Our Time with Family!

We were in Chicago (and Arizona) to share time with Family!

The first day of school!

Time with the kids…..at the lake! We love Michigan with the family!!!

A visit with Jack (my nephew) at his new place in Milwaukee! Cool apartment and cool “hood”!

Can we please get a family picture????? This is like herding cats! Can you guess how long this took???

Richele’s Birthday……How old is she now????? Best Birthday ever.

…..Great Family time before our last RV trip home!

Our Wisconsin Adventures!!!

The Northwoods

Time with Trish and Bill at their lake house. Sunset happy hour cruises, lots of laughs and great wildlife sightings. All the spotted fawns we saw were so cute and we even saw a loon and an eagle. I will say however that not everyone appreciated my “amazing” bird calls.

Minoqua

My nephew Jack met us in Minoqua before taking off for Lake Superior. Dinner, gambling and a water ski show with Jack. When was the last time you saw a waterski show??? The Min-Aqua Bats ski club is the oldest continually running amateur water ski show in the US.

And a roadside attraction for all you fishermen!

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Lake Superior

We lived in the Midwest for most our lives and never really knew much about this area, Beautiful pine forests and an amazing lakeshore. Unfortunately we had lots of wildfire smoke blowing in from Canada. To see the islands you travel from the quaint town of Bayfield, Wisconsin. Much of the stone for the Chicago Brownstones comes from this area and many furniture companies owned land on these islands as a steady source of wood for their furniture.

Door County

This has always been one of our favorite places. This peninsula is just east of Green Bay on Lake Michigan and is called the Cape Cod of the Midwest. There so many little towns and harbors along the shore and it’s the best Cherry Pie in the world.

Fish Creek is one of our favorites for shopping (Ok, one of MY favorites for shopping). The Peninsula State Park is so picturesque, it even has a little theater under the stars.

Sister Bay: The iconic Al Johnson’s is a Swedish restaurant….loved for it’s food and and the goats on the grass roof.

Egg Harbor and Ephraim…..so pretty!

Madison Area: Time with dear friends ….and a visit to the Madison Farmers Market.

We’re in Chicago now! Our first order of business was to get 8 new tires put on the RV. These were really hard to find because, like everything else, there is a tire shortage. Yippee for us….big bummer for the bank account.

Togetherness (and the Woodchipper) and Fun with Friends!

It’s all fun and games until someone is head first in the Fargo Woodchipper.

This is what happens when you spend too much time together in a small confined space.

One of Bob’s favorite Movies is Fargo so I surprised him with a visit to the real Woodchipper in Fargo North Dakota of course.

A Quick Trip to Chicago

We then parked the RV in Minneapolis and flew to Chicago for Sabrina and Jim’s wedding celebration. They had to cancel their wedding last year and ended up getting married in Hawaii this spring. The party was a beautiful event with friends to celebrate! And we got to see the kids and grandkids!!!

Minneapolis

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon on Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior Minnesota with one of my best college friends from the University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes!

Fun Fact: Rolling Stones performed in Excelsior on their first US tour in 1964. Mick Jagger went into a local drug store and asked for a Cherry Coke….and they didn’t have it. Mr. Jimmy, the towns roving ambassador, was standing behind Mick in the store and told him “you can’t always get want you want!” The rest is musical lyrics history. There is a bench dedicated to the Mr. Jimmy on the corner of Water and Second Streets.

Bob’s line of the Day: If I’m ever going to ever use a woodchipper “honey”….it’s gonna be one like that!!! Hmmmm should I be worried?

Off to Wisconsin next.

Montana - Bullets, Butte and Beartooth

Bob assures me these aren’t bullet holes in the “Welcome to Montana” sign…just pellet gun shots! Ok so that’s a lot better!

Butte, MT

The Richest Hill on Earth
We didn’t think we were going to like it as much as we did - such great history.

