Camping Weekend in Holly, MI!

September 28-30, 2012

The new trailer went on its maiden camping voyage!  We spent the weekend camping at Holly State Park.  Everyone else must have had the same idea for a fall camping weekend, the park was nearly full – good thing we reserved a site earlier in the week! The camper set up really easily and we had no issues with anything. We got to try out the heated mattress – setting 6 gets quite warm!

Saturday morning we took a walk around the campground and did one of the hiking trails. The park has a few hiking trails, some are on the campground portion of the site and others are across the road in the day use area of the park. The park is very hilly and chances are that if you do a lot of hiking you will feel it later in the day or the possibly the next. There are also mountain biking trails and a disk golf course (9, 18, and 24 hole routes) offered at the park. The park had a few activities scheduled throughout the weekend – group hikes, nature presentations, etc. Check the website to find out the activities in advance, or they are also posted at the restrooms.

For dinner we went to Homeboy BBQ in Flushing (#3 ranked BBQ place in Michigan 2012). It was a bit of a drive from the campground, but well worth it! My husband and I both had a combo – Brisket and Pulled Pork. The meat and BBQ sauce was excellent! I would have to say that the Brisket was probably the best I have ever had. The sides (many to choose from) were just okay – we tried the coleslaw, red potato salad, green beans and mac & cheese. The place is mostly a carry out place, but there were some tables that you could eat at. They are only open Wednesday – Saturday from 11am-8pm. The staff was very friendly. I can hardly wait to go up north just so we can stop by for more BBQ!

The rest of the trip was not to eventful, just the normal camping activities – hiking, biking, fire…

New RV!

September 22, 2012

2013 Shamrock 23SS by Forest River

My husband and I bought a new camper! After much research and RV viewings we decided on a 2013 Shamrock 23 SS by Forest River. It is a hybrid trailer that can sleep 7. We looked at other types of trailers, but we really wanted to sleep at least four people comfortably. The trailer also has a slide out feature, which provides us with some extra floor space. The trailer has space to store our bicycles when traveling, which is a great perk! Prior to this new trailer we had a 1997 Camplite by Damon Pop-Up which we were fortunate to sell within a couple of days of posting it on Craigslist. The upgrade sure is nice!

2013 Shamrock 23SS by Forest River

Erie Shores Weekend!

September 15-16, 2012

The weekend adventure took us down to the Erie Shores of Ohio. We hopped on the “Jet Express” from Port Clinton, OH. The catamaran took us about 20 minutes to get across to Put-in-Bay. The boats leave about every 30-45 minutes. Parking is charged on an hourly basis, with a $10 maximum daily charge. The Jet Express is by no means cheap, it is $14.99 one-way.  If you show your AAA card, you will save $2 per round-trip ticket. Children under 5 are free, ages 5-12 are $2.50 one-way. There is another “Jet Express” departure point in Sandusky, OH.

Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial

Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial

Once arriving at the island, you can decide if you would like to rent a golf cart or bikes. The rental places farther from the boat landing are cheaper. We noticed a $20 price difference! We opted not to rent anything since we mostly just went over to check out Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial. The memorial recently re-opened from renovations.  The memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the United States.  The memorial observation deck is open July to October. Upon entering the memorial, you will have to climb 37 steps and then take an elevator to the open air observation deck. There is a $3 fee to ride the elevator; however if you purchased the annual National Park pass it is free. The observation deck provides an excellent view from each side. You can stay on the observation deck for as long as you would like; however, be prepared to wait in line for both going up and coming down. During the weekend park rangers, dressed in period clothing, also offer interpretive talks about the Battle of 1812 outside of the monument hourly from 11am to 5pm. There is also a visitor center building that has some nice displays and a video. We did not spend much time in the visitor center, since we had a 6-year-old, Tommy, with us for the day. Tommy enjoyed the memorial and liked the park ranger in costume, but did grow a bit tired of sitting and listening to the presentation.

