Settling Into Our New Home

The move out of the house was pretty quick, and we basically ended up just putting everything we thought we might need into the RV, at least temporarily, in a location where it wouldn’t move while we towed.

Of course, we probably brought too much, and we’ll continue to purge as we go along – LOL!  The big challenge for us – with 4 people in the RV – is staying organized and not letting it get too cluttered.  We have to remember to put things away when we’re done with them!

The main kitchen/living area is still pretty cluttered and disorganized (and we don’t even have recliners yet!!), but the master bedroom looks like home,

and Nicolas’ “Man Cave” is looking pretty good, too!

Tom and I are on vacation this week, so we’re not in a regular routine yet, but we have been trying to get some loose ends tied up from the move out of the house to the RV. 

Tom has been calling around for insurance – talking to our current provider, as well as GMAC, an agent that works out of General RV (a big RV dealer in MI), and Miller Insurance, who lots of RV-Dreamers use.  We’ve been learning a lot about insurance, total replacement cost, how much contents coverage we need, etc . . . more than we ever wanted to know!! 

I spent yesterday morning changing our address with various accounts, while the boys got started in school.  Their english classes started last week, we added math & history this week, and next week we’ll go to a full load.  We’re still working on establishing everybody’s “work space” in the RV – right now Nick is using the kitchen table, and Bryce is using my little coffee table that raises up to desk height.  It works pretty good, but I think I’m going to pick up a desk for Nick to use in the back.  I saw one in the Ikea catalog that will attach to the wall and folds down when not in use.  Of course, I’ll have to offset the added weight by taking something out!

It hasn’t all been work, though, and we enjoyed many of the Labor Day festivities here at the campground.  The sites are pretty roomy here,

and we have nothing behind us, so the boys have plenty of room for cornhole and other games.

The weather has been great, so we’ve spent quite a bit of time at the pool! 

It was really crowded on the weekend,

but after most people went home on Monday, we have it pretty much all to ourselves now!

Even Casey is enjoying herself – getting lots of attention!!

Leelanau Peninsula & Cathead Bay

We’ve been home for over a week already, and I’m just getting around to posting our last day’s adventures . . . oh well!

A family from the boys’ old school had arrived up north on Saturday, and we had hoped to be able to get together with them before we went home on Tuesday.  On Monday morning, they gave us a call, and we decided to take a drive up to the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula where they rent a cottage on Cathead Bay.

We drove through Glen Arbor, around Good Harbor Bay, and on up to Leland (aka “Fishtown”).

We’ve never been to Leland before, so we found a place to park the truck and walked around town checking out the little shops.  They had the typical touristy stuff – clothes, toys, ice cream and coffee shops.  We found a nice little local cherry foods shop (can’t remember the name of it!) and picked up a jar of cherry jalapeno salsa to bring to our friends.

From there, we wandered down to the Historic District and the harbor.

Tom talked to a couple of the charter boat captains and got the scoop on the charter fishing trips that they offer.  Typical morning trips yield about 100 lbs. of salmon . . . what the heck am I going to do with all that fish!!??!!  No time left during this trip, but maybe another year . . .

We saw lots of people walking around with big backpacks – serious backpacks! – and were a little confused, until we remembered that the ferry to the Manitou Islands leaves from right here in Leland.

We were all getting a little hungry, so we got hot dogs from the street vendor before getting back in the truck and continuing our trek northward.

We drove around Lake Leelanau, and past cherry orchards and wineries, and eventually came to Northport, the last town on the peninsula.  I was amazed to see that, all the way up here, miles from civilization, there was a high school.  That means people live here year-round . . . crazy!

Passing through town, we continued even further north!  We knew where we needed to turn (the last possible left turn on the peninsula), and yet we managed to drive right past it!  Straight ahead took us into Leelanau State Park, so we figured we’d drive through and take a look at the campsites.  There was just a single loop through the woods and along the beach in this rustic campground . . . definitely not big rig friendly (barely big truck friendly!), but would be a really nice place to camp in a tent or small trailer.

As long as we were there, we stopped to check out the lighthouse.

We didn’t go in the actual lighthouse,

but did check out the exhibits in the Fog Signal Building.

Can you see any ships out there, Bryce?!

There were several of these planters made from rocks throughout the park . . . I thought they were pretty cool!

Leaving the State Park, we made the turn onto Cathead Bay Rd., followed it through the woods, and out onto the sand, as a row of cottages came into view.

