2009 – Week 18
August 13, 2009, Thursday:
Well, yesterday I said that we were going to take a bike ride, but after Susie looked at the description of the ride and the traffic patterns we decided not to take the ride but go by RV. I think I neglected to say that Susie was talking to a couple on the beach last night while I was swimming Daisy. They tipped her off on a kayak trip that would be a great memory for the future. So we really had two excursions to take today. We did get up early, and I took Daisy for a swim. I was astonished to see at least a dozen cars lined up at the Campground Registration Office at 7:30am waiting to take the places of those who were leaving. Unlike most parks, we would have had to commit to staying another night by 8:00pm last night. When we came back, Susie had Daisy’s breakfast ready and coffee and donuts for us. Off we went to the Platte River Campground and found that the only spot available required tents, and we didn’t have any. The Park had prepared a list of optional locations, which they gave us. I called a few, and it looked as if we would be able to stay in the area. We continued south to Riverside Kayak and Canoe on the Platte River and signed up for the Upper Platte trip at 11:00am. They were very careful to warn us of the speed of the river and low branches, but what they didn’t tell us about was the numerous fallen trees. Susie and I both dressed in quick drying clothes since the history on the Upper Platte was 50% upsets. Well, our group of two matched that statistic. I am under orders not to say who swamped so……… Anyway it was a wonderful four-hour trip, drifting with the current most of the time. I took a pill, in advance, to protect my shoulder but I’m not sure it was necessary. We returned to rental shop, bought some trinkets and ice cream and left for the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.
We stopped at a garden stand and bough more cherries, apricots and corn. I am glad we didn’t take the bikes as the road was narrow, the dunes steep and the cars in a hurry. At the Lake Michigan Overlook, a young man asked if he could pet Daisy and told us that his family had 2 black Germen Shepherd Dogs that died of bad food imported from China a few years ago. We have heard that the FDA, after several complaints, is investigating the dog food we normally feed Daisy. Daisy is still on her special food, but we’ll have to make a change when we get home. We left the Scenic Drive and checked into the Empire Township Campground, which it turns out is next door to the airport, not a big one, but still an airport. Several planes took-off just before dusk, and then it was quiet. We had dinner and took showers before working on our blogs.
August 14, 2009 Friday:
The plan was to get an early start this morning, but I asked the lady from the adjacent campsite how she was enjoying MI. She lives in southwest Oregon and is traveling cross-country visiting friends and doing some music gigs. Her next mandatory stop is Toronto, and we talked about what to see in Michigan as she heads north. She told us what to expect as we head south. From Toronto she is going to Maine to see the changing of the colors, then south along the east coast and finally back to Oregon. She packed up and headed north as we ate breakfast and loaded up the RV. Just before we started the engine, another couple from MI came over because they had heard us talking about ice cream. According to them, the store voted the best in the country and featured on Good Morning America is Moomers Ice Cream in Traverse City MI. We also learned that the area surrounding Traverse City and Harbor Springs is a destination for movie actors and actresses who have 2nd houses in the area. We don’t have any way of verifying this, so we’ll accept it at face value. We were able to got out of this vertically tight campsite much easier than we had come in. Susie walked Daisy as I filled the water tanks and dumped the wastewater before we left. This turned out to be a better than expected decision. Off we went and headed south along the coast on MI22. This is great fruit and vegetable growing area, and we took full advantage of the fresh produce. We stopped at the ‘Starving Farmers Produce Stand’ then stopped for gas and food in Frankfort. We were planning to go about 40 miles and check in to the Orchard Beach SP near Manistee MI. This Park is right on the beach, but unfortunately it was full. We were given a few hints and decided to continue south to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area, run by the US Forest Service. As we drove around the campground, we had a sinking feeling that became more pronounced as the time passed. All the campsites were either full or reserved for the entire weekend. With regret we left and were looking for a place to have lunch when Susie spotted a trailer in the woods. Since this is Forest Service, anyone can camp on their land as long as they are 1/4 mile off the main road. We found a spot a bit further in and stopped. The winds were blowing and the humidity was low so we decided to stay for the night. When our neighbors came back I asked them when the MI schools started and they said after Labor Day. I had hoped they started next week. Our neighbors also said they arrived yesterday and the campground was filled then. We are in a bit of trouble. We have been avoiding commercial campgrounds, wanting to stay in government parks, but I think our string has run out. The mosquitoes came out, and I think we may be in a swampy are. Unfortunately the winds died at sunset. We plan to stay here for 2 nights, but that may change in the morning, and head south to visit Meredith and Michael Ray in Indianapolis. It is a drive of about 350 miles so we’ll probably do it in 2 days.
August 15, 2009 Saturday:
It was warm last night, and we are in shock. I slept on top of the lightweight comforter we just bought for most of the night. Eventually we used a lightweight blanket. We had a slow morning and then went down to the beach for a swim, suntan and book reading session. We met two kayakers and had a long chat. In the process, we pulled a kite from the water and helped rescue a beach ball that escaped the clutches of a youngster and was well on its way to the Upper Peninsula. Talking to several people, this beach, and all the parks on the Michigan coastline, are unusually full. The locals attribute it to the cold and rainy weather earlier in the year. One man we talked to said they were in the area around the Fourth of July, staying at his parents’ house, and not only was it cold and rainy, but the TV didn’t work and there weren’t enough games to keep the kids occupied. We returned to the RV, had lunch at 3:00pm and decided to return to the Lake to eat supper and watch the 8:30pm sunset. Susie took photos of her drawings for the period 8/2/09 to 8/14/09. W ran the generator for at least an hour to charge the computers and house battery. What a noisy and disruptive process that is! Susie made sandwiches, and we rode our bikes back to the beach to watch the sunset. No one had picked up the kites we pulled from the water so I tried to untangle the mess, especially the string, but surrendered. One of the kites has a broken plastic piece, but maybe I can fix it at home. Another toy from our trip! The sunset wasn’t spectacular because of a cloudbank to the west, but the day was great. I used the largest fresh water laundry machine entirely in the US (Lake Michigan) to rinse the pair of shorts I had spilled ice cream on after our kayak trip. We didn’t clean up the TV before going to bed. It’s a job for tomorrow.
