MI to MA (07-19-19)

Having secured reservations for the weekend of July 4, we could relax and enjoy the journey, so to speak.  We arrived at the Muskegon county park, in Michigan, right down the street from gorgeous Lake Michigan, and promptly walked to the beach.




I didn't get any pictures that do this lake justice, partially because I didn't bother, and partly because the lake water levels are at near record high, which means there is more debris and mud than usual. Still gorgeous, unsalted, and warm though!







Our July 4th was spent in the small town of Montague.  We know we are spoiled as far as fireworks go, and after this display we were thinking we could have skipped it.  Little did we know that two nights later, we could have been at the best fireworks display that Michigan has to offer- in Bay City MI. Unfortunately we found out about it when we saw it live on T.V.  Oh well.






This campground had no availability for the night of July 5, so we packed up and moved to a different, nearby county park.  With temperatures in the mid 90s, we were anxious to get there and get the AC working.   Well, best laid plans and all.....

 We plugged in at the post, and our power management system promptly shut our system down.  Tried it again- no joy.  Paul got out his meter and long story short, there was Too Much power coming from the post -132 volts. We reported to the office, and went looking for another open spot, to see if it was better.  Nope.




Along the way, we met a neighbor, who happened to be a lineman for the county.  He checked the power at HIS post and immediately unplugged his rig.  He called his buddies, and within an hour there were 4 bucket trucks in the park to figure out the problem. By then we had decided we couldn't wait it out, so we left.




"Luckily", our next destination had lots of room, so we just went there early. Its pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so there wasn't much to do while we waited for our tour of the Avalon and Tahoe Manufacturing facility.

We did make a day trip to the town of Bay City, walked along the riverfront and tried to get to a beach so we could get a glimpse of Lake Huron. Seems like most of the water frontage is privately owned, so we didn't get to see much of the lake.

Paul did get some ideas at the park where we walked...

Avalon is the brand of pontoon boat that we have.

















The facility in Michigan where it was built gives private tours, upon request.  We made an appointment and got a pretty interesting tour .

Paul had several questions, and of course, several suggestions for them.









While we had some free time, we made some plans for the rest of our route to Boston.
Our first major stop was Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. With only one day to explore, we did some research and came up with two hikes that we could do in one day.

Our first hike was through and around the Ritchie Ledges.

Interesting rock formations made for an interesting hike.












The park, in part, showcases the history of the canal system- we checked out the visitor center in between hikes but were more focused on being outside

Our second hike was to Brandywine Falls. This is a popular, well used trail, so we were definitely not alone.

From Ohio to New York, we made our next destination Letchworth State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the East.  We have hiked here before, and really didn't have much time this time around, but we did manage a two mile walk along the Genessee River.

Once we head through New York towards Massachusetts, campgrounds become pretty scarce. We had to drive pretty far one day to find somewhere to stay.


And then, one day later, we arrived in Massachusetts, just in time for the wedding of our friends Linda and Alan.













As Alexander McCall Smith said " You can go through life and make friends every year- every month practically- but there was never any substitute for  those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years."


 That felt so true as my friends and I posed for a group photo.  We have all know each other since the age of 5- more than 50 years!

The following week was spent visiting family and friends....lots of dinners-

And although we had plans to play miniature golf with my family, the high temperatures turned it into a bowling outing.  My hips wonder what the heck I was thinking!














On Saturday we moved from the campground to my brother's back yard, where our vehicles will be stored for the next 6 weeks.














Tally Ho- my next post will hopefully be made from London, England!

A Last Hurrah (05-11-15)

Over the last 6 years, we have had numerous reasons to travel to Michigan on a regular basis- pretty much every year- and sometimes more than once a year.  When we started on the road, our doctors were here.  Gradually we have moved on to doctors in other states.  For several years our daughter lived in either Michigan or nearby Indiana.  She has since moved to California.


