replace one couch that would be comfortable to sit in AND be comfortable as a bed. The other couch was to be removed and replaced with two wall hugging recliners and a small cubby in between.
Dinette – this was the biggest mess of all. The table was not stable, mounted on a very wobbly telescoping leg, extended down too far, and basically made it nearly impossible to slide into the booth without hitting your legs. Although it was a u-shaped booth, we found it hard to sit two people comfortably at the table (and we had to hold onto any glassware in fear of spills due to wobbly table)
Rug – and finally, there was the rug under the table and along the driver’s side slide floor that looked about the same as a rug in a frat house after a weekend party.
We planned to remedy all of this and more by replacing all of the above with new furniture and rugs. We also decided to get rid of our cloth window valances that came with the coach. Not only did they not meet our tastes, they also attracted and held onto dust and dirt and were impossible to keep clean.
So, on a Tuesday afternoon, we pulled Lola into Bradd & Hall so they could take her in for her makeover. Of course, this meant we had to find somewhere else to stay! Specifically, we packed up our stuff, some food, and the dogs and moved into a room at the local Candlewood Suites. The hotel came with a kitchen and did accept pets (and they waived the pet fee for us too!). Now, we had gone from a 400 sq ft RV to a less than 200 sq ft hotel room with two people and two dogs. How do you think that went? Let’s look at it in phases:
Afternoon – housekeeping cleaning up rooms, maintenance making the rounds as needed. All of this creates noises, closing doors, etc. which results in….barking dogs
Evening – Since many people staying at this extended stay property are working, they start to return from their jobs. This leads to people talking as they walk down the hallways, closing doors, and playing TV’s. Which results in….barking dogs.
Night – Some of the guests go out for dinner…or for other things, come back later in the evening. Decide to walk around a lot with loud TV’s on, talking on phones, etc. Which results in….barking dogs
Early morning (we’re talking 5/5:30 am) – The guests who are good, are getting up to go to the gym to exercise (which is just down the hall from us). This results in sounds of people walking in room above us, doors opening and closing, etc. Which results in…barking dogs.
You get the idea…lots of times that our dogs wanted to bark which meant we got very little sleep (and the ongoing fear that someone would complain and we’d be kicked out to sleep in the Volvo!).
Thus, on Wednesday am, we decided it would be great if the dogs both got a good bath and stay there all day. We went to an RV parts surplus store for a few things and then took a nap! The next day, Thusday, we were expecting to pick Lola up but had not had an updated on the renovations. Fearing we may have to stay an additional night in the hotel, we put the dogs in daycare and visited the shop to see how things were going. This is what we found:
Makeover in progress
The furniture was in but not installed. The new wooden valances were in and looked beautiful! The delay was with the carpet. But we knew Charles and the crew and Bradd & Hall would get it done so we did some shopping, checked out downtown Elkhart, and circled back later in the afternoon. By about 4:30 pm, all was in and we were ready to go. And the changes were amazing!!!
Passenger side couch – good as a dog bed and that’s about it!
Replacement – better support, proper heater venting, not a dog zone anymore!
Old captain’s chairs. No seat padding – note the pillow Jill used!
New chairs – lots of padding!
Driver’s side couch
Recliners with tables and cubby in between
U-shaped dinette – U stands for ugly and useless
New dinette – spacious, comfortable and a sturdy table!
Look closely at the above pics to see the improved custom wood valences as well as the new carpet. The folks at Bradd & Hall did a great job. Stephanie was so helpful in guiding us on what would work best in our coach (we did all the ordering 14 weeks in advance without seeing any of it in person or getting to sit in it), keeping us calms amid potential manufacturing delays, and ensuring all got done as promised. Charles worked tirelessly to get the install done as promised, taking the time to make it all perfect (he had to build special carpet covered wall boxes for two power outlets and even did some work on our entry stairs where they were missing a few screws).
Less than week since install and we are so much happier in Lola, so many places to sit or lay down and relax. It all looks and feels great! Lola may look the same outside but she’s all shiny and new inside and ready for our next adventures as we continue south.
Next up – We visit Ohio (another new state!) and work our way back to Kentucky for another visit.
