Day 47 – August 1, 2007 – Wednesday – Took the car down to a place near the base. Guy tried really hard to find the plug to check the error codes on the car. He thought he found it but turns out that it was the wrong thing. As we left his place, we got a new light for the ABS brake system, the cruise stopped working, and the sunroof wouldn’t open! This car is falling apart right before our eyes!
Long story short, three repair shops later, found the plug for the codes to be read behind the ashtray NOT under the glove box like the books said. Code indicates a possible bad EGR valve (same as the rig) but since we aren’t having any noticeable problems, technician recommended not fixing it yet as replacing the EGR valve may not make the light go off.
Golfed with Al at Hiawatha in the afternoon. Dave had his best round since his hand was broken but Al had his worst round in months. Really missed Bill Milem, who is in New York now but we managed to work in the "golf sucks" salute a couple times during the round.
Got home and walked the cats back at Volk. Saw the largest skunk I have ever seen in my life! It was about 50 feet from our rig while we were sitting outside the rig. Grabbed the cats and ran in and closed on the doors and windows. Thankfully he went quietly and odorlessly (is that a word Ruth?) on his way.
Day 48 – August 2, 2007 – Thursday – Already our last day here at Volk. Dave is golfing with Al this afternoon with the boys so I’m getting my hair cut at Wal-Mart and getting some supplies for the road. Can’t believe the bridge collapse in Minnesota – what an awful, frightening thing.
Day 49 – August 3, 2007 – Friday – Made it across the bridge at LaCrosse, WI without problem, have to admit I was holding my breathe more than usual. We drove up Highway 61 hugging the Mississippi River on the MN side. We took that route last year and it is just stunning. Next year we hope to ride the bike trail on the opposite side of river in Wisconsin.
Filled up with gas on the way. Paid $2.709 for 50.202 gals Mileage 34,324.
Got into Prior Lake at Mystic Lake Casino about 1:30p.m. Had dinner at Carolyn and Dave Whitley’s home. Lovely meal and great people to share it with – what more can you ask for in life?
Mileage for day 198. Mileage – 34,393 – Total Mileage for Trip – 3,212
Day 50 – August 4, 2007 – Saturday – There is plenty of rain in the forecast for today, which they really needed around here. Probably another day spent surfing the net looking for places to visit on our way to Yellowstone. We ran out to PetSmart to get the cats their favorite canned food that only they stock. Don’t want to run out – who knows how Kitty will react?
Found a toaster oven at Sam’s Club that I had been reading about on the RV forums. It should make it a lot easier to be without a regular oven in the rig. I never got good at using the convection microwave that we have now. We’ll also be able to use this oven outside so that when it is hot, we won’t have to heat up the rig with the inside oven.
Had lunch with Dave Whitley at the golf course restaurant. You should have seen the golfers coming in off the course – they were soaked. Lunch was great and Dave took us on a tour of the new facilities at the Casino. They will be getting some really big name entertainers in beginning this fall.
Day 51 – August 5 2007 – Sunday – Found a place on the Passport America website called Forest Hills Golf & RV Resort in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. It’s about 45 miles from the South Dakota border. Weather report looks pretty bleak for getting in some golf but they have a pool, hot tub, and a fitness center all included at our $15 per night rate for full hook-ups and a pull through to boot!
Got some gas on the way at $2.799, which should be cheaper than any thing we will find in South Dakota. You have to love www.gasbuddy.com with a Sprint Air Card for Internet access on the road!
Mileage 34,614 – Mileage for day 221. Total mileage for the trip 3,433.
Day 52 – August 6, 2007 – Monday – We used the fitness center last night and then followed it up with a dip in the indoor pool and the hot tub. The golf course looks really nice and our site is long enough to fit in another whole motorhome with tow car. Nice and level too.
Took a bike ride down near the lakes today. Stopped in to the Chamber of Commerce to check it out first. Still looks like rain but we only went about 5 miles one way and got back before it started.
Got a few things for the world’s smallest fridge in our rig and Dave got a lock for the bike hitch so we don’t have to keep locking it in the car when we use the bikes.
Dave went up to use the fitness center again while I spent some quality time with the kitty cats. By the way, when I told Dave that today was day 52, he said he was definitely going to get a big, big, big medal – anyone know what he is talking about? I know my medal hasn’t arrived yet!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Days 37 - 46 Canada, UP Michigan, Wisconsin
Day 37 – July 22, 2007 – Sunday – Saw the kids off today after the Webb Wedding last night. Most of them still had blue icing somewhere in their hair, including the oldest kid who has to stay behind to run a golf course. You’ve heard of the wedding singer, well it turns out there is also a wedding drinker. Think Ron’s first drink was sometime on Wednesday of men’s night and pretty sure his last for a while was shortly after the cupcake fight. Jen, of course looked great as always after all the action.
Day 38 – July 23, 2007 – Monday – Time for our nearly annual golf game with Erin Thorne. Missed last year so this is four of last five years. What a great lady she has grown up to be. Erin will graduate in December of this year and also plans to be in Lakeland, FL in November for the Futures Tour qualification. Good Luck Erin!
Spent the afternoon getting things ready for the road tomorrow. Next leg of the adventure is coming up quickly. Think we’ll stop at Chutes Provincial Park tomorrow.
Met up with Webbs and Joel’s parents, Mike & Rona, for dinner at the Japanese restaurant in town. Mike and Rona are really great people! Could talk with them for hours. Joel looks just like his Dad.
