Note from Jen: Trav is great at journaling every day and capturing the facts of where we have been and what we have been up to. So, we will post these entries once a week for those of you who would like to follow along on our travels and get the straight-up facts and the play-by-play. Starting next week, I will put the entries up weekly. However, as I have just now convinced him to give me the entries and start this endeavor, you are getting the first three weeks all at once! So get yourself a nice beverage, settle in, get cozy, and enjoy the first three weeks of our adventures from Trav's point of view!
August 31
Our first day…what a wonderful start to our year-long adventure! We had family come to our house to see us off. Sarah brought breakfast, Chris came over, and Mary was already there to take care of our house while we were gone.
We packed all of our last-minute items in the truck, and with a few tears (mostly from Charlotte), we said our goodbyes. Seeing Charlotte cry made it really hard to leave.
We picked up our fifth wheel at our storage facility, packed all the stuff from the truck into the rig (which took two hours!), and were off!
Jen scheduled our first stop at a place close to home, only 1.5 hours away. This made the first day less stressful. I couldn’t imagine trying to haul 300 miles the first day.
We got to our first spot and it was a beautiful apple orchard called Connell’s Family Orchard near Chippewa Falls, WI. Their family has owned the farm for 160 years. Wow, was that beautiful!
Our rig was right in the middle of the orchard. We had raspberries right outside our door. Two brothers owned the family farm, and one of them, Rick, came down to see how we had settled in. He asked if we wanted to go on a ride, and he took us around the farm, showing us all the highlights. There was a corn maze, a bee hive, some trailers used for their haunted house, and a variety of fruits. The girls rode their bikes in the orchard while the sunset. What a beautiful first day.
We did discover that the Jackery wasn’t working, the solar wasn’t working, and our troubled tire is still not fixed. Argh.
September 1
Day 2:
We got up today to a wonderful setting in the orchard. It opened to the public at 9:00, so we got our cup of coffee and walked the property and went through the corn maze before people arrived. It was nice. We had it all to ourselves.
Once the orchard opened, we went up to the main building, ate some apple donuts for breakfast, grabbed some buckets for raspberries, and went out in front of our rig and picked them fresh from the field. It was a perfect morning. The girls wanted to stay and jump on the bouncy house, but we needed to get going to our next spot, the horse farm.
It was only about 2.5 hours away near Green Bay. We arrived to find this beautiful, secluded house set in the woods in a neighborhood and we couldn’t see the neighbors. Acres of Joy was the name of the place. We were first greeted by a guest house that was bigger than some people’s home. Next to it was a private pond. Set against the backdrop of the property was the house and garage. The owners were from Arizona and had only owned this property since April. They were still building this farm used as therapy for people.
Aela really loved petting the miniature horses. I think of all of us, she was the one who connected with the animals the most. She could stay in the pen, petting the animals, all day. This was our second day boondocking and we finally got the solar working and the Jackery working… we still have a bad tire.
September 2
Day 3:
We woke up to the sound of a rooster that they had amongst their chickens. We gathered our belongings, Aela said goodbye to the animals, and we were off by 11:00 to the Upper Peninsula. This trip is the longest so far, 3.5 hours. But the drive was pretty along the north shore of Lake Michigan. It reminded me a lot of the north shore of Lake Superior…except a lot more Trump signs. We thought it would be like Cook County in Minnesota.
We arrived at our lakeside resort for the first place, and we will have full hook-ups. It’s a very nice spot. We have a double lot and a pull-through site. We spent the rest of the evening getting settled in.
September 3
Day 4:
First day of school! The girls had their first day of fourth grade…it’s a little different from their normal school routine, but Jen had everything ready for them. I don’t know who was more excited for the first day of school, Jen or the girls.
They did some learning inside and also found time for doing their reading time out in the hammock we set up outside the RV.
For mom and dad, we spent the day unpacking. It was a lot. We didn’t get through all of it. We will try to finish tomorrow. We also made our first run to a grocery store to stock our fridge and shelves.
September 4
Day 5:
We are off to Pictured Rocks today. The girls are doing their second day of school and trying to get into a routine.
Pictured Rocks is the first National Park on our trip. The girls got their first Junior Ranger badge today. How exciting. Then we saw the layout of the park. Because it really focuses on the shoreline, it is long and skinny. I didn’t realize the scale until I saw it was about a 45-minute drive to get from one side of the park to the other.
September 5
Day 6:
Today we went to Mackinac Island. It was about an hour away from where we are staying in Curtis. Most of the drive there was along Lake Michigan. We got to St. Ignace and took a ferry across. What beautiful weather. It has been 75 degrees every day since we left. Can’t complain at all. The ride out to the island was smooth. We got to see the “Mighty Mack” bridge for the first time from the water. Tomorrow, we will be driving across it.
