OK, so I missed a whole season. I know some of you have enjoyed the respite from my ramblings. However, I'm sure those that suffer from insomnia have been longing for a new post. We've just come off a fantastic week with our Newmar Hoots group and have a couple days to chill out in The Gardens RV Village in Crossville, TN. We'll take this time to determine our route out to Arizona, where we'll spend the majority of this winter. So, without further ado, here's what we've been up since early June.
After leaving Nappanee as Happy Campers on June 8th we drove to Hidden Ridge RV Resort in Hopkins, MI just south of Grand Rapids. We thought this was a fantastic park and, to top it off, they accept Passport America. We got a nice long pull through which allowed us to leave the Jeep hooked up the whole time we were there. They had a nice clubhouse with a well equipped gym (Yes!!), a great pool and well kept grounds with good water, electricity, and WI-FI. All this for $26.50 per night is hard to beat.
 |
| Our site at Hidden Ridge |
 |
| Clubhouse at Hidden Ridge |
Got our Oasis heating system serviced at Midway RV Center on June 10th. No problems, just our first annual maintenance. We headed up to Traverse City after that to have our dash AC fixed. We had reserved a spot at the Northwestern Michigan Fair Campground. Never again! The road into the campground was probably half a mile long and DUSTY, DUSTY, DUSTY!!! The coach and Jeep were both clean as a whistle before pulling in, but looked like they hadn't been washed in weeks by the time we got to our campsite. And mosquitoes! There was one other motorhome in there, actually a nice one. Couldn't figure that one out. We left at 6AM the next morning and headed to Sam's Club in Traverse City to spend the night. Lisa followed in the Jeep since it was only a couple miles to the Sam's. In my haste to get out of the dust bowl I guess I forgot to lock the refrigerator door. Yes, the door came open. No, it wasn't a friendly plastic butter container that came flying out, landing perfectly in the sink across the aisle from the refrigerator (this actually did happen early in our travels). Yes, it was a glass bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade. Yes, it shattered immediately upon impact with the beautiful, but very hard porcelain tile floor. Fortunately, there was a convenient place to pull over. We cleaned up the mess before it managed to seep into regions unknown. After a brief, but successful stop the morning of June 12th at Grand Traverse Diesel Service to get the dash AC fixed we headed up to Petoskey, MI.
 |
| Pulling into Northwestern Michigan Fair Campground |
 |
| Getting our cool back at Grand Traverse Diesel Service |
We spent the night of June 12th at the Odawa Casino in Petoskey. They have a nice separate parking area for RV's with about 15 full length pull through slots. Lisa went in and got her gambling fix while I got to try my outside faucet for the first time and washed the fair campground dust off the entire coach. This is pretty cool, but I still need to figure out the best way to avoid drying the whole thing. 4 hours is just too long!
 |
| Odawa RV lot |
On June 13th we pulled into Hearthside Grove RV Resort. Let me tell you this is the most upscale RV resort we have ever stayed in. I have never seen so many million dollar coaches in one establishment in my life. But the best part is everyone was so nice and welcoming. We joined Phil and JoEllen Essman, one of our Newmar Hoots couples, who had made reservations prior to ours. I would recommend that anyone with a new enough Class A try this resort at least once. You won't regret it. Look for their booth at larger RV shows and get a 5 nights for the price of 3. At $90 a night, the coupon eases the pain, but it is so worth it. We enjoyed dinner one evening with friends Ann and Colemen Kendall at the Petoskey Brewing Company, our kind of burger and good beer eatery. Coleman brought his new-to-him 2001 Corvette. Sweet!
