Well, it's been a while since we've had internet access; so that explains the absence of blog postings for more than a week. Now we're in Hinckley, MN at our first 'RV Resort'. Quite a difference from the 'shaky' operation of most 'campgrounds'... and even RV Parks. Everything is very organized here at the Grand Casino RV Resort! Great sites and great amenities. The casino even provides a 24 hour shuttle that picks up (every fifteen minutes) right at our motorhome. We have a lighted address post with a red flag (just like a mailbox), and if the flag is up, the shuttle stops. We arrived in Hinckley yesterday - a day early. We had only planned a short overnight stop at the local Wal-Mart; but we cut our planned two-day stay in Bayfield down to a day, and decided to opt for a little luxury... but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
We drove from Sault Ste. Marie, MI to Mackinac Island, MI as planned on July 3. The island is only an hour away, and we were anxious to return to Mackinac. As always we took the Shepler's ferry, and the service was great. Drop the car and bags and bikes at the dock, and everything else is automatic; baggage and bikes are loaded on the boat, and the valet parks the car in a secured parking lot. All we needed to do was board!
When we arrived at Mackinac Island and disembarked, we were greeted by Glen, the Windermere Hotel porter. It's been six years since our last visit, but Glen has a great memory, and asked how the B&B was doing. We filled him in on our most recent life changes. Although we were a few hours early for check-in, he informed us our room was ready and that our bags would be waiting there for us. We made the short walk (about a block) to the hotel, and were greeted by Margaret Doud, the proprietress (and also the mayor of Mackinac Island). We were a bit surprised, but she too remembered us. Not sure why everyone was waiting for us, but we were feeling quite welcome for our stay at the island.
Wasting no time, we did a quick 'freshen-up', and then grabbed our bikes for a ride around the island. The trip is pleasant. The round-the-island ride is only 8 1/2 miles, and it's all flat and the road is right next to Lake Huron. The weather was mid-70s, and everything couldn't have been better. Even our traditional stop at The Cannonball at British Landing for a snack and a drink was perfect. There must be new owners, because the food was actually better than remembered.
While taking some island photos, we met Becky - a fellow traveler. She's making nearly the identical trip to our Bounder Across America journey, and doing it in about the same time frame. But one difference. She's doing it in reverse. Becky's a bit more of a bare-bones camper than we are. She's tent camping with only her dog for company. (Her children expect she'll give up and go home early. But after speaking with her - we don't think so!) We wish her luck and a safe journey, and hope she visits our blog to stay in touch.
In the evening we headed to our favorite island restaurant, The Village Inn, for 'planked' whitefish. The fish is baked and served on a hot piece of lumber, surrounded by yummy garlic mashed potatoes (squirted from a pastry chef's tube) and fresh vegetables. Even though the bicycle ride wasn't overly strenuous, we were both tired, and so after a half hour on the Windermere's porch, watching the world pass by, we headed to bed.
On the 4th we headed to Murdick's and Ryba's for some fresh fudge (and to complete the orders we'd received from friends and family), and then enjoyed watching the annual stone-skipping competition and old-fashioned children's games (climb the greased pole, hunt for pennies in the sawdust, sack race, etc.). At 'tea' time we took a horse-drawn cab up to the Grand Hotel, and spent a couple of hours listening to the harpist while enjoying their high-tea service. At around 10pm we followed the crowd going down main street for a 2 block walk to where the fireworks were to be displayed on Lake Huron. From where we sat, we could see not only Mackinac Island's display, but also the fireworks from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. After another short stay on the porch it was again time for bed.
We drove from Sault Ste. Marie, MI to Mackinac Island, MI as planned on July 3. The island is only an hour away, and we were anxious to return to Mackinac. As always we took the Shepler's ferry, and the service was great. Drop the car and bags and bikes at the dock, and everything else is automatic; baggage and bikes are loaded on the boat, and the valet parks the car in a secured parking lot. All we needed to do was board!
When we arrived at Mackinac Island and disembarked, we were greeted by Glen, the Windermere Hotel porter. It's been six years since our last visit, but Glen has a great memory, and asked how the B&B was doing. We filled him in on our most recent life changes. Although we were a few hours early for check-in, he informed us our room was ready and that our bags would be waiting there for us. We made the short walk (about a block) to the hotel, and were greeted by Margaret Doud, the proprietress (and also the mayor of Mackinac Island). We were a bit surprised, but she too remembered us. Not sure why everyone was waiting for us, but we were feeling quite welcome for our stay at the island.
Wasting no time, we did a quick 'freshen-up', and then grabbed our bikes for a ride around the island. The trip is pleasant. The round-the-island ride is only 8 1/2 miles, and it's all flat and the road is right next to Lake Huron. The weather was mid-70s, and everything couldn't have been better. Even our traditional stop at The Cannonball at British Landing for a snack and a drink was perfect. There must be new owners, because the food was actually better than remembered.
While taking some island photos, we met Becky - a fellow traveler. She's making nearly the identical trip to our Bounder Across America journey, and doing it in about the same time frame. But one difference. She's doing it in reverse. Becky's a bit more of a bare-bones camper than we are. She's tent camping with only her dog for company. (Her children expect she'll give up and go home early. But after speaking with her - we don't think so!) We wish her luck and a safe journey, and hope she visits our blog to stay in touch.
In the evening we headed to our favorite island restaurant, The Village Inn, for 'planked' whitefish. The fish is baked and served on a hot piece of lumber, surrounded by yummy garlic mashed potatoes (squirted from a pastry chef's tube) and fresh vegetables. Even though the bicycle ride wasn't overly strenuous, we were both tired, and so after a half hour on the Windermere's porch, watching the world pass by, we headed to bed.