It’s really pretty out here, with a beautiful private beach . . .

. . .  total seclusion – no cell phone, no wifi . . . definitely a place to “get away from it all!”

Once we arrived at our friends’ cottage and said hello, the boys made a beeline for the chilly water,

as the adults took a walk along the lonely stretch of beach.  We eventually decided that the water looked too good to pass up, so we joined the kids for a swim . . . we didn’t last too long, though – it was chillier up here!

Hey, there’s that ship you were looking for, Bryce!

Back at the cottage, and in dry clothes, we caught up on what’s been happening in everybody’s lives as we snacked on chips and salsa.  While we sat visiting, the sun began to disappear as dark clouds rolled in over the lake . . . it looked like we were going to get a storm!

We packed up the towels and bathing suits and decided to head into Northport for some dinner.  After some debate, we decided to get pizza at the North End Grill, only to find it closing when we got there!  The backup plan was the Garage Bar, which turned out to be a pretty good choice . . . Tom had a whitefish sandwich and the boys and I all had pulled pork . . . YUM!

The rain started while we ate, and continued for our entire drive back home to the RV Park.  We had a really nice day, though, and the boys were glad to be able to spend some time with their friends!

August already???

 

We got a late start to our summer, and now it’s already time to start thinking about back-to-school, fall baseball, and planning our final camping trips of the year.  I can’t believe it’s almost here!

The boys are pretty much all set for school . . .

 

I just have to finalize Bryce’s foreign language, and help Nicolas find an elective.  We’re considering a course at Washtenaw Community College, but need to decide pretty quickly, and if he does take it, that locks us into staying local through December . . . even if (when!) the house sells . . . so that’s an additional factor to consider.  They both start their English classes before Labor Day, and Nicolas wants to get started early on Physics (since he didn’t finish Chemistry until July 1st this past year!), but other than that, we’ll probably wait until after the holiday weekend.

We’re still trying to decide where to go for the holiday weekend . . . should we go back to Silver Lake, or somewhere new . . . and trying to fit in another trip somewhere else, too.  The kids still want to go to Cedar Point again, but we’re not sure . . . now that I signed Bryce up for fall baseball (which starts the week after next), I need to see his schedule before I make any camping plans.

Tom called Newmar this week to schedule a service appointment, and the earliest we could get in the 2nd week of October.  Our convection microwave gave us the dreaded, mysterious F-5 error while we were baking cookies on our 1st trip this year.  We were able to clear it by turning off the circuit breaker for a few minutes, but got it again on this last trip and it wouldn’t reset.  I can’t even set the clock on the microwave anymore!  We also have a leak in our shower grey tank (when it gets full), which has already been replaced once before, so we need to have that looked at, too.  I guess we’ll see how the extended warranty works out.

We’ll probably plan on spending the whole week in Indiana, and hopefully get to spend a day or two in Shipshewana after our service work is complete.  Then . . . maybe I’ll even get to go on a quilt shop bus tour with my sisters!!

Of course, if Patrick finds a buyer for our house, all our plans could change . . . and I wouldn’t mind one bit!!  July has been pretty much a dud, but hopefully things will pick up now in August.

Waiting for a new family to move in!!

Platte River and the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail

Saturday, July 28th

It promised to be a gorgeous day, with highs in the 80s and plenty of sunshine, so shortly after breakfast we blew up the tubes and loaded everybody in the trucks for the drive to the Platte River at the southern-most end of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The Platte River is a shallow, gently flowing river that ends at the Lake Michigan beach, and is very popular for canoeing and floating.  You can rent both, or you can bring your own.  Everybody except Tom and Paul got out at the fishing weir, where it was just a short walk to the river where tubes can launch.  They parked our truck, with all the beach gear, down at the end – and were lucky to get one of the last parking spots at the beach!  Then they brought Paul’s truck back up to the weir, where they met up with us.

The float trip from the weir to the beach takes about 2 – 3 hours, and being Saturday, it was mighty crowded!  It was a great day though, perfect for a leisurely float down the river!   

When we reached the beach, we packed up the tubes and grabbed the towels and coolers out of the truck, and headed out to the beach for a picnic lunch.

Surprisingly, even with the number of people floating down the river, the beach wasn’t too crowded.  We ate lunch, did a little swimming, and rested in the sun until it was time to pack up and go back to the RVs to rescue the dogs.