 |
| Being escorted to our site |
 |
| Our site at Hearthside |
 |
| Hearthside main clubhouse |
 |
| Theater in main clubhouse |
 |
| Free Segway lesson |
 |
| Us with fellow Newmar Hoots JoEllen and Phil Essman |
 |
| Jim & Carol Wallace's place at Hearthside |
 |
| Lisa, Dale, Charlie & Gloria Adcock (National President FMCA), Jim & Carol Wallace |
 |
| More of Jim & Carol's lot |
 |
| Happy hour at the main clubhouse |
 |
| Legs Inn Cross Village |
 |
| Dale, JoEllen & Phil at Legs Inn |
 |
| Beautiful setting with Lake Michigan in the background |
June 18th we left swank Hearthside and headed for the U.P. of Michigan. We caravaned with Phil and JoEllen across the Mackinaw Bridge, where Lisa leaned
way out our passenger kitchen window and got some neat shots of Phil and JoEllen behind us. After saying goodbyes to Phil and JoEllen we continued our trek toward Houghton, MI. A milestone event occurred on the way to Houghton. Lisa took the wheel and drove the bus for the first time. She chose the 25 mile straight as an arrow 'Seney stretch' for this bold move. She did fine and looked great in the driver's seat. Now we just have to work in a few turns. That night we spent our only night on the road thus far where the stay was better than free. That's right! We stayed at the Ojibwa Casino just outside of Marquette where they not only give you free 50 amp electricity, but on top of that they give you $5 just for staying. Not credit at a table, but a check for $5 which you can immediately cash at their cashier for a crisp cool $5 bill. Of course, I had to play it. At one point, I had that $5 up to $20 on a lucky slot machine and, finally, walked out the door with $15. Free electricity and $15! Oh, and I almost forgot, free drink tickets for each of us! Can't beat it!
 |
| Picture of our coach crossing the Mighty Mac courtesy JoEllen |
 |
| Phil & JoEllen behind us |
 |
| US 2 along northern Lake Michigan shore |
 |
| Lisa driving the Seney Stretch |
 |
| Staying clear of that oncoming truck |
 |
| Of course I'm relaxed! |
 |
| US 28 along Lake Superior east of Marquette |
 |
| Our 50 amp site we were paid $5 to stay in |
June 19-26 we spent at the City of Houghton RV Park right on the Portage Canal just outside of downtown Houghton. It's a great location and we've always wanted to stay there. It didn't disappoint. I recommend sites 16 thru 21 as they are right on the water and are not encumbered by adjacent trees. Sites 1 thru 10 can be tight due to more mature trees. Sites 11 thru15 are elevated above 16 thru 21 and would be my second choice. 22 is kind of short and unlevel front to rear. Note there are no public showers or restrooms at this campground. We spent the week visiting family and reacquainting ourselves with my 'second home' as this is where my parents are from and we always came for vacations to visit grandparents and other family as a child. This is also where I attended college at Michigan Tech. My cousins, John & Dianne Dau, joined us for the last four days of our stay. They stayed across the Portage Canal in Hancock's city campground. That campground is fine and has a few sites to accommodate big rigs, but they have no sewer hookups. Another milestone event happened while we were camped in Houghton. The Jeep got a reasonable baptism into off-roading. Beyond Copper Harbor, US 41 ends in a small cul-de-sac after almost 2000 miles from its start in Miami, FL. However, that's not really the end if you want to keep going and have the right vehicle. 7 miles further is the true tip of the Keweenaw peninsula, Lisa, John, Dianne and I took the road/two track to the tip. It took us about an hour to go out and 45 minutes to come back. So cool to be in a place where relatively few get to go.
