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Friday, October 29, 2010

blah

Good morning.
Well, yesterday turned out to be a 10 1/2 hr day. Boy am I tired when I get home! :-/
Today is a much shorter day. :-)
The weather this weekend looks to mild and sunny, with highs in the low 50's.
And as I'm sure everyone feels the same way, I'll be glad when this election is over! I may not turn on the TV all weekend so as not to be bombarded with adds. Except of course on Saturday at 3:30 when the Spartans play. :-)
Not much else to say.
Have a good weekend!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

still windy

Good morning.
It's been a windy last few days. We we fortunate here in Lansing to have avoided the severe storms that blew through Michigan on Tuesday. Just a lot of wind and rain. We lost one fairly large limb out of our front tree. It came down in the middle of the yard well away from the house or cars.
When I came home from work yesterday evening, I had a couple of armfuls of twigs and branches to pick up. Our 2 main shade trees are Chinese Elms and they tend to be very twiggy and they get a lot of dead wood in them, so any kind of wind or storm, and I'm picking up stuff. The only good thing about them is they have very small leaves. That gives a nice dappled shade in the summer, and very few leaves on the ground in the fall.
It's still quite windy out this morning, but too dark to see if there's more branches down.
But I'm off to work now. I have an early day today. (8am) And I'm going to work in the dark. And I'll be coming home in the dark. I hate that more about winter than the cold.
Oh well.
I'm outta here now....

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

weekend update

Good afternoon.
Monday turned out to be a decent day also. After rain all night into the early morning, the sun came out and dried it up nicely. For the second day in a row, I blew the leaves out from along the side of the garage, and helped Craig mow. The leaves are coming down fast and furious right now.
I checked the mo-ho tire pressures and the water levels in the 'house' batteries in preparation for our last trip.
It's hard to believe the camping season is nearly over. It's going to be hard getting through another long Michigan winter. At least, I'll have planning for the next years trips to keep me some what occupied.
Today, I awoke to see more leaves on the ground than Monday. Craig had a routine doctors appointment, so while he was gone, I blew and mulched more leaves.
It doesn't seem to be as much work if you stay on top of the leaves. But with another work week upon me, I'm sure by Friday I'll see a ton of leaves on the ground.
The wind is quite strong with this weather system that's going through, and I've picked up numerous branches and twigs.
That's about all I've got. We're having panko chicken, honey bacon acorn squash, and asparagus for dinner.
And of course, the latest episode of Glee!

Monday, October 25, 2010

blah, blah, blah

Good morning.
Yesterday turned out so much better than forecast. How unusual that the weather person would be wrong. :-)
Instead of a 60% chance of rain, it was sunny and warm. Got all the way up to 70. Sooo with the nice day, I was productive.
First, I replaced all the levers in all the bay doors on the mo-ho.
Here's a pic of the new one and the old one.
See where the old one is very thin at the arrow? That's where 3 of them broke so far. They obviously don't have very good quality control where ever these were made. So with 13 bay doors, that left me with 10 to replace. Not a hard job. as there was a plate with 4 screws to remove, and the lever is right there with 1 screw. After that, I worked in the yard. Cut back all the pickerel rush and dwarf cattails in the pond, and cut down more perennials. I also raked the paved paths of all the pine needles and put then on the mulched paths.
I also looked on-line for replacement chairs and mats for the Salon. Our mats are starting to ripple along the edges, and the coating is starting to peel. The chairs for the most part still look good, but one has a couple of cracks in the vinyl and of course, after 13 years, that style is no longer available. And we can't have one chair looking different from the rest. I printed out a few styles and will get the staff's input as to which one we should get.
Then, for dinner, it was home made pizza. It was very good!
And with not much on regular TV, we pulled out a DVD, Starship Troopers. A real good movie!
Today, was to be a work in the yard day, as the forecast was only a 30% chance of rain, but it rained all night, and is currently raining right now, so not sure what the day will bring. Odd that the weather person would be wrong 2 days in a row. :-)
And while Craig sleeps in a bit, I'll go to the Salon with some flowers that I had still blooming in the yard.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