We did have one little glitch as we left . . . Paul had kept his key in his pocket, and these new electronic keys don’t do well when wet!  The key fob wouldn’t work to unlock his doors, and although he could unlock them manually with the key, it set off his alarm!  Then, he couldn’t get the truck started with the key!  Since it was 5:30pm on Saturday, we thought he might be in real trouble!  After 20 or 30 minutes  with the key fob taken apart, though, he was finally able to start his truck!

So, if your truck or car has one of those new all-in-one key fobs, don’t get it wet!!

Back at the campers, the kids set up for a cornhole tournament, and we got a fire going to cook our dinners of brats, hot dogs, and pizza hobo pies.

Tom read his book for awhile before joining the tournament (I think he’s read more than me this trip – he’s really enjoying this book, “American Icon – How Alan Mulally Saved Ford Motor Company”)

Casey kept her eagle eyes on anybody who was eating, waiting for anything that would fall (or get tossed!) her way!

Once it got dark, we all sat and enjoyed the evening around the campfire.  We called it a night pretty early, though – all that water and sunshine tends to make you tired!

Sunday, July 29th

After mass on Sunday, we said good-bye to Paul & Tari & the kids, as they headed home, and we loaded the bikes into the truck to drive to Glen Arbor to check out the new Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.  It’s a wide, paved, multi-use trail, and the first phase just opened on July 4th. 

It’s just over 4 miles long right now, and goes from Glen Arbor, through national park land, to the Dune Climb.

There’s no parking lot at the trailhead in Glen Arbor right now, but people park along the side of the road, or in the church parking lot just up the road.  That’s what we did, and then we were off on our bikes!

The trail takes you through the woods to the D. H. Day State Park – Michigan’s 1st State Park, and then to the beach in the historic village of Glen Haven.

We stopped at the Glen Haven General Store,

which is part store and park museum.  Nicolas was checking out the pictures of the old “dunemobiles” that used to take people for rides on the sand dunes (before it became a national park).

Continuing on, we rode along the edge of the dunes until we reached the other end of the trail at the Dune Climb.

We took a bathroom and water break here, and watched people climbing up and running down the dune.

Nick and Bryce had already had their fill of climbing dunes, so they passed on this one!  But Bryce did have enough energy to chase a seagull!

Once everybody was rested,

we got back on the bikes and made the return trip to Glen Arbor, where we treated ourselves to an ice cream!

This was a really nice bike trail, and definitely something to check out if you are in the area!

Sleeping Bear Point Trail

Friday started out pretty rainy, so we spent the early part of the day inside reading and watching movies, but by 3pm the rain moved away and the sun came out, so we decided to get in a hike.

We considered the 3.5 mile hike to Lake Michigan from the Dune Climb, but thought it would take too long, and decided that the Sleeping Bear Point Trail, also part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, would get us to the same area of the lake quicker and easier, and added a 2.8 mile loop over the dunes and through some forest, so it would be more interesting.

We drove through the historic village of Glen Haven to the parking lot at the trailhead, and headed out into the meadow of dune grass.

We quickly came to the spur trail that went down to Lake Michigan, and crossed the sand valley,

to where the lake came into sight.

Nicolas began his hunt for petoskey stones,

but without getting his clothes soaked, he didn’t have much luck.  Tom checked out the water – it was cold!!

The waves were a lot bigger than they were the previous day, too!

We could have walked for miles on this beach,

but it was a little rocky for swimming!  Not quite warm enough, either!

Before long, it was time to move on and hike the loop trail back to the trucks.

Most of the trail was on the dunes, so we all ended up carrying our shoes.

The recent rains made walking easier though – the sand was cool and even hard-packed in some areas.  At the tops of the dunes, the views were spectacular!

In some areas, we were hiking through narrow paths in the dune grass,

but other areas were as wide-open as a desert!

The kids have limitless energy, it seems, as Nicolas would take side trips up the sides of the dunes,

and the four younger kids got waaaaay ahead of us!

We took our breaks at the top of each new sand dune,

and just kept plodding along.  Eventually, the trail headed into the woods,

and the cool shade was a welcome relief.  So were the trucks when we arrived back at the parking lot!

It was a really nice hike, strenuous in places, but never a shortage of beautiful views.  We found out later that this trail was recently named the best Hike-to-View of all national parks, by National Geographic!  We would agree!