First things first the ladder is still firmly attached to the front of the trailer and it looks like it might be for some time to come, yeah, no more having to construct wobbly structures to get up onto the roof.
Took Tal-y for a wander around the lake this morning. There was a rabbit sitting under the hedge off to one side and my brave puppy looked straight at it and then ran the other way, is she just that dumb or just that afraid?
Mike and I drove into Amish country later this morning to Middlefield in Geaugu County; this is the 4th largest Amish population in the world. We stopped off first at an Amish Cheese Coop where we bought some really nice cheese, and then we visited an Amish craft store and bakery. The cheese was good but the pasties at the bakery were more gooder, they were lush. We had something called a fry cake, although I don’t think they were fried, they were like pasties but were filled with fruit. Mike had apple and cinnamon and I had a blackberry one; I don’t even like blackberries but it was really tasty. They had some amazing items for sale too including beautiful hand made quilts and lots of wooden items; we bought a bowl that folds flat that is in the shape of a maple leaf. A young girl waited on us at both stores and they both seemed very quiet and shy although very polite.
We headed into Middlefield and passed a horse and buggy along the way; they don’t hang around in those things, they were just buzzing along. We stopped at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen for lunch which wasn’t too exciting since it seems that an Amish family’s typical meal consists of meat, potatoes and veggies – not really something we are interested in. Most of the staff were Amish, mostly teenage girls since they leave school after 8th grade to work, and they all seemed very serious and staid.
On the way home we drove through some country roads looking for another covered bridge (which we never found) and we passed a 4H camp and saw an Amish girl driving an ATV and an Amish man cutting the grass on a tractor – what is the world coming to, are they supposed to be driving those things? Nell was supposed to be directing us to the bridge but she failed (if you ask Mike he’ll tell you it was operator error), she did however manage to take us down a road that was little more than a path through the trees with more holes in it than Swiss cheese. We got a little ways down it before Mike decided to turn around; he claimed that if he’d been with anyone other than me he’d have kept going but I think he was a little nervous and just used me as an excuse. He did manage to complete a perfect 8-point turn!
This afternoon after we got home we attempted to erect the tent that we’re going to be staying in while Ma and Pa stay. It actually went up fairly easily and there wasn’t much shouting or screaming at all. It’s a very nice tent and will be perfect for a few weeks, but even better than the tent is the pillow top airbed that we have to sleep on. I think there might be some fighting over who sleeps in the tent as the airbed is more comfortable than our bed in the trailer. Anyway, if anybody wants to come visit us we have a place for y’all to sleep now.

Mike: I would have screamed through the forest in four-wheel drive with my mighty Serena at my side! Becc will have a place to sleep when she’s bad.

Well we are now the proud owners of a ladder that is actually attached to the trailer. We drove into Ashtabula first thing this morning to pick up the ‘mansion’ that ma and pa are going to be staying in while they are here; after a quick stop at The Waffle House of course. Then this afternoon Mike once again clambered onto the roof via a stepladder that we placed on a picnic table and got to work. After some roof cleaning, the first screws were screwed and glued; it didn’t take too long to attach even with having to do a little pipe cutting. Mike did a lovely job and he’s super happy with his newest toy. Hopefully we’ll get up in the morning and it’ll still be attached.

Mike: Ye of little faith! Yeah Waffle House!

Took Mike and Tal-y for a walk around the lake this morning; It’s very beautiful and peaceful. Even though there are quite a few people on the campsite none of them seem to spend a whole lot of time around the lake – maybe cos they’re old and have trouble walking??? Whatever the reason it’s nice to have the whole area to ourselves in the mornings, it’s very tranquil. After that the first stop of the day was of course The Waffle House where we didn’t order quite as much food as yesterday. Tell me though, what’s the point of ordering egg whites rather than eggs, is it really healthier, shouldn’t an egg be eaten as a whole?
Took a drive to Geneva-on-the-Lake after brunch with the intention of going to the Celtic Fest that was going on at the Old Firehouse Winery this weekend. When we got there there were a bunch of tables set up and some dude singing, not even a Scottish or Irish dude I might add, and that was the fest. I think from now on anything that has anything to do with a fest, for whichever country, is something I am going to stay away from. We are two for two so far this trip, not a good batting average.
While we were out running around Mike decided that we need a bird feeder; personally I think he’s feeling inferior to all the people here who have their own little gardens outside their trailers. Anyway since we are here a while we picked one up and now it’s hanging outside on the tree; we’ll probably get up in the morning and the squirrels will have emptied the whole thing while we were sleeping.
We watched Clash of the Titans tonight, when will I ever learn, another bad movie and two more hours that I’ll never get back, I could have been ironing.