Day 39 – July 24, 2007 – Tuesday – On the road by 8 a.m. only planning to go about 200 miles today so I let Dave and the cats sleep in. Pretty drive today, saw more large bales of hay today then I had seen in my entire life put together. There had to be three hundred bales stacked in one field alone. Stopped for the night at Chutes Provincial Park in Massey, Ontario. Took a hike, probably about 2 miles maybe. There was a great waterfall with some very pretty scenery here. $32.75 for electric only – Canadian Cash.
Mileage was 33,466. Mileage for Day – 201. Mileage for trip – 2,285.
Day 40 – July 25, 2007 – Wednesday –.Time to get back to the USA today. Going over the border at Sault Saint Marie, MI, which is a first for us. We’ll be staying at the Bay Mills RV resort in Brimley, MI. Full hookups for $20. Adequate campground, nice level sites, but rather dusty.
Had a nice dinner at the Casino and managed to gain a little money on the slots. NUVI found a very nice Dairy Queen for us after dinner.
Mileage was 33,618. Mileage for the day was 152.
Day 41 – July 26, 2007 – Thursday - Drove on to Ishpeming, Michigan today, just west of Marquette. Plan to stay here at Country Village Resort Campground for two days. Found this campground on our Passport America membership website. Total paid for two nights $32.95 with full hookups. Finally got the sat dish to come in although we did lose the signal a little when the wind was strong. Was starting to wonder if we had a problem with it. Dave went up to the hot tub but Kitty, Casey and I took a break back at the rig. Kitty is walking more and more with every stop. Can’t imagine when she got so brave.
Got some gas for $3.139 15.053 gals in Newberry MI. Found out after we got the gas that $3.139 was a pretty good price and we probably should have gotten a little more……
Mileage was 33,781. Mileage for day 163.
Day 42 – July 27, 2007 – Friday – Took the bikes down to Marquette for a really nice 12 mile bike ride along the Lake Superior shore line. It was misting pretty heavily so we decided to go ahead and put up the bikes. Took a tour of the Maritime Museum and the Harbor lighthouse. Got some gas in the car, which was getting pretty low. Wouldn’t you know that the check engine light came on about an hour later after a quick bite at Taco Bell. Gotta have that looked at when we get to Wisconsin.
Day 43 – July 28, 2007 – Saturday – Got some gas at the BP as we pulled out this morning. $162.01 at $3.179 per gal – 50.96 gals – 7.92 miles per gallon.
Getting back to some familiar territory again today. We’ll be staying at Volk Field in Camp Douglas, WI for about 5 days. Dave used to spend quite a bit of time here with Al Boothby and Bill Milem back when they all had J O B S. Actually Al still has a J O B, he’s the Family Support Coordinator now that he is retired from the Air National Guard.
Bill & Twana Milem are in New York this week so we’ll have to catch them another time. Had dinner with Al Boothby and his lovely wife Ali at the Target Bluff restaurant.
Mileage was 34,107 Mileage for the day 326 (our longest day this year) Total mileage for the trip is 2,926
Day 44 – July 29, 2007 – Sunday – Spent the day doing laundry and tidying up around the RV. Defrosted the refrigerator. We put some more gas in the car hoping that will make the check engine light go out. Dave went ahead and disconnected the battery. We’ll see if the light comes back on.
Day 45 – July 30, 2007 – Monday – Have an appointment today with Coulee Region RV Center to have the generator problem looked at. Al had a couple friends coming by this morning to take a look just to see if the generator is putting out power.
Al’s electrician friends confirmed that the generator is indeed putting out power. So it is probably the transfer switch, guess we’ll see this afternoon.
Hooray!!! When the technician at Coulee’s started to look at the transfer switch in the back bedroom, he found a loose wire! $27.72 later and we’re outta there! Can’t believe it was that simple. He was going to check out the generator first, but since we already knew that was fine, that probably saved us at least 30 minutes. Plus since we already knew where the transfer switch was located, he didn’t have to waste another half hour checking all the outside compartments looking for it.
Day 46 – July 31, 2007 – Tuesday – Left the rig at 7:30 this morning heading for Elroy, Wi and the 400 Bike Trail. Take a look at their website if you’re interested – www.400statetrail.org. The trail is 22 miles one way and runs from Elroy south to Reedsburg. We rode the Omaha trail last year, which is 12.5 miles one way, which intersects with the 400 trail. God willing, we plan to ride the Elroy-Sparta State trail next trip, which is 32 miles one way. There are a couple other trails that go on west and north from there for a total of 117 miles.
Got on the trail at 8 a.m. Still a little cool but it is supposed to get up in the low 90’s today so we want to get going. Had our trail passes, helmets, bike gloves, frozen water bottles and some great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We’re not sure how far we will go today but I would like to ride all the way down and back. There is a town at 4 miles, then another 4 miles, 7 miles and then Reedsburg after another 7 miles. Got down to the 15 mile mark pretty easily so I convinced Dave we should go on down the last leg.
Got to Reedsburg at 12:15, and we had taken a couple short breaks on the ride down so about 2 hours actual riding time. We decided we would take pictures on the way back instead of on the way down. Ate our sandwiches at Reedsburg and had about a 25 minute break before heading back towards Elroy. I’m starting to toy with the idea of throwing in another 3 miles somewhere so I can bike my age.
Made the first 7 mile leg pretty well, took a break and headed on up to the next town. Took a couple more breaks on the next 7 mile leg and decided to stop at Bernie’s for lunch. Don’t let the boys know that Bernie’s has Bud Light on tap for $1 a mug and 50 cents a glass. Had a nice lunch and about a 30-minute break. The last 8 miles were a little slower and I started to apologize to Dave about the 35-mile mark. At the 42 mile mark, I decided biking my age is not nearly as impressive as golfing my age so I’ll set my sites on that goal in a couple decades.
