Grace & Bill's - Illinois 07/18-07/25 2019

We're back!  We took a week off to spend with our daughter Grace, her husband Bill, our two grandkids Laylah and Kasim and Bill's son Holden.  We hadn't seen them in almost two years so this was a very special visit and we really enjoyed our time with all of them!

Left to right - Kasim, Grandma, Grandpa and Laylah

Left to right - Kasim, Grace, Laylah

Kasim goofing around with Harold the cat.

Let to right - Holden, Kasim, Laylah.  

Laylah

Holden

Kasim

Grace and Bill

Grace and Bill on the bridge where they were married

Jane & Patrick's - Howell MI 07/15-07/17 2019

Leaving the UP, we drove south to our dear friends, Jane and Patrick's place near Howell Michigan.  We had not seen them for about two years when they moved here from California.  They have an absolutely beautiful home in the country and they were kind enough to allow us to park there for a couple of days while we visited.

Jane & Patrick's beautiful home

Staying in the front yard allowed us lots of time to visit and catch up on each others lives.  It was totally relaxing and we got lots of doggie love from their sweet little Cardigans.  Could this be our next breed when we downsize??  One never knows....

Enjoying the company of the Cardigans

Jane & Patrick took us out to breakfast at a local place with great food.  While we were there trying to decide what to do the rest of the day the waitress suggested we go visit Frankenmuth.  Frankenmuth is a town about an hour away that resembles a German village.  It was settled by Lutheran immigrants from Germany and now gives us a little slice of Germany right in the middle of Michigan!  The place actually reminds me of Fredericksburg in Texas.  Their other claim to fame is what they bill as the "World's Largest Christmas Store", called Bronner's.  We had a great time checking out the Christmas store and the quaint little downtown area.  Here are pics of that little adventure:

Our great friends, Jane and Patrick

Having a great breakfast at Cheryl's Place and making a plan for the day.

Bronner's

Bronner's

Bronner's

Cool doggie Advent Calendar.  If we had a place to store this in the coach, it would have come home with us!

One of the more famous eateries in Frankenmuth

Sign over the road as you enter/exit town

We got these delicious chicken pot pies at the Bavarian House and took them home for dinner.  Can you tell they are from Michigan?

We really, really enjoyed our time with our friends.  It is a great friendship when you can be apart for years and then just pick up right where you left off.  That is how it is with us.  We hope that we can get together again before too many years go by.  Thank you so much you guys for your hospitality!

The Upper Peninsula, Michigan 07/12-07/15 2019

We drove from Oconto, Wisconsin which is just north of Green Bay along the coast of Lake Michigan all the way to the tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  We stayed there at Straits State Park for a few days.  It is a really beautiful park with 50 amp service at most sites, but no water or sewer.

The view on the drive along Lake Michigan

Our camp site at Straits State Park

We discovered that the local food to try was the pastie.  Pronounced with a short "a" as in "last", not as in pasty white.  We both ordered the traditional beef served hot with gravy.  We also tried the local soft drink of choice, "Vernors".  It was kind of like ginger ale but with a stronger and sweeter taste.  The pasties were good but kind of dry so the gravy was a good thing.  Makes sense, since these are the traditional food for miners which they carried in their pockets when they went to work in the mines.  You wouldn't want anything too juicy!

We also took the ferry out to Mackinac Island which included a ride under the Mackinac Bridge on the way.  By the way - it is pronounced "Mackinaw" regardless of whether it is spelled ending with "w" or "c".  Here are some photos of that excursion:

View of the Mackinaw Bridge from the State Park where we camped

The bridge from the ferry

The bridge from the ferry

Docking at the island.  There were two ferry boats.  The one we are on which went out to the bridge first, and the one in the picture.

Harbor at the island

No cars allowed on the island - only horses and bicycles

A view down main street

Making fudge!  There are at least a dozen fudge stores in this very small main street.  Of course, Linda got some to take home...

The white walls are the perimeter of Fort Mackinac

The Chippewa Hotel and the Pink Pony restaurant where we had lunch.  Delicious apple, honey and nut flatbread.

The fancy taxi to the Grand Hotel

Lots of quaint little hotels like this.

Another hotel

Still another hotel.  They all look very cool!

Waiting to get in the ferry to go home.  We hit it at the right time - only waited about 2 minutes and then boarded.

On the ferry, ready for the ride back to St Ignace.