 |
| Pulling into the City of Houghton RV Park |
 |
| Our site in Houghton |
 |
| Our private veranda overlooking the Portage Canal |
 |
| Looking east toward Houghton |
 |
| Lookng west |
 |
| The Ranger coming back from Isle Royale |
 |
| Our site from across The Portage |
 |
| Stormy day on The Portage |
 |
| Aunt Martha, Dale, Cousin Carolyn |
 |
| Jim, Nikki, Reagan, Marne & Brady |
 |
| Chad, Evan, Reese, Mason, & Susan |
 |
| Jessica, Stefanie, Maddie, Al & Ethan |
 |
| Cap'n Marne loving it! |
 |
| Master Chef and cheerleader |
 |
| Young guys vs. Old guys (Experience prevailed this day) |
July 2 - 10 we spent at Frankfort Crystal Lake RV Resort outside of Frankfort, MI. Lisa's sister and her husband, Nancy and Al, came to stay with us. Their daughter, Lori, and her family were up to visit her husband Bryan's parents who have a home on Crystal Lake. All of the expected 4th of July rituals (fireworks, parade, great food and beverages) were made much more special by our hosts, Rory & Michele. We thank them for their typical fantastic hospitality! The Crystal Lake RV Resort is brand new and opened only a week before our arrival. It is a work in progress, but promises to be a very nice campground option in the area.There was no WI-FI or cable when we were there, but we had been forewarned and we were alright with that. All of the sites are cement pads with brick paver patios. There are no shade trees, but that is exactly the way I like it. Nothing dropping on top of the coach. He is trying to establish grass, so off the cement or pavers is mostly dirt or gravel. He did lay down a dust control on the gravel road which worked quite well. We did receive some tragic news that week. Lisa and Nancy's cousin's daughter's husband, Will Poovey (43), was killed in a freak train accident in Zimbabwe, Africa near the famed Victoria Falls. Kara, Lisa's cousin's daughter, suffered a broken jaw and broken ribs in the accident. Will was a truly exceptional individual who was blessed with much success in life, but never paraded his success. Quite the opposite, he always made you feel special and was much more interested in learning about you than talking about his own accomplishments. At the young ages of 9 and 11 you can already see the best traits of Will being instilled in his children by their caring and giving, yet strong and confident nature. He will be missed beyond words.
 |
| Brand new resort is a work in progress |
 |
| Out to dinner with Nancy & Al at Stormcloud Brewing Co. in Frankfort. Very good! |
 |
| Getting ready for the Beulah 4th of July parade |
 |
| Yeah, I'm cool up here on Papa's shoulders |
 |
| Gramma, where are my sunglasses? |
 |
| Rowdy beach crowd |
 |
| Hotties on the beach! |
 |
| Bryan, why can't you behave? Like Bradley. |
 |
| Gramma, yours is going to burn |
 |
| OOOH, AAAAH! Thanks, Bryan |
 |
| Getting ready to bring Champion Hill to its knees |
 |
| Happy 5th Birthday Bradley!! |
July 11th we arrived back at Holiday Shores RV Resort in Durand, MI to await our first grandchild, Baby Anderson. However, on the way into town I called our daughter, Kristy, and asked if she wanted to drive the coach. She has always been a very confident driver, spending hours behind the wheel of our old Itasca Sunrise. Kristy jumped at the chance to drive and met us about a half-hour west of her house. After squeezing her baby bump behind the wheel and getting a few quick lessons on driving a diesel vs. our old gas coach she was soon wheeling us down I-69 toward East Lansing. She did great and my heart never missed a beat. We spent the next (nearly) ten weeks at Holiday Shores, the longest we have stayed in one spot since we hit the road last July. Rather than my usual play-by-play, I'll simply hit the highlights of this time as a lot of it was spent on rather mundane everyday life.
 |
| Kristy & Bree driving the bus |
 |
| Parked next to Kristy & Matt's house |
The first highlight was more like a lowlight. The morning of July 17th we found out that my mom's foot was fractured due to a fall in the shower the previous week. There's a lot more to the story, but suffice it to say that mom ended up needing a rehab place to mend until she could walk again so Pam could handle her at home alone. Lisa and I visited Westlake Health Campus in Commerce Township near our old home and found it to be very nice. Mom ended up there and stayed there the remainder of our time in Michigan. Her foot has mended and she should be back at Pam's house in the next couple weeks after a little restorative therapy. Westlake was great. I recommend it to anyone needing nursing care in the area. The rehab was almost an hour away and soaked up many unexpected hours of our time. This is one of my many lame excuses for not getting a blog post out since June.
 |
| Mom at Westlake Health Campus |
July 19th we attended our nephew Lance's graduation party at Pam & Mark's house in Davisburg. They put on a real nice party with plenty of good food and games.