Butte is an old mining city. Gold and Silver in the late 1800’s, but then it was all about copper. Butte had over 100,000 people in its mining hey day and was the biggest city between Chicago and San Francisco. It supplied over 25% of the world’s copper! There was a lot of money in Butte!!!! Butte’s current population is only 40,000 people and the downtown seems frozen in time with all the old mines, mansions, and downtown buildings. There are 14 headframes (once used for underground mining), and the Berkley Pit.
The Berkley Pit - this is sad. This is an old open pit copper mine (in operation from 1955 to 1982). Now its filled with toxic water. It’s a US Superfund site (one of the over 1300 EPA sites for environmental remediation). The key is to keep the water level low enough so it doesn’t seep into the ground water.
I really wanted to see the 90 foot Our Lady of the Rockies that sits above Butte….it was too smoky to see much of anything…so I only have the on line picture. Sigh.

Livingston, MT

Cute town, the location for the movie “A River Runs Through it”, and the HQ for Fly Fishing International (for all your fishermen!) Unfortunately, most things are are closed on Sunday.

Billings, MT

Known for its Rimrocks that surround part of the city. It was just too hot and not much to sight see….so we took off for the mountains. Oh, it is the home of the Montana Women’s Prison, but they don’t give tours.

Beartooth Highway

A National Scenic Byway called the “All American Road”. It starts at the town of Red Lodge MT and is 68 miles to the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone. The climb is to almost 11,000 feet - IT WAS 73 degrees on the top of Beartooth Pass. Just Beautiful. It was another white knuckle drive but just in the car.

Fire broke out just north of Red Lodge.

Our Continued Travels in Idaho....will I ever stop hearing about potatoes!!!!

Bob is obsessed with Potatoes in Idaho! We know that from our last trip….but there just aren’t potatoes EVERYWHERE in Idaho Bob! He did get a new Potato T-shirt though!

Twin Falls Idaho and the Snake River Canyon

This was a place with lots of surprises. The Snake River Canyon is so amazing - we weren’t expecting it to be so beautiful.
The town of Twin Falls didn’t have much to offer, but we did have a great breakfast at the Buffalo Cafe! Shoshone Falls is the Niagara Falls of the West (actually taller than Niagara Falls). But this girl from Niagara Falls still loves her birth town falls!

The Perrine Bridge. This is a 1,500 ft long majestic truss arch support bridge that crosses the Snake River. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s the only place in the US that you can legally base jump without a permit! It was crazy to see someone jump off the bridge…..but the funniest thing was the woman next to me who didn’t know there was base jumping off the bridge. She FREAKED OUT! It was a bit hard to get the parachutes in pictures because they fall so fast.

Sun Valley is a ski town about 2 hours north of Twin Falls. Lots of resorts, condos and funky shops in the towns of Ketchum and Haines.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and some Nuclear history.

Craters of the Moon is essentially an ocean of lava across over 300,00 acres. There are 3 lava fields that lie along the Great Rift of Idaho. It’s a bit eerie. It’s also the first National park where we were able to take the RV on the Scenic Drive.

The Idaho National Laboratory (Formerly know as the National Reactor Testing Station). This is a 900 square mile area without access to the public. You can (sometimes) tour the first Nuclear Power Plant (EBR-1 - Experimental Breeder Reactor #1) but it wasn’t open when we were passing through. Bummer.

The historical markers states “Since 1949, more nuclear reactors (over 50) have been built on this plain, more than anywhere else in the world.”

Arco: In 1955, it was the world’s first nuclear powered city. It was short lived, but a first none-the-less.

Atomic City: This became a ghost town after a Nuclear Reactor meltdown in 1961. They even re-routed the highway around the city. There are only 30ish residents there today. Yikes!
The roads are not paved so we had to skip it. Another Bummer.

Our Airport RV Park
This was a trip of a lot of firsts….the first time we every stayed at an Municipal Airport RV spot. We watched little twin engine planes and Crop Dusters take off!

THE BIG WASH! We washed the big boy in a self service truck wash for the first time. This wash is designed for pick up trucks, but Bob went to measure it….and we just fit!!

Off to Montana we go!

Over the Cascades we go....and back into the heat.

The mountain driving continued as we crossed the Cascade Mountain range…..there were a number of fires over the last few years in the area so there is rebuilding and forestry work to clear dead trees. That all equates to lots of back ups on the road so the trip was a bit longer.

