ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

October 11 - White Knuckle Ride Over the Lake Heron & Michigan

To give you an idea of the wind today, as we drove along the shoreline leaving Ludington State Park we met a sandplow; same thing as a snowplow, except it plows drifting sand off the road. 

Jim had a tough day of driving through the rain and the gusts of wind pushing the RV around.  As we approached the Mackinaw Bridge, which connects lower and upper Michigan and spans the straits of Lakes Michigan and Huron, signs were flashing "HIGH WINDS ON BRIDGE", "SEMIS AND RV'S - 20 MPH", "USE CAUTION".  It was a white knuckle ride, but we made it safely across without getting blown into the lake.  We stayed the night in the U.P. at Straits State Park with a fantastic view of the bridge.

October 12
The wind and rain moved through, and we woke to a perfect day to continue our trek west on Highway 2 along the north shore of Lake Michigan.  I knew we were back in the land of the Yoopers when I saw a sign at Gustafson's Fish Market that advertised:
PARTY STORE - Beer, Ice, Smoked Fish, Pasties (pasties pronounced PAW-sties...you don't wear them, you eat them and the Yoopers are crazy for them). 

Sunrise at the Mackinaw Bridge

About 15 miles west of the Michigan border, we spent the night in Cedar, WI where the Yooper accent and culture is alive and well.  I love da Yoopers!

October 13 - Grand Rapids, MN
Today we drove to Grand Rapids to spend the end of this trip with our daughter Amy, son-in-law Dana, and our two sweet granddaughters, Addison and Isabel.  Jim no sooner had the RV in park, and I was out the door and into the house where I was greeted with a shout of "GRANDMA!", and hugs and kisses; nothing better!

A babysitter came to the house while the four of us went out for dinner.  The restaurant was hosting a weekend quilter and scrap booking retreat.  After dinner we went into the banquet room where hundreds of women, with their sewing machines and scrap booking paraphernalia, worked intently on their projects.  We met a couple of Amy's crazy scrap booking friends and watched while they demonstrated the "Cricket 2000"; a must have computerized cutting tool for scrap booking.  Amy was drooling over the Cricket and will be asking Santa for one of these swanky machines for Christmas.

"Wow, I so want a Cricket 2000"

"See Dad, I can make you a perfect mustache with the Cricket 2000"

October 14
We had a fun afternoon at the Nordic Ridge Farm which is decked-out for Halloween.  Addy and I had a thrilling ride down a giant slide from the haymow.  We walked through the corn maze, and took a hayride through the farm fields where we passed scary/funny vignettes.

Dana, Jim, Addie, Bella, me, and Amy

Bella and dad kidding around.

No chance of getting lost in this corn maze.

So Big!

 

The Bride of Frankenstein

"Grandpa, when is this hayride going to start?"

October 15 - Home
We got our hugs and kisses good-bye and started for home. It's good to be home, but it's also back to reality. I have 6 weeks of mail to go through, the pine needles need to come the roof and yard, and the RV needs to be cleaned out and winterized.  But as the saying goes "when you play, you gotta pay".  We are starting to dream about our next adventure, and I can't wait!

BACK TO MICHIGAN!

October 7 - Grand Canyon of PA
The Pine Creek gorge is said to be the most extensive wilderness region between New York and Chicago.  Our campsite is 4 miles from the entrance to the state park, the trail heads to the hiking paths, and viewing platforms. This is a beautiful area, and my expectations were not built up to think this would be like THE Grand Canyon so I wasn't disappointed.  The tourist information says the best way to see the beauty of the canyon is on the river while riding in a canoe or raft.  Being that it was about 40 degrees, and I was wearing my fleece hat, gloves and jacket, we skipped that option and took in the scene from the top at the viewing platforms.

Pine Creek Gorge...aka The Grand Canyon of PA

View of the canyon from the opposite direction.

October 8 - Lake Erie
We drove thorough the brilliant autumn colors of the Pennsylvania mountains, and arrived back in the Great Lakes Region near the south shore of Lake Erie, not far from Erie, PA. 

I drove the last half of the day, and when we got to our campground it was a little confusing where to register for the night.  I stopped, we both got out and looked around.  I saw the green  office building ahead .  I got back in the RV and waited and waited for Jim to get back in.  I got back out, looked around and he had disappeared.  I was getting impatient so I pulled ahead to the green office building...which turned out to be the bathrooms.  I called Jim on his cell phone and said "where the hell are you?"  He said "I'm trying to register and you have the checkbook."  By now, he was standing right beside the drivers window.  He was a little irritated with me and said "I can't believe you would drive off without me!"  Now, you can't really compare me driving 1 block away within the campground, to him leaving me at a gas station in Montana, AND not even knowing I wasn't there until he was a half mile down the highway.  I was annoyed.