 |
| Kayla & Lance |
 |
| The Master Chef |
 |
| The Kabobs |
 |
| The Sous Chef |
 |
| Lance and ????? |
 |
| Aunt Virginia & Dianne |
 |
| Ready to pop |
 |
| Scotty, Jan, & Mark |
 |
| Lance and his women |
July 27th brought one of the top highlights of our lives, our first grandchild was born. At 3:51 PM that afternoon Bree Ella Anderson came into the world and she is beautiful. 7 lb 5 oz and 20 inches long. The labor went as well as might be expected with Kristy being a trooper and enduring the whole process without an epidural. We hear very few women do this nowadays. We were very proud of her. She passed all of her post birth tests with flying colors. She came home on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 29th, to banners, neighbors and, of course, proud grandparents. However, Bree would not yet spend her first night at home. After two episodes of breathing stoppage and lips turning dark purple to blue Matt and Kristy rushed her to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Nurses and doctors witnessed subsequent episodes and admitted her. She spent the next four nights in Pediatrics ICU at Sparrow at they proceeded through a multitude of tests and evaluations to determine the cause. In the end, she has extreme acid reflux which induces an apnea type episode. She is now on Prevacid and that seems to be doing the job. The doctors say as her body matures the acid reflux will likely go away. In the meantime she is on a breathing monitor 24/7 for her first four months. Other than that she is doing great. It was indeed very hard leaving her back in Michigan, but we get daily pictures or videos and FaceTime occasionally.
 |
| First picture of Bree |
We did manage to golf a few times during our time in Michigan. As usual nothing noteworthy came out of any of my games. However, it was a different story for Lisa. On Friday, August 8th we decided to try the course at our campground, Holiday Meadows. On the 4th hole Lisa hit a nice straight drive which left her with 99 yards to the pin over a sand trap. She hit the ball. It landed on the green about 4 feet from the cup and then rolled right in the hole for her first
EAGLE!!! Now that was fun!
 |
| It's in the hole from here!! |
While in Durand we made a couple purchases to increase our enjoyment of the lifestyle. First, we bought a SoftSpot Nomad 400 water softener/spot reducer. During our first year on the road we've encountered a variety of water conditions and have missed the soft water we enjoyed at our home. The first few weeks with the softener gave us soft water, but not quite as soft as I expected and not as soft as fellow campers with other brand water softeners. This past week I modified the recharging process allowing more residence time for the salt brine with the resin beads and am happy to report soft water in the 0 - 1.5 grains per gallon range similar to other softeners I have been able to test. Now we'll see how long it goes on a recharge. The second item we bought was a 2 stage On-The-Go Deionized Water system. Keeping the coach clean has been a real chore. The most time consuming part of the process was drying it to keep water spots from showing up. I spoke with a guy at Hearthside Grove who owned a 10 year old Prevost and used this system. I then looked at his bus after he had washed it and not dried it. I was sold. And then one of my fellow Newmar Hoots bought the same system and showed his results. If it was good enough for Ronnie it was good enough for me. I've only used it twice on both the coach and Jeep, so I'm still learning the proper amount of final rinse water to use, but so far I love it. A little over an hour to wash the coach and the best part: no fine swirl marks from the drying process.
September 3rd and 4th we took a ride up to the Canadian Lakes area just southeast of Big Rapids, MI to visit friends Gary and Linda Moore at their home on Lake Mecosta. Gary and Linda were our first guests last year in August when they came up to golf with us at Michaywe. We then visited them in this past winter when they stayed at a timeshare near Orlando. While visiting them at Lake Mecosta we enjoyed great food, great laughs, a nice boat ride, and fun golf. Thanks again to Gary and Linda for their hospitality.
 |
| Gary & Linda's place on Lake Mecosta |
On September 16th Kristy and Bree came over to the campground. We all then got in the Jeep and went to visit my mom so she could meet her first great grandchild. We got some nice four generation photos. Mom was the happiest I've seen her in a long time.
 |
| First four generation shot I remember being in |
We left Michigan on September 18th and spent the night in Mason, OH at the home of Lisa's cousin, Dave Sivertson and his wonderful wife, Sue and their two boys, Mikey and Davin. We parked in their driveway and plugged into an outside circuit to keep our batteries happy. We enjoyed a nice meal followed by an evening of catching up since we saw them last in 2005? Then we enjoyed a full sized shower the next morning. Nice!
