Back to Caseville

3^rd  – 7^th  Sep

We returned from Canada back to Caseville for our last few days with Charlie and Doreen.  Charlie’s son, Brian was staying for a few days and on the Thursday we all went kayaking for the afternoon on the Pinnebog River, down to the shores of Lake Huron.

Travelling on the road is not all plain-sailing and whilst staying here we have had the opportunity to sort out a few problems with the car and RV.  The car has been on a manufacturer’s recall for the last 6 months; so we finally got it to a GM garage to have the work completed.  The RV had started to miss-fire just as we arrived 3 weeks ago so spark plugs and leads have been replaced.  Paul fitted a new toilet that was delivered and did some redecorating inside the RV. 

So now we are ready to begin the next stage of our trip travelling south. 

 

8^th – 11^th Sept – Detroit

We drove down to a campsite near Jackson, just west of Detroit to get a garage to look a problem we had with the RV levelling jacks. On the way we came across trucks taking the sugar beet to be processed.

On the Thursday we had a day trip into the city of Detroit.  

 

1946 Dinner

The Henry Ford Museum not only displayed a number of cars but also exhibited inventions innovations from the past 100 years or more.  Inter-active touch-screens by some exhibits offered additional info and images which you could enlarge for angles not visible from behind the barriers.  We had lunch in this 1946 dinner. VW was one of the first "Camper Vans" on the market.

How about this wood burning stove in your front room.

Wood Burning Stove

 

 

VW Camper

We spent 4 hours there which meant we didn’t have time to visit Greenfield Village as we needed to get into the city centre to visit the Motown History Museum.

Hitsville USA is where Berry Gordy first established Motown Records in January 1959.  He bought several houses along the West Grand Boulevard turning them into one of the biggest recording companies of the time with over 180 No 1 hit songs worldwide.  The tour took us around the ‘first house’ and including the converted garage ‘Recording Studio A’ where the likes of Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Jackson 5 recorded hits.

The first Motown record to sell one million copies was in 1960 (Shop Around by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). 
No photography was allowed in the museum.

We spent an amount of time driving around trying to find the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex we had seen on the internet.  We drove right past the location according to the website but could not find the building.  We saw many derelict buildings around Detroit.  The area was very run-down in places with buildings falling apart.  It was the saddest city we’ve ever seen.

Canada

28^th Aug – Mississauga, Toronto

Being so close to the Canadian border made it convenient to visit Toronto to see Alison’s Uncle and Aunt in Mississauga.  So we drove the car for 6½ hours, via Port Huron and Sarnia, into Canada over the connecting toll bridge.  The hot tub in the evening proved relaxing after the long drive.

29^th Aug – Rattray Marsh

In the afternoon we took a stroll around Rattray Marsh on the shores of Lake Ontario.  We could see the Toronto sky line and the CN Tower, in the distance.

30^th Aug – Toronto

We drove through Toronto city and did some window shopping in the afternoon.  Our friends Mark and Mandy from UK happened to be holidaying in Toronto with their friends this weekend too.  We

were kindly invited to join them all for a BBQ in the evening which was great fun.

2^nd Sep – Toronto Island

We took the GO Transit train into Toronto city centre and then the ferry out to Toronto Island.  Although very commercialised the Island provides a lovely setting to wander around relaxing in the sunshine.  As this was the Labor Day holiday the place was packed with families.  We had a couple of ‘fly-past’ from aircraft participating in the air show for the Canadian National Exhibition nearby.  There were a couple of sandy beaches; one of which was sign-posted ‘clothing optional’ – good thing it was a hot sunny day for them.

The views across from the island towards Toronto were pretty good, even with a mad woman leaping up and down in front of the camera.

 

“The Thumb” Michigan

11^th – 27^th August – Caseville

We spent the next three weeks with the RV parked in the back yard of our friends Charlie and Doreen.  They live near a town called Caseville on the north-west shore line of The Thumb of Michigan.  The state of Michigan is shaped like a left-hand mitten with a ‘thumb’.  Their house is right opposite Lake Huron with a lovely sandy beach down to the water level. 

13^th August – Cheeseburger Festival Parade

This week happened to be when Caseville hold their Cheeseburger Festival.  Part of the festivities included a Parade for which thousands of people came into town.  It looked like most of Michigan had turned up because Caseville population is 800.

16^th August – The Boat Race

This event was held on Lake Huron.  Contestants had to paddle a short course in their home-made CARDBOARD Boats.  This was a test of creativity, ingenuity, imagination, paddling and swimming skills.  There were a variety of classes for children as well as adults. 
Most surprisingly some boats survived their first run to be used again in another class!  However many didn’t make it past the first corner of the route.
Also on the beach were some very good sand sculptures.

17^th August – Classic Car Show

 The Cheeseburger Classic Car Show was held down near the beach with some beautifully cared for cars to be admired. Alison got to sit in one. At first she couldn’t reach the peddles until the owner pressed a button and the seat moved forward and up.
Had to make sure this little fellow didn't get run over.