Bend, Oregon

The high desert. It was dry, but hot (98 degrees) while we were there. This is a fun town: Beautiful pine trees, snow covered Mount Bachelor in the distance, the Deschutes River for biking and tubing, a cute historic downtown (with great alley art), the old Mill District’s shopping and dining, lots of breweries, and food trucks. This is also a city of a million round-a-bouts. To me is one traffic circle nightmare after another, but I guess they are supposed to be safer! Hmmmmm

Tumalo Falls and the town of Sisters are great stops just outside of Bend.

Bosie, Idaho

The Capitol of Idaho and one of the fastest growing cities in the US. Boise is the “city of trees”, the Boise river runs through town and has a 25 mile bike trail that runs along the river bank. The town consists of a number of historic neighborhoods. We loved the North End the best…..great historic homes along a tree lined boulevard with small neighborhood restaurants and shops. Boise also has lots of art in the city. My favorite was the River Sculpture mosaic on the Grove Hotel.

Whitewater Rafting….down the South Fork of the Payette River. Bob of course picked the “adventure trip” so we were sure to have a good ride and get wet! This was an 8 mile trip with class III and IV rapids. Luckily neither one of us fell off the raft…some of the other rafters weren’t as lucky.

Well this was a first. Plastic covered tennis courts!

I’m usually only a few days behind in posting the blog, but we had no decent internet service until now so I’m behind. The joys of being unconnected in way out of way RV parks. Grrrr.

The White Knuckling Continues.....But the Oregon Coast is BEAUTIFUL!

The Southern Oregon Coast!

We still had lots of morning fog, but luckily there was sunshine by most afternoons. Every day was in the 60’s. Cool actually.

Still lots of white knuckle driving. I have come to believe that Pacific Coast Scenic Byway really means “Strap Yourself In”! Can you see how close we are the guard rail and side of the cliff ????

The Bridges of the Oregon Coast (and the low clearance tunnel).

With all the rivers running to the sea, there are so many historic bridges you cross on our way up the coast.

AND an RVer’s worst nightmare: A tunnel with a bunch of height clearance signs on it! Our GPS supposedly makes sure we don’t go on any route that can’t cover our 13’6” height….this tunnel sign says 11’6” on the sides! REALLY??? It’s too late, we’re headed through and I keep telling Bob….drive in the middle…and he keeps saying there are cars coming in the other lane RICHELE. You just keep praying that you don’t all of a sudden have a convertible RV!!!!

Coos Bay

One of the bigger cities on the Oregon coast (which isn’t saying a great deal) There are a number of beautiful state parks very close. The downtown is a little funky but they have some great antique shops!

Cape Arago State Park

This park area was the former estate of LJ Simpson and his wife who ultimately donated the land to the State of Oregon in the 1930’s. The beautiful gardens and the gardeners cottage still remain on the grounds and are maintained by the Oregon Parks System. The location on the coast, the rose gardens and the lily pond are so pretty.

Our ongoing quest for tennis courts. Coos Bay was the most interesting so far. It was a single court, weeds growing in the giant cracks, and a novice skateboarder with some crazy loud music who asked if we could share the court since he had no other place to practice! Uh, sure? I thought it might distract Bob’s play, but he still beat me! Grrrr.

And for some of you that say “ Maybe we should try Camping!?”

We have been in a number of RV parks that have fun places to rent. Chalet’s, Tiny Homes, Beachfront Air Stream trailers. This was Bay Point Landing in Coos Bay, Oregon. This is a “no commitment” way to “camp”.

Florence

This was our favorite towns on the coast. A fun artsy downtown, a little harbor, the Heceta lighthouse outside of town along the coast. Our RV Park was great but it was way up the coast with no cell phone service.

This is our last stop on the coast before we start heading inland!

Paso Robles with wonderful friends then a bunch of white knuckle driving! Very Stressful

Paso Robles

My dear friend Craig came to visit with his two dogs (Baskins and Baker). Craig and I worked together for 20 years. It was such fun to have puppies in the RV again. Craig and the fur boys stayed at one of the “Chalets” in our RV Park so that made it even more special. We took morning walks, made trips to the dog park and had some great dinners together!