 |
| Our wonderful hosts! |
September 19th found us pulling into Two Rivers Landing for the start of Hoots II. Let the party begin!!!! After settling in our friends, Paul & Lori, from Virginia had us over for dinner. After that we hung out at one of the new Hoots RV until the wee hours of the morning. Saturday we took a ride into Smoky Mountain National Park with Paul, Lori, and Regis (their beautiful Sheltie) and did some hiking. On Sunday Lori arranged for a dozen of us to go zip lining. For most, including us, it was a first. And it was a blast! 36 of us went out that evening to Jimmy Buffet's Margarittaville. On Monday, representatives from Oasis put on a seminar regarding the hydronic heating system most of us have in our coaches. That afternoon the original Hoots including us opened our coaches to tours by the whole crew. That evening we had our first potluck dinner for the whole gathering. On Tuesday, the tours switched to all of the new Hoots' coaches. Lots of very creative folks out there tweaking their coaches in very interesting ways. I have a few new items on the honey-do list. On Wednesday, 2 representatives from rather high in the Newmar organization gave a presentation then answered questions and had lunch with us. The lunch was sponsored by our home dealer Midway RV in Grand Rapids. On Thursday, we thoroughly enjoyed a 210 mile ride led by Harleychief (aka Charlie Barba) which was comprised of 3 motorcycles, 4 Jeeps and 1 2014 Corvette. The highlights of the ride were the Cherahola Skyway and the Tail of the Dragon (318 curves in 11 miles). Friday night was our farewell potluck dinner with entertainment by The Ransom Notes. The Ransom Notes are a very talented family that had fallen on hard times and played for us at the original Hoots gathering last year. As a group we helped them out last year. They are doing much better this year and wanted to come back and thank us. A majority of the Hoots left on Saturday, the 27th. It was sad to see the empty slots at the park. That afternoon Lisa took me to Urgent Care. Not exactly how we had planned to spend our 34th wedding anniversary. I had been fighting some kind of infection/cold/flu/west nile virus? all week so she convinced me to get some professional help. No smart remarks from you! They put me on an antibiotic and recommended some other over the counter medications. I'm feeling much better, thank you.
 |
| After dinner the first night in Sevierville |
 |
| Later yet our first night |
 |
| The Sunday zip line crew |
 |
| Go Lisa!! |
 |
| How do you control this thing? |
 |
| Everybody who came to Hoot this year |
 |
| Tuff looking bunch for Thursday's ride |
 |
| Charlie's lead Harley |
 |
| Lloyd's Gold Wing |
 |
| Jeff & Gail's trike |
 |
| Da Jeeps |
 |
| Oh yeah!! Laureen's Vette (She let Ron drive today.) |
 |
| So, when did that tree start growing out of our roof? |
 |
| Ladies lunch on Tuesday (I know this is out of order) |
 |
| The Ransom Notes at Friday's Farewell Dinner |
We packed up and pulled out of Two Rivers Landing about 11:30 AM on Sunday giving the air horns their requisite exercise upon departure. We crossed the time zone and landed on Homeless Hill at The Gardens RV Village some time after 2:00 PM Central Time after a fuel stop and one detour due to terrible traffic. We enjoyed dinner at next door neighbors Dave and MaryJo Deming's house last night, Monday, the 29th. Today we hope to meet our roofmate. A roofmate is the neighbor whom you share a common wall with in the duplexes found here in The Gardens. Tomorrow we leave for an unknown destination. No, really, we don't know where we're going. We need to figure that out. What we do know is that we need to be in Arizona in late October so I can meet with a hand surgeon to arrange a repair for Dupuytren's contracture which I'm experiencing in the baby finger of my left hand. It takes Blue Cross a few weeks to approve the process. During that few weeks Lisa and I will fly to Australia to visit our daughter, Kelly and her fiancé' Chris. While we're there they will get married on November 20th in a small ceremony involving just Kelly and Chris, his parents, and us at a winery in Hunter Valley. We'll fly back to the states the day before Thanksgiving. We'll then set up camp at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ until just before Christmas. Then we'll move over to Casa Grande RV Resort & Cottages until the end of January. We'll fly to Michigan for two weeks during the holidays. Then we spend the month of February at Havasu Falls RV Resort in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Finally, we spend the month of March in Tucson at Winter Haven RV Park. The only other plan beyond this is to be in West Yellowstone from June 28th thru July 12th.
Well, I apologize for the length of this post. I'm sure it took several cups of coffee to get through it. I'll try to be more timely from now on. See ya on the road!!
Posts
