Whitefish Point

It's hard to imagine this calm sea is a graveyard for hundreds of ships. Go to http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/  to find out all about it. It was one of the most interesting places we've visited, I guess because we didn't know very much about it in the first place. Mark encouraged us to visit it and we did. It was a good day visit. (I finally remembered my camera).

Across the Mackinac Bridge and on to the Soo Locks

We crossed the Mackinac Bridge. It was five miles long. It connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. We've been on longer and higher bridges. The history is what was interesting. Read about it at  http://www.mackinacbridge.org/historical-construction-album-31/

Later we visited the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. More than 11,000 vessels of varying size pass through these locks every year. Most cargo in the ships are either iron ore, coal, grain, or stone. The boat we watched go through was carrying dried beets for cattle feed. The boats and ships pass through the locks between Lake Huron to Lake Superior. Very interesting. For more pictures go to link below:







http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS240US241&q=soo+locks+michigan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=U05OTKXqDpKosQPc5anSDw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=7&ved=0CEYQsAQwBg

We parked at RV Park East in Kincheloe, MI about 12 miles south of Sault Ste. Marie. It was part of a military air base active in the 40's, 50's, and 60's. Across the highway the buildings were converted to house prisoners. We met several couples that were there for a class reunion. They were both stationed at the air base years ago. They shared many of their memories here. You meet the nicest people in RV parks.

Our Visit to Mackinac Island

We road the Star Line ferry over to Mackinac Island yesterday. It was first a summer fishing camp of the Great Lakes American Indians. . In 1671 Father Jacques Marquette established a mission to the Huron Indians on the island. During the American Revolution a fort (Fort Mackinac) was built in 1780 by the British. It became US territory after the American victory. By the 1820's the fur trade was florishing there, afterwhich it was adapted to commercial fishing. It then became America's second national park, established just three years after Yellowstone. Since then, the Federal Government transfered the national park and fort to the state. Now it is a popular Resort. There are no vehicles (except for a fire truck and police car). There are bicycles and carriages, horses, horse manure, and people everywhere you look. It wasn't anything like I expected. The movie "Somewhere In Time" was filmed at the Grand Hotel, but there is a $10 charge to walk around the hotel. We didn't visit the hotel. To visit the Carriage House was free. We didn't do that either. We didn't have the energy to ride a bike or walk back up the hill to the hotel after our tour. We only saw one person in period clothing. She was the welcome committee at the fort. We road a horse drawn carriage and the guide gave us a history of the island. That part was interesting. We did find out the the island is noted for it's Fudge. And they have a Lilac Festival in the Spring. I'll bet it's a beautiful time of the year. It was an interesting morning, but I don't think I'd go again. It has become a real tourist trap. If you are a bicyclist or hiker you'd probably love it. We are neither these days.
http://www.mackinacisland.org/  Today we just rested and planned our trip on the UP. We'll move out of here in the morning. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge should be interesting.

Our home is now in White Cloud, MI

We parked our home at  Woodlands on the Lake in White Cloud, MI. Wednesday. Mark and Alexa has lake front property in Morley, a little town nearby. After the wedding we spent a few days at the lake golfing, eating, shopping, eating, and canoeing. We had a wonderful time visiting with them, but they have to go back to work and we need to move on. We're pulling the slides in and hitching up the truck tomorrow morning, hoping to be parked before the front moves in, bringing with it more rain.

Below is a short slide show of our visit here.

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Our Home in Indiana

Willard and Rocky relaxes at  Indian Lakes Resort in Batesville, Indiana. We spent two weeks here. We went to Greensburg to see the Tree on the Courthouse Roof. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/463 We visited Oldenburg, a unique old German-style town and Metamora, The Canal town with world-famous antique and craft shops http://www.metamoraindiana.com/ . We donated to the Holiday Casino on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, In. We also attended the Antique Farm Machinery Show

at Ripley Co. Fairgrounds Park Osgood, IN.

Jim and Sue, new RV friends, were parked next to us. They invited us to a lovely dinner at their rig. They are from California and just sold their house and started fulltiming in March. After dinner we went to the camp Pavillion where a country band was playing. We enjoyed watching Jim and Sue linedance to several songs. They linedanced as partners. I'd never seen that style before.

One day Willard said, I think I'll try to call Goeff and Gayle again. They are the Australian couple we met at Pacos, TX. in April. To our surprise Gayle answered the phone. It seems that for the past two months their cell phone had not been working. She turned it on for about 15 minutes before we called and we were the first callerl. They were in Skagway, AK, of all things. It was great touching base with them again. They are having a great time and will be driving their motorhome back to Dallas in August where they will store it while they fly back to Australia. We hope to meet them on the road.

Mark and Alexa's Wedding

We finally made it to DeWitt, Michigan to attend Mark and Alexa's wedding on July 11, 2010. We arrived early to help prepare for the big event. We helped erect tents, mow, build a band stand, prepare food, and decorate. It was a lot of work, but fun too. They made us feel needed. The wedding was a great success because of all the pre-planning and preparation. The only thing that happened that was not planned was the brief rain storm soon after the first dance. Some left early because of it, but many stayed while the band moved their equipment to a dry area. Alexa sang a song to Mark and Willard and I played two songs for the newlyweds. Dancing, food, drinks, and visiting finished out the evening. It was a great experience for us. We silently celebrated our 52 wedding anniversary too. They were kind enough to recognize our anniversary in a way that didn't take away from their own celebration. After breakfast with Mark, Alexa, Mark's son, his girlfriend, Cindy, and AJ, we tackled the clean-up, took some of the tents down, and put away all the extras. Somehow we managed to find time for Alexa and I to play miniture golf while Mark and Willard hit some golf balls. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to icecream cones. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?