Minneapolis MN 07/10-07/12 2019

We stayed at a wonderful RV Park which is now among our favorites of all time.  Dakotah Meadows RV Park is owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.  There is also the Mystic Lake Casino next door.  It is a beautiful park with lots of grass for the doggies and large sites.  We got satellite with no problem and the cell signal for both Verizon and Sprint were great so we also finally got to watch Stranger Things on Netflix!

We came here to see my good friend and Air Force buddy, Doug Harrison.  As the park was quite a ways away from his place we were not able to hook up until dinner.  So we got a lot of cleaning and maintenance done.  Linda got all the accumulated laundry done while I cleaned the A/C filters and did some much needed maintenance on the refrigerator.  It was not running at all on propane due to an accumulation of rust and debris on the burner.  I got it all cleaned up and now it runs like new again.

Our visit with Doug and his wonderful family was short, but really heartfelt and also nostalgic.  We met for dinner at a place called "Pinstripes" and as the valet was taking our car away, Doug and his two beautiful daughters pulled up right behind us.  I recognized him right away even though it has been almost 40 years since I've seen him.  Doug and I talked about old times and adventures in flying in the Air Force of course.  But I also got to catch up on everything that has transpired in his life since then.  He lived as an expat in Taiwan for several years before moving to Minneapolis with his charming bride, Gail.  He has had many health issues and is like a cat with nine lives.  He is now at the top of the kidney transplant list and I really pray that he gets a donor soon.  Doug is one of the smartest guys I have ever known and is a model of integrity.  I truly admire him for his tenacity and faith.  We had such a great visit that it was suddenly time to go and it was not until after we said good-bye that I realized I had not taken any pictures!  So once again, all you get is some snaps of the RV Park.  Sorry....  I will really try to do better....

If you zoom in and look closely you can see out rig across the lake behind the trees.

North Dakota 07/07-07/09 2019

We finally made it to North Dakota!  There has been a big hole in that spot on our map for years.  Now we were finally able to fill it in.  We didn't really stay too long - Just passing through on our way from Montana to Minneapolis.  Spent the first night in Dickinson and the RV Park there was quite nice.  The second night was a different story.  We stayed at Governor's RV Park in Casselton, which is ablut 20 miles west of Fargo.  With all the rain, the place was completely flooded.  Couldn't even go in the entrance as the road was totally covered in water.  Most of the park was that way and as we walked the dogs around looking for a place for them to pee that wasn't underwater, we were attacked by squadrons of mosquitoes!  When we finally found some high ground and walked the dogs onto it, the sprinklers came on and blasted us!  WTF??  Needless to say, we were glad to leave that place.  The trip from there to Minneapolis was easy and smooth.  Next post will be all about that visit with my good friend and fellow Chi-Ling from the Air Force, Doug Harrison.

Finally filled in that hole in our map at the top of the country!

While it was beautiful and green, this is a pretty good representation of most of the drive.

Yes, that is a giant cow.  We don't know why...

A lot of our drive was in rain - from a light drizzle to torrential downpours!

Great Falls MT 07/05-07/07 2019

After leaving Glacier, we headed east to Great Falls.  Here we met up with one of my old Air Force buddies that I flew with in Okinawa.  We were great friends back then and even took a trip together on a ferry from Okinawa to Taiwan.  It was really great to see Mark again after more than 40 years and to meet his wonderful wife, Cheryl.

Mark used to be with the US Forest Service and worked at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.  He still works there as a volunteer and he gave us the grand tour of the place.  It was so interesting and with such a knowledgeable guide it was really extra special.  Here are some photos of our excursion:

Mark and I in front of the Lewis & Clark Center

Linda and Mark's wife, Cheryl

Cheryl, Mark, Linda and I in front of a painted buffalo inside the entrance

Mark is unaware his head is about to bitten off!

From left to right - York (Clark's black slave), Seaman (Lewis' Newfie), Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea and her baby

Porting the boats around the falls

Mark helped make a movie and is also in these photos - He is in the white on the left photo and just behind the wheel in the right photo

Statue of Seaman, the Newfoundland who accompanied the explorers all the way to the Pacific and back!

The shortest river - from the springs to the Missouri, about 201 feet.

Giant Springs - Lewis & Clark mentioned this place in their journal.

We stayed at the Great Falls KOA which was conveniently located right next to a Wal-Mart that also had diesel.  On the other side of the park was open land which shows why they call this "Big Sky" country.