When we arrived at the island, we first went to the visitor’s center to get some more info about this picturesque place. The girls did some learning there where they had to find three facts about the island. We learned that there are no cars on the island. All transportation is done by horse, bike, or walking. Side note…we did see one vehicle, but it was an EMS truck used for emergencies. That makes sense.
We ate lunch at the Pink Pony overlooking the harbor on their deck. It was a beautiful view. From there we walked up to the front gate of the Fort, took some pictures, all the while the girls kept asking us about swimming. Every five minutes…" When are we going to go swimming?" They wanted to swim in the lake. We could find a sandy beach anywhere within walking distance. We finally found a place at the end of Market Street where we could get to the water, but it was very rocky. The girls played at the water's edge for some time before we moved along to see the Grand Hotel—the signature stay on the island.
The hotel charges $12 per person to come into the lobby if you are not staying at the hotel. So, we opted to take some pictures outside and have some ice cream at the at the little shop.
We walked back to the ferry and headed back to the mainland. We arrived just as it started to rain. What great timing. What a wonderful day. It rained the entire trip back to our RV. Hope the winds and rain hold off until we can get over the bridge tomorrow.
September 6
Day 7:
Today was fairly uneventful. It was a moving day today. We went from Curtis, MI to a town near Sleeping Bear Dunes called Empire. We are staying at Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort for two nights.
I guess the biggest thing we did today was go over the “Mighty Mack.” The Mackinac Bridge connects the Upper Peninsula to the main part of Michigan. The weather was perfect for the crossing. The wind was light and out of the north, with no crosswind.
September 7
Day 8:
Wow! What a day! We went to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Definitely one to recommend.
We started the day by going to the headquarters, where the girls got their Junior Rangers booklets. There was an information center where they filled out some of their booklet, but much of it had to be experienced out in the park. So, off we went.
The first place we went to was the Dune Climb. But when we pulled into the parking lot we realized this wasn’t where we wanted to go. We wanted to see the giant dune that goes all the way to the lake…the place where people go to the bottom and try to climb back up to the top. So, we went to the scenic drive loop road. That is where it was. We found it and we were definitely not disappointed. In fact, it was bigger than I imagined. There was a ridge where we could not see the bottom or how steep was it. Off to the side, there was an observation deck where we could safely see the slope. I got some pictures.
Then we were off to see a colleague of Chris’s, Kira, who we met and saw a friend of hers, Eric, speak. He was a Native American whose family lived in the area for thousands of years. He told the story of his people from their point of view. It was an amazing talk.
Afterwards, we went to dinner at the Boondocks restaurant and then headed to the beach where we hung out until the sun went down. What a wonderful day. The girls spent the their time on the beach building a rock path for Mommy to follow. It was very extensive.
September 8
Day 9:
Today was a moving day. But before we could head out, Jen took the girls back to the park headquarters for the girls to get their junior ranger badge and a patch. This is the first park where they got a patch.
On the road again…2.5 hours down to Grand Rapids, MI. The park we are staying at is next to a river. What a beautiful setting. I set up my work situation so it would be ready for tomorrow. First day of work.
September 9
Day 10:
First day of work. Not much happened today. Just getting started with work. The girls did a day of learning from the RV.
September 10
Day 11:
Second day of work. The girls did some learning in the RV and then went to the sculpture garden for the rest of the day. It was a full day for them. Then, when they got back, they wanted to go to the pool and swim. They are getting to be such great swimmers. They are treading water now and swimming in the deep end.
September 11
Day 12:
“Street sadness with a hint of graffiti and beer.” That’s what Eva said it smelled like when we were going to Founders Brewery for dinner.
September 12
Day 13:
Just a working day and getting ready for tomorrow’s moving day. We did have our first fire tonight along with some smores. The girls went on a paddleboat ride today.
September 13
To Day 14:
Moving day. We are going to a drive-in movie theater through Harvest Hosts tonight. We couldn’t check in until 7:30, so we had to hang out at a park for a few hours to kill time. We swam in a lake and saw sunfish.
After swimming, the girls wanted to go play on the playground. There was a little girl about A&E’s age carrying around a small kitten? Where did she get the kitten? Why did she bring it to the park? Did she just bring it from home? Where were the parents in all this decision-making? Anyway…off to Flint, MI to see some movies.
It was nice at the drive-in. We parked alongside the concession stand. So we had the entire row to ourselves. There were three screens, and we could see two of them. On one side of our rig we watched Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. The girls were excited to see it until the first few minutes on the screen proved too scary for them. So, they just wrapped themselves up in a movie on their tablets.
