29-30 July.
West Michigan along Lake Michigan is loaded with beautiful small communities, offering large white sandy beaches, historic main street, marinas, restaurants and beer breweries-Holland is not an exception.
We did not visit any of the Holland attractions offered by this beautiful place as we have been few times in Europe including Holland and experienced the real thing, but we did take advantage of what the main street can offer and took a drive to the Red Lighthouse at the end of the South Shore Drive.
Along this drive we saw the HUGEST houses/mansions facing the lake; I had to stop a few times to be able to see the whole house and the garden at one glance-it was almost a crime to have one of these….
At the end of the drive one is permitted by a guard to walk to the Red lighthouse as the path is a long a private close community.
To get down to earth we went in a brewery to cool off with a finest local made beer and a good burger.
To wrap up the day we attended a free concert on the lawn facing the lake-not bad for one day.
On 30 July we meet with an internet friend and his wife from the Crossroads Forum with whom I was “talking” for a couple of years and we spend the morning together, walking the downtown and dinning.
We invited them to have some Israeli coffee (very strong mixed with herbs) and it seems that liked it very much.
It is hot ,so we will pop in the pool and get things ready for the move tomorrow.
Our Rig
Camping
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Muskegon & Grand Haven Michigan
27-28 July
Our next stop on the way south in west Michigan was Muskegon, an old town that used to be the lumber center of Michigan, they say that Muskegon lumber built Chicago after the big fire.
We camped on Muskegon lake just minutes away from the historic downtown, our trailer was positioned so we could see the river from the left window (the dining area) and it was nice seeing the fishing boats sail around.
After visiting the information center we took the local Tourist trolley (60 cents for seniors) all around the historic center and the submarine museum where the most decorated US Submarine from WW2 is docked.
Then we strolled the downtown area visiting the historic buildings and the fantastic old Library that was donated to the city by the Lumber Baron.
We were lucky as the rain picked up after we finished our daily activities and were back in our trailer.
On the 28 we drove 20 Miles south to Grand Haven, a beautiful community and the home for the Coast Guards in west Michigan.
The place is beautiful, groomed with few marinas filled with private and charter boats, great main drag with places to eat, shop and stay.
There is a city C.G on the beach (very crouded, we did not like it) and a path to a lighthouse.
To top it all off every night along the boardwalk at 10PM there is a “light, water, music” show for 20 minutes, it can be seen and heard all along the walk or by sitting in a boat in the river-Outstanding show and worthwhile staying around till after the show.
I hope the picture will do justice to reality.
Our next stop on the way south in west Michigan was Muskegon, an old town that used to be the lumber center of Michigan, they say that Muskegon lumber built Chicago after the big fire.
We camped on Muskegon lake just minutes away from the historic downtown, our trailer was positioned so we could see the river from the left window (the dining area) and it was nice seeing the fishing boats sail around.
After visiting the information center we took the local Tourist trolley (60 cents for seniors) all around the historic center and the submarine museum where the most decorated US Submarine from WW2 is docked.
Then we strolled the downtown area visiting the historic buildings and the fantastic old Library that was donated to the city by the Lumber Baron.
We were lucky as the rain picked up after we finished our daily activities and were back in our trailer.
On the 28 we drove 20 Miles south to Grand Haven, a beautiful community and the home for the Coast Guards in west Michigan.
The place is beautiful, groomed with few marinas filled with private and charter boats, great main drag with places to eat, shop and stay.
There is a city C.G on the beach (very crouded, we did not like it) and a path to a lighthouse.
To top it all off every night along the boardwalk at 10PM there is a “light, water, music” show for 20 minutes, it can be seen and heard all along the walk or by sitting in a boat in the river-Outstanding show and worthwhile staying around till after the show.
I hope the picture will do justice to reality.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Manistee Michigan
26-26 July
Our next stop going south along the Michigan Lake was the nice town of Manistee.
We have camped in the Little River Casino C.G, usually I do not write a review on the C.G we use but this one is an exception…
Full hook ups, Wifi connection, levelled spacious sites, access to the fitting center with a pool and a qaguzzi,8 miles from the downtown and all this for 20$ or 18 if you have AAA-unbelievable.
We have strolled along the board walk and the nice historic downtown and attended a free concert in Onekama City Park just few minutes north from the Casino.