a good day

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. Took me nearly 2 hours. It was dirty!
Thanks for all the e-mails and comments! We had a very nice day. We even got out of work early. Craig's last one was a no show, and my last one came in 15 minutes early. :-)
So we decided on a late lunch instead of dinner. Since the Outback doesn't open until 4pm, we decided on Logan's Roadhouse. It was a good choice! I had the steak/rib combo and Craig had the steak/shrimp combo. It was very good! And while we were there, we got to see our Spartans come from behind win over Northwestern! It was great! They were behind the entire game, but got 2 touchdowns in the last 2 minutes. We came home, and watched some of the other games on TV and later I heated up some wings for a snack. It was a good day.
Not sure what we're doing this weekend. They're calling for rain all weekend and I house cleaned last weekend. I may just have to do nothing. :-)
And now, time for a shower and wake up lazy bones!

Friday, October 22, 2010

our 34th year together

Good morning.
It's been a busy week in the Salon so far, and the next 2 days look to be the same.
I had to turn the furnace on in the mo-ho yesterday, as it is only 30 out this morning. Don't want the pipes to freeze. But the rest of the weekend looks to be a bit more mild.
Tomorrow, after work, we are having dinner out. We almost never do. Craig loves to cook, and it can get expensive if you eat out a lot. But tomorrow is our 34th year together. I can't really say anniversary, but it was the date we moved in together. So we're going out to Outback restaurant for a nice meal to commemorate the date.
And for those of you who may not have seen this in my side bar, a pictorial progression of the last 30 some years together. Damn! We use to be young! :-)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

busy, busy

Good morning.
Monday, after we returned home from Our trip, Craig did his usual bookwork and laundry, while I cleaned out the fridge in the mo-ho, put the slides out so the awning's could dry, and completely cleaned the interior.
Tuesday, after shopping, banking, and such, and with it being too cold to work in the yard, I went on a cleaning frenzy! I started out dusting everything. Then, I cleaned cabinets in the kitchen, I cleaned the bathroom, I vacuumed, I moped, and when that was done, I tackled the piles of 'stuff' around my puter desk. I tossed out tons of crap. Then I did the same in the TV/sitting room. If I didn't know better, I'd swear Craig slipped me something in my drink! I haven't had that much energy/drive to do this much in one day in a long time! But it sure looks nice now!
And today, it's back to work. And it looks to be a long week. I'm starting at 8am today and should be done around 7pm. Tomorrow is looking to be 9-6 and Friday, 8-6, with Saturday 8-3.
So that's all for now!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pokagon State Park

