Michigan and Home

 

Friday October 3rd and we have landed at Manistique Lakeshore Campground for a 3 night stay.  This park is a City Municipal Park located right on the shore of Lake Michigan.  It is a very nice campground with wonderful beaches, and even better, the pups are allowed on the beach.  The icing on the cake is the variety of stunning sunrises and sunsets each day.

We used our time here to rest, relax, beach walk and watch the waves on Lake Michigan.  I got carried away with the photos.  I just couldn't limit myself to a couple.  It's impossible to pick just one or two to show how beautiful the north shore of Lake Michigan is.  

Sunrise

And sunset

Monday, October 10th:  Parked at the nearly empty Gaylord North KOA in Gaylord, Michigan for one night.  Going from the UP of Michigan to lower Michigan always involves a gorgeous drive over the Mackinac Bridge, which can sometimes be real thrill on a windy day.   LOL.

Tuesday, October 7 and we are at the Lansing Cottonwood Campground in Lansing, Michigan for 2 nights to visit 2 of my 3 sisters, Mary Ann, Amy and families.  This park is different in that there are several recreation fields where little league ballgames are held.  The fields are even lighted.  

Parker had a standoff with a beautiful buck one time.  Parker won.
One bark and the buck was gone.

Mary Ann hosted dinner one evening and we had a chance to get all caught up.  It was a very nice evening!!

Now for a couple of one night stops and we will be home.  Thursday the 10th and we are at the Sandusky Ohio KOA.  Then Friday the 11th at one of our regular stops, Westfield/Lake Erie KOA.

Sandusky Ohio KOA

Westfield/Lake Erie KOA

Saturday, October 12 and we are back at our home base.  We got to catch up with some old friends and family on this trip.  Now we start the huge job of emptying out the Solitude camper as we prepare to pick up the new one later tis month.  We found stuff we didn't even know we had.  A good house cleaning will allow us to "declutter" as we start to prepare for new adventures in the new camper.

Stay tuned!

Wisconsin: Madison, Waupaca, Door County.

 

We left Kentucky Horse Park Friday morning the 19th.  We have 2 one night stops on our way to start our  12 days of Wisconsin adventures.  

Friday, 9/19:  Lake Haven Retreat in Indianapolis, Indiana.  This was a busy park with many long term residents.  Everything was neat and well kept  There was a lot of highway noise, which never bothers us.  Walks around the nearby pond provide the pups and I some exercise.  The Mid West drought is really evident with the pond less than half full.  

Site 75

Saturday, 9/20:  Kamp Komfot in Carlock, Illinois was our second one night stop.  It tuned out to be the quietest (and, except for my sons driveway, the cheapest) stop on our trip.The former KOA was surrounded by corn and soybean fields.

Site 2

Sunday, 9/21:  We're parked at Madison Campground in DeForest, Wisconsin for 5 nights.  We have been here before, and it is a convenient 20 drive to Madison.  Madison is a busy city as it is the capital of Wisconsin and the home of the University of Wisconsin.  

Site B-1

We wanted to catch up with Lynn, a fellow Cornell alum and good friend of my sister Mary Ann.  We have got to know Lynn and try to visit when in the area.  Notice she has an Ithaca T shirt on.  :-)  

We wanted to catch with my cousin Judy.  I am one of 40 or so first cousins on my mother's side.  Judy is the eldest (by a year) and I'm second in line.  Judy has spent hours on family genealogy and shared with me.  She and husband Walt are such gracious hosts.  Walt took us on a wonderful boat ride on nearby Lake Mendota.

Just a really short drive from the campground is Norwegian Norske Nook Restaurant and Bakery.  Both Lynn and Cousin Judy suggested we stop for either breakfast or pie.  We splurged and bought a huge berry pie, and it was to die for. 

Friday, 9/26:  We are parked at Deer Haven Campground in Waupaca, Wisconsin.  This is a new campground for us, and it turned out to be a wonderful find.  There is an older and heavily treed section that is for seasonal use, while a newer section is more open and is for transient use.

Site 62

We had a great view of the pond and sandy beach.

Seasonal Section had decorative light displays in the evening. 

Our stop in Waupaca was to catchup with long time friends Dave and Ann Wright.  Our friendship goes back to he late 60's to early 70's when they lived in Gouverneur.  I chide Dave and Ann by referring them as hold over hippies.  They are very creative people and made their living producing sculpture and art.  They are the kind of people where laughter is always in abundance.

We had a "good bye until next year" cookout at the campground.  Tomorrow we are off to Door County, Wisconsin.

Monday 9/29:  We are parked at the very nice Door County KOA in Brussels for 4 nights.  Door County Wisconsin is located on a peninsula that juts out from Green Bay into Lake Michigan.  It is one of the premier vacation spots for Wisconsin.

Our site marked in blue.

Site 103 with patio and dog kennel.

This KOA has several sections.  One is very heavily wooded and seems to contain many seasonal residents.  Another section is more open and contains many seasonal residents with park models and the last section where we are is very open with large sites and seems to cater to transient RV'ers like ourselves.  We would definitely stay here again.  We even splurged and chose a site that included an mini dog park.  Parker and Maggie loved it!

There are many wineries and craft breweries in Door County.  One day we visited Door 44 Winery in Sturgeon Bay.  The unique name comes from being located on the 44 parallel, where coincidently our home town is also located on in NY.  

Another day we ventured to Egg Harbor for some shopping and lunch at One Barrel Brewing. We sampled an IPA and an excellent home made margarita pizza.  

On the way back to the campground we stopped at Schartner Farmers Market, a small locally owned country store full of local products, including maple syrup, produce, and all kinds of things cherry.  We picked up a home made cherry pie.  

Thus ends our 3 day stay in Door County.  So, did it live up to the hype?  Absolutely.  However,  3 full days is not enough time.  Maybe break it into a couple of 3 day stays,  one at the KOA, and another further north on the peninsula so there is less driving between destinations.  Just a thought.

On to the UP of Michigan tomorrow.