Monday, December 6, 2010

Aug 18, 2010 - End of UP Tour - Home Again

First thing this AM the little guy from the camp next door jumped on his bike, looked back over his shoulder, and yelled to an unseen somebody at the top of his little lungs, “I gotta go to the bathroom!” Then off he zoomed in the direction of the bathhouse. Seconds later a lady from their camp walked into view and said to us, “Well, so much for peace and quiet, huh?”

We told her we didn’t mind. It seemed like the kids were having fun. Shaking her head, she followed with, “Well, I’m the grandma, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it!” Turns out the HHR was hers, and she was looking pretty hard at our rPod, wondering out loud if her vehicle could pull it, because it might be just the ticket for her. All by herself.

Then it was time to pack and head on home. We took a different route back to the Xway to avoid that nasty washboard road we took on the way in. On the way home we passed an Airstream trailer being pulled by a Lincoln Blackwood pickup truck. Sheesh. Those two things together are probably worth more than my house is right now. I’m not even sure you could call that camping.

We plan to come back to da UP next winter and snowshoe back into some of the frozen waterfalls and ice caves, and maybe next summer to take a shipwreck tour of Grand Island, and get some more waterfall and lighthouse viewing in.

Aug 17, 2010 - Wilderness State Park

Today we took a ride into town to check out some of the other parks in the area, pick up a few staples, and just have a look around. It’s really too cold and windy to sit by the water anyway. Hey, check it out! Next time we come up this way we’re going ziplining!  When we left there was a tiny popup tent in the site next to us, but when we returned later that afternoon, there was a ginormous travel trailer cleverly wedged in that tiny spot, along with a Chevy HHR (obviously not the tow vehicle), several bicycles, a grill, picnic table, cooler, lawn chairs, etc., with just enough room left for the missing tow vehicle. Nobody around. As if the whole mess just fell from the sky and landed there.

Engadine Dolomite. Everybody knows that.
We walked a few of the many hiking trails they have here at the park, then took our bikes out past the camp store with the intention of checking out the four rustic cabins they have for rent right on the water, a 7 mile round trip. Unfortunately, it looked like they were all occupied, so we didn’t get a close look. Afterward, we took a 3 mile round trip back the other way to some sort of giant rock with a big sign beside it.  Every time we pass this thing there’s somebody either sitting on it or having their picture taken in front of it, so we just gotta see what it’s all about.  Turns out it’s a boulder made of engadine dolomite (I THOUGHT it looked familiar) that was pushed there by a glacier from St. Ignace about 10,000 years ago. Huh. Geology. Don’t understand it that well. Must have rocks in my head! Sorry …

Returned to the camp for dinner. It was windy and pretty cool outside, so we dined indoors in Chez Pod. Afterward, Beth told me, “Baby, get out there and light my fire!” She’s a big Doors fan. So, figuring the time to hesitate was through, I hustled out there and started burning stuff. About dusk the neighbors returned, but all we could see was their feet underneath their trailer. Two little kids got out and ran into the RV, followed by three adults. We could hear the two little ones thumping up and down the length of their trailer, giggling hysterically. It didn’t last long, so either they fell asleep or knocked themselves out on something. A simply splendid night for a fire, with lots of coals, and so, lots of marshmallow roasting. Our friend’s father would call this fire a “good potato fire.”

Aug 16, 2010 - Back to Flatland

Left Indian Lake to try for a spot in Wilderness State Park near Mackinaw City, right on the water. Now that we’re back across the bridge and back in flatland23, we’ll have to drop the Yooper vernacular. Sorry.

Warning: there’s about a two mile stretch of Wilderness Park Road that looks like it was pushed together slightly from both ends; it has a perfectly formed undulating surface with just exactly the right space between humps to make your trailer and tow vehicle seesaw and gyrate like a mechanical bull. The posted speed limit is 35, but believe me, there’s no way you’re gonna drive it faster than about 20 MPH and keep all your wheels on the ground. When we finally got there at the office, there were several parties already in line checking in, which was OK, because while I was waiting I got a chance to let my liver settle back into position.

When I got to the desk, I asked, “Do ooh ooh    yoo ooh ooh   ha ha have  any   si si sites  oh oh open   for    th-th-th-ree    nights ss ss?”

“Rough road, huh?” she replied.

As it turned out they had quite a few sites open, so she marked us up a map with all the open spots so we could take a drive through to scope them out.