 

21^st August – Octagon Barn & Petroglyphs

This area of Michigan is agricultural with fields of corn and soya beans amongst some of the crops.  It is flat and clearly an ideal place for the hundreds of wind turbines that were everywhere.  We took a drive out to visit an Octagon Barn. 

 

This was an excellent museum of by-gone days with a considerable number of old agricultural machines and implements as well as other antiques from the past – some of which we remember being used in our childhood days.

We also visited some Petroglyphs – the only ones in Michigan.  They date back to early native peoples and were discovered after a fire in the late 1800s uncovered the trees and undergrowth that had hidden them.

27^th August – Frankenmuth

This town was a 1½ hour drive south and was settled by German immigrants in the late 1700s/early 1800s.  The town’s building regulations ensure buildings are built in keeping with the ‘German-style’.  Even MacDonald’s had to comply.

 

We spent the day visiting the Town Museum, Mill and Brewing Company and tasting numerous cheeses, chocolates and wines and beers. Its a tough life being retired.

Frankenmuth is known for Bronner’s, the biggest Christmas store in the country.  Even in August we enjoyed a bit of Christmas cheer (?!). Baa Humbug said Paul.

 

Paul was interviewed by a local reporter for a TV programme.

 

 

 

 

The "Mighty Mac"

31^st July – Mackinac Bridge

We had spent the last week in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Now we started our journey southwards and drove over the “Mighty Mac”.  This 5 mile suspension bridge links Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas over the Straits of Mackinac, with Lake Michigan on the west and Lake Huron on the east side.  

Our campsite was right on the shores of Lake Huron and we could see people para-sailing over the waters with the bridge in the background.

1^st August – Mackinac Island

In the morning we took the hydro-jet ferry over to Mackinac Island which was completed shrouded in fog. We didn’t see the dock until we were within around 100ft. The Island was originally the second National Park in USA but at the end of the 19^th Century it was transferred over to the state and has been a major tourist destination ever since. 

 

The Island has kept its ‘Victorian charm’ by not allowing any motorised vehicles on the island; so it is back to original horse-power with over 600 horses on the Island.  Even deliveries of supplies are transported from the docks on the back of horse drawn wagons.




We visited Fort Mackinac which had soldiers in period costume giving a variety of presentations including canon firing.




We hiked through the woods to the arch, and also took a self-drive horse and carriage out for just over an hour which was great fun – although we did have a difference of opinion with our horse as to what was a reasonable ‘going home’ speed. We were going to visit "The Grand Hotel" but they wanted $10 each just to walk past the entrance.

 

2^nd August – Rendezvous Fair

The weekend was the 18^th Century Rendezvous in Mackinac City (many towns have these events during the summer).  It commemorates the Fur Trapping and Trading days and people dress in period costume and engage in re-enactments of particular events for the region.  In this case it was the fighting between the local Militia and Native Indians with some British troops, playing bagpipes? thrown in for good measure.  We followed the skirmish, which included the firing of canons and muskets from the Marina into the shopping area with Indians taking cover behind parked cars – which then set off car alarms. Highly entertaining for all concerned!  There was also some (pre-agreed) ‘looting’ from the shops with the bounty being presented to participants later in the weekend.

 3^rd August – Travel South

We drove from Mackinac City to Honor along the western shoreline of Michigan.  This region is well known for growing cherries but it has to be said if you are a Golfer then this area of Lower Michigan is the place to go, as we lost count of how many golf courses we passed.

4^th August – Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

We spent the day visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes.  In places these sand dunes rise 450ft above Lake Michigan.  At one overlook on the scenic drive, the slope down to the water appeared to be almost vertical.  We watched many people going down the sandy slope, swim in the lake and then make their way, laboriously, back up the 450ft climb arriving red-faced and breathless an hour or so later.

We decided to wimp out and opted, instead, for the 100ft sand dune climb further down the road.  We did this bare-foot and half way up discovered the sand was red hot.

Afterwards we visited the villages of Glen Haven and Glen Arbor.  At Glen Haven we walked down to the beach where some people were swimming.  We dipped our toes in the waters of Lake Michigan but it would need to be a lot warmer before we were likely to get further into it.

5^th August – Bass Lake

We took a quick drive around the area checking out the village of Interlochen and Turtle Lake.  In the afternoon we did a 3.6mile hike through the woods around Bass and Otter Lake in the Dunes Park.   
 

At our camp fire that evening we enjoyed the company of Marv and Betty who were staying in one of the cabins in the campground with their two grandchildren.

6^th – 9^th August – Tubb’s Lake

We drove further south to a series of inter-linked lakes, one of which was Tubb’s Lake with a campground right on the lake edge.  We are now spending the next few days exploring the 3 larger lakes via the various channels.