Amazing Michigan

After leaving the Detroit area, we crossed over to the SW side of the state and plugged Max in at a KOA in Allendale.  This turned out to be a great central location as it let us easily explore Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, South Haven, and all parts in between. Lucky for us, with the exception of some fog that rolled in off of Lake Michigan in Grand Haven, the weather was exceptional for our entire visit (and the fog was actually kind of cool anyway -- one minute we could see the lighthouse perfectly and the next minute it was completely hidden).  Grand Haven also had a lovely walk-able downtown area that we roamed around. 

Lighthouse in Grand Haven 

Just a little drive (by car) further south along the shoreline was South Haven. Our main target there was a Maritime Museum that had a special exhibit of shipwrecks and the disappearance of NWA flight 2501 in 1950 over Lake Michigan. For being one of the smallest museums we have ever been in, we spent a lot of time there because the displays and write-ups were so fascinating (though often sad and sometimes morbid). We also enjoyed seeing yet another local lighthouse and South Haven's equally lovely downtown area. No surprise that none of the lighthouses we are seeing have a human "keeper" anymore.

Next up was a day in Grand Rapids -- in fact, we actually had to come back a 2nd day in order to see everything on the list.  The highlight was the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum and boy was it well done! Though we were young, Jeffrey and I both remember that time in history and it was so interesting to hear the more personal details about this president, the bizarre circumstances of how he became our un-elected leader, and the very difficult job he was faced with.  We also spent a bit of time at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.  Lesson learned -- museums are best seen mid to late afternoon if you want a quiet experience. The mornings and early afternoons are typically swarming with school and camp groups and rarely is the concept of "inside voices" applied by kids. 

At this point we packed up Max and relocated our home base to the Traverse City area (the "pinky" area of the state if you imagine it as a hand). This area is renown for its cherry and wine industries.  We did a tasting at Chateau Chatal on the Mission Peninsula, but there were scores of other vineyards too. It is also near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park and it is somewhat mind boggling to see such gigantic sand dunes away from an ocean or desert -- at several points they encroach several miles inland and are almost impossible to climb up. And guess what? We saw more lighthouses up here.  They literally dot the coast all over the lake borders -- turns out Michigan has a longer coastline than any other state except Alaska.

Maren at the Sleeping Bear Dunes (Jeffrey taking picture form a higher spot)

Our next "house" relocation took us to Brimley in the "U.P" (Upper Peninsula).  To Jeffrey's delight, this took us over the 45th parallel (halfway to the North Pole) and we thankfully had an uneventful crossing of the 5-mile long suspension Mackinac Bridge.  We've been told that if the winds are too high, a vehicle like ours can't safely go over.While somewhat remote, Brimley was a good spot to park Max while we made day trips in the car to Tahquamenon Falls, the Michigan Shipwreck Museum, Sault St. Marie (where the Soo Locks are), and Mackinac Island.  This island was especially interesting because it was all bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. You take a ferry over, enjoy a lovely carriage ride tour, and even see historic Fort Mackinac. If you like fudge, this is the place to go -- there are fudge shops everywhere you look and competition is fierce!

A boat entering one of the Soo Locks

"Upper" Tahquamenon Falls

Lovely naturally formed arch on Mackinac Island (various shade depths of lake water seen through it)

One of our horse-drawn carriages on Mackinac Island

The only negative we have experienced so far in the U.P. is a horrible mosquito infestation. Apparently some disease is harming the local bat population (their biggest predator) and the late spring and high lake levels are making them a bumper crop this year.  Somehow we managed to suck in a bunch of these blood suckers into the motorhome and spent days swatting at them -- I'm talking 100 at least!  We haven't figured out yet how they got in as it was too many to sneak in the door.

On a happy note, we celebrated our 2-year anniversary of living full time in a motorhome and can't really believe it has been that long.  It is definitely true that time flies when you are having fun!

Our first "couple selfie" celebrating the anniversary

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