Our Start

Hi Everyone,

We thought we'd devote a post to catching everyone up on what we've been up to since we picked up the 'Big Brown Bus' on July 10th.

After leaving Midway we headed to Lansing for our first night. All was going grand with Lisa following behind Dale in our soon-to-be-sold minivan taking pictures. Dale's grin hardly fit on his face it was so broad. However, not all was to be perfect on that first day. Less than 500 yards from the campground our new beauty lost all power except idle. After limping into the campground we placed a call to Newmar who in turn got Freightliner conferenced in. To make a long story short we had experienced a rare electronic throttle failure. Kudos to Newmar, Freightliner and D&K Truck Repair in Lansing for jumping on top of the situation. Freightliner overnighted a throttle pedal assembly. D&K installed it the next day and we were on the road again (albeit one day later than planned) toward Commerce Township to set about the task of emptying the temporary storage unit into our new home. But before leaving Lansing I need to mention we had our first official visitor, Kristy, our daughter, that first night in Lansing.

The drive to Commerce Township was uneventful. The new throttle performed flawlessly. July 12-17th we spent at the Proud Lake State Recreation Area campground. Proud Lake is an acceptable, not an outstanding, state park, but it does have at least a few sites suitable for large RV's. The appealing aspects of this park are its proximity to NW Detroit suburbs, 50 amp service at several sites, and a very nice new shower/restroom building. We didn't really publicize we were there the first few days as the motorhome looked like the definition of chaos. We soon realized we (mainly Dale) kept too much stuff. The resolution to our problem involved a few more trips to Salvation Army, Goodwill, and the dumpster. We did end up clearing out the storage unit and organizing the interior of the coach enough to entertain guests. The 'basement', however, was still a disaster as it was too hot (lower 90's) to do anything with it. During the time at Proud Lake we had visits from Dale's mom (Helen), Dale's sister (Pam) and her daughter (Kayla), and numerous friends from our old neighborhood and church. Between visitors, more organizing. As Chad, our Midway salesman, said: 'A 40 foot motorhome is a big RV, but a very small house.

July 18-25th we spent at Groveland Oaks near Holly, MI. Groveland Oaks is a very good Oakland County park with lots to do for the kids. It has 50 amp service and water at cement pad sites large enough to accommodate any size RV. Some even have cement picnic table extensions.

We had more visitors in between settling-in chores.

Lisa, Chuck & Gail Liles, Lance, Pam, Kayla, Mark, Helen (seated)

Dale's Cousins John & Dianne Dau, Aunt Virginia, Julie & Jim (seated on floor) 

The weather cooled off a bit so everything came out of the basement and went back in with more thought. We even ended up with a little room to spare. We considered going back to Salvation Army to buy some of our stuff back. Don't laugh, Dale already did that once since selling the house. We spent the night of July 19th in Livonia at Lisa's sister Nancy's house. Our first night out of the coach since taking possession. While there we went to the Farmington Founder Festival to watch 50 Amp Fuse, a great local classic rock band, and in the process experienced one brief, but nasty thunderstorm. During the height of the storm we thought we may end up on the evening news as part of another 'tent disaster' as the wind lifted the center poles of the main event tent (hundreds of people in it) no less than 10 feet in the air. Luckily the wind calmed after a few tense seconds and they all came back down with no injuries. Unforgettable!! Took in a nice free concert back out at Groveland Oaks on Saturday, July 20th. Gave the new folding bikes some exercise exploring the park. Dale spent Monday, July 22nd, at his sister Pam's house in Davisburg mounting the baseplate for towing the Jeep. Pam's husband, Mark, was a big help in the process. Thankfully, the job went smoothly with no unwanted surprises.  We spent July 24th cleaning up the minivan to get it ready to sell and that evening enjoyed our first campfire.