On the next day we took a drive to Ludington, one of the most groomed cities in this area ,white sand wide beaches, beautiful marinas, Lighthouse, nice green shaded city parks and a nice main street loaded with Murals with many parking free places-what else one needs????
Our next stop going south along the Michigan Lake was the nice town of Manistee.
We have camped in the Little River Casino C.G, usually I do not write a review on the C.G we use but this one is an exception…
Full hook ups, Wifi connection, levelled spacious sites, access to the fitting center with a pool and a qaguzzi,8 miles from the downtown and all this for 20$ or 18 if you have AAA-unbelievable.
We have strolled along the board walk and the nice historic downtown and attended a free concert in Onekama City Park just few minutes north from the Casino.
On the next day we took a drive to Ludington, one of the most groomed cities in this area ,white sand wide beaches, beautiful marinas, Lighthouse, nice green shaded city parks and a nice main street loaded with Murals with many parking free places-what else one needs????
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Traverse City Michigan
22-24 July
The drive from Petoskey to Traverse City took us around an hour and a half, this time we chose a full hook-up Holiday Park C.G just 10 miles from downtown Traverse City, it is specious, site are leveled, has WiFi and cable TV.
On the same day we took off to the downtown area where every Friday they have live music, entertainment and lots of food, it is not our usual “thing” but from time to time it is nice to change atmosphere.
2-3 years ago we hooked up through the RV Forum with a fireman in Traverse City ,and finally meet with him and had spend the evening together-it was fun and always helps when a “local” can show you around.
23 July
We packed a picnic box and left for the day to Sleeping Bear Dunes-the beautiful town of Leland with a beautiful old fishing village-Suttons Bay with fantastic marinas on the lake and back.
On the way we stopped for “U pick” cherries that are just fantastic now.
The scenery along the way is just outstanding, I am jealous to see the Lakes that some of them have islands on them with lakes on the islands…..unbelievable. Just “give” my country ONE lake, it will DOUBLE the number of lakes we have and you will not feel a thing..(Wishful thinking).
24 July
There is another land “finger” that goes all the way into the lake just north of Traverse City, this morning we took off towards this Island all the way till the Mission Point Lighthouse, on the way North we drove the West Road and coming back we took the East road.
The Island is narrow and in many places the lake can be seen on both sides, the houses or should I say Mansions on great lots and fantastic views are all over, marinas, vistas and yachts are all over the place ,do the locals actually SEE the beauty around them …… -it was a great drive with many stops on lookouts and beaches-it is highly recommended.
The drive from Petoskey to Traverse City took us around an hour and a half, this time we chose a full hook-up Holiday Park C.G just 10 miles from downtown Traverse City, it is specious, site are leveled, has WiFi and cable TV.
On the same day we took off to the downtown area where every Friday they have live music, entertainment and lots of food, it is not our usual “thing” but from time to time it is nice to change atmosphere.
2-3 years ago we hooked up through the RV Forum with a fireman in Traverse City ,and finally meet with him and had spend the evening together-it was fun and always helps when a “local” can show you around.
23 July
We packed a picnic box and left for the day to Sleeping Bear Dunes-the beautiful town of Leland with a beautiful old fishing village-Suttons Bay with fantastic marinas on the lake and back.
On the way we stopped for “U pick” cherries that are just fantastic now.
The scenery along the way is just outstanding, I am jealous to see the Lakes that some of them have islands on them with lakes on the islands…..unbelievable. Just “give” my country ONE lake, it will DOUBLE the number of lakes we have and you will not feel a thing..(Wishful thinking).
24 July
There is another land “finger” that goes all the way into the lake just north of Traverse City, this morning we took off towards this Island all the way till the Mission Point Lighthouse, on the way North we drove the West Road and coming back we took the East road.
The Island is narrow and in many places the lake can be seen on both sides, the houses or should I say Mansions on great lots and fantastic views are all over, marinas, vistas and yachts are all over the place ,do the locals actually SEE the beauty around them …… -it was a great drive with many stops on lookouts and beaches-it is highly recommended.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Petoskey MI
20 July-21 July
On 20 July we have completed our travels throughout Upper Michigan, it took us 2 weeks and could easily take a month without feeling that we are wasting our time, but it is time to move on.
We crossed the Mackinac 5 Mile bridge and although 2 lines were closed for maintenance the traffic was running smooth.