Marblehead Lighthouse

After visiting the National Park site, we went in search of lunch. We decided on Hooligans, one because I love Irish food and two it had great trip advisor reviews. The prices seemed reasonable considering we were on an island. The bar décor was enjoyable, but the place was a bit loud (it probably did not help that the Ohio State football game was on). We tried the Irish Nacho’s (Potato Skins layered with Beef Brisket and Hooley Cheese Sauce. Topped with Shredded Lettuce, Roasted Red Peppers, and garnished with Shredded Cheese) – they were AWESOME! I had the Reuben sandwich, which was good. The meat was tender and not fatty in the least. The sandwich also came with chips and a pickle. Mike got the fish n’ chips basket, he enjoyed it a lot. The portion he received was very large.

Put-in-Bay has a big playground for children near the Jet Express loading area, and we spent some time there people watching before, leading back to the main land. Once back, we drove over to the Marblehead Lighthouse. The Marblehead Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse (1821) in continuous operation on the Great Lakes. There are picnic tables and restrooms available on-site. Lighthouse tours are offered, but the hours and days very so be sure to check on-line if you want to go inside. From this site, you can see Cedar Point off in the distance. After the lighthouse, we headed out for ice cream. I was told that we needed to check out Toft’s Dairy for some of the best ice cream around. Toft’s ice cream parlor is in Sandusky, OH and is open from 8am-9pm daily. 8am for ice cream!! That sounds like my kind of place! Toft’s has been around for more than 100 years. The ice cream was good and had many flavors to choose from. Beware – the small size is 4 scoops!

Erie Shore

We stayed overnight with friends in the area and then on our return home from the weekend, we stopped by the somewhat new River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Monroe, MI. The park has a small visitor center, with displays and a short fiber optic map presentation. The site remembers the devastation that occurred in Frenchtown

Mansfield, OH Weekend!

August 10-12, 2012

Charles Mill Lake Park

Off on another weekend camping trip! This time we headed to Mansfield, Ohio. Mansfield is known as “The Haunted Capital of Ohio”. Our reason for the visit was not for the haunted/paranormal activities, but to visit some of the places that were featured in the film “Shawshank Redemption”.

For this trip we camped at Charles Mill Lake Park ($29/night with electric hookup), which is part of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.  The campground was quite hilly, making finding a level site a challenge. The bathrooms were some of the cleanest campground bathrooms that I have ever seen.  The campground has a lot of offer: boat rentals, fishing, swimming, horseshoes, volleyball, basketball, remote control car track, and play structures for the kids.

Ohio State Reformatory

Saturday morning, we headed to the “Ohio State Reformatory”. The tour was $9/person. You can wonder around much of the building, using the video kiosks for descriptions, or if you would rather, for $5 you can use a hand held audio tour. We spent about 2.5 hours in the reformatory. We arrived soon after they opened and were able to get parking without any issues, but by the time we left the parking area was overflowing with visitors.  The tour would not be good to take small children on, due to lead paint exposure and the many stairs. The interior of the building is pretty run down, with lots of peeling paint and broken windows.

Richland Carrousel Park

After the reformatory, we headed to downtown Mansfield, which is only about 2 miles away from the reformatory. We parked in a large parking lot across from the carrousel. We stopped by the “Bissman Building” for some photos. The “haunted” Bissman Building (1886) is closed to the public, but there are limited paranormal investigations that occur occasionally.

The “Richland Carrousel Park” is hand carved in the style of G.A. Dentzel, of the most revered carvers of the early 1900’s. The carrousel is enclosed and runs year round 11am-5pm. It is $1 per ride or $5 for six rides. There is a small gift shop in the building.

We continued to walk around town a bit and found an excellent chocolate shop called “Squirrel’s Den Chocolate Factory”. I got the “Paradise” chocolate, which had pineapple and coconut inside. It was very yummy! We also stopped by the bakery, but it was pretty much all sold out of everything.

Oak Tree - Shawshank Redemption

The last stop for the day was to check out the Shawshank Redemption “Oak Tree”. It was struck by lightning a few years back, so the dead part is at the reformatory.  There is not anywhere super close by to park, the tree is just standing in the middle of the field, and the lightning strike makes it pretty obvious.  Malabar Farm is very close by, but they charge a fee to enter.

Besides the things we checked out there are many more things to do in the Mansfield area: zip line tours, canoeing/kayaking, biblical wax museum, and gardens to name a few.