Good morning.
Trip 12 details.
Like I said, this trip took us to Pokagon State Park. We haven't been to this park before. It's a beautiful park in the rolling hills of northern Indiana on lake James.
Here's a pick of what looked to be a low bridge in the park on the way to the campground.
But it was plenty high enough. :-)
And here's our mo-ho at an end site lined up with others from our group.
We arrived Friday afternoon around 3pm. They have just one water fill station for the entire campground, so it was a while before we got to our site. It was a nice pull-thru, with 50 amp service. Just gravel, but level. Actually, the half dozen pull-thru sites looked to be the only level sites in the entire campground. It was that rolling. But made for a scenic setting.
Our camping club ended up with about 16 sites with nearly 30 people, all near each other. We set up camp and stopped now and then to chat with new arrivals. We then fixed beverages and walked around and visited with other group members. For dinner, I cooked sirloin steaks on the grill with baked potatoes and marinated grilled zucchini. Craig loves this zucchini on the grill!
Then we joined other campers for the group campfire. It was a nice cool evening. We retired to our mo-ho later and watched a DVD, Hangover. If you haven't seen it yet, do. It's hilarious! Saturday morning, we went for a coffee walk. It was quite cool, 46 degrees. But the coffee kept us warm. Then as the sun helped to warm us, I fixed bacon and eggs on the grill. Then it was out of the campground to get a newspaper, and a ladle for the chili we were to make. I thought we had a ladle in the mo-ho, but we didn't. They have an outlet mall just a few miles north of the campground just off highway 80-90. We found one there.Then back to the campground where we read the paper, and started the chili.
Our chili's special ingredient is Mr Hogg's chili seasoning. We discovered it up in Sutton's Bay, in northern lower Michigan, one trip. We thought it was the best chili ever!
Anyway, Craig added 3 lbs ground sirloin, diced onions, diced green peppers, diced tomatoes, beef broth, tomato sauce, brown sugar, and pinto beans. So following directions, it takes about 2 hours to get it ready to go into the crock pot, and simmer for another 5 hours.
After it was in the crock pot, we went for a bike ride. It was exhausting! We biked through 3 of the campgrounds and all the hills about did us in. I guess we're not in as good a shape as I thought! :-)
We then tried to get a station on TV to see how our Spartans were doing against Illinois. Couldn't find anything, so we tried the mo-ho radio, just local games. Then we tried the car. The one station we normally get was very static, so we decided to drive out of the campground to higher ground. That worked! The score, with 6 minutes left in the game was our Spartans 19, Illinois 6. So we parked in a lot to listen to the rest of the game. It was good! The Spartans won, 26-6. They are now 7-0. The first time they've started that good since 1965!
Soooo anyway.....
Back at the campground, we fixed beverages, and wandered the campsites chatting with other campers in the group. Then it was time to help set up the large tent we'd use for the group dinner. It was breezy, and cool, and the tent would help keep us warm. Then back to our mo-ho, for final chili preparations.
At 6pm sharp, the chili cook-off began. There were 7 entries. Each was assigned a number for voting purposes. Others brought cornbread, homemade croutons, cheese and such to complement the chili, and others brought deserts. It was a large spread. We spent a good deal of time trying all the different chili's. I thought ours was the tastiest and voted as such.
When the voting was over, the group hosts, counted the ballots and #2 won!
But I was number 4.......
#2 was pretty good, but it had large pieces of stewed tomatoes, ick. What were these people thinking? Don't they have any freaking taste buds? I was gonna demand a recount! LoL
And to make matters worst! Craig informed me he voted for #1. I said WHAT! You freakin traitor! He said he didn't want to win, then he'd get the Chili Bowl Trophy and be committed to bringing it back for next years Chili cook-off. Sometimes, he is such a dufus!
Oh well, there was lot's of good chili and food, and it was all in good fun. I was curious as to where we did come in with the voting, but decided it was better not knowing. That's why there are so many chili recipes out there. Every one has different tastes. I was just camping with a bunch of people with no taste, and one dufus. ;-)
So then it was time for a large group campfire, where we chatted and enjoyed the warmth. Tired from the long busy day, we retired to out mo-ho around 10pm for a very restful sleep.
Sunday, another cold morning. While Craig slept in, I went for a walk around the campground, and then back to the site of the chili cook-off, to get our table cloth we brought over for one of the tables where we ate. Met up with a few other early risers and visited until it was time to take my shower and wake up Craig. I made us our walking coffee, and we walked and visited with other campers. Some one decided to take the eating tent down after the dew dried and we agreed to meet back there at 11:30 to help. So that gave us time to head out and get a paper to read about the Spartans victory the day before. We returned to the campground at 10:45 and read the paper. At 11:20 I looked out and saw the tent gone. Apparently some of them went ahead and took it down early. Saved us some work! :-)
Since we didn't have breakfast, we decided to go into the near-by town of Angola. It's a neat old town. They have a large circle right in the middle of their downtown with a monument in the middle. The few restaurants there weren't open due to it being Sunday I guess, so we went out on the strip where Meijer and Walmart were. We settled on Buffalo Wild Wings. This place definitely caters to a young male crowd. There must have been 50 TVs, and they were everywhere you looked showing numerous different sporting events. And all the waitresses were cute young girls. The place was actually quite busy for a Sunday at 12:30. We split the fried dill pickles and chicken quesadillas. Very tasty. Back at the campground, we said our goodbyes to the members leaving. We found that there were to be 7 of us there for Sunday night. Our site, somehow, ended up being the gathering place for the afternoon as people came and went. We spent most of that time between chatting, breaking down our site for an easy morning departure. Loaded the car on the kaddy, took down the awning lights, rolled up the awning, and put away the carpet. We started a fire around 6 as it was getting quite cool after a sunny day near 65. We had pork steaks on the grill with a baked potato and grilled asparagus. It was good. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and enjoying the warmth of the fire. We all said our good nights around 10, and we enjoyed another restful sleep in our warm cozy mo-ho.
Monday morning, I woke up Craig around 8:15. Made us coffee, and we made our rounds to say our goodbyes. We finished putting away the rest of the things, and prepared for our departure. We left around 9:30, and with our stop at Flying J near home to gas up and do a second flush of the holding tanks, arrived home around noon.
This was the only trip this year with this camping group. When we put together our camping schedule last February, this was the only date that matched. Next year, we'll try to do more. These are a great bunch of people. So, another great trip, especially with no incidences!
And with the days getting colder, we realize the camping season is nearly over. But we do have one more.......