After an hour and a half we arrived to the beautiful town of Petoskey and camped in the city park on Lake Michigan, full hook-ups in some site and some only Electric and water, no WiFi,nice beach.
The park location is perfect to tour the area and the city, but it is close to a hospital and the air-condition is making quite a noise especially on the South side of the park, but otherwise than that it is fine.
It was around the 90’s and humid so walking around there was feeling that you are in a soup even the bugs and flies complained , many RVers stayed in the trailer with the air-condition on all night, as we cannot control the weather there is no point in wasting energy on the issue, let’s hope that tomorrow it will be cooler.
A trip to the supper Wal-Mart center downtown for some products and then to watch the outstanding sunset (they never stop fascinating me), Pasta with asparagus & Wine prepared by Chef Shula completed our day.
21 July
After sleeping through the night with the air-condition on the morning weather was cooler and the gentle wind gave the impression that it is going to be a cooler day.
We packed a picnic lunch and headed towards Cross Village on the Scenic HWY 119 called also “The tunnel of trees” along the coast.
It was a beautiful drive, the name of the HWY actually explains what we experienced, trees covered the road and gave the impression of a tunnel, do not take this road with a trailer.
The villages and houses along this Hwy are magnificent, the marinas, yachts, small shops and evening street music made it a great destination.
To top it off at around 9PM was one of the beautiful sunsets we experienced, only the pictures can do it justice (one picture is more than a thousand words).
On 20 July we have completed our travels throughout Upper Michigan, it took us 2 weeks and could easily take a month without feeling that we are wasting our time, but it is time to move on.
We crossed the Mackinac 5 Mile bridge and although 2 lines were closed for maintenance the traffic was running smooth.
After an hour and a half we arrived to the beautiful town of Petoskey and camped in the city park on Lake Michigan, full hook-ups in some site and some only Electric and water, no WiFi,nice beach.
The park location is perfect to tour the area and the city, but it is close to a hospital and the air-condition is making quite a noise especially on the South side of the park, but otherwise than that it is fine.
It was around the 90’s and humid so walking around there was feeling that you are in a soup even the bugs and flies complained , many RVers stayed in the trailer with the air-condition on all night, as we cannot control the weather there is no point in wasting energy on the issue, let’s hope that tomorrow it will be cooler.
A trip to the supper Wal-Mart center downtown for some products and then to watch the outstanding sunset (they never stop fascinating me), Pasta with asparagus & Wine prepared by Chef Shula completed our day.
21 July
After sleeping through the night with the air-condition on the morning weather was cooler and the gentle wind gave the impression that it is going to be a cooler day.
We packed a picnic lunch and headed towards Cross Village on the Scenic HWY 119 called also “The tunnel of trees” along the coast.
It was a beautiful drive, the name of the HWY actually explains what we experienced, trees covered the road and gave the impression of a tunnel, do not take this road with a trailer.
The villages and houses along this Hwy are magnificent, the marinas, yachts, small shops and evening street music made it a great destination.
To top it off at around 9PM was one of the beautiful sunsets we experienced, only the pictures can do it justice (one picture is more than a thousand words).
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
St.Ignace & Mackinac Island
17 July till 19 July
On the way from the “ Porkies “ to St.Ignace we have stopped in Manistique planning to stay for 2 days and explore the area .
After unhooking the trailer in Kewadin Casino (we have almost become a regulars..)we took off to the down town and found a “dead” town except a movie theatre and it showed the last film of Harry Potter, we looked at the watch and at each other “it starts in 15 minutes, so let’s grab an ice-cream and go for it” my wife said, easy said than done –no ice-cream in the area only pizza…and so we found ourselves in comfortable chairs with no ice-cream watching the last saga of Harry Potter.
The film made more than 165 million $ in a short period and our 8$ sure contributed to it …
The next morning it was raining cats & dogs so we decided to continue to St.Ignace.
The ride went smooth and the skies went blue, it was hard to believe that it actually the same day…so we unhooked and took off to the beautiful downtown area.
On the way we stopped at the Castle Rock, an observation point 700’ high from where the whole bay and the Mackinac Island could be seen.
Going up the staircase to the top you could definitely say that America has to get in shape…the view from the top was rewarding.
Downtown area is just beautiful, clean, lots of free parking lots, boardwalk all along the bay, many small nice shops and bars.
