Pod People

From Interlochen State Park we made the journey seven miles down the road to attend the 2016 RPod Eastern Roundup (ERU) at Holiday Park Campground in Traverse City, Michigan. The rally didn't officially start until Thursday but we went a day early. We've tried to attend a couple of RPod rallies before, but it just didn't work. We were both really excited to be going to our first one.

So what is a RPod ERU? Well, it is a gathering of RPods and their owners that camp together, eat together, exchange travel stories and share modifications that they have done on their Pods. We have hardly done anything to our RPod, but did walk away with a lot to think about. 

Holiday Park Campground was by far the nicest campground we have EVER stayed in (and not to mention the most expensive). We had Wi-Fi at our campsite, so it was real convenient for me to do homework in the Pod. I believe this was only the second time we had water and sewer on site as well. 

People attended from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, Iowa and even Canada. We met some of the greatest people here along with some of the cutest four-legged friends as well. Pod people have a common bond right from the start and there's always something to talk about. 

I thought I would share a great video from Travis that he took from the ERU . . .

Finally, here's the top three things that I learned from the ERU....

1. BOURBON is ment to be sipped and enjoyed, not chugged. Thanks to Mark for the education and samplings of bourbon. Hope to make it down to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail at some point!

2. PODLUCKS ARE THE BEST  - the first night of the rally we had a hot dog roast and everyone brought a dish to pass. Pod people know how to cook and put on a real good spread!

3. I LIKE BOURBON!

Holiday Park Campground - Traverse City, MI

Where is your coffee cup?

Where is your coffee cup?

Most people know that not much stands between me and my morning coffee. It is my first stop every morning. Not only is it a necessity to get me moving (especially lately), I enjoy everything about it too.

On Tuesday morning at Interlochen State Park, we decided to have a rest day. We just chilled out all day at the campsite and enjoyed the scenery and nature around us. I did end up doing some reading for school, but that was about it. It was so nice to just chill for a change.

Here's my view, with my coffee cup. I believe we sat here until after noon just enjoying our coffee, each other and the crazy chipmunk that entertained us for hours.

Interlochen State Park was the first official state park in Michigan that was established in 1917. We were glad to check this one of our list. We were on site 385 which was on the banks of the lake. It was an extra-large site with lots of trees. Jim did a great job of navigating the Pod through the trees that offered the greatest view of the lake.  This site must have had a Yurt or Teepee on it at one point, as we also had a large dance floor at the far end of the campsite.

The first night we were there it got down to 48 degrees. The wind was sharp off the lake and I swear there was a wind chill. Only in Michigan, in June, do I need to pack shorts, hoodies and a coat! We connected with my family from Kalkaska, I spent quality time at the Interlochen library (thanks for the free wi-fi) and enjoyed some serious time around the fire ring. This was a great way to kick off our week of camping. Here's a few more photos of our campsite.

Interlochen State Park - Site 385

Smores, anyone?

Interlochen State Park - Site 385

Next stop — the 2016 RPod Eastern Roundup Rally (ERU) in Traverse City, MI...

45 Minutes

I typically wouldn't make a post about a stop over night on a trip, but I just couldn't believe the customer service we received at Ionia State Park. Jim and I were heading to Traverse City for a week and I was already in Grand Rapids for a conference for work, so we decided to spend the night at Ionia. We have camped there before and knew the way around. I didn't want Jim to navigate Grand Rapids while towing the Pod, so this was much easier.

Ionia State Park - Site 69

We arrived 45 minutes before the check-in time to find a line of campers parked outside of the office. I went to check-in and the person at the desk was turning everyone away. In all my years of camping, I have never experienced this before. It is not like we were three hours early. We left the office and went down to the beach with the Pod in tow to wait for the official check-in time.

Once 3 pm arrived, we headed back to the office to find a mob of people all trying to check-in at the same time, with the same person in the office who just couldn't figure out where we were all there at the same time.  Duh!

Just wanted to send a word to the wise out to fellow travels. Pay attention to the check-in time if you are heading to Ionia State Park.  I didn't realize 45 minutes would make or break it.

Where is your foot?

I just can't believe that I haven't updated my blog at all in 2016! Where has the time gone? Oh yeah, I've been buried in graduate school and that hasn't left much time for fun. I guess I'm only two trip behind, but the year is already half over.

Now that all my classroom work is complete, I can get back to my regularly scheduled life.

Where is your foot?

We kicked off the 2016 camping season with an impromptu trip to Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. We had a great site (#411) that was just big enough for the Pod. Jim and I have been there several times and really enjoy the park. It is super close to home, but has a far-away feel with lots of things to do.We typically don't like to camp on holiday weekends because every place is just jammed packed, but after some serious stalking online, I was able to score a campsite for the long weekend at the last minute. I was kind of nervous because I had so much homework as I was taking my last two classes, but I knew I had access to the free wi-fi at the lodge.

It worked out perfectly! We did some outlet shopping, got some quality time at the beach along with my first sunburn of the year and was able to just relax after a busy few weeks AND I was able to keep up with my studies.

We all share traveling stories and experiences and I leave you with this one last question. Where is your foot? Mine is usually relaxing at the campfire, with my Pod, my favorite guy and a good beer!