Mike's Birthday Travels!

August 4, 2012

"Red Barns Spectacular" Gilmore Car Show

It was an early start for the day as we headed for the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. It was the “Red Barns Spectacular” Car Show and Swap Meet, my husband was very excited to go. The show was expected to draw around 1,000 cars. Besides the car show, the museum is also included with admission costs ($9/adult). The museum includes six buildings with all sorts of cars including:  Pierce-Arrow, Tucker, and Franklin just to name a few. Currently, there are additional buildings under construction. The facility is open from 9-5 daily and food is available on-site. Per the Michigan Travel Ideas Magazine 2012, the Gilmore Car Museum ranks #1 in the “10 Great Historic Auto Sites” column.

We headed back to Battle Creek for a very late lunch. We decided to check out the #7 ranked BBQ place in Michigan – Hogzilla BBQ Pit! We decided to opt for the lunch buffet ($9.99/person) so we could sample a little bit of everything. The meat was very smoky flavored and very lean. The BBQ sauce was spicy, kind of like the “Texas” type that some other BBQ places have. The mac & cheese was decent (good flavor and texture) – I am not a huge mac & cheese fan. I was disappointed in the corn bread; it was a bit blah and a bit over cooked. The baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad and spaghetti were all good. The owner of the establishment is very friendly and enjoyed talking about his business and the clients that he’s had.

Honolulu House

As we continued our trek home we stopped by Marshall. We had been to Marshall in the past, but it was in the early spring and the fountain downtown was not running. This time we were able to see the fountain in action and we also visited the historical Honolulu House. The Honolulu House tour was $5/adult and they start the tour whenever people show up. Photography is not allowed inside of the home. Our tour lasted probably about an hour. The tour is not really that formatted, so you can ask questions whenever you want. If you want more information on something the guides will share all they know, which could extend the length of your tour. There are many other historical homes in the area around the fountain. There are walking maps available at the Honolulu House.

Our last stop on the way home was Jackson. “The Parlour” is an excellent ice cream shop that has been serving since 1944!  The portions are very large – the banana split has six scoops of ice cream! They also serve food items, but we have only ever gotten the ice cream.

Lansing Area Weekend!

July 27-29, 2012

We decided to take a weekend camping trip to Sleepy Hollow State Park (Laingsburg, MI), since we had a birthday party to go to in the Lansing area. We set up on site 145, which was perfect size for our pop-up trailer. The site was very private, surrounded with vegetation.  The bathrooms were clean. The showers were warm, but nowhere close to being hot.

We did not spend a lot of time at the campground, but there is a kid’s play structure, disk golf, a picnic area, a beach and a hiking trail. Many people fish, boat, and kayak in Lake Ovid.

Peacock Road Tree Farm

The birthday party we went to was for a 1-year old and was held at Peacock Road Tree Farm, which is also in Laingsburg.  The farm has a petting zoo, train rides, and hay rides. The place was nice and very well maintained.

Prior to the party, we headed to downtown Lansing to check out the Michigan Historical Museum. The museum use to be free to get in but now charges $6 or less per visitor. If you have the “Recreation Passport” sticker on your license plate tab you get a discount. The museum is nice and would be a great activity for a rainy day and also for children. You may also want to visit the capitol building, which is a couple of blocks away. During the week, it appeared that you would have to pay for parking, but on the weekend it was free. You will need to check the hours for the museum, it varies.

Lansing Lugnuts 

Saturday evening we got tickets to see the Lansing Lugnuts baseball team. The Lugnuts are a Class “A” minor league team, affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. We headed to Clara’s for dinner. Clara’s is housed in the “Union Depot”, which was built in 1902. There is a historical marker outside of the place, which tells you the history of the building. The building is very pretty. The menu at Clara’s is rather large and the prices are reasonable. I had a Calzone, it was good. It was well cooked and a bit smaller than what some places serve.

We kept our vehicle parked at Clara’s and walked the few blocks to the Lugnuts game. We had $20 clubhouse seating. While seating in that area, pop was $2.50 and you got free refills. Free popcorn was also provided. There were fireworks after the game, which were nice. It was about a 30 minute drive back to the campground.

