Aug 11 - Green Lake Campground

A good and busy day today. Greg made some fantastic omelets and then we took the dogs and ourselves on a four-mile walk along one of the local nature trails. We saw a wild turkey, which exploded up from the forest floor and flew into the trees, a comatose dragonfly, what we think was a large owl flying through the woods, and a small turtle sitting in the middle of a tire track in a dirt road. We repositioned the turtle to the side of the road and aimed him at a bog. We're hoping for the best.

We returned from the walk and began planning the evening meal. Like I said before, Pattie and Greg have some pretty good meals out in the woods. Deb and I are feeling inadequate. I think we are of the opinion that if one wants a good meal, one goes to a restaurants. That's why restaurants are there. Tonight's meal is Committee Chicken. It took us quite a while to decide when and how to marinate the chicken.

Our previous justification for not cooking has been the persistent heat. Really we just don't plan as well…plus it takes time to build the fire and get the coals just right for the BBQ.

Once the meal was planned, off we went swimming at one of the local lakes. Deb, Patti, and Greg went swimming. I opted instead for a long, long shower since the lake was at a campground with showers. My shower was great. Deb also (finally) took a shower so she's not sticky anymore. I'm happy about that.

Pattie persists in believing that all of her dogs want to swim. She tried to get Shep, the one with the glorious tail, to sit in the water. No way was he going to submerge his plumage. We had to leave the swimming after the little, irritating flies started buzzing the doggies and us. Megan, one of the dogs, hates the buzzing flies.

Dinner was quite a success! It started with Pattie's thumbs. Because of what we mistakenly thought was impending rain, they were hurting. So Dr. Bob jumped to the rescue with Dr. Bob's Magic Elixir. The elixir consists of two olives in a glass of ice-cold vodka. In sympathy with Pattie we all thought we should share her remedy so we all had variations on this basic recipe.

In fact, we all had two. It worked, and Pattie's thumbs stopped hurting. We were all so happy. Actually, I think we were all too happy.

Dinner was great. Fresh corn, Deb cooked the Committee Chicken perfectly over the campfire along with pineapple, and crunchy bread. We also had broccoli and fresh mango. A bottle of Chardonnay helped a bit, too.

Aug 12 - Green Lake Campground

Starting Mileage - 47733

We had breakfast with Pattie and Greg and began repacking to leave. I have to say that Pattie and Greg are first rate camping companions! We had a great time with them and the puppies. If they weren't family, I'd be happy to have them as friends.

So now it was on to Jim and Sue's. I have known them since the late sixties when they lived in Colorado. We haven't seen each other since 1991 so I was eager to catch up. Deb and I took to the back roads once again and promptly became lost. The map program did not match the roads, and we couldn't figure out where we were from the paper map. The GPS saved us once again. It pinpointed our position and we were able to get back on a recognizable route. We also were able to use the cell phone again so we got our e-mail after four days of being incommunicado. Lots of e-mail to answer! Plus we had to post our latest week's journal.

I use the computer while we are driving because the Delorme map program has much better detail than the AAA Michigan map. It is kind of awkward balancing the table on my lap with computer and mouse pad positioned on top of it. But it has saved us a couple of times.

This part of Michigan is very pretty, but I can hardly see it through my blurry eyes and runny nose. How do so many pollens float about in the rain? My drugs are working. I have been double dosing using my Allegra and Sudafed. Hopefully soon there will be relief!

We arrived at Jim and Sue's in the middle of the afternoon. Jim wasn't home yet so Deb and Sue and I had to break out the vermouth, olives, and vodka by ourselves and without Jim's expert guidance. Sue didn't know where Jim had hidden the vodka, but I did. Jim, being a somewhat bright guy, had put it in the freezer where it belongs. Jim got points for that. I think Sue was somewhat mystified when I hadn't been inside the house in ten years, but I still knew where the vodka was.

We are not quite so derelict as Bob would make out. Sure we arrived in the middle of the afternoon, but first we went to the store for grocery shopping. Then we got back to the house where Bob had a martini and I had a beer.

I must add though that later on Jim made me my first mint julep. I missed them in the south. Fresh mint from the front yard. It was great. Too sweet for continued consumption, but it slid down smoothly.

