America's Ice Cream by Gabriella

Welcome to America's Ice Cream! Mackinaw, Michigan edition.

The first Ice Cream place we went to was Mickey's Ice Cream, the Ice Cream was made by Mooney's Ice Cream. I had delicious White Chocolate Raspberry, and some oversweet Caramel Caribou. My brother had the oversweet Caramel Caribou and as he says, delicious Salted Caramel Pretzel. My mom loved her Salted Caramel Pretzel too, and she and my dad both liked the Praline Pecan.
Next, on Mackinac Island, we went to Moomers Homemade Ice Cream. 

It was there that I had my new, all time favorite. Raspberry Truffle😋😇🍦. My brother had Sea Salt Caramel and loved it. We don't remember what my Mom and Dad had, we just know they liked whatever the flavors were. Huh, that's all the Ice Cream we've had so far. The thing is, we left on July 29th, and now it's August 8th. We need to get eatin' Ice Cream so I can do this blog! 
Read Next Time!

-Lone_Wolf_Bella

Horses, Fudge, and Donuts, Oh My! by Gavin

On the three square miles of Mackinac Island, there are no motorized vehicles. Except for a forklift I saw. Hi everyone, this is Gavin. Today I'm writing about our awesome trip to Mackinac Island. It started with us waiting at the wet bus stop while Bella played on the playground across the street. This was pretty early, about 10:30. Early for me, of course. Usually I sleep until 10 or 10:30. Anyway, the shuttle picked us up and took us to the docks. We waited in line for about five minutes and boarded the Marquess II. It was a "Hydro-Jet" ferry so it was really fast. WAY faster than the normal ferry. On the way to the island, we were in for a surprise. Sometimes, the ferry goes UNDER the bridge instead of around it. And we were lucky enough to get on the one that went under the bridge. Bella took some nice pictures. I did not take any because i left my iPod at home so I wouldn't lose it. 

Mom, Bella, and I arrived at the island in around 20-25 minutes if not faster. The first thing we did was go to a fudge place called Murray's Fudge. We got a flavor called Heavenly Goo. The name was definitely correct. Afterward, we registered at the booth of the horse-and-carriage rides. While we waited, we walked around a bit and down to the docks. And then we were off in a carriage! It took us up hills and past the Grand Hotel. Supposedly the island's greatest attraction, but it was too fancy (and expensive) for us. It took us to a hill who's name none of us can remember. We walked from there to the Grand Hotel's stables which were awesome. There were a TON of horses there. Actually, probably more than a ton all put together. 😀 Then we walked back up to the hill and got donuts at the convenient donut shop there. I got a chocolate donut and Mom got a nuts covered one. Bella doesn't like donuts (this week) and got a soft pretzel which she ate a quarter of. After that, we got on a bigger carriage drawn by three horses. Their names were Ebony, Johnny Cash, and Simon. 

We went to a place called Arch Rock . Scientists say it'll only be there for another 30 years or so before it falls down, so visit quick if you want to see it. By the way, there is a staircase next to Arch Rock that leads to Nicolai's Watchtower. Don't climb it, there is no watchtower up there. Just a tiny flat space. The view from Arch Rock is way better. You're welcome. 👍 

Next, we rode the carriage to Fort Mackinac, where we got off. They have restored the fort and do reenactments every half hour. We didn't really watch the reenactments but we ate lunch there and explored the fort. 

Then we walked down the steep hill to the town. Dad came on a ferry then and we had ice cream at a place called Moomers. Then we walked around for a while and ate dinner at the Pink Pony. The food was WAY better than the name. I had babyback ribs and they were delicious. Afterward, we went to the best fudge place in the known universe (maybe) called Murdick's Fudge. We sent some to some of our family and friends. Enjoy! We did and still are because we have a lot left still. Then we went home, ate fudge, and went to sleep. All in all, a great day! 

Signing off,

                Gavin 

See you next time!

Michigan Camp Life

We purposely had a lot of down time while we were in Michigan for the past week. We are still settling in to the new fifth wheel, figuring out where everything should go, and finding our groove. We stayed at Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground, which is HUGE. It's pretty crowded down by the beach and playground area, but we were staying in the big rig sites at the back of the park where it was spread out and quiet. Except for the screaming kids at the site across the road. I'm usually relatively tolerant of kid related noise, but Holy Cow these kids whined and cried all week long. Other than those neighbors, our site was very nice.

The kids and I actually got lost a couple of times walking around the labyrinth of roads, paths, and campsites, but we eventually got where we were going. The campground has a sizable chunk of shoreline on Lake Huron, so on the first day there the kids and I wandered around just admiring the views.

We did visit the beach on the lake, but were too busy swimming and skipping rocks to take pictures. Gabriella spent a lot of time diving to the bottom to find the best rocks for Dad to skip. She found one with a fossil in it - eventually we will try to figure out what created the impression.

Tuesday was the perfect pool day! Gabriella even found a group of girls to play Marco Polo - her favorite pool pastime.