Wine

Our big day at the Center of Effort Winery. I wasn’t sure about a winery with “effort” in the name, but we were assured it was a sailing term (wind force at the right angle on the sails for optimal performance.) We were with John Galey in Arroyo Grande. Craig and I worked with John for years too. John has a dream retirement job (OK, my dream retirement job) working at an amazing winery! John was so generous with his time and gave us a great tour of the “front” and the “back” operations of the winery. We learned about soil, grapes, growing obstacles, the harvest, yeast, fermentation (giant stainless steel tanks, oak barrels, concrete pods) testing/blending, naming, label design, and of course tasting and buying some to take home!!! We had such a nice afternoon with John. Thanks John!!!

Making our Way to the Southern Oregon Coast. I’m a WRECK!!

White knuckle driving on these crazy mountain narrow roads, steep hills, huge inclines, trees growing right into the shoulder: Not sure if its worse to drive the roads or be in the passenger seat hanging on for dear life! I’ve done both and was a nervous wreck either way. And once again, Bob does NOT appreciate my driving “suggestions” for him! His rebuttal: JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES RICHELE!!!

Humbolt County, California.

Funky roadside stops, a fixation with Big Foot, giant trees (that are amazing) AND its the marijuana growing heartland. Who knew??

And then you find an unexpected gem. The Benbow Inn was next to our campground in Garberville, CA. This was a really neat historic hotel on beautiful grounds. The woodwork, beams, furniture and historic pictures were so fun to see. They even have afternoon tea!

Morro Bay, Pacific Coast Highway, Carmel and Monterey....

Morro Bay

We just thought this was a jumping off point for Hearst Castle - but it was CLOSED for the rest of 2021. That ended up being ok because we explored Morro bay. Morro rock, the amazing beach, sunset and the sea otters in the bay!

Could we live in a yellow submarine???

The Maritime Museum had some old submarines. Bob is standing in front of a ONE person submarine and The yellow submarine is a TWO person sub. REALLY???? Not for those two in the picture!

Elephant Seal Beach

This was so amazing. These guys are anywhere from 900 to 5,000 pounds. At first you think they are dead….but thankfully they are just sunning themselves and resting! They don’t move much but when they do, it’s so fun to watch. They spend most of their lives at sea (and go as far as the Aleutian Islands to look for food). They come here to have their pups and rest before going back to sea. They are so tired, they don’t even eat here.

Pacific Coast Highway 1

We could NEVER drive the RV on this road…it was scary enough in a car.

Carmel by the Sea!

Great shopping, beautiful beach and all those cute little houses in Carmel!

Monterey and Pacific Grove

Loved the bike trail along the shoreline, more seals (I’m obsessed) and Cannery Row (touristy but cute with the best antique mall.)

17 mile drive: Pebble Beach

The Lone Cypress, a pretty shoreline, a seal sunning, amazing golf holes and golf history. Did Richele just win the US Open trophy? No, she doesn’t play golf, just loves to watch it on TV.

…….and if you look real close in the heart, you can see a young couple under the cypress tree….he proposed! ,

Solvang (goats), Los Olivos and Santa Barbara...too much to see!

Solvang……the Danish Capital of North American

Founded in 1911 by Danish settlers to preserve their Danish culture. Such a cute place to visit

GOATS!

No Really! Where else can you play tennis with goats (No, I’m not talking about Bob, Marvin)! The Hans Christian Anderson City Park in Solvang is the place. It was a little distracting since they kept moving around…..but so fun!

Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley

34 wine tasting rooms in town…need I say more.

My Dream Garden Shop!!!

I have always wanted my own garden shop, and this shop in Los Olivas would be the one!

Santa Barbara…..beautiful.

Called the California Riviera. Perfect temps, beautiful breezes, giant palm trees, amazing views and it sits at the base of the St. Ynez mountains. The drive through the mountains on the backroads from Santa Barbara to Los Olivos is amazing. Santa Barbara is the 4th most expensive place to live in the US…..even the roadside viewpoints have inlaid marble floors.

Buellton….The Home of Split Pea Soup and Flying Flags Resort (which is not just for RVers!)

Buellton is a great jumping off point for the St. Ynez Valley (your Solvang and Los Olivos adventures.) Bet you might not know that Anderson’s Split Pea Soup put Bulleton on the Map in 1924. (Bob Loved It - for breakfast no less).