Have to say that this leg is billed as being the most beautiful because of the Baraboo river but the water level seems to be pretty far down and a lot of the spots the river looks like several stagnant ponds. The Omaha trail from last year was much prettier in my opinion.
WE MADE IT – the entire 44 miles! Got back to the station at Elroy at 2 p.m. so took us 6 hours overall for the entire 44 miles. We probably had somewhere between 4 and 4 ½ hours of actual riding time. Not too bad. Drive back to the rig and literally hosed Dave down. The showers at the base campground have solar heated hot water and for some reason they don’t stop heating. Trying to take a shower here on a 90 plus degree-day is not a great idea. Then it is time for a nice long, well-deserved nap.
Bad news is the light on the car came back on so we’re having it checked out tomorrow morning.
Day 38 – July 23, 2007 – Monday – Time for our nearly annual golf game with Erin Thorne. Missed last year so this is four of last five years. What a great lady she has grown up to be. Erin will graduate in December of this year and also plans to be in Lakeland, FL in November for the Futures Tour qualification. Good Luck Erin!
Spent the afternoon getting things ready for the road tomorrow. Next leg of the adventure is coming up quickly. Think we’ll stop at Chutes Provincial Park tomorrow.
Met up with Webbs and Joel’s parents, Mike & Rona, for dinner at the Japanese restaurant in town. Mike and Rona are really great people! Could talk with them for hours. Joel looks just like his Dad.
Day 39 – July 24, 2007 – Tuesday – On the road by 8 a.m. only planning to go about 200 miles today so I let Dave and the cats sleep in. Pretty drive today, saw more large bales of hay today then I had seen in my entire life put together. There had to be three hundred bales stacked in one field alone. Stopped for the night at Chutes Provincial Park in Massey, Ontario. Took a hike, probably about 2 miles maybe. There was a great waterfall with some very pretty scenery here. $32.75 for electric only – Canadian Cash.
Mileage was 33,466. Mileage for Day – 201. Mileage for trip – 2,285.
Day 40 – July 25, 2007 – Wednesday –.Time to get back to the USA today. Going over the border at Sault Saint Marie, MI, which is a first for us. We’ll be staying at the Bay Mills RV resort in Brimley, MI. Full hookups for $20. Adequate campground, nice level sites, but rather dusty.
Had a nice dinner at the Casino and managed to gain a little money on the slots. NUVI found a very nice Dairy Queen for us after dinner.
Mileage was 33,618. Mileage for the day was 152.
Day 41 – July 26, 2007 – Thursday - Drove on to Ishpeming, Michigan today, just west of Marquette. Plan to stay here at Country Village Resort Campground for two days. Found this campground on our Passport America membership website. Total paid for two nights $32.95 with full hookups. Finally got the sat dish to come in although we did lose the signal a little when the wind was strong. Was starting to wonder if we had a problem with it. Dave went up to the hot tub but Kitty, Casey and I took a break back at the rig. Kitty is walking more and more with every stop. Can’t imagine when she got so brave.
Got some gas for $3.139 15.053 gals in Newberry MI. Found out after we got the gas that $3.139 was a pretty good price and we probably should have gotten a little more……
Mileage was 33,781. Mileage for day 163.
Day 42 – July 27, 2007 – Friday – Took the bikes down to Marquette for a really nice 12 mile bike ride along the Lake Superior shore line. It was misting pretty heavily so we decided to go ahead and put up the bikes. Took a tour of the Maritime Museum and the Harbor lighthouse. Got some gas in the car, which was getting pretty low. Wouldn’t you know that the check engine light came on about an hour later after a quick bite at Taco Bell. Gotta have that looked at when we get to Wisconsin.
Day 43 – July 28, 2007 – Saturday – Got some gas at the BP as we pulled out this morning. $162.01 at $3.179 per gal – 50.96 gals – 7.92 miles per gallon.
Getting back to some familiar territory again today. We’ll be staying at Volk Field in Camp Douglas, WI for about 5 days. Dave used to spend quite a bit of time here with Al Boothby and Bill Milem back when they all had J O B S. Actually Al still has a J O B, he’s the Family Support Coordinator now that he is retired from the Air National Guard.
Bill & Twana Milem are in New York this week so we’ll have to catch them another time. Had dinner with Al Boothby and his lovely wife Ali at the Target Bluff restaurant.
Mileage was 34,107 Mileage for the day 326 (our longest day this year) Total mileage for the trip is 2,926
Day 44 – July 29, 2007 – Sunday – Spent the day doing laundry and tidying up around the RV. Defrosted the refrigerator. We put some more gas in the car hoping that will make the check engine light go out. Dave went ahead and disconnected the battery. We’ll see if the light comes back on.
Day 45 – July 30, 2007 – Monday – Have an appointment today with Coulee Region RV Center to have the generator problem looked at. Al had a couple friends coming by this morning to take a look just to see if the generator is putting out power.
Al’s electrician friends confirmed that the generator is indeed putting out power. So it is probably the transfer switch, guess we’ll see this afternoon.
Hooray!!! When the technician at Coulee’s started to look at the transfer switch in the back bedroom, he found a loose wire! $27.72 later and we’re outta there! Can’t believe it was that simple. He was going to check out the generator first, but since we already knew that was fine, that probably saved us at least 30 minutes. Plus since we already knew where the transfer switch was located, he didn’t have to waste another half hour checking all the outside compartments looking for it.
Day 46 – July 31, 2007 – Tuesday – Left the rig at 7:30 this morning heading for Elroy, Wi and the 400 Bike Trail. Take a look at their website if you’re interested – www.400statetrail.org. The trail is 22 miles one way and runs from Elroy south to Reedsburg. We rode the Omaha trail last year, which is 12.5 miles one way, which intersects with the 400 trail. God willing, we plan to ride the Elroy-Sparta State trail next trip, which is 32 miles one way. There are a couple other trails that go on west and north from there for a total of 117 miles.
