We are busily preparing for the upcoming trip, readying the farm and Buckeye Lake for our absence and tidying up the Roadtrek. Changed the sump pump at home to reduce the chances of failure while we are away and in the process discovered a sewer leak just outside the house and now am digging that out and fixing it.
Learned of a couple full timers who are very computer savvy as it applies to campers ... called Geeks On Tour ... and their tutorials on using computers, blogs, Google Maps, smartphones, etc while on the road are really helpful. They are making things a lot easier for us to plan, enjoy, and record our travels .... and they are inspiring me to put a lot more info into these blogs as well as making them more fun for us and maybe more interesting to you.
One of my newly found treasures is how to insert a map or our itinerary or where we have been into the blog. since Google owns the blog and the maps, the two interface in unbelievable ways. The map below shows the trip as planned but will undoubtedly change as we modify it on the fly. Our route is colored and placemarks show places of interest and where we stay. Now it is our projected itinerary but I will modify it as we go so when we get to each destination it will show the places and route we actually took. You can click on the map and zoom in or out, maybe even to street level, to see as much detail as you wish. If you click on a placemark there may be more information that I have included... maybe a pic or a link with more info. Or you could go to Google Earth and actually see the views we are enjoying. Not that you will do any of this but the capabilities of Google are almost scary.
View Fall Trip 2013 Overview in a larger map
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Michigan Dunes 8/4/13
Sunday, this is our 35th wedding anniversary RV trip. Tonight we celebrated our rehearsal dinner of 35 years ago at McDonald's and then to Dairy Queen!
Monday is our 35th wedding anniversary. This year's wedding breakfast was at Bob Evans--shared the "farmer's breakfast special"--we went all out! Off to hike the sand dunes and see Lake Michigan with Bailey. Met a couple who were doing "geo-caching"--they had done 1600 of them and were going to "convention" party in Wisconsin and doing 60 in 2 days! Really fun talking to them. Lots of sand in our shoes! You have to pay a fee to get your car into State Parks in Indiana and Michigan. We are east of Chicago now and traveling up the west coast of Michigan. Lots of National forests here--very scenic!
Tuesday we drove to St Joseph, Michigan and stopped at park there. Went on bike trail, picnic on the beach--great place. Drove on to Silver Lake State Park but stopped on the way to pick blackberries and red raspberries and bought peaches, cherries, and blueberries--$25 worth so we are eating a lot of berries! Silver Lake Park is on Silver Lake and Lake Michigan with huge dunes. Camping was $27 plus $8 car pass. Went to talk tonight about the dunes and the history of the MacWood dune ride--great talk! Going on a "dunes ride" tomorrow. Temperature has been in 70's (60's at night), very nice, some rain today but overall a great day.
Wednesday---Went to Mac Woods Dune buggy ride--it was terrific. The dunes were fantastic and right along Lake Michigan. Well worth the $17 trip--see pictures. Picnic in the woods, to wine tasting store, then to buy some great cherry strudel--cherries right off the tree. Then drove to Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground. It was THE BEST--only a few sites left by 6 pm--$9 for seniors--gorgeous sites, large and far apart. Walked to the dunes which were beautiful and watched the sunset and then campfire.
Thursday--Bike ride in the morning, to beach with Bailey--perfect day with kites flying. Not crowded--only beach around that allows dogs. This beach was like great Florida sand. Onto Ludington Pier which had 1/2 mile pier that we walked and lovely large deep beach. Skate board park right there was great fun to watch--all free. On to another National Forest--Benton Lake--not much to do here. We are stopping overnight on way home. Nice campfire, great dinner, sweet dog and two retirees--how lucky we are to be able to do this. Home tomorrow and planning the next trip.
Would go straight to Sliver Lake and Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground next time--can make reservations.
Monday is our 35th wedding anniversary. This year's wedding breakfast was at Bob Evans--shared the "farmer's breakfast special"--we went all out! Off to hike the sand dunes and see Lake Michigan with Bailey. Met a couple who were doing "geo-caching"--they had done 1600 of them and were going to "convention" party in Wisconsin and doing 60 in 2 days! Really fun talking to them. Lots of sand in our shoes! You have to pay a fee to get your car into State Parks in Indiana and Michigan. We are east of Chicago now and traveling up the west coast of Michigan. Lots of National forests here--very scenic!
Tuesday we drove to St Joseph, Michigan and stopped at park there. Went on bike trail, picnic on the beach--great place. Drove on to Silver Lake State Park but stopped on the way to pick blackberries and red raspberries and bought peaches, cherries, and blueberries--$25 worth so we are eating a lot of berries! Silver Lake Park is on Silver Lake and Lake Michigan with huge dunes. Camping was $27 plus $8 car pass. Went to talk tonight about the dunes and the history of the MacWood dune ride--great talk! Going on a "dunes ride" tomorrow. Temperature has been in 70's (60's at night), very nice, some rain today but overall a great day.
Wednesday---Went to Mac Woods Dune buggy ride--it was terrific. The dunes were fantastic and right along Lake Michigan. Well worth the $17 trip--see pictures. Picnic in the woods, to wine tasting store, then to buy some great cherry strudel--cherries right off the tree. Then drove to Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground. It was THE BEST--only a few sites left by 6 pm--$9 for seniors--gorgeous sites, large and far apart. Walked to the dunes which were beautiful and watched the sunset and then campfire.
Thursday--Bike ride in the morning, to beach with Bailey--perfect day with kites flying. Not crowded--only beach around that allows dogs. This beach was like great Florida sand. Onto Ludington Pier which had 1/2 mile pier that we walked and lovely large deep beach. Skate board park right there was great fun to watch--all free. On to another National Forest--Benton Lake--not much to do here. We are stopping overnight on way home. Nice campfire, great dinner, sweet dog and two retirees--how lucky we are to be able to do this. Home tomorrow and planning the next trip.
Would go straight to Sliver Lake and Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground next time--can make reservations.
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