Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Laundry Day

We woke up to overcast skies. Since it wasn't raining, yet, all of us rode out for breakfast. The weather didn't look like it was going to stay dry. We weren't going to be riding to the Soo today. We will have to make another trip north and catch the locks tour some other time.

David and I also loaded up all of the dirty clothes we had accumulated so far and went to the laundry mat after breakfast. We met a couple from Traverse City, Michigan who were camping at Drummond Island. They gave us some more insight on the things to see while we are up in the UP. In just the hour we were at the laundry it began to rain again so we just headed back to the motel.

We once again dined on the gourmet lunch meat and chips in Ted and Wanda's room for lunch. Later that evening David and I decided to take the shuttle back to the casino for the buffet again while the other four went to the Moose Lodge for Bingo.

Tomorrow we leave St. Ignace and head for Munising via Tahquamenon Falls. Hopefully we are starting to see the end of the all-day rains.

Pictures will be posted, if we ever get a chance to take any, at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/patty.in.ky/SuperiorSummer

Monday, June 29, 2009

Raining - Still

It was raining this morning so we called for a taxi to take the six of us to a restaurant. The Galley was right downtown St. Ignace on the boardwalk. We had a table near the window where we could watch Lake Huron. Afterwards we wandered some up and down the boardwalk. The rain was pretty steady and we didn't venture too far before we called the taxi to take us back to our hotel.

Later in the day, a friend of Dale & Vicky's dropped by to visit so us girls borrowed his car and went to the grocery. We had lunch meat, fruit, and chips in Ted & Wanda's room. While the ambiance was somewhat lacking, we enjoyed each other's company and story telling.

This evening we took the free shuttle to the Kewadin Casino. The hotel gave us a card for roll of free tokens plus we got two free rolls for it being our first time at the Kewadin Casino. We used up the freebies (except for Vicky who hit $20 on her second free coin). David and I spent a total of $20 of our own money. We are not that into gambling and have a low threshold for losing money. The main purpose for going was dinner and the casino had a nice buffet. After eating, the free shuttle brought us back to our hotel where we are tucked in for the evening.

Tomorrow's plans are to go to the Soo. The forecast calls for scattered showers all day but it is just 50 miles to the locks. We can do scattered showers. We might have to wait out an occasional down pour but we intend to ride a boat through the locks.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Now in the U.P.

It rained last night and was still raining this morning. We waited at the hotel for a bit and the rain let up. I dressed for rain with the full gaiters, pants, and jackets. No one else did. So as we set out, the sun came out and we rode dry. I will take all credit for that. (Putting on the rain gear keeps all the rain away. I don't know how that works but it does.)

We only had about 30 miles of I-75 before we got off at Bay City. Our ride up the west coast of Lake Huron on US-23 was a delight. Traffic wasn't bad and the scenery was great. There were several different places where we could get a clear view of Lake Huron.

We were near Alpena around lunch time but every restaurant David plugged into his GPS was closed. The economy has really hit Michigan bad. About 10 miles north of Alpena, we finally found a restaurant open. It was great with good food and friendly server and owner. If even one of those restaurants in Alpena had been open, we would not have discovered the Parker House.

Wind picked up after we left our lunch stop and was steady and strong all the way to Mackinaw City. Once on the Mackinac Bridge, though, the wind didn't seem so bad. We crossed the bridge with no issues or problems and are settled into our rooms for the night in St. Ignace, Michigan.

One not so great note though is that once we got to our hotel, I took off the rain gear. About a half hour after that the rain started. Tonight we called for pizza delivery as there are no restaurants within walking distance and we don't want to ride in the rain.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Heavy Traffic

You don't have to be in or near a major city in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan to be in heavy traffic. Most of our day was on either US-23 or I-75 heading north. The traffic was solid all day. On top of all that, US-23 in Michigan is horrible. If Michigan is getting any stimulus money, they are not spending it on repaving the roads. They are, however, putting up signs to let everyone know the road surface is rough. There was one place between Ann Arbor and Fenton where the road narrowed to one lane. Traffic was backed up for miles so we made our way to the next exit and rode on the frontage road to get past the traffic stoppage before getting back on I-75.

Dale and Vicky are joining us here in Birch Run tonight. We will then all leave together tomorrow morning for St. Ignace. I am so looking forward to getting off I-75 tomorrow. We don't have far to go to get to Bay City and then we follow US-23 up the coast of Lake Huron to the Mackinaw bridge.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Threats of Rain

I started out the day with my rain gear on. It didn't rain. By Verona, Kentucky we were ready for a break so we stopped at a gas station and topped off the tanks. I used the opportunity to take off the gear.

The ride through Cincinnati was surprisingly easy. The stupid people must have stayed home today. Near Washington Court House, Ohio, the skies started looking very dark. We stopped at an interstate rest area and put the gear on. It didn't rain. We stopped for lunch at Grove City, just south of Columbus and went into the restaurant with the gear on. We were playing the odds that if we stayed dressed for rain, it wouldn't rain.

After lunch we drove through Columbus. All the crazies that weren't out in Cinci had driven to Columbus. In addition, road construction was ugly. After Columbus, we took US-23 (our first non-interstate since leaving Taylorsville Road). I think we hit every traffic light red from Columbus to the turn off at Waldo, about 35 miles.

We are at Ted and Wanda's tonight and head for Michigan tomorrow. Our only big cities tomorrow are Toledo, Ann Arbor, and Flint.

First Day on Vacation

Today is the first day of our Superior Summer vacation. So how do we start the day? The plans were to get up early (without the alarm clock, though) and put our toiletries into the trailer and head out for breakfast. Around 3:00 a.m. we were awakened by storms - thunder, lightning, hail, and rain. It is 7:00 a.m. and we are still home. We ate breakfast here and are just chilling on the computer waiting for the rain to stop. We are flexible today as our stop tonight is Ted and Wanda's house near Marion, Ohio. The Weather Channel shows most of the rain heading off to the south in the next hour. Ohio weather looks good.

Keeping our fingers crossed that this is the only bad weather we encounter for the next two weeks.