Our spot was pretty small, and when we got the pod pulled in it was just big enough for it and truck, but not big enough to put the rDome out without totally rearranging everything, or possibly the use of a chainsaw. A short trip to the camp store for some firewood and ice and we were settled in for the day. We were in the Lakeside campground, which is the older and smaller of the two campgrounds in this huge 10,000 acre park. The sites here are pretty small, as I mentioned, and some are uneven. Most are suitable for tents, popups, or pods, although we did see some pretty big rigs cleverly wedged in, as we’ll explain later. The other campground is the Pines campground, across the main road back in the woods, and it looks newer, with larger level paved sites, but not on the water. Either one would be a good choice.

There’s plenty to do in the area. You can go shopping in Mackinaw City if you’re so inclined, where you can get some famous Mackinac Island Fudge. (Side note: in 1998 we went to Sedona, AZ, and the first store we saw when we drove into town was “Kilwin’s Mackinac Island Fudge.”) Colonial Fort Michilimackinac is there in town. Or you take the ferry to Mackinac Island, getting a cool view of the Mackinaw Bridge and several lighthouses in the process. You can’t take your car though; only bicycles and horses allowed on the island. You can also buy more fudge on the island if you run out. They also have an excellent selection of Minnetonka moccasins, and you can stock up on rubber tomahawks as well. When you disembark from the ferry, you’ll be struck by the two predominant smells on the island: fudge and horse poop.

I kid about the island because I’m a native Michigander and so have an automatic license to do so. It’s actually very beautiful. Rent a bike and circumnavigate the island. Take a horse drawn guided tour, or, if you’re really brave, rent a rig and drive your own. The horses know where to go anyway. It’s not all shops; there’s beaches, rock formations, some beautiful old homes, as well as the harbor if you’re a boat person. It just so happens there’s another fort there too: Fort Mackinaw. Lots of skirmishes involving the French, British, and the upstart Americans back in the day.

Aug 15, 2010 - Da Big Spring


Kitchitikipi
 Headed out today to Palms Book State Park to see Kitch-iti-kipi (big spring), pronounced with all short “i” sounds like in “wind.” The water is about 40’ deep and emerald green, spring fed and a constant 45 degrees year round. You can take the self-powered, cable guided, glass bottom raft out to the middle of the spring to get a great view straight down to the bottom. You’ll see spots where the water is gushing up from underground, trout or other trash fish21  that appear to be suspended in midair, and the occasional pair of sunglasses.


Palms Book State Park



On the way back to camp, we tried to find a couple of geocaches but had no luck at all. It did give Beth a chance to walk in the water in Lake Michigan, which she says was warm like bathwater. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at camp, enjoying the view of the lake, and a cold kalja22.


21. Fish other than native brook trout

22. Pronounced “kay-yah”, Finnish for beer, also known as the “nectar of the gods.”

Aug 14, 2010 - Fayette Historical Village



Snail Shell Harbor - Fayette State Park
 Today we went to Fayette State Park to visit the Historical Village there. Fayette was an iron smelting town in the 19th century, and many of the old buildings are still standing, in various states of repair. The old hotel is still standing; when it was in operation it was equipped with a fancy-schmancy two-story outhouse. Also remaining are parts of the old coal burning power plant, machine shop, company store and several houses. The remains of the old piers are still visible too.

This weekend is their annual Heritage Days; they have organized activities for the kiddies like egg toss, croquet, hoop toss, sack races, watermelon eating contests, etc. Well, the parents can play too. They also have folks dressed in period costume scattered throughout the park, explaining what you’re seeing in front of you, and how the town and households in it functioned back in its glory days. Also available were horse-drawn carriage tours, a blacksmith demonstration, and the Escanaba City Band. If you got hungry, you could take advantage of the concessions being provided by local civic organizations (whitefish dinner, yum), or go to the park’s visitor center for some hand-dipped ice cream.

Inside the Charcoal Kiln

The harbor itself is pretty small and was crowded with private boats tied to the docks, but a significant part of the space was taken up by the tall ship Madeline, which was open for tours.

The blacksmith had a good fire going, and I kept circling back there hoping he’d be hammering on something so I could get some good photos. However, the entire time we were there he was occupied helping kids make interlocking puzzles out of two twisted horseshoe nails. He had a little jig clamped in his vise, and he’d show the kids how to set the nail in the jig just right, and then use a small pipe to bend the nail into a circle. Two of those make the interlocking puzzle. It went something like this:

Historical Reenactor Fayette SP

"Hokay, just drop da nail inna this little slot here, and make sure da head of da nail is up tight again dis liddle bump here. Den take dis here pipe, and sorta wrap da nail aroun like dis until ya bump up to dis little thing right here. Good job! Holy smokes, ya gotter bout perfect dere!"

