Category Archives: Ohio

Moving UP in the country!

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It is still humid and somewhat hot so we are going to head north.  Due north of us is Michigan so off we go, avoiding large towns.

The first night was between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids at an RV resort that took Passport America but was still $30!  However considering the next two nights turned out to be at Walmart’s it gave us a chance to fill up with fresh water and dump.

We weren’t sure where we were going to end up in the ‘mitten’ of Michigan.  It seems that every weekend ALL the state parks are full with campers, a lot of them from Michigan!  We stopped in Ludington at a great Walmart that gave us a very nice view from our door (sans the Walmart truck):

We continued on north.  We encountered a Michigan rest stop that had a very nice little path between the truck/RV parking and the restrooms:

We spent the next Walmart night in Traverse City. I was looking for this specifically so I could get my trailer tires rotated at the Discount Tire there.  That was a fiasco.  I had such a great experience in Dayton with the truck but such a poor experience at this one.  I will be writing corporate and I will post the experience here.  While at Walmart we looked for a spot in the local state park (Traverse City State Park). We found one for the next day and 4 nights!  So that is where we went the next day but we could not get in until 3 pm so we went to a movie.

The park is decent.  Very well used but they kept it pretty clean.  We had electric hookups but no water or sewer.  We had to conserve, I used the showers whenever I could.  With 3 days there we were able to look around at some of the local sights.  We went to the Sleeping Bear National Shoreline one day.  There was a scenic drive that let you view from the top of a huge sand dune over looking Lake Michigan:

You can see there are people at the bottom of the dune.  There are recommendations that you should not go down the dunes as it is a long haul back up and you would be responsible for any rescue costs.

We continued our drive around, had lunch in a small town where we could watch kayaker’s going down a river.  We also toured an old Coast Guard rescue station and learned how they would shoot lines to ships in the water.

 

Our 37th wedding anniversary was celebrated while in Traverse City.  What did we do?  I got my teeth cleaned at a local dentist and Roxie did our laundry.  What a nice anniversary.  Actually after those we went and had a very nice lunch at a restaurant on the water.  We even got a free piece of Key Lime Pie!  Here is our view from the table and Roxie sitting out by the bay:

We took a drive out the peninsula by Traverse City, saw some expensive houses on the bay(s) and got to stop at a lighthouse:

In discussing where to go next we talked about our only grandson’s 1st birthday coming up on August 31.  We determined that we should be there and will start heading back to California for a visit.  We had two choices, go south around Chicago or north through the Upper Peninsula (UP).  We chose north, and I wanted to drive over the Mackinac bridge.  So that is the plan.

To the Mothership and beyond!

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Time to continue west, trying to get away from the humid weather, including rain!  We headed southwest from Niagara Falls and ended up back in Pennsylvania.  We joined Passport America and have been trying to use it whenever we can as it gives us 1/2 price rates.  I found one in Mercer, PA.  About 60 miles west of our stop in Penn Wood.  Roxie wondered if we would ever leave Pennsylvania.  Here is our spot in Mercer:

Mercer was a good time to get some rest and do the standard household stuff (laundry, etc.).  Then it was time to move on and we headed into Ohio.

We were able to take advantage of some courtesy parking in Wooster, OH.  This one was through the Airstream Courtesy Parking group on Facebook.  Jason and Andrea were very accommodating and their spot was oh so nice.  Top of a hill with great views and on grass.

It happened to be my birthday and we were thinking about going out to get something to eat but instead, we ate in like this (I actually cooked – grilled cheese):

 

On our drives around Wooster we saw a few buggies:

But we had to move on.  We had a goal, Jackson Center, OH, the Mothership, Airstream HQ!  We got there Sunday and found a spot in the TerraPort:

The next day we took the tour and saw Wally’s Gold Trailer and an original Bowlus.  As most people already know you can only take one photograph inside the tour so I will not show that one.  However, one of our fellow tour takers took a LOT inside.

Over by our spot, I found this plaque by some picnic tables.  I am not sure what this means:

We ended up staying for 4 nights (at $10 per).  We went down to Dayton to get my tires rotated on my truck and to see Dunkirk in IMAX.  However, all fun comes to an end and we got on the road again but stopped up the road in Wapakoneta to visit the Neil Armstrong Museum.  Wapakoneta was Neil’s hometown and they are very proud of him.  It was a nice little museum.

We were talking with a fellow Airstreamer about this museum and we were recollecting about the lunar landing.  I was 8 at the time of the landing (July 20, 1969) and I DO remember seeing it on TV but what I really remembered that the next day was declared, by President Nixon, to be a national holiday.  That meant that my ninth birthday (July 21, 1969) was a national holiday, at least for one year.