Got on the trail at 8 a.m. Still a little cool but it is supposed to get up in the low 90’s today so we want to get going. Had our trail passes, helmets, bike gloves, frozen water bottles and some great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We’re not sure how far we will go today but I would like to ride all the way down and back. There is a town at 4 miles, then another 4 miles, 7 miles and then Reedsburg after another 7 miles. Got down to the 15 mile mark pretty easily so I convinced Dave we should go on down the last leg.
Got to Reedsburg at 12:15, and we had taken a couple short breaks on the ride down so about 2 hours actual riding time. We decided we would take pictures on the way back instead of on the way down. Ate our sandwiches at Reedsburg and had about a 25 minute break before heading back towards Elroy. I’m starting to toy with the idea of throwing in another 3 miles somewhere so I can bike my age.
Made the first 7 mile leg pretty well, took a break and headed on up to the next town. Took a couple more breaks on the next 7 mile leg and decided to stop at Bernie’s for lunch. Don’t let the boys know that Bernie’s has Bud Light on tap for $1 a mug and 50 cents a glass. Had a nice lunch and about a 30-minute break. The last 8 miles were a little slower and I started to apologize to Dave about the 35-mile mark. At the 42 mile mark, I decided biking my age is not nearly as impressive as golfing my age so I’ll set my sites on that goal in a couple decades.
Have to say that this leg is billed as being the most beautiful because of the Baraboo river but the water level seems to be pretty far down and a lot of the spots the river looks like several stagnant ponds. The Omaha trail from last year was much prettier in my opinion.
WE MADE IT – the entire 44 miles! Got back to the station at Elroy at 2 p.m. so took us 6 hours overall for the entire 44 miles. We probably had somewhere between 4 and 4 ½ hours of actual riding time. Not too bad. Drive back to the rig and literally hosed Dave down. The showers at the base campground have solar heated hot water and for some reason they don’t stop heating. Trying to take a shower here on a 90 plus degree-day is not a great idea. Then it is time for a nice long, well-deserved nap.
Bad news is the light on the car came back on so we’re having it checked out tomorrow morning.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Days 31 - 36 - Bracebridge
Day 31 – Monday – July 16, 2007 – Get to off load a few things today. Rig should be spacious feeling after that! Looking forward to seeing everyone again.
Arrived in Bracebridge about 12:30. Drive up was uneventful and just as pretty as we remembered. Got all set up in the Burgess Driveway Campground, even have WI-FI set up for the rig after son Alex tweeked the security for us!
Mileage – 33,265. Mileage for day – 130. Mileage for trip – 2,084.
Day 32 – Tuesday – July 17, 2007 – Gave Olga Fleming the neon bar sign from Mannings for Beth & Gally Galbraith. They love it and say thanks so much!
Dave and Mike went out to the cottage with Rob Burgess for a boat ride that they really enjoyed although I’m sure they couldn’t have had as much fun as Ruth and I did golfing with the Ladies. Golfed with Ruth Tedesco, Olga Fleming and Sheila. Had a great time. Even birdied number 16, that long par 5 over the ravine. Don’t think I have ever even pared it before? Bad drive into rough, chip out to about 165 yards, great 3 wood to about 2 foot from the pin. This game is easy once you don’t have to worry about ruining a great round!
Dinner was delicious as always, with lots of fun and good company. Everyone says hi to all the other Ocala Palms prior visitors.
Day 33 – Wednesday – July 18, 2007 – It’s Mens Day today although the stag party is tomorrow night so I guess this is like a bonus night? Finally sitting down to write this after the fact so my tenses may be a little squirrelly – sorry Ruth! Dave and I had our Ping fittings today. Hit a lot of nice clubs and got some good suggestions. They said Dave should be fine with Webby’s old club because as you all know their swings are very similar…. After the fittings, Dave was off to play some golf. We had been watching the gas prices since we got here since we wanted to get gas before we head north. It had dropped from $1.043 per litre to $.975 so I unhooked the rig and headed downtown to get some gas. Ruth had went with the other Ladies for the boat ride on Lake Muskoka. Anyway, got down to Canadian Tire, waited in line with all the other folks to get the “cheap” gas. Pulled up, filled up which came to about $146 Canadian. Now at this particular station, you don’t use your card first, you pump and then pay afterwards, you see where this is going don’t you? I put down my USAA mastercard – denied. Little confused by that since Dave had just used it to pay for golf, but ok. Give the nice lady my AARP credit card – Denied! Ok, here I am, all the men on the golf course, all the ladies on the lake and a bunch of Canadians waiting in line to pay for their “cheap” gas behind the American Lady with bad credit cards. Plop down my last option, my Citibank Card, which goes through! Seems that when we planned this trip, I failed to add - call the credit card companies to my checklist to let them know we were going out of the country. Took care of THAT back at Rob & Sheila’s so all is good again.
Day 34 – Thursday – July 19, 2007 - Boys rolled in pretty late from Men’s night last night although Dave was home a little earlier. Mike, Rob, PJ and a few others walked up to Webbs afterwards and Mike had a little difficulty moving to the side of the road when a car came by. Got out of the way of the car but the road bit him. Ocala folks will see the actual wound for themselves soon enough.
Started out as a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine and fresh air. Everyone met at the club house at 11 to drive up to Mark Omeara’s course – Grandview in Huntsville, about 35 minutes north of Bracebridge. Sheila, Ruth and I were the first group out because we had an event to get back to, (more about that later). We made it to the first green, where we were all set to make birdie when the heavens opened up and the rain started coming down – hard!