August 16, 2009 Sunday:
It seemed a bit cloudy this morning, but it cleared later. Susie finished coloring her pictures from yesterday’s events. We had breakfast and took Daisy for a long swim in Lake Michigan. Of course, Susie and I had to join in.
We left the Recreation Area at 12:15pm and headed south on US31. We made a few detours, trying unsuccessfully to stay on the shore of Lake Michigan. However, we did manage to see a few sights such as numerous fruit stands, dune buggy rides, Stony Lake (large enough to support a fleet of Flying Scots), sunflower fields covered with big yellow flowers and a Moped rental shop named Numbutts Moped Rental. We stopped at a produce stand and had a hard time containing ourselves. We bought black cherries, blueberries, apricots, corn, tomatoes, peaches, bananas, bread, sweet rolls and pastries, cucumbers, yellow beans and noodles. Humm, looking at that list, I guess we didn’t control ourselves very well. We passed through the town of Silver Lake, a major tourist town in the area. The lake is separated from Lake Michigan only by a tall sand dune and is suitable only for small powerboats. There is no question that the Lower Peninsula is a creation of the glaciers. There is sand everyplace, and it is difficult to keep it out of the RV. As we went south, I noticed that the engine temperature gauge climbed whenever we stopped for a red light. Suspecting low coolant, we pulled into a Wal-Mart and purchased 2 gallons and used all but 1/2 gallon. Temperature problem fixed, but where is the coolant going? There was an area on US31 where road reconstruction was underway and our 2 lanes had to narrow to one. In general everyone was polite, but there were a few vehicles that had to ride the through the median strip to advance a few places. An 18-wheeler had enough of that and rode down the center of the 2-lane section, blocking most people. There were a few areas of rain as we came south, but nothing serious. We were worried about finding any spot in a State Park, much less one with electric, but lo and behold the Van Buren SP, near South Haven MI was open. Unfortunately because of the MI Health Dept, no dogs are allowed on the beaches so Daisy cannot swim tomorrow before we leave. We had a huge dinner of brats, corn, green beans, and peaches with yogurt and maple syrup for desert.
August 17, 2009 Monday:
It rained last night and into the morning. We packed up early and headed south to Indianapolis after filling with water and dumping wastewater. It was just drive, drive and drive some more. The further south we went, the more ‘civilization’ we saw: more traffic and big shopping center and box stores. We stopped at ‘Steak and Shake’ for lunch and after winding our way around the east side of Indianapolis arrived at Meredith’s and Michael Ray’s new home. It is in a very old neighborhood named Woodruff Place. Woodruff Place was laid out between 1872 and 1873 and consists of a tract of land surrounded by an attractive stone fence and three streets, East Drive, Center Drive and West Drive. It is bounded by 10th St on the north and Michigan Ave on the south. The three drives are more like boulevards and have a 20-foot wide island with grass, trees, sculpture and fountains. The houses are generally single family, but there are a few old apartment houses. Nothing is taller than three stories, and most everything is in good repair. A few of the larger houses were converted to apartments back in the 1950’s but recently some were reconverted to their original configuration. Woodruff Place was designated a historically protected area in 2001. Susie and I are very excited for them and their new home. Just because there wasn’t enough turmoil as they moved into their new place, they adopted a four-month old puppy and named him ‘Boots’. He is very active and not afraid of Daisy. We went to dinner and crashed about 10:00pm.
August 18, 2009 Tuesday
Today was a day of chores. There are electricians working in the basement installing a grounded electrical system. Susie and Meredith worked on painting prep, Michael Ray was at the garage doing woodwork, and I was on the phone, calling firms to find out how to remove an old 1/2 full fuel oil tank from the basement plus remove the co-ax cable and the Dish Network receiving antenna removed from the house. No one wants to spend money to remove the old equipment so they give you a date long in the future hoping you’ll forget. Our solution to this was to disconnect the co-ax, coil it up and throw the coil on the roof of the garage at the back of the property. At least it will be out of sight. The Dish either goes in the trash or on the curb with a ‘FREE’ sign. Daisy, Boots and Mr Green played in the yard, and Boots has become a bit more aggressive with Daisy, but Daisy is being very good. We think ‘Boots’ has some hound dog in him as he will howl at times. Michael Ray cooked a great steak dinner, making all of us full and sleepy.
August 19, 2009 Wednesday:
Again it was paint, paint and paint. The fuel tank removal guys came at 10:30, and we gone by 1:00pm. They were really clean, but the smell of fuel oil permeates everything. It will take a few days to clear the air. I removed cable from the house siding so tomorrow we can finish the job. Daisy and Green are hiding under the furniture; they must be hearing the thunder. Michael Ray was working on replacing the sash weights on the windows pretty much all day. Susie and Meredith finish painted pantry and closet shelves so by the time we leave on Friday, they should have a place to put the dishes. The dogs played hard again with most of the activity between Daisy and Boots. Starting tomorrow, Meredith has three days of meetings and greetings at DePauw University as the students arrive for the Fall Semester. We’ll not see her until tomorrow night. It has rained here off and on all day and at 9:30pm I looked at the weather radar and saw a large are of thunderstorms and a few tornado watch boxes just west of Indianapolis. The sun was down so the danger diminished as time went on. There was a ‘Flash Flood’ warning west of Indianapolis.
