A Long Winter's Nap . . .

The 2017 camping season has officially come to a close. The Pod is all winterized and packed away in the barn for a long winter's nap. I'm already dreaming of next year and the places that we will go. Will we finally make it to the Grand Canyon? I know I definitely want to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan again and we are already discussing camping in Frankenmuth with our friends.

Considering we got a late start this year, we still managed to make our annual trips with family and friends and a 14-day haul to Maine and back. My mouth just watered thinking about all the lobster that I ate. Yumm-O!

We spent a total of 36 nights in the Pod between 8 different trips. Someone told me once, that the average camper spends 21 nights a year in their camper. I'm glad that Jimmy and I aren't average...LOL! All in all, it was another spectacular camping year with the Pod! Our Pod has been,

by far, one of the best purchases we have ever made.

The Pod packed away in the barn for the winter.

Camping with Friends

After a great five days in Indiana, our trip continues at Harrison Lake State Park in Fayette, Ohio. We arrived a day early and was able to get our favorite spot, site 113. We were meeting our friends on Friday for our last weekend of camping for the season.

Harrison Lake State Park is one of my favorite, close-to-home campgrounds. It seems far enough way,  but yet we can be home in 40 minutes. The park offers a great lake, walking trails and nice, roomy sites. We usually try and get here a couple of times a year, but this year it was only once, but a nice way to conclude our camping season.

We met our friends, Don and Deb and Brooke and her girls. There's always a given when we camp with friends. There's plenty of good food, outstanding beer and/or whiskey and great company. We -pre-planned our menu and enjoyed chili on Friday night, a great breakfast on Saturday morning (Thanks Brooke!) and an outstanding hobo dinner on Saturday night (Thanks Grodi's). I have to give a special shout-out to Donnie for dragging his TV outside so I could watch my Spartans play football on Saturday afternoon.  Brooke and I didn't want to give it up on Saturday night. We were the last two left around the bonfire. The weather was too perfect for late October and we squeezed out every last minute that we could around the nice, toasty fire.

I'm already dreaming about next camping season and the places that we will go.

Here's some photos from our weekend with friends!

Shelby, Kara, Brooke, Deb and Jimmy
(Sorry Donnie, I didn't have any photos of you!)

Such great weather for a fire

The Pod on Site 113

We sure lucked out with a beautiful fall weekend

Fall at Harrison Lake State Park

My favorite time of year!

Kara and Shelby 

The Beauty of This Earth!

This quote was part of a sign at Turkey Run State Park in Marshall, Indiana and boy did it speak to me. If you have been following my blog, you know that Jimmy and I have travelled to some amazing places with our Pod. In my opinion, there's no better way to see the countryside. 

We left home on a rainy Sunday morning and headed to Indiana. I was hoping this wasn't a sign of the week to come. We had a five hour drive ahead of us and it was windy and driving, hard rain the entire way. The park was sold out for the week and I couldn't figure out why. It is the middle of October! Come to find out, Indiana schools have a fall break and get a week off school and it was also the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. Parke County is home to 31 covered bridges and this festival takes place in nine communities throughout the County. They expect more than 2 million people each year! (YIKES!) We were super lucky to get a campsite.

We set up camp on site 62 and called Turkey Run our home for the next four days.  I've spend a lot of time in Indiana as my childhood, best friend moved there in the 8th grade. We have kept in touch after all these years and even though we don't talk every day (or even every month) we have the uncanny ability to pick up right where we left off. They visited on Monday night for dinner and then on Wednesday they took the day off and we checked out the Covered Bridge Festival together. It was so awesome to catch up with these two and enjoy our time together!

When we weren't visiting with our friends, we explored everything that Turkey Run had to offer. The weather was just beautiful for hiking the park. I never realized the beauty that Indiana had to offer. I'm just going to let the picture tell the rest of the story...

Turkey Run State Park - Site 62

The Suspension Bridge

Wow! Jimmy never lets me take his picture!

And a very rare selfie of the two of us!

Sugar Creek

Wow..its Jimmy again!

Just walking through Rocky Hallow

Rocky Hallow

Narrows Covered Bridge in Turkey Run State Park

Can't believe I have 4 pictures of Jimmy on the same trip!

It was a tight fit...