Mike: I like my bird feeder! You could iron while you watch TV!

Had to go looking for a new coffee pot today as ours is having issues; I guess it does get a good workout and we have had it a while. We didn’t manage to get one so hopefully we’ll have coffee tomorrow. Before our shopping trip we went to what is now Mikes favourite place to eat, The Waffle House. It’s unfortunate that it’s only about a five-minute drive from where we’re staying as in two weeks when we leave I’m probably going to weigh about 400 pounds. They have really good waffles and hash browns – not the best combination for any healthy meal.
While out shopping we got the tools to adjust the shape of the ladder, which Mike has done, it now just has to be attached to the front of the trailer. We also picked up the tent that Ma and Pa are going to be staying in when they come to visit in a few weeks; I’m sure it’ll be extra comfy, we have a deluxe airbed and everything.

Mike: I like Ohio, they have a Waffle House!

No internet at our space at this campsite so we have to go to the lodge to get online. We tried talking to Ma and Pa on skype for a little while but the connection was pretty bad; we’ll have to try again tomorrow. After getting cleaned up we took a drive around Ashtabula County. They have a large number of covered bridges here including the shortest (we didn't get to see that one today) and the longest in the country (we saw this one). It was a beautiful drive through country lanes, some paved, some not, passed some amazing homes. Afterwards we drove into Conneaut for lunch; Quiznos subs which we ate in Conneaut Township Park looking out over Lake Erie. Then we took the scenic drive along the coast of the lake all the way to Geneva-on-the-Lake. I think that maybe it would be nice to live along this route, looking out over the lake, but maybe only for the summer months. At a number of points along the drive there were magnificent houses, some even had turrets, with fantastic gardens. They weren’t pretentious in anyway though, just nice well loved homes.
After the scenic tour it was down to business with a trip to a RV supply store; we are still in the market for a ladder. Well not anymore we finally managed to find one that will work perfectly after Mike has bent it a little this way and that – hopefully without damaging it or himself. We also managed to get a number of other things that we have been looking for for a while so Mike is happy today. And I’m happy cos I saw a real live beaver this afternoon, at least I think it was a beaver. It was definitely a beaver!

Mike: I like Ohio! They have a great RV parts store.

Had a really, really long drive today, about six hours from St. Clair to Jefferson, Ohio. Fortunately we got a super early start as I managed to get my butt out of bed before seven o’clock. We were on the road by nine and got here around 3.30ish. The drive other than being long wasn’t too bad and we didn’t hit too much traffic even though we drove through the middle of downtown Detroit, Toledo, and Cleveland. We got to use the Ohio turnpike for about 70 miles and thankful we are a class 3 vehicle and not a class 7; I’m retired, I can’t afford to pay $22.00 to use the turnpike. Ohio is another beautiful state, all lush and green and everything looks to be well taken care of; a little like Michigan only nicer.
The campsite is just outside Jefferson and we had to take a little detour to get here, as there are loads of low narrow bridges in this area. It is a gorgeous place now that we are here, right on Kenisee Lake, with three other smaller lakes on the campsite. We got to choose our own site and mike picked one that is over looking Lake Kenisee. It’s a beautiful space and the view is amazing, I just hope that the chocks hold and I don’t wake up tomorrow morning to discover that I a fish eye view of the lake!
We are both off to bed early tonight, it’s amazing how tired driving makes me, even when it’s Mike that’s actually doing the driving part.

Mike: This is a nice park and I like Ohio. I hope we don't end up in the lake!

We took a drive into Port Huron this morning. It’s a nice enough town I guess, we just drove through it, but it has a lovely area right along Lake Huron for walking or biking or whatever. We took a stroll along the lake and waved to the folks over in Canada; the only thing separating the Americans from the Canadians is the St. Clair River, which is crossed using the Blue Water Toll Bridge. After strolling along the river and lake for a little while we visited the Thomas Edison museum; Alva lived in Port Huron with his family as a child. The museum was pretty cool, very informative and Thomas Edison was a genius. It’s amazing to think what we may now be living without if not for the ideas in his head. Maybe someone else would have come up with similar inventions, but who knows.
This afternoon while Mike took a little nap Tal-y and I saw our first snake of this trip. Not sure what kind it was I only know that Tal-y managed to step on it as it was crossing the road and that I had quite a difficult time stopping her going into the woods after it. I wonder who would have gotten the better end of that confrontation? Off to bed now as we have an extra early start tomorrow as we have a super long drive.