And then of course,  our “stuff” has been stored here- both the boat and our household goods- but of course- not for long.

Over the last week or so, we have been spending time with our friends, getting caught up on all the news.  It was bittersweet.  It was pretty evident to everyone that we won’t be coming back to Michigan on a regular basis anymore.  Not that we won’t ever come- we love the Traverse City area and the Upper Peninsula- but we will have no reason to come here on a yearly basis.  So, we have invited all our friends out to visit us in Havasu! 

In between the visits, we have continued organizing the storage unit. On Monday, several moving companies came to look at our stuff and give us quote.  They were impressed with our packing job. We had thought we would spend all day Tuesday re-combining our stuff back into the one unit, but we actually finished doing that on Monday!


So, Tuesday morning we packed up and blew out of town.
Before we could load up the boat and camper, we had to put the hitch on.  Look at the size of that thing!  It has to be that long to accommodate the length of the camper.










The next step is to load up the camper, which is always a fun job.   I will say though, we are starting to get the hang of it. You can see the hitch sticking out the back.












The final step was to hook up the boat.  He had taken just the boat for a short trip to make sure the brakes and lights work.











And so now, we are back on the road for the long trek home. My daughter asked me if it felt weird saying we were going “home” and it really does, but not in a bad way, just weird.

Digging In (05-07-15)

Once the boat was settled it was time to dig in to the storage unit.   


Our first stop was the office at the storage center, where we discovered that the unit across the hall from ours is available, so $90 later, we had a place to throw a bunch of our stuff so we could dig deeper into the unit.








It was pretty convenient, and quite a time saver, to have a place so close by to put our stuff.

As we made our way towards the back we had to think about our stuff, and whether we would have a spot for it at the new house.  It was a sometimes painful process because anything we didn't care about was discarded 6 years ago, when we went on the road.  So, anything that is left is something somewhat important to us.

Not everything made the cut, and we have made several trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army.  The barber chair stays, though. We’ll find someplace to put it!








 
Some items that seemed important to keep 6 years ago, now seem very old school and outdated and were donated.

There are things we come across that are bringing back a lot of memories, and are kept for that reason, even though we don’t need them. In the pre-automatic feeder days, Dozer, the Emmy award winning actor, would routinely score at least two, and sometimes three, dinners in a day.

I finally made this door hanger that we put on the closet door where his food was kept.  Whoever fed him dinner flipped the sign, and when he was fed breakfast it was flipped to the blank side.

When we packed the camper for this trip we tried to pack light, figuring there would be some items that either because of their fragility or their importance, or both, we would want to bring back with us. 

The original tailgate for the truck has been in storage since we bought the truck, and rather than try to pack it for shipping, we are bringing it with us.  Unfortunately we can’t keep it on the truck with the camper on, so it will ride in the back seat….

What else is coming with us?  Our jewelry, my keyboard, and the stain glass windows that Paul’s mom made for him years ago.  They are crated pretty well, but we are going to see if we can incorporate them into the house while it’s being built.

One of the things that has made life easier is that we were very organized when we stored everything 6 years ago.  Every box was labeled with a number, and a master list was created with a list of all the contents.  We knew we would probably be having things shipped, so most things were crated or packaged with that in mind.  That sure has helped keep our stress levels down!










We’ve contacted several major moving companies and on Monday they will be coming to look at our stuff and give us an estimate on the move.

Michigan Road Trip-Days 3,4, and 5(05-03-15)

Day 3

Elk City, Oklahoma to St. Clair, Missouri

( 550 miles)

Yup, we drove, and drove and drove.  All day. The most exciting thing that happened all day was that Dozer calmed down and started sleeping all day…




We did have a little frustration at the end of the day.  When we were all tuckered out and ready to call it quits, we headed to an Elks Lodge that has one RV spot.  We  didn't call ahead since we figured if the one spot was taken, we'd just dry camp for the night.  Well, the one spot was taken and the parking lot was sooooo sloped, we couldn't find a spot that we could set up the camper!  Wow, now that is sloped!  We had to drive another 15 miles or so to get to the local state park.