Absolutely beautiful day overlooking Sunset Point.

My childhood friends!
So glad we got to spend this time together.

Our adventures continue as we pack up and start heading back north. To be continued....

A Family That Camps Together, Stays Together

I think I need to use the above graphic and make t-shirts to commemorate 

all of our family camping trips together. 

Our Podding adventures continue into September with a spontaneous weekend with my brother's family at Hayes State Park in the Irish Hills. I think we made plans and booked sites within a week and we had an absolutely fabulous time! The weather was perfect for a late September weekend in Michigan, and definitely appreciated the campfire at night.      

                    

So, what do you with a 14-year-old, 13-year-old and a 11-year-old? Well, on Saturday morning after my brother and sister-in-law cooked an amazing breakfast, we took a long hike around the park and then many rounds of Kan Jam were played. Saturday night we played a good old fashion of game of Telephone (you know, when you sit in a circle and someone makes something up that gets whispered in the next persons ear and it gets passed around the circle to see how well it travels back to the original person). We shared lots of laughs around the campfire that night. Haven't played that game in years and I was glad to see that the kids weren't buried in their phones and tablets all weekend long. 

Hayes State Park - Site 147

My Nephews, Cooper and Conner and Niece, Allison

The very first sign of Fall! My favorite time of year!

My Crew from left to right: Cooner, Allison and Cooper

And don't forget my nephew dog, Louie!
It was a tad chilly and he needed a sweater. 

And the theme continues, where are your feet?

Where Are Your Feet?

For those of you that really know me, know that I used to hate feet. I mean deeply, deeply hate feet.  And I don't just mean my own! All feet were subject to my disapproval. I've come a long way over the years. I'm not going to say that I love them now, but at least I'm willing to talk about them, get regular pedicures, wear sandals, and as you will see, take pictures of them. 

Since we have started camping over the years, it amazes me to think about all the feet that have walked on the same campsites that we have, strolled on the same beaches, and simply walked on the same earth. Someone started a thread on one of the camping groups that I belong to on Facebook that asks, "Where are your feet?" I enjoy following it to see where people are camping and what new adventures I can add to our list. 

Over Labor Day weekend, my feet were at Lake Hudson Recreation Area in Hudson, MI. This campground is just about 45 minutes from our house. The best part about going here is that Jimmy picked me up from work at 5 pm and by 6 pm this was my view. It also made for a very short commute home on the busy holiday weekend. 

Where are your feet?

We have camped at Lake Hudson before and this time was a very different experience. Being a holiday weekend, the campground was packed. The campsites are great as they wide open and spacious. You are completely secluded from your neighbor. A friend that came out to visit called our site the "Campsite Cubicle." She was so right! We couldn't see anyone, but we could hear everything our neighbors were talking about and doing. It was loud and no one had any respect for quiet hours. Finally, there wasn't any presence of DNR Rangers/Officers to enforce the rules. Unfortunately, this will probably be the last time we camp at Lake Hudson. 

On the plus side, the weather for the weekend was outstanding! Here's a few photos:

Campsite #5 at Lake Hudson

It was a great day at the beach! 

This picture doesn't do the sunset justice, but it was a
beautiful evening.

Two Pods in the Park

Its always fun camping with other Podders! A few years ago we met the Bausman through the R-Pod Owners Facebook group. We really hit it off and discovered that we didn't live far from each other. We have tried to camp a weekend or two a year together ever since.

We tend to meet up in Monroe, MI (my hometown, ironically) and camp at Habortown RV Park. We had another awesome weekend together. The weather was warm enough during the day to enjoy the pool (and work on my tan) and cool enough at night to sit around the fire. 

One of my many favorite things about camping is experimenting and trying new food. We ate real good all weekend long but also experienced a new foil packet options that I cannot wait to try again (maybe as early as this weekend). On Saturday night we had steaks and all brought side dishes to share. The hash browns were cooked in foil packet with sour cream, butter and cheese. They were amazing! We have done sliced potatoes before in the foil packet, but never using the hash browns. This has me on the hunt for different foil packet dinner/side dishes that we can do.

I cannot believe that this weekend is Labor Day weekend already. Where did the time go? I certainly haven't camped enough (especially since I messed up the whole month of July with kidney stones), but we still have a handful of trips on the books. Last year, we camped into November. I wonder if we will be that lucky again? 