After Jim got home we had a nice dinner at the local pub in Plainwell and retired early. I was tired, and the thought of a real bed sounded nice.

August 13 - Plainwell, Michigan

Sue and Deb and I had originally intended to go on a bike ride today, but it was raining and the weather report was not too encouraging so after a light breakfast we headed out to explore Michigan. Naturally, we headed straight for a winery to taste some of Michigan's finest. We found a couple of amusing white wines we enjoyed so we bought a few bottles.

Checked out Saugatauck.

Saugatauck is a summer vacation town on Lake Michigan. Neat town. Lots of shops and ice cream vendors. You can assess the degree of civilization in a town by the ratio of ice cream shops to population. Saugatauck is very civilized.

Wondered about after lunch while Bob and the others munched down ice cream cones examining the boats. Windy today. Another afternoon of impending storms. I am wearing a jacket and happy to have it. Bob is busy checking out the yachts. He still thinks part of his next life is a doggy and a boat.

Another committee snacky dinner back at the home. Much better than going out. We ate way too much.

Dinner was fun. We went to a grocery store and all picked out a few foods to have for dinner. We had quite a great variety…. sardines, prawns, crackers, cheeses, BBQ portabella mushrooms, pita bread smothered in Vidaliia onions and feta cheese, smoked oysters, carrots and peppers and the list goes on. It was a landmark dinner. A dinner by committee.

Say this without smiling…

Kalamazoo Gazette

August 14 - Plainwell, Michigan

A day of the First Water! We awoke late and ate breakfast. Then Sue and Deb and I held Jim at gunpoint and had him drive us to the start of the Kalhaven bicycle trail. This is a 34-mile Rails to Trails trail which wanders from near Plainwell, Michigan to South Haven on the shores of Lake Michigan. We placed our "end of trail" drink orders before Jim dropped us off. The trail was beautiful! It wound through farmland and many small towns. Soybeans, corn, and hardwood forests. It was a great ride. When we arrived at the end of the trail Jim was waiting with beer, mudslides, and some softdrinks that nobody drank. He also had a handsome new cooler and a basket of blueberries. Blueberries are big here, and it was Southhaven's annual Blueberry Festival Weekend.

The trail is named Kal-Haven after Kalamazoo and South Haven. It is flat.. constant cycling since there are no downhills. A problem I have with the rail-to-trail paths is that you don't see the little towns because you are enshrouded in path of trees. Some may say this is good. Personally I like looking at yards and the local businesses. Another good thing is "No dogs". Anyone who lives on a path has since learned to leash or enclose his or her wandering pets. In addition this path had lots of shade. Parts of the forest was so thick that only ferns grew under the canopy.

Off we went to some bar on the river. They do not yet have tiki bars on the Michigan coast. Any state without tiki bars should be classified as "primitive". The parade of boats past the bar was reminiscent of idle hours spent at tiki bars in Florida. Michigan has some nice boats. We noticed that every large, expensive boat came with a leggy blond chick. We also noticed that the men always drove the boat. Men are such pigs. The local restaurants were over-subscribed due to the Blueberry Festival. It was a two-hour wait for a table so we headed home, and had a nice dinner at a local Plainwell restaurant.

We retired to the pool deck waiting for the meteor shower. It was cold. Mist was rising from the pool. I could not stay out long. One shooting star was good enough for me.

August 15 - Leaving Plainwell, Michigan

Starting Mileage - 47850

Sue used the blueberries to make pancakes for us before sending Jim off to visit his mother in PA and Deb and I off to Northern Michigan. We were sad we didn't have more time to spend with them. They are great hosts and wonderful friends. Sue didn't even charge us to do our laundry, and only charged us $2.35 each for breakfast - quite a bargain.

Sue won't let anyone in her kitchen. She would not let me strip the beds. It is not like being at Mom's house where this is expected. I did not even think of asking where the vacuum cleaner was.

Deb and I headed off around 11:00AM. We went west toward Lake Michigan so we could drive up the coast. We stopped in Grand Haven, which has a magnificent harbor and River Walk along the Grand River where it empties into Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect, and there was a constant parade of boats along the river, and a parade of people on the River Walk. Naturally, we had to have an ice cream sundae to celebrate the moment.

