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St. Ignace, MichiganSeptember 2nd through September 5th, 2005
Friday, September 2nd - 80°, Partly Cloudy Tara
worked this morning, so I packed up the Trailblazer during the morning with the
help from the kids. Once she got home, we ate a quick lunch before finally
getting underway around 2:30pm. We made a quick stop at Erica & Dwayne’s
house to drop off Tahoe, and then headed up I-75 for the next 240 miles. We
crossed the Mackinac Bridge and pulled into the St. Ignace KOA at 6:30pm. Dad
& Mom arrived yesterday, the 1st of September, so they already
had the campsite set up. They had salad, steak, baked potatoes, and corn muffins
all ready to eat.
We enjoyed our meal, after which Tara, Tyler, and I walked up to the store to
inquire about a site for next Labor Day and to pick up some ice. Because of
repeat customers at Labor Day (we assume most are here for the annual Bridge
Walk), we must return on Sunday, so that they can determine which sites will be
available (if any). Once we got back from the store with our information, Tara,
Tyler, Samantha, Drew, & I took a walk/bike ride around the campground to
see which of the possibly available sites we would prefer. After we saw them
all, we headed back to the camper.
Saturday, September 3rd - 72°, Mostly Sunny
Drew had us all up pretty early this morning, sometime around 7:00am. Tara was
determined to have donuts for breakfast, so she drove into town and paid $11.00
for a dozen donuts and a dozen donut holes. We ate them for breakfast, even
though they weren’t as good our Holly Donuts.
Before we had a chance to go anywhere today, Drew was back down for a nap. Since
he was sleeping, we decided to do some bike riding around the campground while
taking our turns showering. Once everyone was nice and clean, we began the
process of making lunch. We cooked pizza in the pie irons, which is one of my
favorite camping meals. I also tried the roasted pepperoni sticks that I had
read about on the Internet. I was a happy individual at mealtime today.
Once Drew was up and had eaten, we went for a ride into downtown St. Ignace to
walk around the annual craft show. Although there were some nice items there,
they tended to be pretty expensive. We also stopped into a couple of stores on
our way back to the cars. After heading out of town, we drove to Straights State
Park to see Great-Grandma Parrott, as well as Uncle Dick & Aunt Lois.
Grandma had gone to Sault Ste. Marie with some other people, so we didn’t get
to see her, but we did visit with Lois & Dick for a while. After our visit,
we stopped at the bridge overlook in the park so that I could take some more
pictures.
After we left the state park, Dad, Mom, and the kids went into the grocery store
to pick up a few things for dinner while Tara, Steve, Drew, & I went back to
the campsite to get it started. What everyone realized a few moments too late
was that we didn’t bring our trailer key with us. We went back anyway, and it
wasn’t too long before they arrived anyway.
Sunday, September 4th - 84°, Partly Cloudy Today was the day where we found out whether or not
we would be able to reserve a site for next year or not. We ended up getting the
site next to ours, site #34. Tara had to get up first thing to be at the store
when it opened so that we could be sure we got our choice (our actual
preferences were taken, but this site won’t be bad as long as it is dry). After we all got up, we cooked bacon and eggs for
breakfast. We spent our morning taking turns showering, playing with the kids in
the park, and hanging out around the campsite. Since it was a late breakfast, we
skipped our lunch today. Mom & Tara went into town to get fresh fish for
dinner, while Dad & I stayed behind with the kids. Once they returned, we
got into the process of starting dinner. We ate whitefish and walleye, as well
as potatoes. With dinner completed, we cleaned up before heading
out to the scenic overlook so that I could take some pictures of the bridge, as
well as to try to update a family picture that we took there two years ago.
After I was done, we drove to Straights State Park, where Great-Grandma, Dick,
Lois, and many of their friends were staying. We spent some time there talking
with everybody, while the kids played the beanbag toss game that was set up.
Once the sun started setting, we drove to the bridge overlook in the park so
that I could take some night pictures of the bridge. On our way back to the
campground, we happened to see the fireworks beginning, so we stopped along the
road to watch them before returning to the campsite to turn in for the night.
Monday, September 5th - 84°, Partly Cloudy Bridge Walk day! We woke up early this morning to get
started walking at a decent hour, but per our usual it took about an hour longer
than planned to get going. We had a “Whatever you can find” breakfast this
morning, and once everybody was ready we loaded up in the vehicles and headed to
the state park to start our walk and drop of the trucks. We began our walk from inside the park, as there is a
short trail that takes you right to the Welcome Center at the foot of the
Mackinac Bridge. Great-Grandma & Lois drove our Trailblazer into Mackinaw
City, while Dick & Steve drove Dad’s truck over. They were meeting us at a
donut shop/bakery after our walk was completed.
Our actual walk across the bridge wasn’t overly eventful, though it was
fun. Drew rode in the stroller, while Tyler & Sam took turns in the other
seat. Tyler didn’t like to walk on the grate part of the bridge, but Sam would
walk on it for short periods. It took us about one hour forty-five minutes, but
we all completed the walk without any complications. We picked up our
certificates at the finish line, and then proceeded to meet everyone at the
donut shop for a snack. Once everyone had finished their donuts, Dick, Lois
& Steve took Dad’s truck back to the Straights State Park in St. Ignace,
while everyone else stayed behind to do some walking and shopping in Mackinaw
City. While in Mackinaw City, we also stopped and ate lunch at the “Dog House
Diner”. After we did some more shopping, we decided that we had enough and
headed back to pick up Dad’s truck. Dad, Mom & Sam went to pick up Steve
from the state park, while we went and bought some lake perch and buffalo
burger. After we completed our purchase, we went back to the fifth-wheel to
begin packing. After we had everything packed up and ready to head
out, we decided to go get something to eat for dinner. We ate at “Java
Joes”, which we had heard had good food. Looking at the menu, we think it
would have been much better for breakfast than it turned out to be for dinner.
The people who recommended it had eaten breakfast there. Although the food
wasn’t horrible, we certainly wouldn’t be rushing back again. Once we finished our dinner, Tara, Tyler, Sam, Drew
& I loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly… er, headed back home. It
wound up being a late night, being almost 11:00pm before we finally arrived home
to call it a night.
Trip Summary We had a nice relaxing time on this trip. With the exception of the
proximity of the tents to our campsite, everything was nice and relaxing. We got
to visit with some family while we were there, and we never had to rush to get
anything done. We were also excited to be able to secure a reservation for next
year, which means we won’t have to get on a waiting list and hope for a phone
call at the last minute. The campground is nice enough, although the playground is a little older. The bathrooms always seem to be clean, but I have not showered in them so I cannot comment on that. Our site (#35) was very nice, with trees behind for the kids to go on “expeditions” in, and plenty of room for the awning and fire pit. My only complaint was that the tent campsites were extremely close to our site and the site next to ours (#36). Next year this won’t be a problem. We had gotten a list of available sites for next year, but by the time we actually got to reserve one, all but two had been taken (we never quite figured out their whole reservation system, but oh well). The one we wound up with has the same trees behind it, but the fire pit is close to the site we had this year, and it appeared that it may get a little wet where the awning and rug would be. I guess we shall find out next Labor Day! |
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