Day 33 - 35 - Mackinac Island, MI

We had never been to this area but had heard so much about it. It was a delight in every way possible. We were shuttled from the RV park to the ferry terminal in St. Ignace and took the ferry over to Mackinac Island. The weather was perfect - blue skies matched only by the blue of the Straits of Mackinac.

After we found our hotel, we lunched at historic Fort Mackinac, high on the bluff overlooking the town and the harbor area, and then we toured the fort which was active after the Revolutionary War, through the War of 1812 when it was taken by the British, and then used again by the Americans who repossessed it by treaty. It was vacated by the army in the late 1800's. Much of the Island is now a Michigan State Park, but it was once our country's second National Park.

We took a carriage tour of the town area and through the forest behind the fort. As you may know, the entire island bans the use of motor vehicles. Everything is conveyed by horse-drawn carriages. It makes for a wonderful ambiance and a pace of life that is slower than we are accustomed to.

The other big activity on the island is bike riding. The perimeter road is 8 flat miles along the shore, just perfect for an easy ride. Everyone rides a bike! We heard one statistic (by a reporter for the Weather Channel, stationed on the porch of the Grand Hotel for the first day of summer) that there are 600 horses and 7,000 bicycles on the island!

We didn't want to leave when it was time for us to depart earlier today. The rhythmic clip-clop of the horses' hooves, the breezes and cool temperatures, the very friendly people working on the island and the general summer holiday spirit are very captivating. We'd recommend this place to anyone - spouses, families, friends, companions, whatever. There is something for everyone.

Day 32 - St. Ignace, MI

We arrived at the campground and were pleased that a package was waiting for us. It was a part for our combo washer-dryer (my favorite thing in the RV!) which has not been operable for over a week (not sure I have previously mentioned this "crisis"). Gary is a genius (!), figured out what was wrong, called Splendide - the manufacturer, and ordered a replacement part. Because we arrived here in St. Ignace at about 1:00 p.m., we had time to pull the machine out of its compartment, take off the lid and Gary replaced the malfunctioning part. Wonderful!!!!!!!!! It is currently processing a load and is working perfectly. Happy day! Traveling in an RV has taught me that it is really nice to have a husband who is mechanically inclined. There is always something that needs fixing on an RV!

Day 30 - 31- Traverse City, MI

We have spent three days in this beautiful area which was totally unfamiliar to us. The town is on a beautiful bay of Lake Michigan and is a very popular tourist area. Yesterday we drove west to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore which is a spectacular overlook of Lake Michigan from the high sand dunes. We had never seen anything like it. In the picture here, perhaps you can see the little dots on the sand. These are people who are defying the National Park Service's request not to climb down. They are clambering down the dune to the water's edge and then climbing back up the slippery, soft sand 450' to the top - lots of work. It was a clear, hot day and the view was great.

The RV park we are staying in is one of the nicest ever - very similar to a park we stayed at in Florida awhile back. The photo here is looking at the portion of the park where we are. There are ponds scattered thoughout the park. Everything is beautifully landscaped. The ponds are full of frogs which make lots of noise at night. We are across from a rally of Royal Coach motor homes (Prevost conversions of about $1-2 million each).