Even Fergus, our magical sock monkey (long story that some of you may be familiar with) wanted to see the sights, so he joined us for a picnic lunch by the water and got a glimpse of the Mackinaw Bridge.

We did squeeze in one evening drive through Mackinaw City, then along the coast of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. We saw signs for the McGulpin Point Lighthouse and stopped in for a look. It was on the tiny side for a lighthouse, but still cool to climb up to the lantern.

We also stopped at a camp store near a state park when we saw a handwritten sign proclaiming it to be a "Jerky Outlet." How could we resist? It was actually pretty good stuff. We then drove to Cheboygan to pick up a couple of groceries. The new camper has a bigger fridge, so we only have to shop once a week! So much better than only being able to fit one carton of milk at a time.

Friday night we headed into Mackinaw City for dinner at the Keyhole Bar and Grill. Don and I wanted another taste of the local fish before we headed out. Plus, there was some nasty weather moving in, so we packed up all of the outdoor stuff early so that we didn't have to cook or clean up in the rain.

Due to a serious lack of storage space and budget constrictions, we generally don't buy souvenirs. However, I think it is allowed as long as the souvenir is consumable!

Note the high-class plastic wineglass! Fine crystal doesn't fare well on the road.

Michigan was a good start. We are ready for the next adventure!

Learning to Pronounce "Mackinac"

Our journey has gotten off to a great start! The first couple of days were a little rough because we were already exhausted from all of the packing, cleaning, organizing, and saying good-bye to family and friends. The two straight days of driving required a lot of extra caffeine. Don does all of the driving - I have no desire to haul the ginormous camper and Don is a horrible passenger. 😀 My main jobs are planning, navigation, finding truck stops, packing snacks, and keeping Don awake!

After an overnight stop at a campground in Geneva, Ohio, we made our way to Mackinaw City, Michigan. It feels like we can finally take a moment and breathe! Unfortunately, Don doesn't get much of a break because it is a normal work week for him. I had already given the kids a heads-up that we wouldn't be doing a whole lot this week because we all (okay, mostly me!) needed a few days to settle in to the camper and recover and recharge from all the craziness of the last few months. I will post later on about our camp life this week.

We did have our first awesome adventure - a trip to Mackinac Island! It's been on my list for years and I've been really looking forward to checking it out. It did not disappoint! The kids and I hopped a morning ferry across Lake Huron to get to the island. A few times a day, the ferry takes a little side trip to sail under the Mackinac Bridge, which marks the dividing point between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. We were lucky enough to hit it just right to take one of these rides. The Mackinac Bridge is five miles long, making it the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. It is impressive looking!

Bridge photos by Gabriella

There are no motorized vehicles on the island, so we started by signing up for a horse and carriage tour. We had a few minutes to kill before we departed, so we decided to try out one of the many fudge shops that Mackinac Island is known for. We have to experience local cuisine, right? We also learned that even though it is spelled "Mackinac," it is pronounced "Mackinaw," just like Mackinaw City. Just to trip up the tourists, maybe?

Hitched up and ready to go!

The carriage driver took us through downtown and gave us some history of the island and its buildings. We also rode by the famous Grand Hotel, which has the world's longest front porch. It is "the place" to go on the island, but it's a little too fancy for us (not to mention pricey!)

Grand Hotel

After stopping at the Surrey Museum and looking around the horse stables and livery museum for the Grand Hotel, we hopped on another carriage that took us around the State Park lands. It was very relaxing and we appreciated the shade! We learned a lot about Mackinac - if there is anything you've been dying to know about the island, let us know 😊

A highlight of the tour was Arch Rock, a limestone formation carved out by the waves eight thousand years ago. They are predicting that it will collapse within the next thirty years or so. If you want to see it in person, you may want to hurry.

Gavin and Gabriella got to a chance to pet the horses, Ebony, Johnny Cash, and Simon.

We also did a quick tour of Fort Mackinac. It has existed since the Revolutionary War period, but its main claim to fame is being the site of the first land battle of the War of 1812. There was a children's area that included putting the kids through some military drills in front of a green screen to make them look like they were on the parade grounds of the fort. However, the green screen was actually blue, as were the kids' shirts, so it had interesting results!

Fort Mackinac also has fabulous views of downtown and the harbor.

Don was able to join us in the late afternoon for a walk around town and dinner at the Pink Pony. Gabriella took advantage of the time we had to wait for a table.

We had a beautiful almost-sunset ferry ride back to the mainland.

Mackinac Bridge

It was a long, tiring day, but so much fun!

We Did It!

After kicking the idea around for several years, we finally did it! We cleared out the house, sold/gave away/donated/stored almost all of our worldly possessions and moved into our fifth wheel to hit the open road. Our date of departure was Saturday, July 29.
The kids and I are going to use this blog to keep our families and friends apprised of our location and to share all of the adventures that we experience. And to post lots and lots of pictures!! If anyone has any questions for us about our living situation or the places we visit or if you just want to say hi, please feel free to comment! We would love to hear from you.

Our New Home Sweet Home!