At the Flying Flag Resort you can stay in the Canned Hams (those cute little RVs), refurbished They provide a twin bed, night stand, bedside table (like they have in the hospital), chair? or great tiny houses/cabins. Plus they have the famous Sausage truck next to the Sideways Inn! Yummy. For those of you who aren’t campers, there are tons of place to stay in the area!

For all of us dog lovers!!!

Our final days in Newport Beach....

Our RV Park was Insane!

This was a really nice location, close to the coast and advertised as a “beach front RV Resort”…..but it was crazy expensive (don’t ask), narrow roads, 2 kids camps on site, tons of pick up trucks, kids on bikes everywhere….it was so scary to park.

San Juan Capistrano Mission

This is a beautiful Spanish Mission (one of 21 in the state of California). The missions were part of Spanish Expeditions along the El Camino Real (The Royal Road) from San Diego to Sonoma.
As a side note: San Juan Capistrano is also famous for the return of the swallows each year but we didn’t see a single one. My parents took us kids to visit the mission years ago and there were all these pigeons that swarmed us (I think we were told they were swallows). My sister Susan is still afraid of pigeon!

Beautiful Beaches!

There was a marine layer (or this fog) each day and this kept the sun away the temps cool.. This was just fine for 2 people escaping the AZ heat!.

LA Area Traffic….YIKES!

Bob was so frustrated with the GPS when it kept saying stay in the lanes, 2 from the right (or one from the right, or 3 from the left) then the lanes would disappear and we would be in the wrong lane of 7 or eight lanes. I’m just glad he was driving!

Wine Tasting and our Catalina Island adventure

Temecula California. Such a great wine area….and we only joined 2 wine clubs (even after we said we wouldn’t do it!) CHEERS!!!

Santa Catalina Island…..a beautiful beach town with amazing history

We took the car ferry from Balboa Island to Balboa (it takes 3 cars and was 5 minutes for a $1.25). I saw a great little beach house I thought would be fun, until I saw the price tag ($ 3.7 million at 2,100 sq. ft. and not on the water).
We then hopped the 60 minute Catalina Flyer over to Catalina Island. Uh Oh….you know when they start handing out barf bags on the boat there is trouble….but thankfully not for us!!

The views are amazing on the island. You tour the area by golf cart for views of the: the harbor, the chimes tower, the art deco casino (but there is no gambling), the green pier (fish off the end for $5) and the waterfront shopping. Catalina Island is a great place to visit….but very expensive.

Catalina Island History…a movie star hang out, bison are still on the island from old films, and the famous harbor seal named Old Ben who would greet visitors at the dock. And of course there is the Chicago connection: Wm. Wrigley’s Jr’s and his descendants developed (and continue to develop) Catalina Island. They founded the Conservancy organization to preserve the natural areas of the island. He also founded the Catalina Tile and Pottery company. Its no longer in business, but you see unique tile in so many places. Most Exciting: Cubs Spring training was here 1921 - 1951. GO CUBS!!!

Sitting under the palm trees with beautiful ocean breezes! ahhhhhh

The Sun Sets on San Diego!

Coronado….. we loved it.

The history of the Coronado and the Hotel Del Coronado, the beautiful beach, and the fun old downtown buildings.

I was fascinated with the Coronado Tent City that beach vacationers enjoyed from 1903 to 1939. There were as many as 1,000 tents. They were furnished with a bed, washstand, rocking chair, lamp and linen for 6$ per week. Not my thing since I don’t camp, but you could get electric lights in your tent for 1$ more a month….But with no private bathrooms, I’m out!

The San Diego Harbor.

We love to do some touristy things. We spent a beautiful day at the waterfront and took a harbor cruise. There are over 56 military ships in the harbor…destroyers, aircraft carriers, the hospital ship (1,000 beds) and the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum. Quite impressive. And of course the supersized V-Day kissing sailor statue!

Little Italy….quaint and so vibrant (even at 10am!)

We love these giant chairs as you know….and anything Italian!

Balboa Park

There were 1400 acres set aside in 1868 for a city park. It’s bigger than Central Park and part of the park is home to the San Diego Zoo! Many of the historic buildings were built for the Panama (canal) - California Exposition in 1915. This was a fun place to spend the afternoon.