He must have had a box of 50,000 horseshoe nails, and the line of kids stretched forever. So no blacksmith pictures. But he and the kids were both having a great time.

On the way back I was impressed with the sisu19 shown by the Yoopers. You do what ya gotta do to get by, like the sign in front of one business: “Holistic Medicine & Seasoned Firewood.” Or this one: “Small Equipment Repair”, and underneath that, “Homemade Pasties.” It looked like a lot of the locals had turned their crotches20 into home businesses.

19. Loose translation of a Finnish word meaning endurance.    
20. It means garages. Get ur mind oudda da gutter!

Aug 13, 2010 - Munising to Indian Lake


Had to have this for the rPod

I know I’ve been hitting the Yoopers pretty hard here, but seriously, this is some gorgeous country, and we’ve never been treated with anything but courtesy by any of the locals. We’ll still be in the UP for a few more days. Today we leave Munising, but we’re coming back this winter to snowshoe back into some of the falls and see some of the ice caves in the area. Our destination today is Indian Lake State Park in Manistique.
On the way out we have to stop at the sanitation station, to, you know, dump the dootaa 16.  However, when I donned my latex gloves and went to get the sewer hose, a situation presented itself. Somewhere between our first stop in Onaway and here, the cap came off the sewer hose storage tube. Now the hose is gone.
Aaaaooooggaaahhh! Aaaaaooogggaahhh! Red Alert!

Geez, hopefully it didn’t end up wrapping itself around some biker’s neck.
Thankfully, they have a replacement at the camp store right there by the dump station, very reasonably priced (ahem). After I told my story to the lady behind the counter, and handed her my credit card, she said, “Ya, well, ya know it’s gonna be a good day when ya can spend ur raha17 on a new sewer hose, ya know18?”

So the situation was contained. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say no longer contained.

Cancel Red Alert!

It’s only a little over an hour to Indian Lake. This is an old state park; the pavilions were built by the CCC during the Great Depression. Not to say that it’s run down. On the contrary, this is a great park, with picnic areas, playgrounds, nice showers, a buoyed swim area, boat rentals, boat launch, and lots of sites right on the lake. We scoped it out for you: the best sites are 79, 80, 86, 88, 90, 91, and 94-109. All are level and are either on the lake or have unobstructed views of the lake.

Once we got set up we headed back up the Seney Stretch to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, where we took a self guided driving tour. Lots of Trumpeter Swans there, as well as loons, eagles, and other wildlife. We may come back here and do some snowshoeing or XC skiing next winter.


Trumpeter Swan - Seney National Wildlife Refuge

  1. Sitt
  2. Money or other exchange medium.
  3. See footnote #5

Aug 12, 2010 - Grand Marais


Chapel Falls
Today we decided to drive to Grand Marais, and take in some more waterfalls in the process. Luckily the nice lady at Fuzzy’s had clued us in about the detour between Munising and Grand Marais; part of the paved road was completely closed, so we had to detour down 12 miles of gravel road to get there. Along the way we noticed all the snowplow guards in front of the mailboxes, and also that most of the speed limit signs had two parts: one for cars, and one for snowmobiles. They get lots of snow up here. I’d be willing to bet that once the snow starts to fall, you’d better have yourself a Yooper crotch rocket13 to get through until spring. Either that, or you’ll have to get out your lats14 or maybe stay snowed in15.

Chapel Falls was my favorite of the day. We also saw Sable Falls and the Sable Dunes. But once again, it was too stinkin’ hot to hike out to the AuSable Light Station. We’ll save that for next time.

  1. Snowmobile made up of random parts, held together with duct tape
  2. Skis
  3. What a Yooper is when da wife is sick and can’t shovel.


Miner's Castle - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail


Aug 11, 2010 - Waterfalls


Behind Munising Falls
Today was threatening rain, but we decided to hike to more of the waterfalls in the area early in the day. We managed to hike to Munising Falls and Miner’s Falls before the humidity and heat wrung the last drops of moisture from our nearly mummified bodies. Holy Man6! Enough of that sitt7! Back in the air conditioned truck we go, and give ‘er tarpaper8for Munising.

Once back in town we stopped at the Fuzzy Boyak Welcome Center to pick up some info, and look at some great pottery and photos by local artists. I was especially taken by one photo of a twisted metal sculpture, but the location wasn’t identified, so I asked the friendly lady behind the desk if she knew. She did not, but she picked up the phone and called the photographer. After a brief conversation, she told us the picture was taken in Shagago9. We also visited a local pottery shop and had a nice conversation with the folks that created all the art there, and ended up buying 3 pieces.


