The Upper Lower Peninsula of MI (say that 10 times)

Jul 29 Sun … Another day on the treadmill and doing more laundry. This afternoon we drove about a mile down the road to Ostego County park where we had a picnic lunch on the beach of Lake Ostego. Later we tried out the waterslide at our RV park. This was a first for Dixie. We had fun, along with all the kids also doing the slide. Tomorrow we hit the road for our 225 mile drive across the 5 mile Mackinaw Bridge to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or the “U.P.” as it is called here.
Jul 28 Sat… Back to the treadmill and time on the computer. Went to a golf course about a 1/4 mile down the road and hit some golf balls at their driving range. Found a place in town to drop off the used oil from the generator. Gave Mike a haircut.
Jul 27 Fri … Drove to Walmart to pick up a refill prescription for Dixie. Had lunch at Subway while we were out.
Jul 26 Thurs … Dixie did laundry and did research on the computer while Mike did 25 minutes on the treadmill. Later, while Mike went online, Dixie also did her time on the treadmill. Later, Mike finally got around to changing the oil in the generator.
Jul 25 Wed … The weather is to be warm and sunny today so we drove the 64 miles north to Mackinaw City where we boarded a ferry for the 25 minute ride to Mackinaw Island, MI. The ferry boat we were on did a tour of the mighty Mackinaw Bridge, a 5 mile span over the Straits of Mackinac, built in 1957. In fact, there are many activities planned this weekend in celebration of 50 years of service.
After arriving at the beautiful Mackinaw Island, (we took our bikes on board the boat because there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island) we started out by riding the 8.2 miles around the island. We encountered a problem when only about 100 yards out of the “downtown” area, Dixie’s back wheel went completely flat. We started walking back toward town to find a bike service shop that could repair it. (Mike could have repaired it since he brought along patches and a hand pump but we didn’t want to take the time and he didn’t need the frustration.) Luckily, we came upon a repair shop after walking a short distance. They said it would take an hour so we decided to visit the Governors summer cottage which was only open for tours, lucky us, on Wednesdays. It was an interesting tour and the view from one of the highest points on the island was, in a word, breathtaking. You could see Lake Huron, the Mackinaw Straits and the Mackinaw Bridge.
After getting the bike back, we continued our journey around the island. We soon stopped to walk up a bunch of steep steps in order to view the Arch Rock. This is basically a hole in a rock that was caused by the lake waters about 4,000 years ago. Ok, so we got on the bikes again and continued our trip around the island. When we had gone a little more than half way around, decided to stop and have the lunch we had brought along with us. We sat under a tree about 30 ft from the lake, again, with a beautiful view of the Mackinaw Bridge in the distance. After lunch and a brief rest, we continued our trip. In town, we parked the bikes (there were literally hundreds of them) and walked and shopped the many stores, a.k.a. gift shops along the street. Later, we stopped at the Pink Pony Restaurant located on the water at the dock, for refreshments. And before boarding the ferry back to Mackinaw City, we had a cup of black cherry ice cream. I think someone’s trying to fatten me up. All in all, it was a memorable day in a truly remarkable part of our beautiful US of A.
Jul 24 Tue … Today we drove to an area in Gaylord where hundreds of deer and elk are in a large enclosed area where they can be viewed. We were able to view them from about 100 yards away. After that, we went to a place we go often when we’re bored … Walmart, of course.
Jul 23 Mon … Left the park at 9am. We made a stop at a local auto repair place in White Cloud to see if they could loosen the oil drain plug on the generator (it was on so tight from the factory that we couldn’t get it off when we tried back in Apr). They were able to accomplish the deed after about a ½ hr of trying. We were on the road again at 10am. We stopped for lunch at a rest area and then fuel in Gaylord, MI ($3.09 for diesel- that’s the highest since last summer when we paid the same in CT). We arrived at our destination of Beaver Creek RV Resort in Gaylord, MI around 2pm. The resort is nice…our site is paved and near a small fishing lake. We get satellite & phone but no internet. Luckily they have WIFI in the clubhouse.