Back to the club house we go where we wait around for about 30 minutes before it is obvious that we aren’t going to get the round in. I have some great pictures of the club house and a couple shots out on the course.
Sheila, Ruth and I go downtown to ride “The Big Bike for Heart & Stroke” which was a great time. Ran into Lady bug Rita, Erin & Erin’s mom, Judy at the big bike ride. Went back to Rita’s for Pizza and a little liquid refreshment.
Men went to the bachelor/stag party at the club house – you’ll have to get the scoop from one of them.
Day 35 – Friday – July 20, 2007 – Ruth, Sheila and I went to the local arts & craft show today. Had some really special things there. I would have to call it more Arts than crafts. Ruth and I both bought a pair of earrings and Sheila got a couple of nice things too. Mike went with a group to play golf at Segwun and Dave had a relaxing day at the rig with the cats. Big get together at the Webbs tonight for all the out of towners.
Day 36 – Saturday – July 21, 2007 – WEDDING DAY is finally here! Day starts with golf, of course, an 8 a.m. firecracker start. Dave and I are with Jay and Rita Houston so of course you know we had a great time. Mike and Ruth are right behind us with Ike, the retired plumber and his wife Patsy. Great time had by all, golf followed by a nice lunch at the club, followed by a nice nap at the rig.
By the way, Garrett Willis, who was supposed to be best man, was playing in Milwaukee and was in second place after Friday. His contract didn’t allow for his to withdraw so he wasn’t able to be here. Unfortunately he had dropped down to a tie for 33rd by the end of Saturday. Hopefully he will do better on Sunday.
The weather cooperated and the outdoor wedding was just lovely. Ron had a radio in his hand right up to the last minute, presumably talking to Jen with Carrie and her Mom. The bridesmaids all arrived by golf cart and Carrie arrived in the GMC. Unfortunately Lobo, The Girl Wonder Dog had been sick that day and was unable to attend.
Everything went off without a hitch during the actual ceremony although there was a moment of confusion about where the rings were. The minister, Sue, was very good.
At the reception, there were several speeches and toasts welcoming Carrie to the Webb family, Brennan to the Leitch family, all of which were more poignant than anything I could possibly describe here. Suffice it to
say that it was a very touching evening.
There were a few interesting events later. There was a brief sighting of Barry Manilow dancing on a table during the playing of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. Lots of drink and good food combined with family and good friends. Erin Thorne who you may remember from the Pro Shop, looked lovely in a dress, with heels and make-up. Erin was photographed with almost as many people as the Bride!
Dave and I didn’t stay until the very end so we missed the cupcake fight and the subsequent
arrival of Lobo who got as much cake and blue icing as she could lap up from literally everywhere. I was also told that Sweet Caroline was played a third and fourth time after we left.
(Saw Lobo the next morning and she was sleeping off what must have been a huge sugar rush).
Arrived in Bracebridge about 12:30. Drive up was uneventful and just as pretty as we remembered. Got all set up in the Burgess Driveway Campground, even have WI-FI set up for the rig after son Alex tweeked the security for us!
Mileage – 33,265. Mileage for day – 130. Mileage for trip – 2,084.
Day 32 – Tuesday – July 17, 2007 – Gave Olga Fleming the neon bar sign from Mannings for Beth & Gally Galbraith. They love it and say thanks so much!
Dave and Mike went out to the cottage with Rob Burgess for a boat ride that they really enjoyed although I’m sure they couldn’t have had as much fun as Ruth and I did golfing with the Ladies. Golfed with Ruth Tedesco, Olga Fleming and Sheila. Had a great time. Even birdied number 16, that long par 5 over the ravine. Don’t think I have ever even pared it before? Bad drive into rough, chip out to about 165 yards, great 3 wood to about 2 foot from the pin. This game is easy once you don’t have to worry about ruining a great round!
Dinner was delicious as always, with lots of fun and good company. Everyone says hi to all the other Ocala Palms prior visitors.
Day 33 – Wednesday – July 18, 2007 – It’s Mens Day today although the stag party is tomorrow night so I guess this is like a bonus night? Finally sitting down to write this after the fact so my tenses may be a little squirrelly – sorry Ruth! Dave and I had our Ping fittings today. Hit a lot of nice clubs and got some good suggestions. They said Dave should be fine with Webby’s old club because as you all know their swings are very similar…. After the fittings, Dave was off to play some golf. We had been watching the gas prices since we got here since we wanted to get gas before we head north. It had dropped from $1.043 per litre to $.975 so I unhooked the rig and headed downtown to get some gas. Ruth had went with the other Ladies for the boat ride on Lake Muskoka. Anyway, got down to Canadian Tire, waited in line with all the other folks to get the “cheap” gas. Pulled up, filled up which came to about $146 Canadian. Now at this particular station, you don’t use your card first, you pump and then pay afterwards, you see where this is going don’t you? I put down my USAA mastercard – denied. Little confused by that since Dave had just used it to pay for golf, but ok. Give the nice lady my AARP credit card – Denied! Ok, here I am, all the men on the golf course, all the ladies on the lake and a bunch of Canadians waiting in line to pay for their “cheap” gas behind the American Lady with bad credit cards. Plop down my last option, my Citibank Card, which goes through! Seems that when we planned this trip, I failed to add - call the credit card companies to my checklist to let them know we were going out of the country. Took care of THAT back at Rob & Sheila’s so all is good again.