The second movie we watched was Twisters. It was on a different screen but all we needed to do was move our arrangement to the other side of the rig.
September 14
Day 15:
Well, we woke up in a Drive-in movie theater parking lot. That was pretty cool. Then the day kinda sucked from then on out.
We got on the road for a 3.75-hour drive to Cleveland. The roads leaving Michigan got really bad just before we crossed the state line into Ohio. Then the roads were nice for a bit until we got to the Turnpike. The roads were fine, but just a lot of road construction. Then, Aela had an emergency bathroom break, and we needed to get off the Turnpike at a spot in an abandoned lot. Pretty sketchy. We noticed the Sheriff pulled into an open lot about a block away and I think they sat there watching us. Everyone went potty and we were on our way.
Getting to our RV park was interesting. The back roads were hilly and curvy. We came over one hill to find a bunch of motorcyclists just sitting on the side of the road, which didn’t have a shoulder. Luckily there was no traffic and we could pass in the other lane. If a car was coming, it would have been hard to stop.
We got to our RV park. Hmmm. Well, it is really tight. Campers piled on top of each other. Trying to pull into our tight spot I clipped a guy’s rear tail light. Not good. While swinging into our site, the bikes stick way out on the back. Oops! Crash! Well, now I have to fix our bike rack and the tire. The RV sites are so tight that there is only about ten feet between units. We are looking out directly at the next rig and their sewer lines. Mmmm.
Well, we needed to call the cops. When they came out he said, “I know Ohio isn’t a great place, but I hope this doesn’t ruin your stay here!” What?? I know Ohio isn’t great?? You’re a cop from Ohio. Why would you say that? Aren’t you supposed to promote your state? Anyway, we finished the paperwork and got the RV set up, and I got the tire off and put on the spare. Enough for the evening. Let’s settle in.
That only went so far. Later on, while getting ready for bed, the girls were in our bedroom goofing off. Aela kicked Eva and she fell out of bed and hit her head on the floor really hard. She had a headache. We told her to get some sleep and it would feel better in the morning. It did.
Let’s try for a better day tomorrow.
September 15
Day 16:
Woke up and went to NTB to get the tire looked at. The people there were really friendly and helpful. We found the leak in the rim. I came back to the rig and filled out the paperwork for the tire and sent it on. Hopefully they get our tire here on time.
Then, we were off to the ‘A Christmas Story’ house. It is here in Cleveland! What a cool experience. We got a tour of the house with a guide that talked a lot about the history of the house. There was the house, the Bumpus house, the museum across the street, and a gift shop. Afterwards we ate at Rowley Inn across the street.
I was told that when the producers came to find the house for filming, they knocked on the door to see if the owner was home to make an offer. The owner was not home. So, the producers went across the street to Rowley’s and found the owner sitting at the bar. They made him the offer there.
September 16
Day 17:
Not much happened today. Just a Monday at work. Lots of meetings. The girls went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park and did their junior ranger work.
I tried to follow up with the tire people to see if that was getting processed quickly. I talked to a guy with the company for the bike rack. They can send the replacement part for the part that got damaged on the back of our rig. But it will have to be sent to our next location near Niagara Falls.
September 17
Day 18:
Just another working day. But after work the girls took me to Brandywine Falls. It is a waterfall in the Cuyahoga Valley. We had a picnic and went on a nice walk.
September 18
Day 19:
Working day today. But NTB called and said that the wheel arrived and they put the tire on the new hub. I asked them to dunk it in water to make sure there are no holes in this rim. They said they did and it looked good. Gotta put the tire back on before we hit the road on Friday.
September 19
Day 20:
Just a day at work. The girls finally got to do their train ride today. We are getting things ready for the moving day tomorrow.
Tomorrow it will be three weeks on the road. That is something to think about. Also, we are getting out of Ohio. Haven’t had a good week here. Lately, the water has been stinking like sulfur. Ick. We’ve been using our reserve water we got in Michigan because it smells so bad here. We took a shower and our entire place smelled like rotten eggs. Can’t wait to leave.
September 20
Day 21:
Moving day today. We had to check out by 11:00 and I also had to switch out the new tire with the spare that I had on temporarily while the bad one was getting serviced. The switch went well. I was able to jack up the tire after we got the slides on. Getting the spare back into position was easy.
We were able to get out of Ohio and go to a small town called Wilson just outside of Buffalo. Our new location at the Daisy Barn Campgrounds is right on Lake Ontario and the lots have a ton more room than the place in Cleveland.
When we arrived, the new bike rack that I ordered was sitting on the front step right by the office. That was nice to see.
The only downside is our WiFi signal. In Cleveland, we were getting speeds as high as 180 Mbps, but here we are getting 3 Mbps. We’ll see how it goes.
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