So Creative!

I happened upon this little surprise in the city marina park when I was out for a walk. This was all set up on Sunday morning as a birthday surprise for a girl named Gabriella…she was turning 11. Just beautiful!

Well, We're On Our Way....and we are so ready to be on the road!

Getting ready to hit road with the usual preparation is always fun: paying big bucks for service and maintenance, filling the 100 gallon diesel tank, and then packing it all up (in the 100 degree heat)….but we are on our way.

Destination: San Diego

We made sure to fill up in Arizona before crossing the California border. (Diesel in California is at least $1.00 more…..a point Bob continues to “mention” A LOT!)

 

Our Arrival!

Awwww. When we arrived at the Chula Vista RV Park, these little ducks were here to greet us and there are 6 baby ducklings. It of course seemed really cute until the quack fest started and there was duck poop everywhere! I guess they wanted to be on San Diego Bay too!

This is our first trip without our little Sam……he would have taken care of moving those ducks along! We certainly miss our travel buddy.

......Into South Africa (after parking the RV for the winter)

Some of you have asked about our trip to South Africa and wanted to see pictures….So even though we couldn’t bring the RV, we wanted to capture our adventure on the blog.

Cape Town

The Victoria and Alfred waterfront area was beautiful!

The Oranjezicht City Farm Market was such a special place to visit on a Saturday morning….amazing flowers and wonderful local food

Kirstenbosh Botanical Garden

This Botanical Garden is one of the top 10 botanical gardens in the world. It’s on the backside of Table Mountain in Cape Town with breathtaking views.

The Cape of Good Hope

The African Penguins at Boulder Beach

Our Safari Adventure

I’m not sure how we can ever go to a zoo after seeing all these animals up close and personal! It almost made us forget about the 30 hours of travelling to get to South Africa.

……..and the reason we went to South Africa…..

Colleen and Peter’s Wedding

The end to an amazing journey!

It's always SOMETHING!!! But thank goodness we're home!

It’s never good when you see a ladder and Bob on top of the RV (for 3 hours in the 100 degree heat). Our Satellite dish wouldn’t go down on our trip home. That’s not a big deal unless of course you have to travel under any overpasses on a highway (which of course we did). CRAP. Bob had to dismantle it, tie it down and duck tape it to the roof so we could get to a RV service station to remove it.

Uranus

Because we needed to get home, we missed a big highlight in Missouri…..Uranus, Missouri that is…..You can’t imagine how many signs there are for this Fudge Factory.

THE BEST FUDGE COMES FROM URANUS! …….You can’t make this stuff up!

Tucumcari, NM

Not sure who side swiped the car during this stop! That’s one big deep scratch!!

Route 66

Tucumcari is kind of a sad little to town trying to rekindle the Route 66 magic. It doesn’t hit our “recommend list” but there are Route 66 memories, some nice art work on old buildings and a few revived places to visit.

The End after….

• 4 months

• 17 states

• 6,919 miles

• 882 gallons of diesel

• and not too many shouting matches when parking the big beast!

Thank for coming along for the ride! We’re so glad to be home in time for our trip to South Africa.

Sweet Home Chicago

We had the gift of spending time with family and friends during our month in Chicago…..never enough time.…and not enough pictures!
- Sam and I stayed with my Mom and Dad. Just like the old days…..sleeping in my old twin bed.
- Bob stayed with the kids.
- Then a fun weekend in Michigan with the kids and grandkids!

Palatine High School Friday Night Lights. My nephew Gavin is a GREAT saxophone player in the band….and we stood in the front row trying to make him laugh…..not even a smirk from him!!

Then off to Iowa to watch the Hawkeyes….but mostly to see Jack! He plays the trumpet in the Marching Band at Iowa.

It was fun with my sister Susan- we’re both Palatine and Iowa grads!!!

Great amazing friends!

Bob and I celebrated the 25th Anniversary of our first date! WHAT???…..25 years together! Thanks to Paula for fixing us up.

And to continue the fun….I was stung by bees at my Mom and Dad’s and I got poison ivy! Now that’s nothing compared to my Mom getting bit by a rattlesnake when she was in Arizona…..so buck up Richele!
I’m ready to go home.