Almost starved trying to light the fire

Stopped at the grocery store and headed back to the campground by mid-afternoon. We wanted to grill some steaks over the fire, but we figured we’d be lucky to get that fireproof firewood lit and get any decent coals before dark unless we got started ASAP. By making a huge pile of chips, and using several fire starter sticks, and blowing on the embers until we both nearly passed out, and drinking several jummies10 in the process, we did manage to finally get a nice fire going.


The steaks were succulent, the fire was going like a, ah, uh, house afire, and dusk was falling fast. We’d heard lots of horror stories about the UP’s huge chiquitos11 that come out at night,  so big that they can only eradicated with a flamethrower or 12 GA shotgun, but this entire trip we’ve not been bothered at all. Must be they don’t like the taste of us fudgies12.

  1. The A-bomb of Yooper expletives, used when a mere Holyowha does not suffice.
  2. Do I really need to explain this one? C’mon!
  3. To work feverishly, or move with great speed.
  4. Chicago
  5. Plural of “jumbo”, or a quart of beerage.
  6. A cross between a mosquito and a chicken.
  7. Trolls that buy lots of fudge while on Mackinaw Island, or at the locks in Sault Ste. Marie. Referred to as "Da Locks" and "Da Soo" by locals.

Miner's Falls

Aug 10, 2010 - Pictured Rocks


 
A National Scenic Site - this way ...
Today we decided to go see some of the many waterfalls in the area. Drove west on 28 out through Christmas, MI, with gorgeous Shelter Bay and AuTrain Bay on our right. Our mission was to get to Laughing Whitefish Falls, a National Scenic Site. According to our county map, we could get to it by going down Deerton Road, which was not too far away, so we headed that way. It started out as a fairly decent gravel road with a few houses on it. Just before the road started to deteriorate, we passed a house with a couple of guys enjoying their beerage (beer) on the front porch. They gave us a funny look as we went by, then smiled and waved as we passed. Little did we know what lay ahead.


Grand Portal - Pictured Rocks
Soon the road turned into a two track, which we naively followed for a few miles before it then got so narrow we literally could not get the truck down it. It still showed as a road on the county map, but to compare a road to this rutted trail would be the same as comparing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile to a bubble gun. Fortunately we were able to get turned around and headed back out to 28. Holyowha2! The only thing you could possibly get down this trail is an ATV or a yooka de3 . As we passed that same house with the two guys on the porch, they once again waved, but this time the looks on their faces could best be read as meaning, “wow, they actually came out alive.” No wonder there were no signs directing us to the falls anywhere along this route. Ur not supposed to go dat way unless ur an apple knocker4, ya know5?


Once again consulting our “trusty” county map book, we found the other end of the access road and headed toward it. That end of the road was much, much better; paved and everything. Even though the falls is a National Scenic Site, the road is so lightly travelled that the local kids actually use it for a basketball court.

Lover's Leap - Pictured Rocks
We also took in Lower AuTrain Falls while we were out. That night we took the sunset cruise of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If you ever come up this way, you absolutely must not skip this part. Seriously. Today, young folks use the word “awesome” to describe almost anything, like a good song or an enjoyable vampire movie. Those things are nice, maybe even great, but they’re not awesome. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, now that’s awesome.




2.     Holy s#*t!
3.     Bush buggy made from any piece of junk that runs.
4.     A troll who likes to hunt in the UP.
5.     “Do you agree?”



Unamed Pictured Rocks
 
Painted Caves

 

Chapel Rock - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Aug 9, 2010 - Start of Upper Peninsula Tour

Today we cross the bridge into the Upper Peninsula (hereinafter abbreviated UP), where we are considered by the residents there (referred to as Yoopers) as either terrorists, trolls (we live below the bridge), flatlanders, or lopers, depending on who you talk to. From now on, we will attempt to use the Yooper vernacular whenever possible. The dialect will be in bold italics, and I will include definitions in parentheses or provide footnotes as needed.


Our first stop was for lunch at one of the many small diners along US2, in this case the Whitetail Inn, where I ordered a beef pasty. That’s a short “a” like in “cat.” If you say it with a long “a” like in “way”, you’ll be referring to the decorative tassled things exotic dancers wear, and will be immediately identified as a troll, and possibly have your face slapped by the waitress. Pasties are dough covered pocket pies whose main ingredients are diced rutabaga, onions, shredded carrots, sometimes diced potatoes, and a meat filling that can be anything from your normal chicken and beef to the more exotic elk, moose, buffalo, or bear. They were introduced to the UP by miners many, many years ago and you can buy them everywhere. I. Mean. Everywhere.