Monday, October 18, 2010

trip #12

Good afternoon.
Yep! you guessed it! My absence meant we were on another weekend trip!This one took us to beautiful Pokagon State Park, in northern Indiana. It was just about a 2 hour drive from Lansing.This was the chilli cook-off weekend for a camping club we belong to, MTTC.Details later, as I need to epmty the mo-ho,s fridge, mow the lawn, etc.

Friday, October 15, 2010

stinky update

Good morning.
I discovered where that horrible stench was coming from.
One of the kids that have been coming over after work to paint the dumpster enclosures let me in to the empty space next to us. I opened the bathroom door, and just about passed out from the smell. I didn't stay long enough to figure out it's origin, but called the landlord and they're sending someone out today to take care it.
And thanks to a reader who e-mailed me, I also told them to check the sink drain trap and make sure there's water in it. The space has been empty for about 2 years and the water could have evaporated and sewer gas could be filling the room.
Also the toilet was full of nasty looking water so I don't know if that's it either. The room was a also littered with trash and stuff. And like I said, I didn't stay in there long enough to determine exactly what's causing the smell.
I'll leave that to the poor soul they're sending over.....
And it should be a pleasant weekend. Sunny and temps in the low 60's.
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Not your normal day

Good morning.
I know, a very unusual Thursday post.
Usually there's not much to say. Work is work. But on the way to the Salon yesterday morning, just as I was approaching a major intersection, the traffic lights all went out. I of course stopped at the intersection since I didn't know if it was just my side, or all sides. It appeared to be all sides since no one was going. As I waited, the cars across from me decided to go for it and came through, and the one next to me went to go, so I went for it too. Made it through.
Back at the Salon, we had power so I thought it was just a faulty signal, but on the news this morning it said 5000 people had lost power. Glad our Salon wasn't one of them.
Then later in the morning, Craig came up to me and said one of the girls had smelled something in the bathroom Tuesday. Said it smelled like something died. I said I had been in there earlier and didn't smell anything, but went with him to re-check it out. At first, nothing. But then I got down on my knees and sniffed near a vent screen under the sink and BAM! Thought I'd pass out from the stench! There was a horrible odor coming from behind the vent cover. Behind the vent cover is a hole in the wall to access the drain clean-out. When we moved in I put a vent cover over it to look better. I expect the unit next to us has the same opening under their sink. It smells like something died in the wall, or the unit next to us. Now the space next to us is empty and there has been maintenance people working on the property, and they've had the back door of that unit propped open from time to time. I figured there must have been a breeze blowing into that space one day when it was open and pushing the odor more into our unit.
So I dug around in our supply room to see if I could find something to plug the hole in the wall. I came up with a toilet seat seal. It's a thick waxy ring you put on the pipe under the toilet when you replace the toilet to seal between the toilet and floor. It work perfectly to seal around the clean-out and plug the hole in the wall. With the stench taken care of, I called the landlord to have the empty unit checked out.
So some days work doesn't always go as expected.
And speaking of that, I better get in the shower and get going!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