Brothers and Sisters

Ludington State Park - Cedar Campground

Our last camping trip of 2015 was to Ludington State Park in Ludington, MI. We have camped here before and just love it. The park is beautiful and you cannot beat the view of Lake Michigan. We joined my brother, Bill and his wife Nancy and Nancy's brother, John, and his wife Lety from Indianapolis, IN.

Graduate school was in full force and I had a ton of homework. I think I spent more time at the Ludington library than I did anywhere else. I'm thankful that they had free WIFI and a quiet place to do homework. Each day, Jim dropped me off for about four hours to work on my assignments. It was a little frustrating since I wanted to be with the others, but I know my studies are important.

The weather was just perfect for our long weekend of September 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2015. We had cool mornings, warm afternoons and a couple of rainy nights. We walked and biked but we never took the kayaks off the truck.

On Saturday, we hiked the Skyline Trail Boardwalk which is another trail that Jim and I hadn't discovered yet. There were over 100 steps involved but the view is well worth it.

On Sunday, we ventured out to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse. It was a 1.8 mile walk out to the lighthouse. We started early in the morning before it got to hot, but it didn't take long to warm up. We definitely reached our FitBit step goal for this day.

Here's some highlights from our trip....

One morning we were invaded by some wild turkeys.
They were a little too close for my comfort.

Maybe the turkeys knew it was time for
breakfast thanks to Chef Brother!

My time at the library being a good student
even while on vacation!

Hamlin Lake at Ludington State Park

Love Lake Michigan sunset!

My selfie on the pier in downtown Ludington.

It was a long walk up....

...but the view on the Skyline Trail was well worth the climb!

John, Lety, Nancy, Brother and Jimmy

Brother and Sister

Brother and Sister

Just another dam photo
(Sometimes I just crack myself up!)

The trek to the lighthouse...

Getting closer...

It was a beautiful site.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Maumee Bay State Park

Labor Day weekend (September 4, 5, 6 and 7, 2015) took us to Maumee Bay State Park just outside Oregon, OH with our group of friends. This is one of our favorite parks and it is close to home, which is nice on a holiday weekend. We typically don't like camping on the holidays weekend but this wasn't so bad. Maumee Bay State Park has nice wide spots that are all a little secluded, so it didn't seem like we were right on top of our neighbor.

We got to camp first and got everything set up and I started working in my homework so I didn't have to do much during the weekend when I wanted to hang out with our friends. The weather was sort of gloomy and of course I was watching the weather reports as they were calling for rain and storms throughout the weekend. Once everyone else arrived we sat around the fire until the early morning. This is always one of my favorite things to do while camping. I'm not sure what it is about a campfire but it is always so relaxing and mesmerizing. This is probably why I always sleep so well when I'm camping too.

Saturday morning we woke up around 5:30 in the morning to driving rain and hollowing winds. Our friends across the street from us were in a tent with two small children. Not that we had a lot of room in our camper, but I thought it would be better to be cramped than riding out the storm in a tent. I

Kara and Shelby survived the storms in their tent.
They are such happy campers!

texted them to make sure they were ok. They were for the most part but their tent blew down and everything was soaked. They were safe in our other friend's camper which was much bigger than ours. We finally joined them once the rain slowed down and decided to head to breakfast instead of cooking in the rain. After breakfast we took a trip to Wal-Mart so they could buy a new tent. We also ventured over to Camping World to pick up some sealant for our camper as it started leaking in a few places during the downpour. The rest of the day was pretty gloomy, hot and humid so we didn't do much but sit around.

Sunday was a much better day but still super hot. We decided it was time to take a swim in the pond and get some sun. Summer had finally arrived even though the calendar said it was September. The day was so hot that we decided not have to campfire, so we all gathered in my friends camper again and watched TV. 

So in 2016, I think we should look at camping in October or maybe even November so its not so hot, but then again, with our luck it would probably snow!

Fourth Annual Cousins Weekend

The RPod at Little Grey Goose Lake. Pretty nice spot!

The Fourth Annual Cousins Weekend was held this year at the Arend's cottages on Little Gray Goose Lake in Jerome, MI on the weekend of August 27, 28, 29, 30, 2015. I'm so glad that we kept our tradition going now for four years in a row. I hope we can keep it going for at least another four years as family and time together is super important. We all get busy and have our own lives, but I think it is very important to take time out of our busy schedules and spend time with those that you love.

I wanted to recap the last four years of trips that we have made together just for my own memory's sake:

• 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

Little Grey Goose Lake

We took our RPod and parked it on Aunt Lucy and Uncle Dick's front lawn. We've always wanted to take the camper up to the lake to see how well it would work and I think it worked out pretty well. My cousin Mike and his wife, Kathy brought their pop up camper too, but everyone else stayed in cottages. It was a nice mix of accommodations as not everyone is a camper. 

The weather wasn't the greatest for lake activities but that was ok as we had plenty of catching up to do. We took off on Thursday night after work and since it was only a very short 40 minute drive, we were parked and set up in no time. 

Each night we had an awesome bonfire, too much good food, too many drinks (if that's possible) and a wonderful time together.

I wonder what we will do in 2016? It's never too early to start planning.

Captain Brother Bill, Cousin Laura and Cousin Doug

Cousin Beckie and Cousin Laura

Cousin Lois and the newest Cousin Ryker

Chef Brother and Cousin Jason

Husband Jim and Cousin Doug --
They always seem to solve the world's
problems when they get together.