Manistee and Grand Haven

By this point in our trip, we had finally shed most of our moving stress.  We both agreed that it took several days to stop feeling mental with fatigue from all that packing, lifting, trips to Home Depot...I think I said this before. Clearly I'm still a little traumatized by the whole thing. 

Good doggies, waiting  in the car while Momma and Daddy set up!

I knew we'd lightened up from our moving stress when while sitting back in my car seat, bare feet on the dashboard, I began making observations about my big toe.  "Why is my big toe so icky?  That eczema, or whatever, just won't go away."  Stafford looked over, and in his best Broke Back Mountain voice says, "I wish I could quit you, Icky Toe!"  We both busted a gut at this and continued to say it over and over whenever possible during the rest of our trip.

After Mackinaw City we drove sammies to Manistee, a quaint historic town along the Manistee River and Lake Michigan.  We arrived just in time to catch an hour or so of sunshine, or at least of no rain.  After parking our rig and unloading the beasts, we strolled around the campsite.  Sammies received the usual attention and comments, “What kind of dogs are those?  Beautiful.”  They are always humble when being adored by other campers and their kids.

Manistee River

Airing out doggy beds after 10 days of travel

Staff and I decided to head down to Orchard Beach, which was located down the bluff from our campsite.  The Great Lakes are like nature’s wave pool – warm, clear and no scary fish.  We played in the waves and watched a front come toward our beach.  Staff was explaining the math behind calculating how fast a storm travels, but I stopped listening when I saw a flash of lightening in the distance.  Then I high-tailed it out of the water, snatching up both of our towels and practically running up the 50 stairs up the bluff.  

A young couple and their toddler were walking down the stairs to go swimming.  I wanted to say something to them, but they looked determined.  A man standing at the top of the stairs was watching them, too, and we both wondered if we had some sort of civic responsibility to warn them about the lightening.  The thunder was loud and unmistakable, but maybe they didn’t see the flashing bolts on the horizon?   Staff just kept walking saying something about everyone having the right to choose how they die.

Orchard Beach - another beautiful day in Michigan

About 50 stairs down to the beach-definitely not for the arthritically-inclined

As the rain started to pour, we packed sammies into the trailer and headed into Manistee’s downtown to find a restaurant.  We were spoiled by the UP where you can find delicious whitefish everywhere. Even bars whose specialty is friend cheese curds still have excellent freshly caught whitefish.  It appears that we have now entered what Staff refers to as the “Redneck Riviera,” the western shoreline of Michigan south of Traverse City, which is lined with picturesque sandy bluffs, but where it is almost impossible to find a decent restaurant.  So we gave up and gorged ourselves at Pizza Hut.

 

Though Manistee, like Munising, may have been hit by economic hard times, they seem to have a line item in their budget for flowers.  Both have downtowns that are lined with colorful annuals.  Almost made me forget about the fact that there are no yummy restaurants in Manistee. 

Flowers line downtown Manistee streets

Staff requested that we take a detour from our shoreline route to Grand Rapids so that he could visit an RV store and look at his dream RV in person. We were in dire need of a giant mat that you put in front of your trailer so doggies can lie on the ground outside and not track in dirt. 

Unfortunately, that little detour was the last beautiful day of sunshine.  We spent it in the car.  Ah, well.  No need to be gluttonous.  Not like we hadn’t just had 9 days of gorgeous weather on our UP trip.

Around 4:45 p.m., we arrived in Grand Haven state park.  Depending on your perspective, this is either RV heaven or hell.  The campers are parked within spitting distance of each other on a giant concrete pad about 3 acres long in front of the beach.  But that’s the heaven part - you are right on the beach.  A night at a hotel right on the beach would cost 4-5 times as much as our campground.  Also, downtown Grand Haven, with all of its cute shops, cafes and boutiques, is just a 15 minute walk or short bike ride away.

 

Staff tried to find wind, but was “skunked,” meaning the wind died when he got there.  I walked the beach and read my new book borrowed from the lending library shelf at the Grand Marais campground.   

Oh, yes, and sammies, as always, had a wonderful time.