back to work again

Good morning.
It was a little cooler yesterday, only 64, but sunny.
I made us our morning coffee, and we went out to do our weekly grocery shopping. On the way, we stopped and got flu shots. My shoulder is still sore this morning.
Craig mowed the yard while I cleaned out the bird baths and turned them over so they done get water freezing in them and break.
I also cleaned out the portable gas grill we take 'camping' with us.
And for dinner we had turkey burgers and home made oven fries.
And this morning, it's back to work for what is looking to be another busy week.
I need to go in a little early so I can stop at the Salon supply store. We're getting low on some colors.
And that's all I got for now.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

another beautiful day

Good morning.
It was another beautiful fall day. Sunny, 74 degrees. The colors are starting to look real pretty.
And I was productive. :-) I checked tire pressure in the mo-ho, Cruiser, and caddy, and water levels in the batteries. I spent a good chunk of the day cutting down more stuff in the yard. I'm about half way done.
I also called Newmar about the handle levers and got a nice helpful person who is sending me 10 of them. And they only cost $2.40 each. A lot less than the whole handle assembly the local RV dealer sold me. And the dealer was the one who said they only could get the entire handle assembly, not just the one part. Ya right.
Anyway, this is why I ordered so many. Once they break, it's a real pain to try and get the door open to take it apart, so I want to go through and replace the rest, before another one breaks. You can see how thin the metal is on the original, and how they've made them thicker on the newer ones.
And they're real easy to replace if you can open the door. The back of the handle has 4 screws, and then the lever is right there with one screw.
So that will be the next weekends project.
And for dinner, it was pork cutlets on the grill with baked potato and ginger-honey carrots.

Monday, October 11, 2010

it was a good day

Good morning.
First, thanks for all the birthday wishes.
I had a real nice day. I did almost nothing. I mostly lounged, ate and drank. Played on the puter, read, relaxed on the deck. It was a beautiful day. I did feel guilty enough that I spent an hour fixing the handle on one of the mo-ho bay doors. But other than that, I accomplished zip.
Breakfast was a bacon egg sandwich, dinner was ham steaks, mashed potatoes and asparagus, and an evening snack of chicken wings.
It was a good day.
This morning I take the Kia in for an oil change, a wiring recall, and to get mudflaps installed.
I'm also going to call Newmar and see if I can order those bay handle levers, that keep breaking, from them. I went to their website and was able to find the part in their online catalog, but I think it's for dealers only. We'll see.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

It's gonna be a great day!

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, and after having a nice restful sleep, I'm ready for a nice long weekend. Temps today are expected to hit near 80. And 70's for the rest of my weekend. That should be enough to motivate me to get a lot done. We'll see. :-)
Saturday ended the same as the week started, very busy. But we did manage to get home in time to watch our #17 Michigan State Spartans beat our in-state rivals, the no longer to be, #18, Michigan Wolverines 34-17. It was a great game!
And with today being a very special day, (read the comments from the last post) I really don't know what I'm going to do.
So now it's time for a shower, get Craig up, have our coffee, read the paper, and decide what to do.

Friday, October 08, 2010

work, work, work, but It's almost the weekend for me

Good morning.
Just a quickie today. I worked 11 1/2 hours yesterday. Came home, had a couple of glasses of sherry, watched a couple of sitcoms, and hit the pillow and was gone....
All of a sudden, it's morning again. I won't say daylight because it is rapidly getting less and less. Yesterday was the first time I came home from work in the 'dark'. I hated it! And this morning, it'll be barely light when I go back in. That's what I dislike most about winter, besides the cold, Going to work in the dark and going home in the dark. It doesn't feel like you have any day at all.
But, it is going to be unseasonably warm this weekend. Predicting a high of 78 for Sunday. Yaa!!!
And it's a special day Sunday. Anybody care to guess? 10/10/10. That's kinda weird isn't it?
Anyway, it's back to work for another busy day, today and tomorrow. And I certainly don't want to complain about being busy. I had a customer come in yesterday I haven't seen in a long time. The reason? She has been out of work since a year ago this past September. So I have to remember how lucky I am I have a business that's paying our bills and letting us have a little fun too. It can always be a lot worst!
Have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 07, 2010