On the 4th we headed to Murdick's and Ryba's for some fresh fudge (and to complete the orders we'd received from friends and family), and then enjoyed watching the annual stone-skipping competition and old-fashioned children's games (climb the greased pole, hunt for pennies in the sawdust, sack race, etc.). At 'tea' time we took a horse-drawn cab up to the Grand Hotel, and spent a couple of hours listening to the harpist while enjoying their high-tea service. At around 10pm we followed the crowd going down main street for a 2 block walk to where the fireworks were to be displayed on Lake Huron. From where we sat, we could see not only Mackinac Island's display, but also the fireworks from St. Ignace and Mackinaw City. After another short stay on the porch it was again time for bed.
Saturday we headed back to the mainland, with only a small glitch. Our luggage didn't arrive on the boat with us. After a call back to the Windermere we learned that our delayed luggage would arrive on the next ferry (along with a few items we'd neglected to clear out of the dresser drawer in our room). Then it was back to Sault Ste. Marie... and more Lake Michigan Steamers passing our motorhome as they make their way up and down from the Soo Locks. We never tire from seeing this activity - right outside our window!
Late in the afternoon, Glen was outside making a small repair to the windshield washers on the motorhome when someone called out: "Don't we know you from Gulf Shores?" What a surprise. Our neighbors in Alabama, Red and Eleanor were taking an afternoon stroll in the RV park at Sault Ste. Marie. It seems they've stayed there many times, and our paths just happened to cross. What a small world.
Sunday morning we packed up and headed across Michigan's Upper Peninsula for our stopover at a Wal-Mart in Marquette, MI. What can I say. Whatever else you might think about Wal-Mart, they never fail to make us feel welcome when we need a convenient place to stop for the night. (In this case, the parking lot looked a bit like an RV park when we arrived.) We picked what we thought would be a quiet spot. And it was... until a refrigerated truck parked right next to us (with his refrigerator compressor going to beat the band). We moved across the lot, and had a good night's sleep.
Monday we again headed west, across the state of Michigan, to arrive in Bayfield, WI early in the evening.
The campground in Bayfield (Buffalo Bay Campground) has a wonderful location. It's right on the bay, with the Apostle Islands in full view across the water. But there's a problem. The park can best be described as 'rustic'. (Even though there are full hook-ups, there are a few things lacking. No wi-fi. No cable TV - or broadcast TV, for that matter. And no decorative landscaping. The sites are grassy, and I don't think that a single site in the park is on the level.)
Just a quick aside about the physics of RVs. For a trailer or a 5th wheel, off-kilter sites wouldn't pose much of a problem. But a motorhome is not the same. Trailers are naturally built to act like a lever across the fulcrum of the wheels. It's pretty easy to compensate for a site that's not very level. But a motorhome, with a set of wheels at each end, can only be minimally leveled. The jacks are more for stabilization than for leveling. So the two of us spent the night trying to keep from sliding from the back of the coach to the front. Glen (at his age) needs a few bathroom visits in the middle of the night, and he was afraid that he would lose his footing, and roll from the back of the coach right into the cab!! And every walk from the back of the coach to the front felt nearly aerobic! Well... OK, maybe it wasn't actually that bad. But the truth is, when you spend a night not-on-the-level, it can be just a little bit disorienting.
And so that's why we arrived in Hinckley, MN a day ahead of schedule. We are enjoying the stay here - with good wi-fi and 100 cable channels. (Bayfield had one tunable channel using our antenna.)
One more interesting note in the 'small world' department. When we arrived here in Hinckley and were able to see our e-mail, there was one waiting from our friends Richard and Geri (kindred 'snowbirds' from Gulf Shores). They live in Tennessee, but they were driving east, on an excursion across Michigan's upper peninsula, when they spied a Bounder motorhome pulling a gray car behind it, making its way west along US Hwy 2. They wrote to see if the Bounder might be us. IT WAS! Like I said... SMALL WORLD.
Now we'll soon be heading out to lift the flag on our address post, and then we can give the Grand Casino a run for their money!! (That's some kind of reverse psychology, I think!!)
Now we'll soon be heading out to lift the flag on our address post, and then we can give the Grand Casino a run for their money!! (That's some kind of reverse psychology, I think!!)
Donna's put together a Picasa photo album from this past week, and you can see what she's got in store at:
And don't forget to leave us a comment. It makes us happy to see that so many of you are enjoying our blog of Bounder Across America.
Donna & Glen
5 comments:
Those pictures of Mackinac Island make me want to go back! It looked like you had some great weather while you were there. BTW, we got our fudge today and it's great! Thanks a bunch.
Glen, Velvet and Evan
Hey! We got our fudge, too! maybe someday we can visit Mackinac Island with you. Now I know where you got the wonderful, welcoming and decorative flowery ideas for your B and B. Give Dave a big hug for us!
xxx
Noreen
I really enjoy reading about your trip. You certainly are taking it all in and more. How do you have all that energy! Enjoy, I know you are having fun.
Betty
Hi Bounders:
You're getting closer. Wait until you see the gorgeous flowers at your niece's house in Mequon, Wisconsin. Maybe we'll qualify for the "Picasso Album".
The pictures are gorgeous and reminded us that we need to visit the island soon.
See you soon!
Kathy/MM/Big Sis & Alan
Wow, the Mackinac pictures were wonderful. I've always loved my trips there too - and thanks for the picture of the pup on the boat. It was a cutie. And thanks again for the fudge from there. Looking forward to seeing you before too long - here in Colorado. Karen.
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