October 9 - Troy, MI
Leaving Erie, PA, we headed west and soon crossed into Ohio.  Since were were on the Interstate, I can't say too much about northern Ohio except that it was hilly, the leaves were pretty, and we got out of the mountains and back to the flat lands.  We drove by Cleveland and turned north at Toledo.

Our destination today is  about 25 miles north of Detroit, MI.  We are stopping to visit our friends, Ed and Donna Archey, in Troy.  They have a level concrete driveway which was perfect for us to park on, so we set up camp and hoped the neighbors wouldn't call the police about the trailer trash  that had moved in.

Ed and Donna took us to the neighborhood Bar and Grill for dinner.  Our waitress was a hoot and we won't forget her anytime soon; I was still giggling about her antics the next morning.  After dinner we went back to their house, relaxed in front of the TV and continued to reminisce about the fun times we've shared over the past 29 years.   

More fun times with these two wild and crazy kids.

October 10
We haven't been through Lower Michigan so we decided to see more of MI before heading home.  After breakfast, we said our good-byes to Donna and Ed and started driving northwest to Ludington, located on the west shore of Lake Michigan.  We stopped in Sears, (not at Sears) for gas; it started sleeting and snowing. The wind was howling and pushing the RV around while traveling down the highway.

The state parks in Michigan have been gorgeous, and we were not disappointed when we pulled into Ludington State Park.  The road into the park cuts through huge sand dunes along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. 

I'm standing by a sand dune next to the road.

Waves crashing near the Ludington lighthouse.

We bundled up in some warm clothes and built a campfire.  While relaxing and reading by the fire, a monster RV rig drove by our campsite.  I, and my camping neighbors, stood gawking shamelessly at this enormous rig while taking pictures and speculating whether or not they had just won the lottery.

What do they have in that trailer they're pulling?  A Cadillac?  A Hummer and a couple Harley's?

The rig took up 2 campsites, and the two slide-outs on this side hung out over the road.  A little overkill if you ask me.

HUDSON RIVER AND WATKINS GLEN

October 4 - Hudson River Valley
Although the weather was rainy and foggy, we took a 2 hour river boat ride from Kingston, NY through the beautiful Hudson River Valley.  We cruised by a couple of light houses in the river and several huge mansions, including the Vanderbilt mansion built in the late 1800's.  If it hadn't been so foggy, we would have been able to see the estate where Chelsea Clinton was married.

Restored light house on the Hudson River

October 5 - Watkins Glen
Today we continued west and, with the recommendation of Joan and Tom, our destination is Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  The fall foliage is at its peak and the mountains are blazing with orange, gold, rust, red and yellow colors.  It looks like a patchwork quilt of fall colors, and where the forests are carved out, green pastures, farms and vineyards dot the mountainside.

The mountains are full of color!

This weekend is a big deal. Thousands of leaf peepers are out and about enjoying the beautiful fall colors. It's also the last hurrah for the camping season; the campgrounds are packed!  We got a heads-up from the campground owners when we were in Saugerties, so I called the Watkins Glen campground and made a reservation for the weekend.  Lucky I did, or we would of been camping in the Wal-Mart parking lot!

October 6 - The Gorge and Wine
Watkins Glen State Park is home to one of nature's breathtaking landscapes.  Today we hiked the spectacular, narrow, rugged, water sculpted gorge where 19 waterfalls cascade through the steep gorge.  After climbing the 800+ stone steps to the top of the gorge, we were pooped-out and my back was starting to complain and get crabby.  It wasn't much of a debate to pay the $3/person to take the shuttle bus back down to the lower parking lot.

Connie, hold on to your hat!  Getting some spray from behind the waterfall.

There he is!  Jim waving from behind Rainbow Falls.

After lunch, we headed to the Finger Lakes Wine Trail along the east side of Seneca Lake.
We stopped at the first two vineyards we came to  (Catherine Vineyard and Silver Springs Vineyard); both places were packed with wine tasters.


The view from Catherine Vineyard looking across Seneca lake.

You only want 2 bottles of wine? 

Tonight our Pennsylvania camping neighbors invited us to join them at their campfire.  Since we are heading to northwest PA tomorrow, we asked these "locals" what areas we should see.  They said "the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania".  Who knew there was a Grand Canyon outside of AZ?  More later!

WOODSTOCK

October 1
We started our westward meandering today with a stop to see my cousin Joan and Tom Olson in Westborough, MA.  After a tour of their beautiful new home and looking at pictures of their adorable new grandson, we continued our visit over dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant.  A meal with no seafood!