Day 34 – Thursday – July 19, 2007 - Boys rolled in pretty late from Men’s night last night although Dave was home a little earlier. Mike, Rob, PJ and a few others walked up to Webbs afterwards and Mike had a little difficulty moving to the side of the road when a car came by. Got out of the way of the car but the road bit him. Ocala folks will see the actual wound for themselves soon enough.
Started out as a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine and fresh air. Everyone met at the club house at 11 to drive up to Mark Omeara’s course – Grandview in Huntsville, about 35 minutes north of Bracebridge. Sheila, Ruth and I were the first group out because we had an event to get back to, (more about that later). We made it to the first green, where we were all set to make birdie when the heavens opened up and the rain started coming down – hard!
Back to the club house we go where we wait around for about 30 minutes before it is obvious that we aren’t going to get the round in. I have some great pictures of the club house and a couple shots out on the course.
Sheila, Ruth and I go downtown to ride “The Big Bike for Heart & Stroke” which was a great time. Ran into Lady bug Rita, Erin & Erin’s mom, Judy at the big bike ride. Went back to Rita’s for Pizza and a little liquid refreshment.
Men went to the bachelor/stag party at the club house – you’ll have to get the scoop from one of them.
Day 35 – Friday – July 20, 2007 – Ruth, Sheila and I went to the local arts & craft show today. Had some really special things there. I would have to call it more Arts than crafts. Ruth and I both bought a pair of earrings and Sheila got a couple of nice things too. Mike went with a group to play golf at Segwun and Dave had a relaxing day at the rig with the cats. Big get together at the Webbs tonight for all the out of towners.
Day 36 – Saturday – July 21, 2007 – WEDDING DAY is finally here! Day starts with golf, of course, an 8 a.m. firecracker start. Dave and I are with Jay and Rita Houston so of course you know we had a great time. Mike and Ruth are right behind us with Ike, the retired plumber and his wife Patsy. Great time had by all, golf followed by a nice lunch at the club, followed by a nice nap at the rig.
By the way, Garrett Willis, who was supposed to be best man, was playing in Milwaukee and was in second place after Friday. His contract didn’t allow for his to withdraw so he wasn’t able to be here. Unfortunately he had dropped down to a tie for 33rd by the end of Saturday. Hopefully he will do better on Sunday.
The weather cooperated and the outdoor wedding was just lovely. Ron had a radio in his hand right up to the last minute, presumably talking to Jen with Carrie and her Mom. The bridesmaids all arrived by golf cart and Carrie arrived in the GMC. Unfortunately Lobo, The Girl Wonder Dog had been sick that day and was unable to attend.
Everything went off without a hitch during the actual ceremony although there was a moment of confusion about where the rings were. The minister, Sue, was very good.
At the reception, there were several speeches and toasts welcoming Carrie to the Webb family, Brennan to the Leitch family, all of which were more poignant than anything I could possibly describe here. Suffice it to
say that it was a very touching evening.There were a few interesting events later. There was a brief sighting of Barry Manilow dancing on a table during the playing of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. Lots of drink and good food combined with family and good friends. Erin Thorne who you may remember from the Pro Shop, looked lovely in a dress, with heels and make-up. Erin was photographed with almost as many people as the Bride!
Dave and I didn’t stay until the very end so we missed the cupcake fight and the subsequent
arrival of Lobo who got as much cake and blue icing as she could lap up from literally everywhere. I was also told that Sweet Caroline was played a third and fourth time after we left.(Saw Lobo the next morning and she was sleeping off what must have been a huge sugar rush).
Click on Photos to enlarge
Days 25 to 30
Day 25 – Tuesday – July 10, 2007 – Pulled out of Mom & Dad’s place about 10 a.m. heading north again. Had a little problem with the generator today. Stayed at the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Campground, 7525 E Tomah Road, Mt Pleasant, MI. $17.00 cash for electric and water. Mileage 32,721 – mileage for day 215.
Day 26 – Wednesday – July 11, 2007 – Arrived at Gary & Kristin Shepard’s today. What a beautiful place! Right on Houghton Lake. Mileage 32,786. Mileage for day 65. Total mileage for trip – 1,605.
Day 27 – Thursday – July 12, 2007 – Rode bikes around the lake, well not actually all the way around the lake, that would be about 30 miles. We went about 6 miles one way and then decided to turn around and stop for lunch and ice cream on the way back to the house. Drove up to Pines???? State Park with Gary – huge trees!
Day 28 – Friday – July 13, 2007 – Played golf with Gary & Kristin at a golf course called The Loon. What a beautiful course, we would definitely play it again. Doesn’t hurt that I had a great round there! Dinner at the North Shore Lounge for Gary’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Gary!
Day 29 – Saturday – July 14, 2007 – On the road again already? Hard to believe that our visit is over already. We warned Gary & Kristin that where we go others will follow. We visited Ron & Jen back in 2003 and six couples from Ocala Palms went there in 2004. Gary & Kristin definitely have the Cramer Gold Star seal of approval. When they ask you to visit, you should jump at the chance. Great hosts and did I mention the spectacular view of the lake? Next time we plan to spend at least two weeks so we can really experience the area.
Stayed the night at a Super Wal-Mart in Lapeer, MI about 45 miles from the border. The gas price was $3.289 when we got there and dropped to $3.269 later that day. Don’t you know we waited until morning to get gas and it went back up to $3.289?
Mileage for the day 152.
Day 30 – Sunday – July 15, 2007 – Got gas at Wal-Mart as we left, used our Wal-Mart gift card so it was ONLY $3.259. Got 46.914 gals for a total of $152.89. Filled up because gas will definitely be more in Canada.