At one point we took the load from our feet and with drinks in our hands facing the bay watched the ferries and sailing boats go by-and you know what we felt the life is good.
Mackinac Island
As we were getting into the truck to take off to the ferry a casino employee asked us and the other Rvers to move from the C.G as they are upgrading the place to accommodate 20 RV’s with 50AMP and Water.
We moved to Castel Rock C.G just down the road and took the shuttle to the ferry.
The ferry route to the Island was first to the Mackinac Bridge, it is 5 Mile long and is one of larges bridges in North America.
The Island was as expected full of tourists that moved by foot, bicycles, horses and buggies ,the main street ,shops and restaurants were crowded, but in spite of that we enjoyed our day trip to the Mackinac Island., it is unique, but on visit was enough.
On the way from the “ Porkies “ to St.Ignace we have stopped in Manistique planning to stay for 2 days and explore the area .
After unhooking the trailer in Kewadin Casino (we have almost become a regulars..)we took off to the down town and found a “dead” town except a movie theatre and it showed the last film of Harry Potter, we looked at the watch and at each other “it starts in 15 minutes, so let’s grab an ice-cream and go for it” my wife said, easy said than done –no ice-cream in the area only pizza…and so we found ourselves in comfortable chairs with no ice-cream watching the last saga of Harry Potter.
The film made more than 165 million $ in a short period and our 8$ sure contributed to it …
The next morning it was raining cats & dogs so we decided to continue to St.Ignace.
The ride went smooth and the skies went blue, it was hard to believe that it actually the same day…so we unhooked and took off to the beautiful downtown area.
On the way we stopped at the Castle Rock, an observation point 700’ high from where the whole bay and the Mackinac Island could be seen.
Going up the staircase to the top you could definitely say that America has to get in shape…the view from the top was rewarding.
Downtown area is just beautiful, clean, lots of free parking lots, boardwalk all along the bay, many small nice shops and bars.
At one point we took the load from our feet and with drinks in our hands facing the bay watched the ferries and sailing boats go by-and you know what we felt the life is good.
Mackinac Island
As we were getting into the truck to take off to the ferry a casino employee asked us and the other Rvers to move from the C.G as they are upgrading the place to accommodate 20 RV’s with 50AMP and Water.
We moved to Castel Rock C.G just down the road and took the shuttle to the ferry.
The ferry route to the Island was first to the Mackinac Bridge, it is 5 Mile long and is one of larges bridges in North America.
The Island was as expected full of tourists that moved by foot, bicycles, horses and buggies ,the main street ,shops and restaurants were crowded, but in spite of that we enjoyed our day trip to the Mackinac Island., it is unique, but on visit was enough.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Porcupine Mountain Wilderness S.P Michigan
16 July 2011
The drive from Cooper Harbor to towards Porcupine S.P went without any special events except the fact that the closest diesel gas station was 30 miles down the road and we barely made it….
We camped in the Ontonagon city park on the beach of lake Superior with electrical and water hook-ups.
The weather was not very promising, grey clouds and mist covered the Porcupine Mountains and the Lake but we packed our gear and headed to the S.P with no hesitation what so ever and it sure payed off.
The State park is one of the largest in North America and has one RV C.G and many remote primitive camping places for tents.
There 2 main routes in the park allowing visitors to park at the many Trail Heads across the “Porcies”.
We spent the whole day hiking falls, the famous Lake of the Clouds and climbed the observation tower allowing 360 vistas.
We did NOT see any Porcupines…..but it still was a fantastic day.
The drive from Cooper Harbor to towards Porcupine S.P went without any special events except the fact that the closest diesel gas station was 30 miles down the road and we barely made it….
We camped in the Ontonagon city park on the beach of lake Superior with electrical and water hook-ups.
The weather was not very promising, grey clouds and mist covered the Porcupine Mountains and the Lake but we packed our gear and headed to the S.P with no hesitation what so ever and it sure payed off.
The State park is one of the largest in North America and has one RV C.G and many remote primitive camping places for tents.
There 2 main routes in the park allowing visitors to park at the many Trail Heads across the “Porcies”.
We spent the whole day hiking falls, the famous Lake of the Clouds and climbed the observation tower allowing 360 vistas.
We did NOT see any Porcupines…..but it still was a fantastic day.
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