Two Pods in the Park

Always trying to get a good photo of the Pod at night
to show off our lights.

Six years and counting...

Site #12 at Stafford County Park • Port Hope, MI

I cannot believe that we have been doing "Cousins Weekend" for six years in a row. I'm super impressed that we keep this going! That says a lot about how important family traditions are.

Apparently, we like going to Stafford County Park in Port Hope, MI as this is third year that we have camped at this park. When Jim and I pulled in with Pod we visited the water fill station. It took FOREVER to fill our tanks. I had plenty of time to refresh my surroundings and kept thinking that this place looked entirely different than I remembered.

Once we were filled and ready, we made our way to our favorite site. Site #12 is right on the banks of Lake Huron and comes complete with the sounds of waves lapping up on the beach all day and all night. Once we got set up on our site, it dawned on both of us why the place looked so different. Every single tree was cut down. Apparently, they had lost all their trees to the emerald ash borer. How sad!

We had a beautiful weekend with our cousins (and added guests Donna and Larry), we stopped in at Heck's Bar in Kinde, MI to check up on some long-distance family members and had a great dinner. Finally,  a trip to Port Hope, wouldn't be completed without a stop (or two) to the Chill Zone for ice cream.

I do think its probably time to switch up the Seventh Annual Cousins Weekend and maybe even the time of year, but as long as we keep the tradition alive, I'll be happy!

One of the best burgers I've ever had!

Cousin Mike and Doug

Cousin John and Laura (and a little bit of Larry)

Brother and Cousin Kathy

 Our running list of Cousins Weekend:

• 2012 - Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, MI
• 2013 - Camping at Muskegon State Park in Muskegon, MI
• 2014 - Camping at Stafford County Park in Port Hope, MI
• 2015 - Cottage weekend at Arend's on Little Gray Goose Lake in Jerome, MI
• 2016 - Camping at Stafford County Park in Port Hope, MI
• 2017 - Camping at Stafford County Park in Port Hope, MI

14 days, 8 states, 6 campgrounds, 4 pod sightings and 2,715 miles...

DISCLAIMER: This is a lengthy post . . .

Once I officially graduated with my Master's Degree in May, Jimmy suggested we plan a big trip to celebrate. How could I say "NO" to that?  Right away, I knew I wanted to head to the Grand Canyon. Once I started looking for campgrounds, I realized that we were a little late to book anything with just a month out from leaving home. I couldn't find one single campground that had openings. 

Enter Plan B...Maine and Acadia National Park.

We mapped out the perfect trip over the course of 14 days! We didn't want to be rushed and wanted to stop at a few places along the way. I have over 500 photos from our trip that has taken me well over a month to go through and get organized.

• FIRST STOP: Letchworth State Park in Castile, New York —My friend and co-worker, Amy Decker told me a few years ago to put this park on my list. She highly recommended it and I'm so glad we took her suggestion! We spent three days exploring this park which is also know as the "Grand Canyon of the East." It was spectacular! 

Letchworth State Park Site 413

Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park in Castile, New York

Had to take a selfie at the Middle Falls...

Trying to capture the beauty of this park

Lowe Falls at Letchworth State Park in Castile, New York

•  SECOND STOP: MountainView Campground, Morristown, Vermont — Since Vermont was "sort of" on the way to Maine, it made sense to stop here for a quick visit. This was a bucket lister for me as I've always wanted to visit the VonTrapp Family Lodge that was inspired from "The Sound of Music." I might not ever make it to Austria, so I figured this was the next best thing. We checked out the lodge and the gardens, which were beautiful and then learned that they just opened a brewery. We had a great lunch there and sampled some of their Austrian beers. We also stopped at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and took the tour. It was a power-packed days of being tourists, and we enjoyed every minute.

MountainView Campground Site 219.
We practically had the park to ourselves.

This beautiful river was right behind our campsite.

VonTrapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont

Jimmy and his flight of beer at the VonTrapp Family
Brewery in Stowe, Vermont

Ben and Jerry's Factory Tour in Stowe, Vermont

• THIRD STOP: Seawall Campground, Acadia National Park, Maine - Did you know that there isn't an "r" in Acadia? I didn't know that until we visited the visitor center at the national park and watched a movie. We've been pronouncing it wrong all along. Maine was absolutely beautiful! We arrived on a Friday and my first stop was to find a fresh lobster dinner and I wasn't disappointed. I needed a refresher on how to tackle this guy and our waitress at the Upper Deck was very helpful. On Saturday, we spent the day exploring the national park. We drove the park road and pulled off at every stop that we could. The scenery was stunning and we wanted to take it all in. Sunday we set out for Bar Harbor and discovered it was cruise ship day. The town was packed and people were everywhere! We decided to take a whale watching cruise. We didn't see any whales but did run across a lot of seals. We both got extremely sea sick as it was really rough and choppy once we got out on the ocean. I usually don't have a problem, but that's an indication on how bad the water was. I was glad to get back to land and to our campsite. We packed up on Monday and moved to another campground in Maine. 

My first fresh lobster dinner in Maine. It was SO GOOD!

Sand Beach in Acadia National Park

No swimming for us! Brrrrrr....

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park

Jordon Pond at Acadia National Park

The top of Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park. 

This is the highest point along the North Atlantic 

seaboard and the first place to view the sunrise in United States.

Seawall Campground Site 13

Whale Watching Cruise

The sites from our whale watching cruise

• Fourth Stop: Camden Hills State Park, Camden, Maine - This state park was about an hour and half south of Acadia National Park and it was a nice, relaxing stop before we started to make our long journey back home.  Within the park was the Mount Battie Auto Road which was definitely worth the trek. Once at the summit we took in the full panoramic view of Camden Harbor and Penobscot Bay. We also enjoyed a day in the town of Camden with some shopping and our last seafood meal at Sea Dog Brewing Company. My mouth is watering just thinking about all the fresh seafood we enjoyed and good beer too!

Camden Hills State Park Site 51X

Jimmy doing a little exploring at the park.

The view from the Mount Battie Auto Road.
Simply beautiful!

Camden Harbor 

• FIFTH STOP: Delta Lake State Park in Rome, New York. I wasn't even sure this stop was worthy of any mention. In all of our years of travel, we have been pretty lucky to run across nice campground, state parks, etc. This was our least favorite state park on our trip.  It rained the entire time, the people were rude and the mosquitos could carry us away. The only good thing is that the park ranger made an awesome suggestion for dinner! She suggested LaRoma Pizzeria and we had to try their signature dishes, "Vodka Riggies." I knew that I already liked the name of it since it was pretty much our last name...LOL. It was out of this world. It was sautéed onions, peppers, prosciutto in a creamy vodka sauce tossed rigatoni. We also ran across Fort Stanwix National Monument. Jim is a history buff and since he endured the VonTrapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont with me, I figured I could do the same for him. I'm not much of a history buff, but I always seem to enjoy our visits to places like this. Jim and I decided that we would have rather stayed a day longer in Maine and skipped this stop. Oh well, its another experience to add to our list.

Delta Lake State Park • Rome, New York • Site A27

Fort Stanwix National Monument • Rome, New York

•  SIXTH STOP: Pymatuning State Park, Jamestown, Pennsylvania. This was our last stop before home. Jamestown, Pennsylvania is located right on the Ohio/Pennsylvania state line. The park was really nice but flooded. This region had experienced a lot of rain and it had rained every day since we had left Maine. Our campsite had a river running through it and our firepit was flooded. It was the weekend before the 4th of July so we were looking forward to watching some fireworks, but it started downpouring just as we were heading out. 

Pymatunning State Park, Jamestown, PA • Site 400

The downpour right before the fireworks

Overall, this was an outstanding trip. We didn't have any mechanical issues and the truck and Pod performed very well with this long haul.  We did everything that we set out to do and enjoyed our time together. We were really surprised that we didn't meet any fellow Podders on our trip. We pass 3 pods on the road and 1 was parked in a driveway in Vermont. We did have our picture taken a few times as we were driving down the freeways, so our rock star status continues! As most Podders know, we love to give tours and talk about our camper with others. People are always amazed to learn that everything you need is packed into this incredibly small space and that's why we love it!

Now that I have my blog updated, its time to take off once again. We have 4 more trips on the books with family and friends and who knows what this fall will bring. There's nothing like fall camping in Michigan!