When I told the very nice waitress there I’d never had a bear pasty, she replied, “Yah hey! (I don’t believe it.)”

Afterwards we crossed the Cut River Bridge (a million dollar bridge over a two dollar creek) and hit the Seney Stretch. The Seney Stretch (77) is the longest stretch of road in the area, where Yoopers go to burn the soot out of their beaters1. Then we hit 28 West to Munising and the Wandering Wheels Campground. This is a private campground just east of town. Nice sites with water, electric, and cable TV at all sites. Wi-Fi is available on a hit-or-miss basis depending on how far you are from the office, and whether or not any big rigs get parked between your campsite and the office. Their showers could maybe use a little updating, but are serviceable enough. Basement laundry room, sort-of putt-putt course, nice pool, some short hiking trails, and a camp store with the usual staples, a few camper parts (I’ll get to that later), etc. I sure wish I knew what kind of firewood they sold there; I’d build a house out of it – I guarantee it will never burn down.


  1. A beater is anything that’s drivable; a car or truck, but sometimes a bike or riding lawnmower.
A few shots from Michigan's upper Lower Peninsula, before we crossed the bridge:


Sunset on Black Lake


Onaway State Park


Beth at Forty Mile Point


Moonrise over Lake Huron


Feb 28, 2010 - End of Florida Trip - Home Again

Stayed at the Comfort Inn Hall of Fame in Canton OH last night. Much nicer than last night’s stay, it was quiet and comfortable. Plus it was about 2/3 the cost of yesterday, since yesterday I’m sure we paid extra for the "free" airport shuttle service. Flurries last night, but nothing to write home about. Oh wait, I just did, didn’t I?
 
Other than some lake effect snow from Lake Erie along the Ohio Turnpike, there really wasn’t much snow at all today. We’ve only got maybe 3 or 4 inches left here at home, but it took us several hours to shovel/blow our way into the driveway. We’ve had some warm weather the last week, and the snow in the driveway was pretty dense and very heavy, like shoveling wet clay.
 
In the entire month we did not see another rPod, but we did see two T@B campers, both going the other way on the xway. As expected, gas mileage was worse on the way home than on the way down, 10.5 MPG vs. 12 MPG. On the way down we took I-75, on the way back we took I-77. There was way more mountain driving on the way home, plus we had some pretty strong winds while coming home through the mountains. They had "high wind warnings" in the VA and WV mountains on the way home. So the difference was not that surprising.
 
Thanks for following along on our trip. Hope to do it again soon.
 
Mark and Beth

Feb 27, 2010 - NC to OH

Note to self: never stay at a motel that has airport shuttle service unless you’re taking the plane. This place, which shall remain unnamed, was nice enough, but man was it noisy. People were coming and going at all hours, and they all must have arrived at the airport in open biplanes or cropdusters, their hearing shot, because they were all talking REALLY REALLY LOUD. Plus, our room was next to the elevator shaft, an enormous ice maker, and the laundry, which ran most of the night. On the plus side, we know they have clean sheets there.
 
We planned to be on the road about 7:30, but we finally gave up and just left at 5:30 AM, as soon as we were able to get a cup of coffee from the breakfast bar. Lesson learned. Moving on …
 
Stopped at Jonesville NC for breakfast at – wait for it – Cracker Barrel! There was a huge diesel RV idling in the parking lot with the curtains drawn when we pulled in around 7:00 AM. Once we got inside, I asked the manager about their policy regarding RVs spending the night. According to him, as long as there’s adequate parking available for RV’s, ususally around the back or the side, most CB’s don’t mind at if you spend the night, but they like it if you come in for breakfast in the morning. He even gave us a map with the locations of all the Cracker Barrels in the US on it. There weren’t many customers there that early, so we got to chat with all the ladies working in the store. The conversation started with how unusual the weather has been this winter. We’ve been hearing that a lot. One lady said she’d gotten more snow this winter at her house in Jonesville NC than her daughter had gotten at her house in Alaska. There was no snow on the ground today, but she said they’d had snow on the ground from December 18th until just a day ago. They had a huge fire going in the fireplace, and the manager kept throwing more logs on the fire, we had some nice friendly conversation going, so we really wanted to just settle in for a while in front of the hearth. But we tore ourselves away and hit the road.
 