We’ve just finished up our tour of Michigan (unfortunately, we were not able to make it to the upper peninsula this time around) and really enjoyed the variety of sights and scenery along the way. We left off on our last blog heading north to Petosky so that’s where we pick up.
We had a nice back in site at the KOA in Petosky at the back of the park. We had some shade and the weather continued to be cool and crisp.
Our site in Petosky
Our first major adventure was to drive up to Mackinaw City and catch the ferry over to Mackinac Island. Once on the island, we’d take a horse-drawn carriage tour to see some of the sights and then explore a bit more on foot. You see, on Mackinac Island, no motorized vehicles are allowed. You use horses, bikes or feet.
On the way over, we got some great views of the Mackinaw Bridge (connects lower and upper peninsula of Michigan) as well as the approaches to the island.
Bridge up close
Bridge farther away
Grand Hotel
Quaint Village
A tip for any others who decide to visit this nice little island – get there early! The place definitely fills up and there is only so much room for all these day visitors to fit! Once we landed, we went to the carriage booth and were lucky enough to get seats on the very next tour departing (later in the day, people were waiting an hour or more for their ride). The first part of the tour took us thru the town, up past the Grand Hotel, finally arriving at a transfer station where we’d move to a larger carriage that would travel thru the park area of the island.
Main Street
Lovely homes
Grand Hotel
Hotel Shuttle
At the transfer station, they had a small museum with examples of carriages used on the islands. Once on board our new carriage, we traveled thru the woods, past the island’s cemetery, and finally reached Arch Rock, one of the major highlights of the ride. At the end of the tour, we were able to walk back down to the town, passing the old fort and several other beautiful homes along the way.
The island’s hearse, still used for all funerals on the island.
When we got back into town, the place was packed with people! Although there were no cars on the road, the streets were still dangerous to walk as you had to dodge bikes and horses (and horse poop!). We decided it was time to take refuge in a local eatery and soon we found ourselves at the bar of one of the more popular restaurants – The Pink Pony. Now, for those folks in Atlanta who may think this means we were treated to naked women and bad food, sorry to disappoint. This is no relation to the strip club in Atlanta at all. Great food and everyone had their clothes on!
Don’t worry, only dancing horses here!
Another day we took a ride along the Tunnel of Trees route. This narrow road runs along the lake and thru several small towns. Highlights of the ride included:
A visit to a winery/market/farm
A stop at a small church founded by Indians
Lunch at Harbor Springs
Winery/Market
Tasting
Old canoe inside church
St Ignacias Church
Vintage boats on the harbor
Piggies at the farm
July 8th was moving day and also Dan’s birthday. We left Petosky and Lake Michigan and set up camp at Bay City, on the eastern shore of Michigan on Lake Huron. This camp was a small, city campground with lots of trees and a short walk to the lake shore. We found a great seafood restaurant on the Saginaw River (plus, the food bill was 50% off on birthdays!!) and enjoyed a nice dinner outdoors.
Birthday dinner viewOur home in Bay City
We did some relaxing while in Bay City but also did some touring. Dan spent a few hours touring the USS Edson, a destroyer escort that served during the Korean War and is now set up as a museum on the Saginaw River. About 90% of the ship is accessible to visitors so it was a real treat to explore from end to end and top to bottom. A few pics below to give you an idea of what was seen.
Another day, we visited the town of Frankenmuth (yes, that’s its real name). It is billed as a Bavarian village, sort of like Helen is in north Georgia. We weren’t that impressed with the town but did visit Bronner’s Christmas World, billed as the largest Christmas store in the world! It was huge and we did pose for a pic and see something we might want to pick up another time.
Cousin Eddie’s RV!
We were in Bay City over the weekend so we had to pay tribute to this group (even though they are from Scotland, not Michigan…)
On July 15th we moved further south to New Baltimore, MI, on the shores of Lake St. Clair, our first waterside campground since Navarre.
New Baltimore, Northpointe Shores RV ParkLake St. Clair
Unfortunately, we also arrived in this area during the annual Fishfly event. These “bugs”, similar to Mayflies, have a short 24 hour lifespan but swarm in the thousands, particularly around lights at night. Thus, we stayed inside with all shades down from sundown to sunrise. And we saw their presence when visiting several stores where they were piled up like dead leaves, with a smell of decaying fish (thus their name).