Day 4

St. Clair, Missouri to Fremont, IN

( 454 miles)

Today’s exciting observation was signs of spring- the bright, vibrant green of new leaves on the trees…




Later in the day we started to feel like we were on home territory, as we passed Ball State University in Muncie Indiana.  Our daughter went to college there and we spent many a day driving to and from this school, back in the day.





  We almost made it all the way to our destination on day 4, but when we called the RV park we want to stay in, they were closed for the day and we couldn't confirm availability, and since we would have been really pushing it, and arriving at 8 pm, we decided to call it a day.

Day 5

  Fremont, IN to Ypsilanti, MI

( 121 miles)

This is more like the travel day that we are used to….as fulltimers, we usually adhere to the 2-2-2 rule; travel no more than 200 miles, arrive by 2 pm, and stay 2 nights.  In other words, slow down the pace. When we are on a “mission” that doesn't happen, and we can, if necessary, travel as fast as possible.  But we don’t like it.

Once we arrived at the RV park, we checked in, and got permission to take the camper off the truck. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but some parks require you to keep a truck camper on the truck and many parks don’t allow truck campers at all.

Notice that although yesterday we had trees full of new leaves, in Michigan, spring hasn’t really sprung yet, and the trees barely have buds on them.

Our first priority is the boat.  Come hell or high water, it’s coming back to Arizona with us, and since it’s been sitting for so many years, we need to check the trailer, tires and brakes.

We remember that we packed it full of stuff-we vaguely remember that the yard rakes are in there, but we have no idea what else is under the shrink-wrap, and it isn't worth removing it just to take a peek.

After giving it a couple of test laps around the parking lot, Paul deemed it road worthy and we took it back to the campground with us so he can finish working on it there. 

That’s one less thing we are paying to store!

That was enough excitement for one day so we put off going to the storage unit for another time.

Road Trip to Michigan (04-29-15)

One of our conversations with  Wes, our house builder, was regarding when we would have a free 3 week block of time that we wouldn’t need to be in Havasu for the build of the house.  His answer?  “Right Now.” 




So, we took a deep breath, spent a full 12 hours fixing up and packing up the camper, and left Lake Havasu City 3 days ago.

Michigan is where our jet boat and household goods are being stored. Of course we are antsy to pick up the boat, so we can start using it on the lake, but we also need to organize our storage unit.  Its been 6 years since we stored everything and went on the road.  Although we packed most things with the assumption that they might land in a moving van, we have since pawed through many of the boxes and they are now somewhat discombobulated.

We may also try to cull out what we don’t want, although we really did that 6 years ago, so we aren’t sure we’ll be able to ditch much.  Also on the agenda: check all boxes to make sure tape is holding up, and contact moving companies.  We are hoping that the next time we come, we can fly, and not drive.

We’ll have 3 to 4 weeks to make this trek, which is about 4100 miles round trip.

 

A little of this, a little of that (09-09-13)

That’s about what we’ve been up to.  We finished our visit to the Novi area with some doctor visits.  Nothing but good news, and that’s always nice!


Anyone who has been in my trailer for the last few days may be wondering why we have a sleeping bag on the couch.  Well, we are bringing it to California for our daughter, and as soon as I brought it in and put it down, Dozer decided to make a nest in it.  Once he finds a new “place”, he sleeps there for about a week, and since I am sooo nice, I am leaving it there until he gets tired of it.




 

Once we had the doctor appointments out of the way, we headed across the state to a mini DRV Suites rally. We went to this rally last year and really enjoyed the people, so we made a point to get there again this year.

We had several potluck dinners and breakfasts, and went out to dinner one night at a nearby casino.   The weather was just about perfect for  hanging around outside all weekend long. With a small group, you get a chance to get to know people a little better.  Different combinations of people would be lounging by the fire at any given time, which made for smaller, more intimate conversations.