The Olson's

October 2
Leaving Massachusetts and driving through Connecticut to the Catskill Mountains, we landed in Saugerties, NY.  Although it was raining most of the way, the fall foliage and drive through the Hudson River Valley was picturesque.

Setting up at our campsite, I was unhooking the Jeep from the RV and made a wrong twisting move.  EEOWW!  My lower back went out.  I spent the rest of the day downing ibuprofen, icing my back, doing Healing Touch, and drinking wine to relieve the pain.

October 3
After a fitful night of sleep, my back was still being crabby, so I searched the Internet to look for a chiropractor in Saugerties.  I picked the one who had the most positive reviews, called and got an appointment in the afternoon.  The chiropractic adjustment was just what my back needed!  I feel like a new woman.

We left the chiropractor and drove around the Catskill Mountains, then stopped at Woodstock.  Although the famous Woodstock music festival in 1969 took place on a farm about 60 miles from town, this quirky village is all about music, art, and reliving the glory days of the late '60's and early '70's.  We saw a few old hippies walking around who looked like they went to the Woodstock music festival and forgot to leave.  Browsing through one of the shops, I felt 42 years younger as the smell of burning incense, the sounds of great music from the 60's, and the sight of tied-dyed articles of clothing transported me back to my days at St. Cloud State. 

Bob Marley...PEACE!

Janice Joplin, me, Jimi Hendrix, and John Lennon...Far Out, Man!

It must get cold here.  Someone knitted a sweater for the sign post.

Not the usual historical marker.

HELLO MARYLOU! GOOD-BYE MAINE

September 27
Continuing south, we landed in Saco/Old Orchard Beach, ME.  We drove through Old Orchard Beach, a summer resort area with a large expanse of sandy beach.  The town looks a little tired with most buildings appearing like they were built in the 1950's and '60's and not too much updating done since.  They've rolled up the sidewalks for the season in Old Orchard Beach and the beach side amusement rides were being packed away for the winter, as well as several restaurants and gift shops having closed until next summer.

September 28
We woke to a steady drizzle of rain that turned into a constant soaking rain.  Neither one of us had the ambition or desire to go anywhere, so we we took the day off from sightseeing and spent the day in our cozy camper reading, and watching movies.

September 29
I'm excited to get to Salisbury, Massachusetts today where we will meet up with my friend, Marylou, who is visiting her daughter and family in Amesbury (3 miles from our campsite).  We haven't seen any familiar faces since we departed ways with Mark and Cindy back in Copper Harbor, MI.

Our camping neighbors, back in Mexico, NY, told us to be sure to eat at Warren's Lobster House if we got to Kittery, ME.  Kittery was right on the way, so I found the address on the Points Of Interest function of the GPS.

After taking a few wrong turns, maneuvering around roundabouts and detours, we spotted Warren's and drove into the crowded parking lot where we realized too late there wasn't a spot big enough to park the RV and Jeep, and there was no way to turn around. So, for the first time on this trip, we had to unhook the Jeep in order to back up, turn around to get out of the situation.  A few blocks away, we found an auto repair place with a big parking lot; Jim asked the owner if it was o.k. to leave the RV there while we went to have lunch.  The owner thanked him for asking, and gave him a $10 coupon for Warren's Lobster House!

After lunch, we hooked back up with the RV and slowly made our way south through the towns and villages along Highway 1.  We left the beautiful state of Maine, drove through a little bit of New Hampshire, and crossed the border in Massachusetts.

Our campsite in Salisbury, MA is only 3 miles from the Marshall's (Marylou's daughter and son-in-law's home); they invited us over for supper.  It was great catching up with Marylou, seeing Sommer and Pete, and meeting their two adorable children, Ellie and Owen.

Yes, the Marshall's are New England Patriot fans!

September 30
Marylou gave us a tour of the area today.  After stopping at Cider Hill Farm and devouring a hot pumpkin donut that was so good it made me weep, she took us to her favorite restaurant and introduced us to Maine Baby Shrimp.  Now I know why she's been raving about those shrimp!

Marylou and Connie in MA.  Can't wait to get that donut!

Here we are in NH.  Yum, those shrimp were good!

We drove along the coast in NH and MA, oohing and awing over the magnificent homes along the coast road, and stopping to walk on the beaches.  Did you know that NH has beaches, and people actually surf there?  Well, I sure didn't know that until today.

Surfers in New Hampshire...who knew?

 "A lobstah trap!  Now I can catch my own!"

Marylou showed us around the quaint and charming town of Amesbury, hometown of cartoonist Al Cap (Li'l Abner).  The town has winding streets with roundabouts, old brick buildings and sidewalks, with baskets of flowers hanging everywhere.  Marylou and I said our good-byes and wondered where our paths will cross next..