Flurries started not too much farther north of there, and once we started climbing the mountains, there were a few inches on the ground, and flurries off and on. Temps dropped from the mid 30s to the mid 20′s, and stayed that way until we got well out of the mountains and into southern Ohio. Roads were OK, but there were high wind warnings in parts of the mountains. The pod behaved OK, but you could feel the effect of the wind. The truck was struggling a little at times, like being on the boat on Saginaw Bay going into 6 footers. Plus we both thought the mountainous stretch of the trip lasted much longer going north on I-77 than it did coming south on I-75. I expect our gas mileage will be worse than on the way down.
 
After 8 hours on the road, we stopped just north of Canton OH for the night. It will be a short four hour drive for home tomorrow.
 
No photos today.

Feb 26, 2010 - FL to NC


I don’t think it got nearly as cold last night as they were predicting, when we pulled out at 8:00 AM the thermometer in the truck said it was 34 degrees outside. But it’s supposed to be a beautiful sunny day today.

Just south of Jacksonville we exited to have some breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. The sign at the city limits read: Jacksonville – Logistics Center of America. Now there’s a snappy sloga … ssnnnxxxxzz! Oops, sorry, dozed off there for a second!

Big mistake trying to exit here. The roads all around the expressway twisted and turned and split and merged at weird angles like I’ve never seen before. I have a theory as to how this happened. Before construction, at the road engineer’s planning dinner, one of them knocked his plate of spaghetti on the floor. The rest of them, in an alcohol haze after their third Bloody Mary, looked down at the spaghetti piled there and said, "Hmmm. We may be onto something here …" Anyway, we could not find the restaurant. We could see the sign peek out from behind a post or a building or another sign once in a while, so we knew which direction to head, but we just could not get there. There were no signs anywhere along the way directing you to the restaurant. Whenever we thought we were fairly close, the road twisted and took us farther away. We doubled back, and when we drew close again, the road forked and away we went farther away from breakfast. Finally we gave up and got back on the expressway, figuring there had to be another Cracker Barrel coming along soon. Once we got back on I-95 and looked down, it was pretty obvious which way we had to go, but once you get off the expressway you’re like a rat in a maze. Just north of Jacksonville another C.B. came along, so we started moving over to leave the expressway at exit 86A. However, almost as soon as we got in the right lane, the overhead sign read "Exit 86B only" so back over to the left one lane we went. After exit 86B went by, it was immediately followed, without further notice, by exit 86A, and right on by it we went, still hungry.

Note to Jacksonville city fathers: you need to worry less about logistics, and more about signage.

Not too much later, in Kingsland, GA, we came across yet another Cracker Barrel, and were able to get there without any trouble. Shortly after we received our order, another couple came in and sat at the table next to ours: a very large gentleman and his female companion. This guy was gigantic: each of his legs looked like a Sequoia tree, and his hands were the size of dinner plates. His companion was at the opposite end of the spectrum. She was a petite little stick of a thing, like Popeye’s girlfriend Olive Oyl. They were studying our plates pretty carefully, and after a second or two the man leaned over to speak.

Now, I would have expected a booming voice that blew the loose napkins off the table, but he spoke in the most pleasantly soft, perfectly modulated voice, "Excuse me, ma’am. Are those blueberry pancakes?" After Beth answered his questions, he said, "Oooh … I LIKE blueberries. That’s what I’m getting." Then his lady friend asked me what I was having, then asked a few follow up questions. All the while, she looked at me with her eyes wide open and a slightly surprised look on her face, as if her inner thoughts were mirroring my inner thoughts, which were: "Holy smoke, look at the size of that guy!"

After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, conversation came to an end, and they placed and then received their breakfast orders. Shortly thereafter, we stood up to leave, and the gentleman said to us in his beautiful Georgia accent, "Y’all be blessed, now." "Thank you, sir," I said, "and you as well." Just gotta love that southern courtesy. Makes me want to move to Georgia.

We continued up I-95 to the NE, then curved around and headed NW, then NE, then NW, tacking back and forth. Once a sailor, always a sailor, I guess.

Spending the night just south of Charlotte NC. Tomorrow we’ll be passing close by Mt. Airy, NC. So what, you say? Mt. Airy is the boyhood home of Andy Griffith, and the model for his fictional town of Mayberry. We’ll swing through there unless the weather is really bad.

No new photos today.

