Pod People

Back in January, we made reservations at Green River Lake State Park in Campbellsville, Kentucky to attend the Kentucky Mini-Mini which was hosting R-Pod tenth anniversary rally. Reservations usually go VERY quickly when it comes to these sorts of events, so we were super excited to make them early and get a spot.

We headed south for an overnight quick stop in Indianapolis to catch up with my childhood friends. I didn't take any pictures but this was the first time we did some driveway camping with the Pod. Our time together with the Shock Family is never long enough, but I'll take an evening together to break some bread and catch up. We definitely need to plan some more time together again soon.

The next morning we headed down to Kentucky. It was almost 85 degrees when we arrived and had been raining. Once we got settled at this beautiful campground right on Green River Lake, we took at walk to see how many podders were in the park. There were Pods as far as the eye could see. According to Travis, our fearless leader of the RPod Travel Club, he reported that there were 114 Pods in attendance with a total of 121 RV's in the park. Forest River, the manufacturer of the RPod spoiled us with a catered, bbq dinner one night and they also brought the new RPod's for us to see. They also hosted a wonderful Q&A session which proved that this company truly cares about its customers.

One thing that can be said about traveling with this group is that there are a lot of awesome cooks! We had a "Soup and Chili" night and I've never seen such a variety of soups and chili.  We also had a "Pancake and PJ" night. I didn't see any pancakes but there sure were a lot of creative breakfast dishes to sample.

We met some awesome Podders from all over the United States from California to Maine and reunited with some fellow Podders that we had met at previous gatherings.

This was a nice way to conclude our 2018 camping season. Once again, it went WAY to fast and I don't feel like we did enough camping. We got home and Jimmy had to promptly winterize the Pod and clean it out for the long Michigan winter.

I guess that means that it is time to hibernate...

Site 151 at Green River Lake State Park

Trying to capture the sunset. This doesn't do it justice.

Soup and Chili Night

Crockpots of soup and chili for days.....Oh so good!

Beautiful Green River Lake Dam

Forest River giving away some awesome prizes.
We didn't win anything but got some pretty
cool swag for attending.

RPod Travel Club Banner

Hard to capture all the Pods at the campground

Green River Lake State Park

Sunshine and Seaplanes

Last weekend we ventured to Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana for a weekend of camping and seaplanes. Yes, I said seaplanes! I ran a crossed an event on Facebook for the 2018 Seaplane Splash-In and I knew that Jimmy would enjoy going to something like this. Little did I know, that I would enjoy it too!

We took off on Friday and made a long weekend of it since we haven't camped as much as we usually do. The campground was packed for the weekend and I'm sure the event and the nice, fall weather had something to do with it. We stayed through Monday which is always nice. The campground emptied out on Sunday and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. There was only one other tent-camper in our loop.

We took walks, slept-in, enjoyed some outlet shopping, and spent all day Sunday watching the seaplanes take-off and land in Lake James. I would have never guessed that thousands of people would show up for this event. I have a feeling that this will become an annual event on our calendar.

Google was kind enough to put together a video of my photos from the weekend and I think this just about says it all. Enjoy!

Holy Heat Wave

Labor Day Weekend signifies the end of the summer and that means  hoodies, pumpkins and cool weather are not far away, but that wasn't the case for this year. Every holiday weekend of the summer of 2018 delivered heat and humidity (my two not-so-favorite things) and Labor Day weekend didn't disappoint. 

We headed out Thursday evening to start our long weekend of camping even earlier. We were meeting some friends at Hayes State Park in Brooklyn, MI. To their surprise, they didn't know we were coming a day early. I loved the look on their faces when we rolled up to our site. I wish I would have taken a picture. 

Minus the heat (thank God for air conditioning in our Pod), we had a great time. Saturday, the girls got some swim time in and cooled off at Wamplers Lake. Sunday it was just too damn hot to do anything, so we decided to take off and seek some air conditioning at the different wineries/breweries in the area. I didn't know there were so many different places, so close to home. We hit Black Fire Winery in Tecumseh, Cherry Creek in Brooklyn and Chateau Aeronautique Winery in Onsted. Such a fun day discovering new wines and beers and getting a bit of a break from the heat. 

Jimmy did a little experimenting with cinnamon rolls over the weekend and baked them in the pie iron for breakfast. Actually, it was second breakfast or maybe it was dessert after the breakfast, but whatever the case, it was a really good experiment that worked well. I believe this is going to be an addition to our camping food menu. So easy and good!

