#9. On the Road Home

As we wind down the trip and head for home, we are noticing fewer and fewer campers. Here at P J Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon, there were only a handful of us.

Of course, since our trip is coming to an end, the weather in the next few days is going to be the best we have had in the last month. Oh, wellll…..

One nice thing about traveling is that there is always something new or different to see or do. Probably our most unique experience on this trip occurred this week in Muskegon where we had an excellent dining experience at the Culinary Institute of Michigan, a school for those wanting to pursue the food service business. They have a fine dining restaurant fully staffed by students. We had some tasty dishes, including the appetizer shown - dates with creamy gorgonzola topped with a toasted walnut and a thin strip of sugared bacon and a drizzle of raspberry sauce. 

Idgy and Rosie have never been good buddies, but with the close quarters in the RV, it sometimes looked almost like they were.

Our last stop in Michigan is Berrien Springs, where the city operates a campground along the St. Joseph river. We are camped about 100 feet from this swift river. Mornings have afforded some spectacular color on the trees and reflected in the water. This photo does not do the colors justice - they are even more vivid!

Today we visited the Fernwood gardens, and were pleased to find that they waived our entrance fee with our Morton Arboretum pass. The garden is comprised of about 8 acres with many exhibits of trees, plants, and sculpture.   They were featuring a special exhibit when we visited - a railroad garden with several "O" gage trains running on it.  All of the miniature buildings are replicas of existing buildings. This photo shows a trolley passing over a bridge. 

Have you ever SMELLED a field of grapes?  Driving through vineyard after vineyard, we did just that.  Speaking to the owner of a U-Pick grape stand, we learned that the fragrance came from the Concord grapes, which will be harvested in the next week or so.  We could see great big bunches of them hanging from the vines, whose leaves have begun to brown.  It's neat to be out walking around among rows and rows of grapevines, and cutting whatever bunch you like the look of (80 cents per lb.). We wound up with a couple of pounds of Vanessa seedless grapes to bring home; I think we probably ate a couple of pounds straight off the vine, too!

What better place to finish our trip off than with a visit to an ice cream shop in New Buffalo called "Oinks"? On the recommendation of our friend, Ann, we gave it a try and were not disappointed at all.

You know, the return trip home is always shorter than the trip out. Maybe that is because you have people that you want to see sooooo bad. For us, one of those is our almost 9 month old granddaughter, Anna, and her brothers. Who wouldn't want to get back home to give a big hug to this little sweetie?

Well, bye for now. And thanks for travelin' with us. Its been great fun!

Anne & John

#8. Headin' South

When you are RV-ing, you have to improvise pretty often, and this trip was no exception. One of the first issues we had was when we realized that we forgot to bring the battery charger for the camera! It turns out that you can charge one battery with another - from the rechargable drill in this case. Why do we have a drill on board? Don’t ask……..

Leaving Sleeping Bear Dunes, we drove through the countryside, and saw some great color.  However, only about 25% of the woodland trees have colored up, and the farther south we drive, the less color is evident.   From the road we were able to see a great number of orchards, some having already been harvested and others with trees overloaded with bright red apples.  There were many small roadside fruit stands, unmanned, with payment on the honor system.

  

Camping in Manistee at the Little River Casino Campground, we were able to make our donation to the native Americans in the area. The campground was convenient to the town, and had all the amenities, including a great internet connection! The town of Manistee prides itself for its Victorian architecture, and a surprising number of older buildings are scattered throughout the town. In addition to a farmer’s market we went to a neat little museum housed in a former hardware / drugstore building. They had preserved an amazing number of artifacts and old photos of the area in their relatively small space. 

A drive through the hilly countryside was a nice way to spend the afternoon. In one small town, we found the "bottle house" The pic may not show it well, but the exterior is all bottles - the bottom facing outward!

We are camped in a state park in Muskegon now, and and are mostly recovered from shock of paying $41 for an out of stater’s night camping in a state park – camping fee + RV fee + car fee! Pretty pricey for a mostly plane jane camping spot, but the summer beach activities warrant the cost, probably.

#7 A Fish Story

You can pretty much be sure that a National Park will be a special place, and its no different for a National Seashore. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore stretches for about six miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline and is comprised of a variety of coastal topography, the most striking of which are the 450+ foot tall sand dunes right next to the lake.  Forests, open fields and scenic shorelines add to the great scenery. Unfortunately for us, the cloudy weather and some rain has diminished our experience here.

What hasn’t been diminished is the fishing, because the fishermen seem to be everywhere. The fishing is very good this year, and we wanted to learn more about it by visiting the nearby Platte River State Fish Hatchery, the largest one in Michigan. With several acres along the Platte River, the Hatchery offers a self guided tour that starts at the Visitor Center and has many interesting exhibits describing the various aspects of  the fish and fishing in Michigan.  

 Since the hatchery is where many of the Coho and Chinook salmon were hatched and spent about a year, its where they return to spawn. Some are diverted from swimming upstream by a barrier called a weir, and the eggs and milt (sperm) are harvested at the hatchery. More eggs are harvested at the fish weir near our campground, which is on the Platte river.

 Most interesting was watching the many fish and their pursuers along the Betsie River at a dam.  State law requires that fishermen must be at least 100 feet downstream from the dam – 100 yards at the weir.

 Large and smaller Chinook and Coho were jumping like mad to clear the dam and get upstream, some 4 or 5 feet into the air. 