Mike: I don't think it's a good idea for Tal-y to chase snakes!

Drove to Dearborn this morning to the Henry Ford to take a tour of the Ford Rouge Factory where the F150 is made. It was a very cool place to see in action, and fortunately we got there during a time of production. First we watched a movie about the history of Henry Ford before going into an interactive theater to see the truck making process from start to finish; the theatre was complete with effects for all the senses (I got wet and wind blown). Then we got to walk above the factory floor and saw actual F150s being constructed. The walk is about 1/3 of a mile and it allows visitors to view the factory staff going about their business as well as having screens explaining exactly what they were doing. The factory floor is massive and always in motion with pieces of truck moving on conveyors above and below where we were walking. It was amazing how efficient everyone was, doing exactly what they needed to in the right amount of time before moving onto the next truck. The whole place was like a well oiled machine. The machinery itseld was awesome, Henry Ford was a genius to have the vision and then to build the equipment to make his dream happen. Definitely worth a visit, sorry no picture taking allowed.
Afterwards we got to see some ford cars from the last 100 odd years; I really want a mustang like this one.

Mike: Christmas is coming!

After we left the Rouge (named after the Rouge river) we drove into Detroit. I don't think we were in the worst parts of the city but the area we were in was still really run down with delapitated burnt out houses and graffiti everywhere. Not the nicest place to live although there were signs as we drove through that some areas are being renovated which is great since some of the houses are wonderful. It's amazing the difference between driving through detroit and Chicago. The traffic in Chicago was dreadful and Detroit, even though it was the middle of a work day was almost like a ghost town. It's just sad considering the people that flocked here for the rise of the auto industry.
Tal-y and I spent a while in the dog run this evening while Mike relaxed (read slept) and she made a new friend, a puggle named Chaos - what a cool name for a dog.

Woke up to the stupid squirrels dropping acorns on the roof of the trailer, they have no consideration at all for us folk who are not early risers.
We didn't venture too far away from the trailer today, just took a little drive into New Baltimore to do a little shopping before heading back to the trailer. While we were out running about we did discover that Tim Horton is no longer only found in Canada but has ventured into the US; with him and Dunkin Donuts in this part of the state I might never get Mike to leave Michigan, he's in heaven!
We took Tal-y for a lovely walk through the woods to the river that borders the park this afternoon. The walk and the woods were really nice, the river not so much since it was hardly moving and had lots of skeeters hovering over it - Mike and Tal-y both left in a hurry.

Mike: Yum! Yum! Timbits!

Left Gaylord and headed back south down the outside of the thumb to St Clair; not a bad drive even though it was a little bit long. We pulled up to the gate and found ourselves behind a trailer that was at the park in Gaylord and was still there when we left; Mike assures me that he's not a slow driver but that the other people didn't stop as often as we did - whatever he has to tell himself I guess.
The park here is really nice, very wooded with spacious sites. We have everything, full hookups (although Mike had to go trekking through the woods to find our electric and water hookup), internet, and even a dog run for Tal-y with her very own squirrels to chase.

Mike: Hey, full hook-ups and internet too! What more do you want out of life?

Happy Birthday Rosie. xxx

Mike: Happy birthday Rosie!

Had a fairly leisurely morning before heading into Gaylord for lunch at a Mexican restaurant that actually has good food; although there are only two items on the entire menu that we could eat, bloody meat eaters!
After beans, rice and tortillas we visited the Call of the Wild museum. I didn't really want to go since looking at dead animals that have been stuffed is not really something that I enjoy doing; I'm not sure why people feel the need to kill them just so they can stuff them and put them on the wall. Anyway we went and it wasn't so bad really and the animals weren't killed just for the museum displays but were acquired from across the country by the family that created the museum. It was very well put together with the animals all shown with backdrops depicting their natural habitats. It was also very educational and I now know the difference between chipmunks and gophers; I'll be able to tell Tal-y which one she has the next time she catches one! They had a little of everything from porcupines to grizzlies to mountain lions which were perhaps the scariest; I'm glad I didn't see one of them while we were in Whistler.

Mike: I bet they're glad they didn't see you!