Passed another Rail-to-Trail path. We have seen more bicyclists in Michigan than all of the other states put together. The roads are lightly traveled and the scenery is wonderful.

We continued along up the coast to Pentwater, another summer resort town on the lake. We stayed at the Charles Mears State Park. Michigan really knows how to pack people into a park. It was a nice park right on the lake, but we were packed in like sardines. They have about 170 sites and all but four were taken by the time we got there - 4:00PM on a Sunday! There is very little room between sites… people and kids everywhere. We walked along the shore before heading for a walk in town. Nice town.

August 16 - Leaving Pentwater, Michigan

Starting Mileage - ooops!

We headed out of the campground around 9:00AM and resumed our way north. The country is a bit more remote now. Fewer people. The area grows a lot of apples and cherries. Apparently we left the corn and soybeans behind us. It's also difficult to navigate. The map does not show all the roads or the road designations. We tried to buy a better regional map, but the ones we found were just larger print.

The highlight of today was probably the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore along the northwest shore of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. There are some beautiful roads and some nice overlooks. And then you come to "The Dune Climb". How can you ignore a sign like that? We pulled into the parking area and there in front of us was this HUGE sand dune. I mean B-I-G. The entire face of it was full of people and kids trying to climb up and people and kids in various degrees of falling back down after their ascent. So, off went the shoes, and up we started. It's quite an effort. My legs were OK, but my feet and toes were tired from trying to grip the sand. Exhausted, we finally got to the top only to discover that we were only about a third of the way up! Eghad! So we plowed ahead. The wind was blowing so hard that I thought it was going to sandblast the tan right off my legs. It hurt! We went about three-quarters of the total distance and returned. It was a good adventure.

We went all the way to the end of the peninsula, and then turned around and are now camped at Lake Leelenau Campground.

Well, you all wanted to know how long it would take. Bob is not talking to me. Nor will he drive or navigate. It is a quiet night. I played Solitaire and read while I waited for my friend to reappear.

She has no friends here.

August 17 Lake Leelenau, Michigan

Starting mileage 48186

We are still stiff with each other this morning. But there is improvement. There is an occasional grunt.

It was gas.

I want to ride up the peninsula that splits Great Traverse Bay. On the map it looks grand. As we are driving south on the glorious sunny day with forecast temperatures of 85F, Bob asks if we can get the recall done on the van. I don’t want to do this. It is beautiful today. But as to not make waves I told him to do what he wanted. Luckily the dealer was booked for 2 weeks. But Bob will not ride with me cause I did not want to go to 2 remote islands and camp with him in the cool weather we have been having. So we are back in a snit again.

We received a recall notice on the van. It seems that the airbag on the driver's side can detonate at random times and cause injury to the driver. Since I do 75% of the driving, having the work done was high on my list, but apparently it is low on Deb's.

I guess we were in the south too long. Now Deb is calling 85F "cool weather".

We drove out this gorgeous peninsula. I decided to ride back. Unfortunately, the route I had picked turned out to be dirt roads, so I returned and rode back in Vinnie with Bob. Even just a little ride on the bicycle helped my spirits.

This is a good area. But the RV park has only a 6-month season.

We're camped at Elks Rapids tonight at an RV park next to a pretty little lake. I cooked what I thought was a pretty nice dinner tonight - grilled steaks, salad, broccoli, an amusing wine, almost-hard dinner rolls, and Deb had sautéed peppers and onions. However, all I got was criticism from Ms. Crabby. She didn't like it. So guess who gets to cook for the next six months?

I suggested that the salad dressing be put on the lettuce at the last minute, so the lettuce didn't get soggy. I also mentioned that I had microwaved the broccoli for 2 minutes not his suggested 3 minutes. He interpreted this to mean I thought his dinner was inadequate. Since I am not going to do all the cooking for 6 months….

End of Week 14

NOTE! - We are headed into Michigan's UP and then to Canada. Our cellular connection is very expensive in Canada so we will be incommunicado for around two weeks, maybe less, maybe more. This means no journal posting and no e-mail.