The next morning we packed up headed home, with memories of an excellent camping weekend!

New York, New York! (Day 6-7)

June 25, 2012

Today Show

Since our trip was coming to an end soon, we decided it was now or never to visit the “Today” show. We hopped on the subway early to get a good spot, however we did not get there nearly early enough (7AM). Lucky for us, it started to rain and that cleared people out. The rain stopped so the TV people did come outside! We ended up getting on television twice – that was exciting! Monday is definitely the day to visit the Today show. It was Spiderman week; they were passing out masks, shirts and posters. It was also Hope Week – a New York Yankees charity. For Hope Week, they passed out hats, shirts, and buttons. Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte were also there, so we got to see them. Some of the USA women’s soccer team also visited the set while we were there.

After the Today Show, we wondered around the Rockefeller Plaza and checked out St. Patrick’s Cathedral. St. Patrick’s opened in 1897 and is a fine example of Neo-Gothic style. Neo-Gothic is an architectural style that was developed in the middle of the 18^th century in which the structures demonstrate a strong vertical emphasis, with sharply pointed arches and finials (decorative ornament). This church was also undergoing renovations.

Alice in Wonderland Sculpture - Central Park

We continued our journey towards Central Park – stopping by Trump Tower for some photos. There are many sculptures near the entrance of the park, and many throughout the park, as well. Some stops that we made included: Alice in Wonderland, Belvedere Castle, and Strawberry Fields. You could easily spend a day wondering around Central Park, we spent only a couple of hours.

Strawberry Fields - Central Park

We walked back towards the Broadway area, since we had heard about a really cool diner called “Ellen’s Stardust Diner”. The wait staff sings throughout the day and everything is in the 50’s style. The menu is huge and the food was good. I ordered the sloppy joe with onion rings and baked beans ($15). Allison had chicken tenders with fries ($15). We discussed going to the Today Show again the following day and decided to make a sign to take. As we headed back to the apartment, we stopped and got supplies for our sign. We also were in search of a Post Office to mail post cards home.

For dinner we walked to Little Italy, passing through Chinatown on the way. We got warned that in Little Italy all of the restaurants would try to pull us in to eat that their place. We had done some prior research (thanks Tripadvisor!), so we chose one of the higher reviewed places “Da Gennaro”. The prices were reasonable, $15-$20, and the food was good. It took a while for them to deliver bread to our table; it pretty much arrived the same time as our meal (I had a pesto dish). After dinner, we stopped by a bakery shop, where Allison got some cannoli – which she claims were nearly the best she’s had. I got chocolate caramel cheesecake at a cafe next door from the bakery – it was not very good.

June 26, 2012

First thing in the morning, earlier than the previous day, we hopped on the subway so we could get a better spot at the Today Show. We arrived a little before 7AM and managed to get a good spot along the fence. Our sign grabbed the attention of a lot of other visitors as well as the camera crew! We basically made a NYC Bucket List, with checkmarks by everything except for “meet Al”. Al did in fact come over to us! We got to shake hands and he talked about our sign on television! Having a good sign seems to be key to making it on the air for more than just a few seconds – that or find out where the hosts will be standing and get in that area. It was much less busy on Tuesday, compared to Monday. There were not any freebie handouts, but they did handout little cards that give you a 10% off purchases at the NBC store.

Central Park from the Top of the Rock

We had a few hours to kill, before we had to catch the taxi to the airport so we went to the “Top of the Rock”. There was no wait to go up first thing in the morning. It was a bit pricy ($25 for adults), but it provided a great overhead view of the city, better than the Empire State Building (which I went up a few years back). We spent probably about 30 minutes to an hour at the top.

Our New York City adventure was about to end…one last ride on the subway…one last view from the apartment. My cousin arranged a car to pick us up and take us to the airport. That worked out very well and I would recommend others to do the same, mostly because who wants to stand around and try to hail a taxi with luggage. We used the Dial 7 service. It cost only $5-$10 more than a standard taxi. Another tip – have the driver take the Brooklyn Bridge - there is not a toll. Our flight home was uneventful.