weekend recap

Good morning.
Tuesday, after we returned home, I mowed the yard while Craig did laundry and bookwork.
Then I took clothes, bedding, towels, and left over food from the fridge out the mo-ho.
And of course, after we get back, it warms up to near 70, so we ended the day with beverages on the deck. For dinner , Craig fixed a tasty hamburger helper.
Wed I was the energiser bunny. While Craig spent most of the day on bills and more laundry, I cleaned the inside of the mo-ho, then a quick wash of the outside, then I washed the PT Cruiser, the Honda, and the Kia, and also chamois dried them and cleaned the windows. THEN, I washed the patio door window and the front door window. And THEN, restocked the mo-ho with basics for our next trip.
AND THEN, I fixed a delicious dinner of Panko chicken using slaw dressing for the pre-dip coating, and grilled asparagus and left over pasta salad. It was good!
And I also managed to catch a pic of our b-i-g guest enjoying a frog snack in our pond.
It was a Great Blue Heron. he comes by a few times in the summer to keep the frog population in check. And he does a very good job.
Well, that's my weekend recap. With us taking a longer weekend than usual, we also had Wed off, and the rest of the week is looking ridiculously busy! Looks to be about 12 hours today, and who knows about Friday and Saturday until I call back all the people who left messages.
So I'll see you this weekend!

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Ludington State Park

Good morning.
We made it to Ludington and back safe with only 2 very minor incidences.
Our kitchen exhaust fan wouldn't open. It's done this before. A small slide screw works it's self loose. An easy fix, but a little time consuming.
And one of the bay door latches broke. That's our 3rd one now. If I had the money, I'd replace all of them instead of waiting for each one to go, but there are 15 doors so I guess I'll just keep buying an extra one when needed.
And now on with our trip....
We left work around 12:30 Friday, and were on the road shortly after 1pm. Arrived at the park around 4, filled our fresh water tank, and parked in our paved, pull thru site.
I wish all campgrounds had paved sites, but I guess that isn't 'real' camping. But then a 'condo' on wheels isn't 'real' camping anyway. :-)
We set up our site, fixed us a beverage, and went for a walk around the campground.
Ludington State Park has 3 large separate loops for camping. One of the larger campgrounds of any Michigan State Park we've been to.

Here's us all set up.
Then it was time to start dinner.
I got potatoes on the grill, and later added pork steaks. Craig made coleslaw, it all was yummy.
It was too breezy for a fire, so we went inside and discovered we were in a dead zone for TV reception. Just 3 channels and nothing we wanted to watch, so a DVD was in order and we settled on Coffee Date. A very funny movie.
After a very restful sleep, thanks the the drizzly rain all night, we awoke to a cold, damp, windy morning. After our coffee walk, we decided to do indoor stuff, so it was off to Manistee, about 30 miles north, to the Little River Casino. A nice smaller casino, where we spent a couple of hours and ended up donating about 30 bucks to the machines. Then we stopped in Manistee for lunch at a nice place called TJ's, before heading back to the campground.
We reached a high of only 54, and so a large campfire was in order. Since we had lunch, a light dinner of kielbasa's hit the spot. With little TV reception, we were unable to watch the channel our football team was on so we eavesdropped on our neighbors who had a portable radio to listen to our Spartans beat Wisconsin.
Sunday, although cold, was at least sunny and not so windy, so after our coffee walk, I fixed us breakfast, and then we drove into town to get the Sunday paper, and veggie supplies for dinner. With decent cool sunny weather, (a high of only 55) we decide to hike the 3 mile round trip, out to the Big Sable Light House. Built in 1867, it's one of the oldest on the great lakes. It was an easy trail out to the lighthouse, and nice views from the top, after a 130 step climb.