Found time to relax after organizing the basement

Full moon over the Big Brown Bus at Groveland Oaks

First campfire

Trusty old van ready to sell

We headed back to Proud Lake again July 26-August 2nd. The major accomplishment during this time was selling the 2003 Mazda MPV minivan. It had been the best car we ever owned giving us over 150,000 miles and 9 years of virtually trouble free service. We hope and pray that its new owner sees many more happy miles. We also attended the 4th birthday party for our great-nephew, Bradley. Fun Family Times!! Almost 35 years after taking Disco lessons we brushed up on our dancing skills by taking 3 group lessons at the Dance Elite Ballroom Studio in West Bloomfield. Our youngest daughter, Kelly, had gotten the lessons for us as a gift.  More visits the rest of this week by family and friends to see our new home.

Most of our St. Matthews Walled Lake Christ Care group

Larry had to work late so he missed the earlier group shot

Saturday morning, August 3rd, we pulled out of Proud Lake and put fuel in the Big Brown Bus for the first time: $170 (almost 1/2 a tank). One of the downsides of our new lifestyle. Oh well, we just close our eyes! The highlight of the rest of Saturday was a 'Motorhome Warming'/Farewell party several of our friends held for us in the driveway of Tim & Linda Hopper. Tim & Linda have one of those rare large driveways in our old sub capable of easily parking a 40 foot motorhome. About 40 people visited the coach throughout that day. Our Thanks to everyone involved, but especially Tim & Linda.

Coach parked in Tim & Linda's driveway

August 4-10th we spent in Davisburg, MI in Dale's sister Pam's driveway. This allowed Pam and her husband, Mark, and their children, Lance and Kayla, to go on a much deserved vacation. Dale and Pam's mother, Helen, lives with Pam. Besides allowing Lisa and Dale to be available to help mom as needed Dale was thankful to have Mark's garage to finish preparing the Jeep for towing. The tow setup consists of a Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar, Blue Ox baseplate, Blue Ox coiled wiring cable, Cool Tech wiring harness for lights, and Brake Buddy w/breakaway for supplemental braking. Thanks to Craigslist, sales, and a little sweat equity the Jeep was ready to tow for less than $1000. We also got our personalized license plate for the Jeep.

Jeep ready to tow

View of Jeep inside motorhome

So on August 11th, fully one month after taking delivery of the motorhome, Lisa got her first ride in the Dutch Star. We headed to Holiday Shores in Durand, MI, Jeep in tow. There we visited friends, Gail and Chuck Liles who have a very nice park model trailer situated there permanently. Holiday Shores is a nice campground/resort with nearly 600 sites and its own 9 hole golf course. It was our first full hookup site (50 amp electricity, water, sewer and even cable). The only drawback to this resort is there are no community restrooms/showers, so you are totally reliant on your own facilities for everything. Think about it. Well, guess it had to happen sooner or later. On Monday, August 12th, Gail & Chuck showed us around the local area and later came over for a salmon dinner cooked on our new electric Weber. They were our first dinner guests, and they lived to tell about it.

Holiday Shores

On Wednesday, August 14th, we broke camp and headed to Indian River, MI to visit Dale's cousins, Joy & Ben. This marked our longest drive to date, just over 200 miles. The Bus spent the next 5 nights parked in Joy & Ben's yard right on the Sturgeon River. We watched kayaks, tubes, rafts and canoes go by; usually with people in them. : ) On Friday and Saturday we left the motorhome in Indian River and took the Jeep up to their Cedarville cottage in the eastern end of the U.P. of Michigan. We enjoyed our first kayaking experience on the calm crystal clear waters of beautiful Beavertail Bay. The rest of the weekend was spent golfing, riding mopeds, exploring in a multi-passenger Kubota ATV, consuming a few adult beverages, and eating too much good food. On the way out of Joy and Ben's Lisa decided that the Big Brown Bus has a marked resemblance to Pigpen of Peanuts cartoon fame as it kicks up an enormous dust cloud at the rear due to all of the air turbulence at the motor and fans associated with its side radiator. We also got our personalized plate for the Dutch Star. It very truly represents the way we feel about the gifts God has poured out on us.

The Big Brown Bus in Joy & Ben's yard

Joy & Ben's Cedarville cottage

Ben's Kubota ATV

The girls bundled and waiting for adventure

Ben, Joy, & Little Louie

Sunset in Cedarville

Sunrise over Beavertail Bay

If you know what's good for you Don't Mess with Us!! We BAD!!