And of course, part of the fun of these rallies is checking out everyone else’s rig.  One of the potential consequences of that pastime is the creation of envy.  More about that later. 

Last year Paul and I played tennis at the single tennis court this RV park has, and this year we headed over there again, hoping to shed at least a half pound or so after eating for 3 days.  We were confused once we started playing because something about the court just didn’t seem right.  Somehow it felt Way Too Small.  As it turns out, they turned the one tennis court into two pickle ball courts.  A pickle ball court is about 2/3 the size of a tennis court.  After a few minutes of accidently backing up into the fence, we gave it up and headed for the pool and hot tub.

   Once the rally was over, we headed down to Howe Indiana to the DRV factory, where our trailer was made. 

Since we were pretty close anyway, we wanted to take the factory tour and see what’s new. Some of the new things they are doing is putting garbage disposals and dishwashers in the new units. I guess that would be nice, but neither is on my Wish List.











Pretty much everyone who has met Paul knows he loves lights- especially LEDs.  He definitely gave the thumbs up to the new LED recessed lights that are being put in the new units.

But in the back of his mind was something he had seen in someone else’s trailer at the rally, and that’s what we were carrying when we walked out the door of DRV. Because nothing is too good for our trailer- Paul is in the process of installing a brand new electric toilet!   Ok, it’s not that exciting, but it will be (or better be, for the price we paid!)  less frustrating to use and maintain than the one we have. Having the positive feedback from current owners was the tipping point on this purchase.

So, that’s what he is working on today.  We’ll stay in the Howe Indiana area for a couple of days while he gets that installed and we do some other shopping.  After that, we’ll meander towards New Mexico, but we haven’t even discussed the route we’ll take, or what we want to see along the way. All I know is that after all this eating,  I want to do some hiking.

60,000 Miles (09-02-13)

It’s hard to believe the truck has 60,000 miles on it, but it does, and it was time to buy a new set of tires.  That’s just one of quite a few chores we’ve been taking care of in Michigan.  It’s one of the more expensive chores though. Ouch.  Paul is pretty happy with the new Michelins, so that’s a consolation, I suppose..

The guy who runs the storage lot where we store our jet boat called us a couple of months ago to tell us there is a hole in the shrink wrap, so we drove over, patched the hole, and headed on our way. One of these days we’d love to figure out a way to get the boat to Arizona, or somewhere else where we could use it!

Our next stop was our storage unit where we keep our household goods.  We passed by our old house on the way there.  It’s a nice house, but we sure don’t miss all the “stuff” that goes along with house ownership!








 

Digging into our storage unit usually requires us to toss a bunch of stuff into the hallway.  We always hope no one will need to get past us while we are there.

I know most of our full timing friends sold all of their household goods, and every year Paul and I reassess whether it’s worth paying for another year of storage, and every year the answer is yes, so I guess this works for us at this point.

The RV Park we’re staying in had a yard sale on Saturday, and everyone could put stuff out that they wanted to sell.  We took advantage and grabbed a bunch of stuff from storage to sell off.  Some of it is our daughter’s stuff, and she was happy to make a few dollars (without having to do the work!)  We did ok- the most important thing being that we got rid of stuff that we don’t need or want anymore. 

Paul is using some of the “down time” to make some changes to the valances on the windows.  Me, I just make sure I’m close by to hold up the other end for him. 

In between chores, we’ve managed to spend time with friends!  There’s never enough time to see everyone, and I hardly ever remember to get the camera out, so I have very few pictures. Mason was very happy to have his picture taken in between his attempts to entertain the cat though.  I was still working with his mom, Pennie, when she became pregnant with him, but we were gone before he was born. We've seen him several times since then though!

The next few days will be full of other "stuff" that needs to get done before we leave here (hopefully) on Friday.