Our 5th wheel

 

2019 Forest River Cedar Creek Silverback 371mbh

Per my son, Austin, I made videos of the inside and outside of our 5th wheel so you guys could see our set up. Hope you enjoy.

I have also decided to share some of our learning experiences.  Since we are first time 5th wheel owners, these first 4 months have been a big learning curve for us.  We knew almost nothing about camping before we set out on this journey.  We had a travel trailer for a few months before buying this one and had taken it out a total of 3 times.  So I feel safe to say we were totally clueless in what it was like to live in one full time.  One of our first lessons was finding out that propane can freeze!  So we researched (yes I mean we googled) about what to do about it and decided for us the best option was electric blankets.  We found them on Amazon for a whopping $99 each to prevent this from happening again.

  

Next thing was to make a moving checklist!  Each time you pack up to move on down the road inevitably there is something you always forget to close, tie down or store properly.  So far, all of our mistakes have not been costly ones or done too much damage. Here's a list of the things so far:

• Leaving Florida we forgot to lock down the shower doors and had to make a quick stop on the side of the interstate once we remembered.
• Leaving Myrtle Beach we forgot to lock down the bedroom closet doors.  That was a $30 mistake that resulted in a broken latch.
• Leaving Cumming we forgot to secure the refrigerator doors.  We had all kinds of food rolling around on the floor.  Luckily nothing was broken or spilled.
• Forgot to make sure the cabinet door above the TV was closed.  We had peanuts everywhere!
• Mice! They are sneaky little devils and can manage to squeeze in from only God knows where.  Keep a mouse trap on hand and also buy rope lighting.  Seems they like dark places so we bought 150 ft and lay under the RV and truck all along the edge.  We also put them on a timer.  Since we have already had a squirrel make a nest under the hood of the truck, we didn't want to take chances with mice.

Here are a few things that have broken or came lose that have NOT been our fault but in my opinion a flaw at the factory.

• The strap that holds the TV in place while traveling came out of the wall
• Trim on kitchen slide out came off
• Barn door roller hardware fell apart (twice)

TV Strap

Slide out Trim

Barn Door

The Last Hoorah for Michigan

Our Last Full Weekend in Michigan

On Friday, after Dennis quit work for the day, we jumped in the truck and headed up to East Lansing to make a Costco run.  After shopping, we decided to eat one last time at Claddagh Irish Pub for D to get his Reuben sandwich fix again!  Here's a little trivia about Dennis for you guys. He goes through food phases! No matter where we eat, he eats the same thing until he has had his fill! We have been through the nacho stage, Filet Mignon stage (thank God that one is over), a mac & cheese one, Philly cheese steak, the hamburger kick and now the Reuben. Pray for us that this one will soon pass!
Then we quickly booked it back down to Eaton Rapids to join the Ridler's at a church community outreach in the park.  I think they were all surprised about how many from their community attended.  It was a great success and the weather was perfect too! Great job Chris on leading the praise and a shout out to Becky for staying up til 4am making signs!

Frankenmuth, Michigan

Saturday morning we headed north with the Ridlers in the truck to Frankenmuth.  This town is known as Michigan's little Bavaria.  It is a quaint little town with lots of little shops and plenty of places to grab a bite.  The biggest draw is Bronners Christmas Wonder Land Store.  Saying this store is huge is an understatement!  You could fit a small town in that place!  One could spend a full weekend in there looking at all of the different ornaments and still not see them all.  I only bought two since storage is an issue living full time on the road.  One is of a Santa holding a wine bottle and the other is a happy camper themed one. My first one!




After visiting the Christmas store, we ventured over to the River Place Shops to walk around.  The parking lot to our surprise was pretty full and we later found out that there was a big vintage baseball tournament going on.  It was so fun seeing all the different uniforms and also some of the period outfits a few of the spectators had on.  This particular tournament was played by the rules of 1860's baseball.

We met one of the players from Columbus Ohio at Norlins Beignet & Coffee shop that was taking a break between games. He filled us in on a few of interesting facts: first of all, they don't use gloves, foul balls and pop-ups caught on the first bounce is an out, the pitcher must deliver the ball as near as possible to wear the batter asks for and a batter is called a striker! To my surprise, several of the teams had women on them and there were also all-women teams.

	Union BBC of Dexter
Canton Michigan Cornshucker	Chelsea Merries	Ohio Village Lady Diamonds
Richmond Bees	1860's Umpire

Our last Sunday in Michigan

On Sunday we drove over to First Baptist Church in Eaton Rapids for church and lunch with the Ridler's.  Service was great and knowing it was our last Sunday to worship with Chris and Becky made it a little sad as well.  I have truly enjoyed our visit with them and hope we will make it back this way soon.


After church we had a quick lunch at one of Becky's favorite small restaurants called the Robin's Nest.  Lots of food choices.  The pancakes were HUGE!  I wanted one so bad but in the end, I settled on watching Noah devour one instead.  The place was packed and is only open for breakfast and lunch.  The waitress/owner was excellent.

Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan

After lunch, we decided that we would visit the Henry Ford Museum.  We had discussed visiting when we first got here but then decided since we don't own a ford nor have we ever, we would skip it.  But since we had a free day, we decided why not.  Well, I have to admit it was so worth it.  First of all, it is huge and has tons and tons of things to see.  If you visit Michigan and are anywhere near Dearborn, the ford museum should be on your list of places to visit.  We only had time for the museum but there is so much more to do there.  Plan on spending all day there!
President Kennedy's 1961 Ford Thunderbird Convertible	1952 Wienermobile
President Reagan's 1972 Lincoln Continental	America’s 3rd Steam-Operated Train (Reproduction) The DeWitt Clinton
Those Sunday Drivers!
U.S.S. Enterprise	Captain, we are being hailed.
Number One, you have the bridge.

Our final week here, we hope to meet up with Chris, Becky, and Noah for one last dinner.  Otherwise, our big plans are to research things to do while we are at Niagara Falls for the week and figuring out what we can and cannot take across the border into Canada. So far, the biggest surprise has been that we can't take dairy. Looks like we will be having a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches between now and then.

Notes from Dennis - Well Michigan, we have driven your broken roads, jawed with your locals, dined at your cafes, and eye-balled your sights.   I would say that bang for the buck, Michigan is a great place to vacation!  Soo many things to do and see.  We hung with some great friends as well.

Michigan Lighthouse Circle Tour

This past weekend we set out to see as many of the 124 lighthouses that are still in existence, according to the state of Michigan, along its huge lakes.  I have to admit it was a very sad attempt.  My best guess is we saw 21.  The weather was insanely cold, windy, and raining for the first couple of days.  At several of the sites they had barriers up blocking you from walking out on the break wall.  Due to those unforeseen events, I will have to confess that three of my photos are stolen from the internet.  Good luck guessing which ones... I'm not telling!

Our Lake Michigan Circle Tour began early Thursday morning with a two-hour drive across the state to start in St. Joseph.  That is where we spotted our 1st lighthouse that is listed on the Lighthouse Circle Tour.  Needless to say, we were not dressed for the wind.  Crazy us, thinking that it's June so it's got to be hot!  We quickly figured out we weren't in the South anymore.  Along our 1,500 miles, (Yes, you read that correct, 1,500 miles in 4 days!) we went through a lot of cute, small towns along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Here are just a few of them: Holland, Grand Haven, Ludington, Manistee,  St. Joseph, South Haven, and Traverse City.

Manistee

Traverse City

South Haven

Holland

St Joseph

Grand Haven

Mackinac Island

By late Friday, we had made it all the way up to St. Ignace, which is located on the UP side of the Mackinac Bridge.  On Saturday we headed over to Mackinac Island via a ferry to spend a few hours.  I really regret that we didn't have more time to hang out there but at least I got the most important thing done, buying fudge!  As a matter of fact, we bought eight different kinds.  I am now set for life!  Come to find out, the island is known for great fudge, horse & buggy rides, and bicycles!  They do not allow cars on the island except for emergency and police departments.  Next time, we will definitely rent bikes and cruise around the island.  On the ferry back, a local told us that in the winter, when Lake Huron freezes over, the full-timers on the island take snowmobiles between the UP and the island.  They line up donated Christmas trees on the lake as markers to create a temporary "road" on the ice.  Now that's crazy talk as far as this Southern girl is concerned.  You can not possibly get me on a lake in a snowmobile in the dead of winter or ever, as far as that goes.

Round Lighthouse	Fort Mackinaw

I think we found Chet from the Weird Science movie!	Fort Mackinac Park & Waterfront	Fort Mackinac

Fudge!!! Need I say more?

Pictured Rocks in Munising

After the 20-minute ferry ride back to the Upper Peninsula (UP), we threw the fudge in the hotel room and got back on the road.  We had a 2-1/2-hour drive across the UP to Munising where we would be going on a 2-hour cruise on Lake Superior to see the pictured rocks.  It was so worth the trip, folks!  I just wish the weather had been warm enough for us to sit on the top deck of the boat.  However, the view from below was still awesome.  Here are some pictures from that day.

Lovers Leap	Spray Falls
		Indian Head
Painted Coves

Lake Huron lighthouses

On Sunday we headed south along Lake Huron and stopped in on a few more lighthouses before finishing up our journey with a visit with some dear sweet friends that happened to be state-side visiting with their family.  It was a crazy 4 days but worth every minute on these Michigan roads.  Next time we will make sure Dennis is able to take more time off so we can spend some time in a few of the towns we sped through.

Cheboygan
Sturgeon Point	Forty Point Lighthouse	Tawas Point  Lighthouse

Visiting with Jesse and Mukadam

We were greeted by Jesse, his mother, and his wife Mukaddam holding their new baby, Jasmina, who is just as adorable as her big sister.  As we stepped inside, little Emerance came running around the corner and just leaped into my arms.  I could not believe how big she had gotten.  We happened to arrive at dinner time (perfect timing if I do say so myself) and were invited to join them.  We instantly felt like part of the family and totally enjoyed our short visit.  Dennis definitely enjoyed the venison.  He said it was the best venison he had ever had.  Shout out to Jesse' nephew on doing such a great job cooking it.

It was so wonderful seeing them again. I could not believe it had been two years since we last hung out with them and, sadly, it will be another two before we see them again.  We wish them well as they travel back to the mission field and will continue to keep them in our prayers.




This weekend, which will be our last full weekend in Michigan, we set out to visit Frankenmuth with the Ridlers!