We saw several fish hooked, but none actually caught. However, three or four fisherman were dragging their limit of 5 fish back to their cars. 

These are big fish, mostly over 2 feet long and heavier than20 pounds. We did see a chinook caught when we went to another spot where the Platte empties out into Lake Michigan.  

Interestingly, we asked a number of locals where we might be able to purchase a salmon steak for the grill, and were told that roadside or other vendors sometimes sell salmon, but we found none.  We also received conflicting advice about the suitablilty of the salmon for eating at this time of the year; some said it was unpalatable and others said it was fine. We, and the cats, were disappointed……….

#6. Music House Museum and BMX Racing

One of the attractions near Traverse City that we wanted to see is the Music House Museum. A small museum that started with a local architect’s collection, the Music House specializes in antique automated musical instruments ranging from small music boxes to their showpiece, a gigantic dance hall organ which is 30 feet wide and nearly as tall. Built in 1922 in Antwerp, Belgium it is one of only a handful of these organs still in existence and fully operational. It plays more than 2000 dance tunes and light classics – all by itself!

Visitors to the museum are conducted by knowledgeable guides, volunteers who take you on a two hour stroll through the musical the past.

All instruments are operational and short selections give the visitor a true sense of what entertainment was like before radio, TV and CD players. This 1938 juke box has five instruments, all choreographed by the paper roll.

A theater organ that was manufactured in 1944 and is still used today to accompany silent films occasionally played at the museum.

Many specialty players, such as the Mills’ Violano-Virtuoso that plays a violin and 44 key piano were demonstrated. This all-electric instrument had 26 patents and it was declared one of the eight greatest inventions of the new century when it was displayed in 1909. Can you see the rollers that act as the bow and the many fingers?

Many other early Victrolas, radios, and juke boxes are on display for visitors to see at their leisure.

A BMX bicycle track was on the 4H Fairgrounds where we stayed for several days. Around 6pm on Saturday we walked from our campsite over to the 800 foot long track and were amazed to see scores of cars and many eager riders assembled for their last meet of the season. And guess what? This is the 3^rd best attended BMX track in the US, just behind one in California that has a lot longer season.

The age range surprised us – from 3-year-olds on pedal-less bikes practicing their balance skills (fully helmeted!) to a 43 year old local bar manager, who is ranked 15^th nationally. Also at the meet was the nationally top ranked 15 year old girl. The oldest age group that races is 55+. 

With the different age, gender and skill ranges represented, this sport has a much wider appeal than we realized.

Topping off our 5 day stay in Traverse City, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.

What's next?

#5 Traverse City

When we arrived in Traverse City we were quite surprised at how big the city is.  We are staying about 10 miles from the downtown and lakefront, and are still in the city proper. Of course, its not so populated around the area where we are, which is - you guessed it - another county fairgrounds! We liked the last one so much that we decided to try this one too. Its got 50 amps power, and lots of open space.

Tomorrow is a a horse show show and BMX bike race on a special track they have behind the park. We took Duffy for a walk around all the buildings on the property and were thinking about what a lot of activity was going on here during the 4H fair when all 135 campsites are filled. 

Travis City is quite the tourist city with a huge variety of dining and shops along the lakefront area. Taking a drive along one of the peninsulas that are on either side of the city, Old Mission, we saw a lot of great lakefront scenery and a number of wineries, and, of course, many nice homes and mansions along the lakefront too. The lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula was just that – a house with a light atop it! About 100 yards offshore is the 45^th parallel – the circumferential line about the earth that is just half way between the equator and the North Pole.  Hard to believe we are still that far from the pole!

Stopping for lunch at a small local grocery store offering some prepared items, we had a great lunch of roast chicken, broccoli raisin salad, and roasted and marinated artichokes. Delicious!!

Probably because the vineyards grow best on hillsides, wineries seem to offer the best countryside scenery you can find, and Chateau Chantal was no disappointment. In addition to tasting and purchasing some of their excellent wine, we enjoyed the great scenery overlooking their fields.

In addition to visiting every thrift shop in the City, we visited Moomers Ice Cream Shop yesterday. Its known for winning the best ice cream in America award on Good Morning America in 2010. 

It was goooooood!

#4 Another Day, Another Zoo - and a Necklace

Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo is small, or you could charitably call it compact. Due to light showers and the kids being back in school, we practically had the place to ourselves, which was really neat.

Although small in size, the animals are housed in an open setting such that you can view almost every one without obstruction or through glass. We were able to get physically closer to many animals than ever before.

Most of  the exhibits were well done, and gave the animals adequate space and a natural habitat.

Except for the small aquarium and tropical building, all of the animals were outdoors; their indoor habitat was off limits.  Overall, the John Ball Zoo provided us with a pleasant experience and a chance to get up really close to our wild – or almost wild – friends in the animal world.

Our sister in law, Jane, makes hand crafted earrings, necklaces, and pendants that she sells at local craft fairs. They are quite attractive and we thought you might enjoy seeing them. Some of the pendants and earrings are made of hammered aluminum wire, and some of them are embellished with glass beads.  

In other cases, Jane has recycled old dominoes into painted and stamped pendants.  

Other necklaces are made of glass beads entwined with crocheted silver  plated wire.  

Jane sells her items at local farmers markets and craft fairs. Want One?

She’s one talented lady, isn't she?