Crossed the border without any problems, I even rode up front as we went over the bridge! Stopped for the night at a campground in Milton, Ontario called Milton Heights Campground, exit 320 off the 401. Got full hook ups on a fairly level pull through for $27.00 Canadian. Pretty nice place, too many trees for sat dish but antenna was fine for one night. Feel lost without my cell phone and internet card. No Wi-fi in campground either. Both phone and air card will work but for an additional roaming charge. It’s good for us to unhook so to speak for a while anyway.
Mileage at campground – 33,135. Mileage for day – 197. Mileage for trip – 1,954.
Day 26 – Wednesday – July 11, 2007 – Arrived at Gary & Kristin Shepard’s today. What a beautiful place! Right on Houghton Lake. Mileage 32,786. Mileage for day 65. Total mileage for trip – 1,605.
Day 27 – Thursday – July 12, 2007 – Rode bikes around the lake, well not actually all the way around the lake, that would be about 30 miles. We went about 6 miles one way and then decided to turn around and stop for lunch and ice cream on the way back to the house. Drove up to Pines???? State Park with Gary – huge trees!
Day 28 – Friday – July 13, 2007 – Played golf with Gary & Kristin at a golf course called The Loon. What a beautiful course, we would definitely play it again. Doesn’t hurt that I had a great round there! Dinner at the North Shore Lounge for Gary’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Gary!
Day 29 – Saturday – July 14, 2007 – On the road again already? Hard to believe that our visit is over already. We warned Gary & Kristin that where we go others will follow. We visited Ron & Jen back in 2003 and six couples from Ocala Palms went there in 2004. Gary & Kristin definitely have the Cramer Gold Star seal of approval. When they ask you to visit, you should jump at the chance. Great hosts and did I mention the spectacular view of the lake? Next time we plan to spend at least two weeks so we can really experience the area.
Stayed the night at a Super Wal-Mart in Lapeer, MI about 45 miles from the border. The gas price was $3.289 when we got there and dropped to $3.269 later that day. Don’t you know we waited until morning to get gas and it went back up to $3.289?
Mileage for the day 152.
Day 30 – Sunday – July 15, 2007 – Got gas at Wal-Mart as we left, used our Wal-Mart gift card so it was ONLY $3.259. Got 46.914 gals for a total of $152.89. Filled up because gas will definitely be more in Canada.
Crossed the border without any problems, I even rode up front as we went over the bridge! Stopped for the night at a campground in Milton, Ontario called Milton Heights Campground, exit 320 off the 401. Got full hook ups on a fairly level pull through for $27.00 Canadian. Pretty nice place, too many trees for sat dish but antenna was fine for one night. Feel lost without my cell phone and internet card. No Wi-fi in campground either. Both phone and air card will work but for an additional roaming charge. It’s good for us to unhook so to speak for a while anyway.
Mileage at campground – 33,135. Mileage for day – 197. Mileage for trip – 1,954.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Day 9 to Day 16
Day 9 – Sunday – June 24, 2007 – Well today has been a little anti-climatic. Karyn & the kids missed their flight but have been rescheduled to arrive tomorrow morning early. Went ahead and ordered the Nuvi from Sam’s Club.
Day 10 – Monday – June 25, 2007 – They’re here!
Day 11 – Tuesday – June 26, 2007 – Time to pack everything up and drive over to Cedar Point. We probably had enough gas but didn’t want to have a problem while the kids are with us so we got some gas near Punderson. $2.949 20.348 gals at 32,231.
Arrived at Cedar Point right at 1 p.m. check in time. Nice paved, nearly level site, back-in with full hook-ups. Hopefully highest rate we’ll pay for a campground this trip - $85 per night. We’re going to the park this evening at 5 after we go to the pool first. Gotta run.
Mileage 32,311. Mileage for day 96. Mileage for trip 1,130
Day 12 – Wednesday – Jun 27, 2007 – Last night at the park was awesomeriffic as Jake would say. Ryan is riding everything in sight. Jake is having a little stress because he is only 43 inches and a lot of the rides that he thinks he should be able to ride with Ryan are for 46 and up only. They have 17 roller coasters here and I think Ryan is going to ride them all.
Today we decided to go with the Water Park since the forecast calls for it cooling off tomorrow.
Day 13 – Thursday – June 28, 2007 – Water park was a lot of fun too. Jake wore his pink goggles, which made it a lot easier for Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop to pick him out of the crowd in the little kids area, which was great. Ryan was almost running up the stairs to the big slides. Good thing Pop-Pop has been getting in shape at the fitness center in Ocala Palms for this trip.
Day 10 – Monday – June 25, 2007 – They’re here!
Day 11 – Tuesday – June 26, 2007 – Time to pack everything up and drive over to Cedar Point. We probably had enough gas but didn’t want to have a problem while the kids are with us so we got some gas near Punderson. $2.949 20.348 gals at 32,231.
Arrived at Cedar Point right at 1 p.m. check in time. Nice paved, nearly level site, back-in with full hook-ups. Hopefully highest rate we’ll pay for a campground this trip - $85 per night. We’re going to the park this evening at 5 after we go to the pool first. Gotta run.
Mileage 32,311. Mileage for day 96. Mileage for trip 1,130
Day 12 – Wednesday – Jun 27, 2007 – Last night at the park was awesomeriffic as Jake would say. Ryan is riding everything in sight. Jake is having a little stress because he is only 43 inches and a lot of the rides that he thinks he should be able to ride with Ryan are for 46 and up only. They have 17 roller coasters here and I think Ryan is going to ride them all.
Today we decided to go with the Water Park since the forecast calls for it cooling off tomorrow.