Feb 25, 2010 - St. Augustine


Hat shop, St.Augustine

The Fort
Dennis and Carol had to head home today. Carol is an avid gardener, and tonight’s low in their home area of FL is forecast to be 22 degrees, so they need to get home and cover their plants. After they packed up and headed out, we gave the beach a shot, but it was just too cotton-pickin’ cold. So instead we went back into town. Unlike when we were there several days ago, there’s no rain in the forecast, so we’ll be able to take our time and see part of what we missed last time.

There were several school field trips in process today in town. At one point, we saw a couple of dozen elementary school kids lined up waiting for sugary ice cream cones. They were already squirming, squealing, twirling and hopping while standing there in line, so by the time they get done they’ll be really wired. Remember the comic strip Bloom County? Think Bill the Cat.

I’ll bet the adult that came up with the ice cream cone idea was not the bus driver.
 The forecast here for tonight’s low is the upper 20’s. For the next couple of days, the low temperatures forecast for w-a-a-a-y down here in FL differ by those forecast for w-a-a-a-y back up in MI by less than 10 degrees. Tomorrow AM we’re starting back for home, planning to spend tomorrow night at a KOA near Charlotte, NC. Nuts to that. We winterized the water system on the pod this evening. We’ll get by tonight, but for the next two nights on our way home it’s going to be motel rooms.

Me at the fort

Beth at the fort
Partway through the afternoon we decided to stop at a coffee/ice cream shop and take a break at one of their nice, sunny outdoor tables. The machine the woman in the shop was using to make the coffee looked like it could be dangerous if operated by an untrained individual. Sort of like a thrashing machine, or maybe a small nuclear reactor. It had chutes and spouts and nozzles and levers sticking out every which way. It was flashing its lights and making all sorts of noises: grinding and hissing and whistling and whirring and beeping. I myself just ordered plain coffees. I know nothing about fancy coffee; in fact, I would have a hard time just pronouncing, let alone consuming, many of the beverages available in there. But other customers in the shop who were more coffee savvy than me had ordered some pretty complicated stuff. No problem, though. With the help of this amazing contraption, this solitary woman was able to brew my coffees on the spot while whipping up a half dozen cups of fairly complex looking beverages for the other customers. At the same time she was making waffle cones with yet another machine, and in her spare time, dancing to the latest song by Lady Gaga. I was mesmerized.



 


Feb 24, 2010 - Anastasia State Park

Anastasia State Park Dunes

This morning we had to switch campsites, but it didn’t take long. We only had to move down a half dozen sites. We left the rDome attached, sort of rolled it up, and tossed it over the roof of the pod. Everything else that was loose we just set on top of the truck bed and then carefully moved to the new site. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. The only thing we were missing was a rocking chair with Granny in it on top of the truck.

Bad hair day on the beach
Struck up a conversation with at lady from Canada this morning. We were sharing a picnic table up at Island Joes WiFi hotspot, checking our email. She and her husband are one of the host couples here at the park, staying January through March, and had been doing so for several years now. She gave me the lowdown on how that works. You’re expected to stay between 60 and 120 days, during which you get your site for free. In exchange you work 20 hrs per week helping maintain the park. You could be doing anything: painting, cleaning bathrooms, landscaping, sprucing up vacated campsites before the next visitor checks in, whatever’s needed. She also told us many of the private campgrounds in Florida have host campers as well, and that there’s an online forum and a magazine devoted to folks that do just that sort of thing. The popular parks can be hard to get into, but you just never know. She said a couple checked in while on vacation two years ago, and just for fun filled out an app when they checked in. Before they got to their assigned site, their cell rang and they were hired to stay here at Anastasia. Seems one of their host couples had failed to show up, they were already there and available, so they got the job. She also gave us tips on how to apply and get into the system. We may check that out when we get home.

Irish Eyes Were Smilin'
We went for a walk on the beach today with Dennis and Carol. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon so we thought we’d try to get this in before the weather turns foul. I think there may have seen 3 or 4 other people along the entire 4 mile stretch. It was pretty chilly with an onshore breeze, making for a cold fog in the air. As we were leaving, we saw a kite boarder headed out toward the beach to take advantage of the breeze. Those guys are nuts anyway. While we were at it we took in the nature trail inside the park.

By this time it was late afternoon, so we moved the heater out under the tent and spent the afternoon gabbing while it rained. A simple potluck supper of hot dogs on the grill, and then it seemed like it was dark and time to turn in. Finally got to hear Dennis play the fiddle.