Isn't Lake Michigan beautiful?
After our return, we fixed beverages, and read the paper, enjoying the details of our win against Wisconsin, and our upcoming battle of the unbeaten next Saturday against Michigan.Then a little bike ride to see how busy the other campgrounds were, and another big campfire for the chilly evening. This one had us enjoying chicken on the grill with grilled marinated zucchini and Craig's tasty pasta salad.Our viewing for the evening was an oldy, City Slickers.

The view from our campsite. Beautiful blue skies!

.
Monday we awoke to 41 degrees. To damn cold for this time of year, but we're being punished with a cold fall for that nice hot summer we had. We had our morning coffee walk down by the beach and pavilion.
After coffee we then decided on a short hike.
This one was called the Skyline trail. The way dunes are created here are you have the beach, then the beach dunes which can be from 30-60 ft tall, usually just grass covered, then a valley area with trees, which is where our campground was then the inland dunes which are the biggies. 100-300 ft tall.
This particular trail they've actually built a boardwalk along the crest of the dune making for an easy walk with great views. The boardwalk also protects the dunes from erosion. You don't have 100's of feet wearing down the vegetation and exposing the sand underneath to the winds off Lake Michigan.

If you look real close to the middle of the next pic, you'll see a cute squirrel snacking away on acorns. He/she wasn't afraid of us at all. Knew he was to high for us to reach.
Anyway, with the walk from the campground to the trail and back, about 2 miles.
Then it was to town for lunch at Jamesport Brewing Company. We ate here the last time we were at Ludington, and were happy to see it's still operating.
We then browsed some shops managing to not buy anything, then back to the campground to relax, have a few beverages and read the paper.
We then started breaking down our site. Loaded the car on the caddy, rolled up the awning, and I cleaned the windshield of the mo-ho.
We then went for a bike ride to find only about a dozen campers in each of the 3 campgrounds. There are always a lot less people during the week than on weekends. It's always nice and peaceful.
After retuning to our site, I started a campfire, strapped the bikes on the bike rack that's attached to the ladder on the back of the mo-ho, and enjoyed the warmth of the fire, the quiet of the park, and the beautiful blue sky.
It made it up to 56, which, with the sun and no wind, was pleasant.
Dinner was turkey kielbasas on the grill and viewing was our Monday night sitcoms. At least we were getting that channel. :-)
Tuesday morning had me putting away the outside chairs and grill, making Craig his coffee, pulling in the slides, storing the jacks, putting down the antenna, unplugging from shore power, dumping the tanks at the dump station, and an early departure back to Lansing where we arrived safe.
It was another good trip.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

trip #11

Good afternoon.
Yep, my absence means we've just returned from another trip with no wi-fi.
This was our longest trip of the season, a 4 nighter, which took us to Ludington State Park, on the shores of Lake Michigan. About a 3 hour drive from Lansing.
Details tomorrow morning as Craig needs to do laundry and bookwork, and I need to mow the yard.

Friday, October 01, 2010

It's not over yet!....but getting close

Good morning.
It's 43 out as I write this going for a balmy high of 66. Yesterday was beautiful with sun and near 70. Of course, I didn't get to enjoy as I worked from 8am to 7pm. But customers all day kept reminding me what I was missing. So nice of them.
And for this time of year, low to mid 60's are our norm. Well that is to change tomorrow when a cold front comes through bringing rain and temps only about 50 with lows in the low 30's. Yuk!
But the reality is that it's now October and temps will be on a downward slide for the foreseeable future. I hate the cold, and that's why I don't enjoy the beautiful fall we have here. I know what's coming after.
But in other news, we still have another trip to look forward to, and at least we're not tent camping. And there's a big RV show the weekend of my birthday, so that well be fun to look and dream of a bigger newer Motor home. :-)
And even with the colder temps, there's still some blooming to be found in the gardens...


Japanese Anemones, and Toad Lilies...

Helianthus and False Dragon head.

Like me, the garden doesn't want to give up the summer, but like me, it'll eventually succumb, retreating to the safety of the ground as I retreat to the warmth of the house, waiting for another spring to be able to burst out into the warm sunshine once more.
Okay, enough of the mushy stuff.
Have a great weekend!