We didn't want the weekend to end, so on Monday we stopped by my Aunt and Uncles cottage in Hillsdale and ended up spending most of the day hanging out there.  I can honestly say that we squeezed every little bit of the holiday weekend out of it that we could!

We are looking forward to fall in Michigan as it usually has some great weather ahead. We have a couple of more trips on the books and looking forward to our adventures.

Until next time, here's some pictures from the weekend.

Site 164 at Hayes State Park. 

Camping with our friends, Don and Deb.

Saturday at Wampler's Lake before the storm rolled in.
At least we got some relief from the heat.

Jimmy experimented with baking
cinnamon rolls in the pie iron.

They sure were good with a hit of smoky flavor!

Labor Day Monday at my Aunt and Uncle's Cottage
in Hillsdale. We were in the area and decided to stop for a visit
before we headed home. 

Better Late Than Never

I've really been falling down on my blogging duties this year. Good thing we have only been out twice so far! Back in July, we had an opportunity to sneak away for a quick and spontaneous weekend. We knew we couldn't go too far away as we only had a couple of days. We wanted to check out someplace new, so we headed to Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area in Pontiac, MI. The first thing that I think of when someone mentions "Pontiac" is the old Pontiac Silverdome where the Detroit Lions used to play. We were already wondering how this campground was going to be right in the middle of the city. That's part of the adventure, right?

So, the sites were awesome and mostly secluded with plenty of shade.  It was a super hot and humid weekend and wouldn't you know it rained mostly all day on Saturday! It hadn't rained in weeks, so go figure! We decided that it wouldn't be an official camping weekend without a trip to the local WalMart and then it was time for lunch. We stumbled across Billy's Tip N' Inn. Boy, this was a good find! We had some of the best pulled pork and Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches that we've ever tasted. If you ever find yourself in Pontiac and you're hungry, I'd highly suggest checking this place out. You won't be disappointment!

Saturday night, the rain finally stopped and we were able to have a fire and relax (kind of). We had free entertainment across the street well into the wee-hours of Sunday morning. I think we only got a couple hours of sleep between us. There was a huge Class-A Motorhome on the site across the street from us that partied all night long. We lost count of how many times the park ranger was at their site asking them to be quiet and turn their music down. I've never witnessed so much disrespect in all of my camping years! We were surprised that they didn't get kicked out of the park.

Since we ended up cancelling most of our trips this summer, we hope to hit the road more this fall. Labor Day weekend is approaching and we are looking forward to a well-deserved, long weekend with friends!

I didn't take a lot of photos, but here's a couple to document the weekend.

Site 34 at Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area.
The sites were awesome!

Awww..time to relax!

Two of my favorite things!
My hubby and my Pod...

Did You Miss Me?

It seems that we get a later and later camping start each year. Once again, the Michigan winter seemed super long and the spring weather was very unpredictable. Then, life happens and different commitments and circumstances beyond our control made us cancel two scheduled trips already for this year.

It seems that the best camping trips are the spur of the moment ones that aren't necessarily planned out way in advance.

Last weekend we finally broke the Pod free from her LONG, winter nap and travelled 12.4 miles down the road to Totem Pole Campground in the big city of Petersburg, MI with my brother, sister-in-law, their dog, Louie and my mom. (Yes, I said my mom)! At the age of 83, she said that she had never been camping before and we figured there was no better time than the present for her to give it a whirl.

Friday night, my sister-in-law, Nancy made a delicious foil-packet dinner of sausage, potatoes, onions and peppers. It was delicious! She also introduced us to a new shot of Crown Royal Whiskey, Peach Schnapps and Ginger Ale. I'm not a fan of peach flavored things, but I will say this hit the spot on a warm summer night!

My brother jumped (I don't mean this literally...see the picture below) and cooked us a traditional Saturday morning breakfast with all the fixings. Then for dinner, the husband took over and made a variety of campfire pies (pizza, ham and cheese followed by blueberry pie for dessert). We were trying to give mom a good "taste" of camping. Mission Accomplished!

Here's some highlights from our weekend:

The Pod on Site 7 at Totem Pole Campground.

Mom, Brother and Husband relaxing before dinner.
(and my brother's dog, Louie, is underneath the blanket
on Mom's lap. That's one spoil pooch right there)!

Time for the husband to start the campfire pie dinner
on Saturday night.

Mom, Brother and our four-legged friend, Louie, relaxing
under a beautiful shade tree.

Saturday morning chef in action!

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