Feb 23, 2010 - Anastasia State Park


Anastasia SP Beach
When Beth would come down to Florida as a kid, she and her brother would always set the alarm and get up early enough to go watch the sunrise over the ocean. This morning she though she might try that again, but when she got to the beach it was too foggy, plus she was about 20 minutes late. It’s a little tougher to get up early now compared to when she was eight years old.

Anastasia SP Beach
 The fog went away pretty quickly though, and it promises to be a sunny day today, so we walked the beach for a while. They rent fat tired bikes at the park for you to ride on the beach, because down closer to the surf the sand is pretty firm. You hardly make a footprint at all. It looked like fun, so we decided we’d give it a try with our own bikes. I managed to get a photo, but it wasn’t easy, let me tell you. I was trying to hold and aim the camera with one hand, and keep the front wheel of the bike headed perfectly straight using the other hand. That’s pushing my athletic abilities to the limit right there, but of course, as soon as I started to take the photo, we hit a softer stretch of sand. So any lapse of concentration that allows the front wheel to turn just the tiniest bit off from dead ahead has exactly the same effect as jamming on the front brakes. And even though the bike comes to an instantaneous stop, since you’ve only got one hand on the handlebars, you yourself keep going and slide right off the saddle. And since there’s barely any clearance between the bike frame and my body when I’m standing flat-footed on the ground, I was sweatin’ it there for a bit.

By the time we got partway down the length of the beach and back on our bikes, we were good and warmed up, so we decided to ride out to the St. Augustine lighthouse while we were at it. Then we rode to the closest store so I could get another memory card for my camera. Then we went back and spent the afternoon walking up and down the beach looking for weird stuff. The beach is actually made up of several smaller islands and sandbars that have joined together over the years, and it’s now called Conch Island. The beach runs about four miles from the pier at one end, to the St. Augustine Inlet on the other. We thought it might be fun to walk the length of it and back. But about halfway down we chickened out and turned around. So back to our chairs for a bit before we headed back to camp. Stress, stress, and more stress.


My buddy Dennis and wife Carol showed up later that afternoon, and after they got camp set up, we had a great evening around the campfire. Dennis builds violins and had brought his newest one to play, but we didn’t stop talking long enough for him to take it out of the case. Tomorrow.

Feb 22, 2010 - St. Augustine


Pottery Shop
 Took off early to see old St. Augustine before the rain moves in this afternoon. When we got to the parking garage, Beth tore the pertinent pages out of our AAA Tourbook so we wouldn’t have to lug the whole thing around, which seemed like a good idea until she realized now she was left with a dozen or so loose pages to carry. It was still early, and not real busy in the garage yet, so the lady attendant didn’t have much to do. As we were getting ready to exit to the street, she called over to us, "Can I help you folks find anything specific?" So we walked over to talk.

She gave us the basic layout of town, and advised us to go to the visitor’s center and talk to the ladies there at the desk before we set out. We chatted for a bit about the town, then she said, "Is there anything else I can help you folks with?"

"Yes," Beth said, "do you happen to have a stapler?" Hah, she never saw that one coming! But she fixed us up. As we stepped off the curb and confidently strode off toward the visitor’s center, she stuck her arm out of the booth, pointed the exact opposite direction from the one we were going, and called out, "No, you want to go this way." And to think we used to navigate all over Lake Huron.


Spouting Masks
 Shortly after we got started, I got a call from my old buddy Dennis. Dennis is now a resident of Beverly Hills, FL, but he and I used to race sailboats on the weekend on Lake Huron back when he was a MI resident. Actually, he was the brains of the outfit. I mostly went along and responded to his tactful commands to "trim a bit" or "ease that sheet, please" or "let’s get set up for the spinnaker set." In the specialized and highly technical language of sailboat racing, he was the "tactician". I was the "deck monkey." We had talked yesterday, and after making sure he wasn’t going to upset any of our carefully thought out plans (bwah ha ha) he wondered if it would be OK if he and wife Carol came to visit. Today he was calling to let me know that he had managed to snag a campsite for two nights here at Anastasia, and would be bringing his popup camper over for Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Walked the town until about 1:00, then we stopped for lunch at Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille on the waterfront, with authentic Louisiana style cuisine. When our waitress came back to ask me if my jambalaya and fried green tomatoes was OK, I said, using my best Emeril Legasse voice, "Oh yeah, babe." Poor Beth. Someday she’s going to pull a socket muscle from rolling her eyes so hard.

We managed to get another hour or so of walking in before it started to sprinkle.


Street Musician

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

St. Photios National Greek Shrine


St. Augustine Street

St. Augustine Street