During this stay, Dan left Jill with Lola and the dogs for the first time to travel to Georgia to visit his mom (and, he left on Jill’s birthday, not a smart move…). It was a quick trip and gave Jill the opportunity to run Lola and take care of the dogs for three days on her own. It was also Dan’s first time away from Lola since moving in on January 9th. All went well and Dan and Jill (and the dogs) were happily re-united on July 20th.
Not much to do in this area but there was a classic car museum, Stahls’ museum, which we visited. They had lots of classic cars as well as more self-playing musical machines.
The original REO Speedwagon
Classic cars everywhere!
Player pianos – one that includes THREE violins!
A “drive-able” elephant
After Dan got back from Atlanta, we did a late birthday celebration for Jill at a restaurant on the St. Clair river where we could see Canada.
I can see Canada from our back deck!
From New Baltimore, our plan was to head back to Elkhart (with an overnight stop near Chelsea, MI at a state park to cut the trip in half), but that’s a story for another day/blog. But before we wrap up our trip to Michigan, a few bits of humor from our observations along the way (and apologies to those who may have already seen this on Facebook).
A special patron saint for Michigan…Our Lady of the Storm Water Runoff
Meet Jack…you can figure out his last name….
Thanks for that advice. Wait, you have a problem with prisoners escaping and trying to get a ride on the Interstate? Wait, this happens so often that you made permanent signs to post along the interstate??? Drive faster honey!!!
That’s it from Michigan. Next update – renovations and hotel stay in Elkhart, Indiana. That should be fun!
OK, so the marketing works! We’ve never been to Michigan and all the hype and advertising lured us into our plans to aim for Michigan for our first long distance trip up north. We’ll be spending about a month in Michigan before heading back south. Since this is more than a one stop/one update state, figured we’d break this into two parts.
Leaving Elkhart, Indiana, which lies just south of the Michigan border, we pointed north towards Traverse Bay for a two-week stop, our first since leaving Florida on May 1. This will give us time to recharge, do some heavy cleaning and checking of Lola, and also ease into life in Michigan.
Our first stop – Grand Haven. This would just be a two-night stay as we worked our way towards Traverse Bay. We had a great site, facing the Grand River (thus why “Haven” is so Grand, also the same river that makes the “Rapids” Grand up stream in Grand Rapids, MI).
Our view of the Grand River
Lola all lined up
It was cool and misty most of the 48 hours we were in Grand Haven. We grabbed lunch one day while checking out the town but it was pretty chilly trying to get a pic of the beach and the pier/lighthouse so we didn’t stay in town long.
Grand Haven Lighthouse and Pier
An interesting observation we’ve made as we traveled from one campground to another – Adele really loves a campground with a dedicated dog run/park. We thought, at first, that this was someplace she sought out to get off leash and play a bit. But after more observation, we have come to realize she sees these parks as her “bathroom”. She will hold her “business” until she can reach one of these dog parks, whenever possible. Good to know as we select parks in the future to ensure they meet the need of our sweet Adele.
Adele along the banks of the Grand River
Great dog park in Grand Haven!
Next stop, Traverse Bay. We had a great back in site, lots of space and very quiet. Weather really made a big swing during our time here. It started cool and ended warm, with summer finally catching up with us (we hadn’t seen temps in the 80’s since we left Nashville!). We really didn’t have a lot planned for this stop, really only three main objectives from a tourist standpoint:
Visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Explore the Old Mission Peninsula
Explore Traverse City
First up, Sleeping Bear Dunes. This is a beautiful part of the country, part forest, part huge (400 plus feet high) dunes. Given Jill’s medical history (Type 1 diabetes) we were able to qualify for national park admission for free, signing up right at the visitor center, no questions, no forms, no proof! Great deal and great for everyone to take advantage of where possible. We drove the loop road, stopping along the way to enjoy the views.
One thing we were not expecting was the beautiful, varying colors of the waters of Lake Michigan. In some cases, they seemed to rival those we have seen in the Caribbean. We also stopped at one dune which was 450 feet above the water level. Although people were warned not to make the trip to the bottom given the 2 plus hour trip it would require to return to the top (or a fine of $1,000 to be rescued), we saw several people attempting this challenging climb.