MORE Pure Michigan

Whitehall - Montague with Wonderful Friends

We spent a few days with Margaret and Mike at their lake house….we also had Megan (their daughter) and Grandson Finn with us.

We spent an evening at this great book store/coffee shop/wine bar for one of the White Lake Chamber Music Festival concerts.

Bob and I love to drive the RV, but Finn REALLY loved being behind the wheel
To him it was a BIG BIG truck…..now that’s pure joy!

South Haven for the Blueberry Festival

Saugatuck

This is such a cute, artsy little town on Lake Michigan…..Joe Dahm joined us for a fun day! While the boys went Bourbon tasting, I went shopping (after a few sips!) We had lunch at The Barge, rode the Star of Saugatuck paddle boat and had dinner at the RV before Joe had to head home. Thanks for coming Joe!

Wasps, Mosquitoes and Ticks, Oh my!

It was all fun and games until I got about 20 mosquito bites (even after bug spray), stung by a wasp (that hurt like hell) and had a bunch of ticks in the RV (after getting a flower bouquet at the farmers market and asking Bob to pick a few “wild flowers” to add to it). Me and bugs this season…….I’m done!

Chicago Here We Come!!!

Pure Michigan!

We haven’t had great internet service….(and I got lazy with the blog.)

We have always enjoyed summers in Michigan: Lazy days, beautiful lakes, and great friends.
We are SO, SO glad we changed our itinerary right now. It’s been in the 70’s and 80’s since we arrived.

Lighthouses, Sand Dunes, Beautiful Beaches, and Sunflowers!

I hiked 1.8 miles to see the Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Ludington State Park (the black and white one)….then I climbed the 130 stairs to the top, had a bit of a panic attack once I was out on the ledge. (I keep forgetting I’m more fearful of heights these days). I very slowly walked down the open grate spiral stairs while sweating to death. UGH. That ended up being more of a workout than I thought!

Omena Lake

We had such a great time with Joanne and Joe and their dog Charlie! They have such a wonderful home. We went biking, boating, jet skiing and just spent time relaxing with special friends.

Petoskey

The Little Traverse Wheelway is a bike trail that runs for 26 miles between Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. I spent a few days riding parts of that trail. Petosky had their Sidewalk Sale’s when we were visiting. A girl’s dream.

Charlevoix

This year we visited the “Mushroom Houses” in Charlevoix. It’s amazing how you visit a place many times and still find new things to see! Earl Young was a self taught builder who used natural materials from the area to create these homes.

Glen Arbor

Still one of our favorite little towns. Unfortunately, we found out that my favorite garden shop is going up for sale by the owner. She is retiring after 40 years!

Traverse City and cherries everywhere!

A little issue….

We had to take Sam to the vet…..He was having a very hard time walking and lethargic…it was so sad. Finding a vet who would see Sam was not easy. After calling over 10 vets close to us, we had to drive 45 miles for one willing to see him. As it turns out, it was worth the drive. This Clinic was great. Sam is now on steroids for back problems and is perking up a bit.

A few more days in Michigan (Whitehall/Montague and then South Haven) before heading into Chicago!

Heaven in Cleveland

70 Degrees and fun with friends.
We didn’t make it to Key West, but Margaritaville in Cleveland is the next best thing!

Our visit with Kevin and Paul

We had so much fun with our Arizona neighors at their place in Cleveland! They have a beautiful home, an amazing pool and cool bar in their backyard. It’s awesome….but I have to say that Kevin’s DJ and Dance studio in the basement TOTALLY ROCKS!! His sound mixer for LP’s and CDs, his disco ball, and fog machine made for a great impromptu dance party at 10:30 in the morning!! FYI…. I am not attaching the dance party video to spare you all the embarrassment!

Then we went to the Eastside Flats on the Cuyahoga River for lunch. I know….everyone still thinks about the “river on fire” but it was 50 years ago. AND it was that fire that spurred on the environmental protection movement and the EPA. We had wonderful lunch and got a little tour of downtown Cleveland with our guides! Thanks for the all the fun you guys!!

Our RV Park was in the little town on Milan OH. Guess what? It was Thomas Edison’s birthplace.
I know…… we manage to find the most “electrifying” places!

Off to Michigan!