Day 13 – Thursday – June 28, 2007 – Water park was a lot of fun too. Jake wore his pink goggles, which made it a lot easier for Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop to pick him out of the crowd in the little kids area, which was great. Ryan was almost running up the stairs to the big slides. Good thing Pop-Pop has been getting in shape at the fitness center in Ocala Palms for this trip.
Day 14 – Friday – June 29, 2007 – A note from Kitty and Casey – WE’RE LEAVING TODAY! The rig has been parked 100 yards from a wooden roller coaster since we got here. Every 3 minutes from 9am to 10pm we have had to listen to the screams from those crazy humans riding that thing! And the little humans have insisted on trying to sit in our favorite sleeping spots (everywhere).
Dave is taking Karyn & the kids to the airport in Cleveland and I’ll be driving the rig down to Fremont, Ohio and meeting him at the Super Wal-Mart there. GasBuddy.com has the gas there listed as around $2.94 but there is a Meijer’s in Sandusky with gas at $2.78 so I’m going to stop there on the way to Fremont.
Later –
Okay, now I do believe we need the Nuvi GPS. As I left Cedar Point, with my printed directions in hand, there was a sign that read, “Truck route to US 6” so I figured I should take that. After I did that, I never did see the next turn from my directions. So I’m driving by luck and feel from there on. Ended up going through downtown Sandusky with the motorhome and an empty tow dolly since Dave had the car. I have to believe it was on the news about the crazy lady driving through town who lost her tow vehicle.
I kept following the signs for 2 & 4 & 6 depending upon which one felt right to me. I’m thinking I can do this just as I see the sign for the low clearance ahead. Can’t make out the height but hey, I’m on a truck route right, how low can it be? How high is the rig again? 12’8” or was it 12’10”? Sign read 13 ft 8 inches when I can finally read it, which is past the point to turn around. I already had at least 6 cars behind me already. Now I’m slowing down because I have to go down under the railroad and then right back up again so I’m like, isn’t that going to change my height instead of a nice flat road with 13’ 8”. So I slow do to about 10mph listening as I drive under it. That really makes the folks behind me happy.
Finally see the road I am looking for – 250. Now the question is right or left turn. Was supposed to be a right but I’m not on the road that I would have been on had I followed my printed directions – where is that NUVI we ordered? I elect to get in the left turn lane. Wait – there is a sign to the right! So I start easing the nose of the rig over two lanes in about 50 feet to make my right turn.
Make the right turn onto the four lane road and about 50 people pass me. Now I’m thinking $2.95 doesn’t sound that high, maybe I should give up on finding that Meijers just get to Fremont. Where is Dave! Get in right hand lane to go find Dave and give my navigator a big hug. Wait- there it is on the left. Cross over another 2 lanes of traffic in about 50 yards. People here are so friendly, they all wave at me.
Filled up - $2.789 47.042 gals, mileage 32,321
Met Dave at Wal-Mart, tow dolly tire was low on air this morning again, which is really starting to bug Dave. At least he gets to use that new air compressor. This Wal-Mart has two of the tires we need and haven’t been able to find before. We go ahead and just get them both put on and keep the others for spares.
Back together again! Car’s on, cats are sleeping, all is good. Pull into Mom & Dad’s in Churubusco, IN at 6p.m.
Mileage 32,483. Mileage for day is 172. Mileage for trip – 1,302.
DAY 15, Saturday, June 30, 2007 – Slept great last night. Did a lot of laundry, felt like a college kid home for the summer. Got lots of things on our to-do list for this stop. This is where we start off-loading some stuff that we have been saving for parents and siblings since we started our down-sizing.
Day 16 – Sunday, July 1, 2007 – The pastor who officiated at our wedding, Pastor Burgland is on vacation, so we have a guest preacher today. Pastor Burgland and his wife went on a motorcycle ride out west for a week. Think Mom said Arizona?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Day 1 - Saturday, June 16, 2007
Left Ocala this morning about 6:15 a.m. Pretty sure we forgot something but don’t yet know what it is. The tire that PatRick’s “fixed” on Friday still has a slow leak so we loaded our air compressor into the front compartment. Got the rig weighed on Friday and had about 350 pounds to spare on each axle. Added a few more things after that plus the air compressor so we are probably just about at our limit once we pick up Karyn and the grandkids in Cleveland. That should cut back on our shopping until after the kids fly home! Will also lose some weight once we drop off some stuff at Mom & Dad’s plus a few more things in Canada.
The Sprint Wireless Air Card worked great today. Got great connection as we were driving down the interstate throughout the day.
Mileage when we left Ocala was 31,181. Got gas at Flying J (exit 29 – I-95) in Brunswick GA, $2.799, 35.637 gallons, FILL UP
First campground of the trip got to use our new Passport America membership at McIntosh Lake RV Park in Townsend, GA (Exit 58 – I-95) Passport America Campground - $12.00 cash. Good Value for the price, full hookups, cable and wifi included but not very pretty to look at. Had a nice dinner at the campground restaurant. Nothing fancy at all but it was convenient because we didn’t have to unhook the car.
Mileage - 31,366. Miles for the day – 185
The Sprint Wireless Air Card worked great today. Got great connection as we were driving down the interstate throughout the day.
Mileage when we left Ocala was 31,181. Got gas at Flying J (exit 29 – I-95) in Brunswick GA, $2.799, 35.637 gallons, FILL UP
First campground of the trip got to use our new Passport America membership at McIntosh Lake RV Park in Townsend, GA (Exit 58 – I-95) Passport America Campground - $12.00 cash. Good Value for the price, full hookups, cable and wifi included but not very pretty to look at. Had a nice dinner at the campground restaurant. Nothing fancy at all but it was convenient because we didn’t have to unhook the car.
Mileage - 31,366. Miles for the day – 185
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