Covered bridge
Michigan or Caribbean?
Those little black specks are people trying to get back to the top!
We continued on our tour of Sleeping Bear by visiting several other vistas as well as the preserved life saving station which previously housed 8-10 rescue personal who saved sailors on ships which became stranded while sailing this area of Lake Michigan.
We spent a couple of days doing a deep clean of Lola, both inside and out. You don’t realize how much a 42′ RV can get dirty but with two humans and two dogs, things can get dirty and smelly pretty quick. A few days were spent cleaning human and dog beds, clothes, and doing a very complete wash and wax of Lola, the first full cleaning she’s gotten since December.
Unfortunately, while working on cleaning, our mascot UGA got out and tried to cause some trouble. He headed for the swamp out back of our site and got all messed up (luckily, no Gators there to mess with him). We had to wash him and then dry him off – luckily we had the fire pit to give him a quick dry!
Dirty UGA
UGA getting dried out!
Next up was a drive up the Old Mission Peninsula that divides Grand Traverse Bay. This small, thin strip of land is covered with wineries and thus our plan was to combine a little bit of history with a little bit of sipping.
Jill positioned right on the 45th Parallel
Mission Point Lighthouse
We stopped at four wineries on the way back and enjoyed the sampling and the views.
We also stumbled upon a cute little little music museum just up the road from our campground. This museum has been opened for several decades and focuses on instruments that can be played by themselves – player pianos, antique phonographs, calliopes, organs, etc. And most of them have been restored! Thus, the 1 1/2 hour tour included listening to these wonderful and unique machines that in most cases, were over 100 years old.
We thought this would be a good place to mention the various types of parks we park. It really ranges from very inexpensive parks (state, local, and national) with few amenities (some with none at all) all the way up to places with pools, nice individual sites with shade, tables, chairs, etc, walking trails, off leash dog parks, and more. You usually get what you pay for and we try to balance out the variety to help with budget as well as sanity (remember our spot back in Nashville?). At Traverse City, we stayed at what we’d consider a more upscale place with a large pool, beautifully landscaped public areas, several club houses, and nice laundry. They also had a “dog park” but we soon discovered that this park was in a flood plain and was an underwater mud bog the whole time we were there. They also had very specific rules about walking dogs that we had never encountered before. They included:
Dogs were not to be walked on any individual sites other than the one we were assigned to. This included all/any site/turf that came up to the road since lots were individually owned and the owners did not want dogs going on their grass.
If dogs were to leave your site, they could not go anywhere else other than common areas (like grassy area near entrance, along entrance road, near clubhouse, etc.).
As noted previously, we were welcome to use the dog park if we didn’t mind our dogs getting muddy and eaten up with bugs, etc.
No trash receptacles for depositing dog business was located anywhere in the park. You were expected to carry it back and place it in your trash for pick up later.
So basically, we had to walk our dogs in the road, keep their urges held until we got to a common area, pick up their stuff, and walk back (and then they could go again when we got back to our site if they needed to).
This may seem trivial but try telling your dog exactly where they can and can’t go after having free reign for the last 5 months. And we totally get that some parks prefer not to have dogs, others prefer just small dogs, and most limit types of breeds. But this park noted itself as being “pet friendly”. We’ve decided that what they really meant was that they were “pet tolerant”.
The other amusing interaction we had while there for two weeks involved the trash man. As mentioned earlier, this park provided trash pick up each morning at the site (at many parks, you take your own trash to the common trash receptacles that are centrally located). We’ve had this service a few times, it’s nice to just put out your trash in the AM and see it disappear. But at this park, they were very particular:
All boxes should be broken down (except when they ask you to put your trash bag in a box, see below) but don’t put them in a bag (even though the posted rules said to bag all trash)
All dog poop bags should be put in your trash bag
Seems simple. But there were all these other unwritten rules that the trash man gave us when he stopped by:
Although not noted in the rules, he’d prefer to have all trash bags placed in a box at the curb (or even better, hung from a nice decorative cast iron hook that you should buy and use)
If a bag gets opened (this happened to one of our bags after birds picked it open after we left one morning), the trash man may or may not pick up your bag.