Exiting Joy & Ben's driveway

Dust storm leaving on Joy & Ben's road

Cleaning PigPen at Joy & Ben's former water purification business

Our motorhome plate

On Monday, August 19th, we left Indian River and headed to Bay Harbor, MI. The Bay Harbor Motorcoach Resort marked to high point of luxury for us thus far and won't be exceeded for a long time to come. This resort was simply beautiful and a 10 in every respect. On Monday we got there in time to partake in the Margarita Party - free margaritas and mexican oriented munchies for all while being entertained by live music. Walked around to see coaches being professionally washed and hand waxed by outside service companies. Spent time in the pool chatting with other 'campers' and, in general, enjoying the park on Tuesday.

Bay Harbor clubhouse

Dale enjoying a margarita and nacho chips at the Margarita party

Gardens behind clubhouse

Rear of clubhouse

Another full moon over the Big Brown Bus

On Wednesday, August 21st, we got back to reality and headed to Waters, MI just south of Gaylord. We spent the next 13 nights at Headwaters Camping and Cabins. Headwaters is operating in a trimmed down fashion nowadays and, as such, normally only caters to stays of at least a month. Being toward the end of the season Kim, the owner, made an exception and let us come in for just shy of 2 weeks. Similar to Holiday Shores there are no community restroom/shower facilities. Due to the dry summer the roads leading to and in the campground were very dusty. As much as Dale is starting to enjoy driving the Bus it was indeed nice to be planted in one spot for almost 2 full weeks, our longest stay thus far. During this time we had our first overnight guests, Gary & Linda Moore. They stayed with us for 2 nights. The four of us golfed the Michaywe Pines course. Dale and Lisa donated countless balls to the golf gods that day, but a good time was had by all. After Gary and Linda left we also golfed Black Bear and Treetops Signature courses. Treetops is definitely a class act. Much of our time was spent visiting with Dale's cousins Jim & Marne and their very cool daughter, Reagan who live on Opal Lake near Gaylord. Over the Labor Day weekend Dale's other cousins, Jan (Jim's sister) and Scotty came up with their daughter, Lindsay, and her boyfriend, Andrew. Great Times!!!

Our site at Headwaters Camping and Cabins

Marne, Reagan, Dale & Jim

Linda, Gary & Dale

Good Friends, Good Food at the Frederic Inn - Frederic, MI

Lisa at Black Bear

Lisa fixing a divot at Treetops using an original John Dau divot repair tool

The gals of Opal Lake

The guys of Opal Lake

The Shot Ski in action

September 3rd and 4th were spent in Cheboygan at Waterways Campground to visit good friends, Ann & Coleman. Waterways was a good place with full hookup pull thru sites. The 50 amp sites were all taken so we got a 30 amp pull thru. The campground is right on the Cheboygan River and offers a boat launch and direct access to the Alpena to Cheboygan Rails to Trails hiking/bike path. Restroom/showers were clean and adequate. Ann & Coleman had just come back from an Alaskan fishing trip so we enjoyed two salmon dinners on successive nights. They also own our old 22 foot shuffleboard table, so Dale enjoyed becoming reacquainted with it the first night there.

Our site at Waterways

That brings us up to our current location, Benzonia, MI. We're camped at Timberline Campground. This is a rather large park that appears to cater to mostly seasonal campers with the associated permanent patios, sheds, etc. The bathhouse appears relatively new, and is very nice and clean. We're here to visit our niece Lori's in-laws, Rory and Michelle. We visited with them briefly the first afternoon. After leaving Rory and Michelle, we went to dinner at The Roadhouse in Benzonia and then finished off the day in Frankfort enjoying a beautiful Lake Michigan sunset. On the second day Rory and Michelle took us for dinner at the Platte River Inn in Honor, MI. Great burgers!!

Our site at Timberline

Lisa holding up Frankfort breakwall & lighthouse

Lake Michigan sunset at Frankfort

Our next stops will be Ludington State Park and then on to Nappanee, IN to visit Newmar and get a few minor warranties items fixed.