If he does pick up your bag with anything that fell out, he will, under no circumstances touch any dog poop bags that fall out. He will, instead, push them with his foot over to your rig so you can put them in another bag and hopefully have more luck the next day.
Too many rules for us! 🙂
Nice place as long as you don’t mind the rules
So, for those thinking that since we don’t work, we don’t have to deal with drama or politics, don’t worry. Campgrounds have their fair share.
As some may know, this area of Michigan is also well known as the Cherry Capital of the country. In fact, their airport is officially called the “Cherry Capital Airport”. And the last weekend of our stay also marked the start of the week-long Cherry Festival. There would be all sorts of cherry related activities – cherry pie making, cherry pie eating, cherry pit spitting contests, etc. By the way, as we have traveled the country, we have enjoyed learning the names of the Class AAA baseball and junior hockey team names. In Traverse City, the team is literally named “The Pit Spitters” or just “Spitters” for short.
So, with it being Cherry Festival time, you’d think that as you drove thru the groves, you’d see lots of trees full of red fruit or maybe empty after having just been picked. Instead, what we saw are trees with green fruit. At first, we thought we were driving thru olive groves! We were later informed that the cherries would not be ripe until late July/early August. “But then, where are all these cherrie coming from?” we asked. Come to find out, all the cherries come from Washington state! So, happy National Cherry Festival, wherever they come from!
One last surprise/unplanned activity was meeting up with Chris and Kris Varley. Jill has known Kris for years and they live in the Tampa area so we don’t get to see them much. However, it just happens that Chris’ family has property only 30 minutes from where we were staying and they were flying into town the day before we were leaving. A few texts and emails and we were able to connect for drinks and dinner on our last night in town.
Meeting up with Kris and Chris!
Overall, we enjoyed two wonderful weeks in the Traverse City area. The weather was glorious almost the entire time, the people were very nice, and the towns we visited were all picture perfect. But, after two weeks of sitting still, we were ready to move farther north. In fact, this would be Lola’s farthest northern stop on this trip. Our next destination – Petosky, Michigan!
Yep, we spent some time in Elkhart, Indiana. Just down the road from South Bend and some college you may have heard of and also laying just south of the Michigan border, is a city that is home to most RV manufacturers in the US. Whether it is a motorhome, 5th wheel, travel trailer, or some other type of recreational vehicle, odds are it is somehow connected to Elkhart.
We spent 4 nights at the Elkhart KOA, our main purpose to check in on some planned renovations for Lola. Yes, we love her like she is but we thought she could do with a few “enhancements”. We’ve been working with Bradd & Hall remotely to select some new furniture as well as some window frames to help make Lola more comfortable and more useful for us as full timers. This will include:
New captains chairs
Replacing one couch with a pair of recliners and a table in between
Replacing the other couch with a new, more comfortable jackknife convertible
Replacing our u-shaped dinette with a booth and new table
Replacing our cloth window valances with custom made wood valances
Putting down new carpet on both living area slides
Thus, we needed to visit the shop in person to do some measurements, confirm some furniture, and pick out the carpet.
Our shady site in Elkhart
The only other activity we did was visit the Motorhome/RV Hall of Fame Museum. This place was filled with RV’s from back in the time of the model-T all the way up to present date. It was really interesting to see some of the designs and ideas that were hatched on the way to what RV’s are today.
GMC – Dan went camping with his parents in one like this
Model-T camper – first slide out?
Bullet camper
Knight Rider RV?
Another oldie
Mae West’s “camper”
Airstream on steroids?
Dedicated Eagles Fan!
One of the most amazing parts of this leg of the journey was the swing in temperatures. We had rain one night and woke up to temps in the mid 40’s! Brrrr. It clear and warm up and we’ve been lucky enough to stay in an area with lows in the low 50’s and high’s in the mid 70’s. Let’s see how long that lasts!
After this relatively short visit to northern Indiana, it’s on to Michigan, where we’ll stay for nearly a month, visiting several towns along the western and eastern shores of the lower peninsula (won’t make it to the UP this time around).
