Deckerville

August 3rd through August 5th, 2007

Friday, August 3rd  - 88/59°, Sunny

    Today was our day to head to the campground, and we got a later start than we really wanted. Packing just never goes as easily as we would like to think it should. After getting everything loaded we finally managed to get on the road around 2:00pm. We made a quick stop at McDonalds for lunch, but the remainder of the trip was smooth sailing.

    We made it to Lake Huron Campground around 4:00pm, checked in, and headed to our site (#292) to do a quick setup so that we could head out to dinner. Since it is Friday and we were in the thumb, we had to make our trek to Williams Inn for dinner. The all-you-can-eat perch buffet is the main attraction for the adults and the dessert table is what the kids are after.

    After dinner we made a quick stop at White Rock Roadside Park to take some pictures of the kids (something we have done a few times over the years). After that Dad, Tyler, Samantha, and I went into Deckerville to watch the truck and tractor pull while Mom, Tara, Drew, and Jayden went back to the campground to finish setting up before joining us in town. They socialized with my aunt Karen for a while, but then Drew started to get tired & cranky and Sam started getting cold, so they headed out (with Jay as well) to get the kids to bed for the night. Dad, Tyler, and I hung out for a while longer before we decided to call it a night as well, finally getting back to the campers around 12:15am.

Saturday, August 4th - 81/58°, Sunny

    After getting to bed late last night, I also had to get up early today (at 7:30am) to let Tinkerbell out. Since it was a nice morning, I sat outside with her for while since everyone else was deep asleep inside. When I finally headed back in, Jayden was starting to wake up. I got her out of her bed and took her up to our room so that the other three kids could continue sleeping.

    Once our kids were all awake we gave Dad & Mom a phone call to see if they were up and moving yet. (I know, I know. We were camped right next door to each other, but we usually open up blinds to alert each other of our sleeping status, and this time theirs stayed down.) Once they both made it outside, we began the process of cooking breakfast. We had French toast, eggs and bacon today.

    After we finished eating and cleaning up, we loaded up into the truck and my Camaro to head into Deckerville to watch the homecoming parade. The kids really enjoy this part of the weekend – since they get so much candy thrown their way. After the parade was finished, Dad & Mom took off to go to Rick & Shirley’s to get Dad’s Chevelle to take it to the car show, and Tara & I took the kids downtown to get a head start on checking out the cars. We should have gotten a head start on lunch, but we weren’t really sure if we should eat in town or at Wilson Park (where the truck and tractor pull was last night). We decided to wait, and once Dad & I finished walking around the cars one more time (for me, anyway) we took a walk down to the park (except Dad, he stayed behind to watch his car and to socialize). We weren’t too thrilled with the choices or prices, so once again we decided to wait, this time until we returned to the campers.

    We walked back to town to tell Dad of our plans, and then drove out to the campground so Jay could take a nap. We decided to make tacos for dinner tonight once Dad got back, but in the mean time we made sandwiches to tide us and the kids over. Mom went back into town to get Dad (we were only allowed one car per site) and Tara & I got started on making dinner. Tyler & Sam took off on their bikes and found some new friends, Marissa & Devin.

    Once everyone was back at the campground, we finished cooking dinner. I had to go hunt down the kids, and once I found them we went back and ate. After we ate our dinner and had everything cleaned up once again, Tyler & Sam took off on their bikes once again to find their new friends. Tara took Drew & Jay on a bike ride around the park, and Dad & Mom also went on a bike ride to the park store. That left Tinkerbell & I to walk up to the picnic pavilion where the “dog show” was occurring. This was “Pets and People” weekend at the campground, and this was their big event. Contests for pet tricks, cutest, ugliest and that kind of thing. Because of when we ate dinner, I missed most of the events. I also ran into Tyler & Sam up there, and they wanted Tinkerbell to do something. The last contest was for cutest puppy, and they took Tinkerbell up to that. Of course, Tyler was in a hurry and the first thing that happened was him dropping the leash and Tinkerbell taking off on us. Then, when we got her back, Tyler headed to get in line by running, and he and Tinkerbell clothes lined a little boy to the ground. He was OK, and we continued to the line for the contest. Tyler & Sam walked Tinkerbell around the pavilion when it was her turn, and quickly returned to where I was standing. Sam starting crying and yelling at Tyler because he completely bypassed the lady that was handing out dog treats to the participants. We managed to get the treats, and when the winner was announced we were not shocked to learn that we didn’t win.

    Once the contests were over we headed back to the campsite. Once again Tara headed out for a bike ride, this time with Tyler & Sam. Dad & I took a walk over to the campground’s lake to walk across the bridge to the island. After everyone returned to the campground once more, the kids wanted to check out the island so I returned with them. Since the island was pretty barren it didn’t take us long to see it, and we quickly headed back to the campsite.
We had decided earlier to have a campfire tonight, and we got it started after Jay went to bed. We watched the fire, made s’mores and stargazed before calling it a night around 10:30pm.

Sunday, August 5th 79/66°, Mostly Cloudy

    Woke up the first time today at 4:30am by the sound of the awning flapping in the wind. I had to get up and roll it up before it blew away! Re-woke up around 9:00am today, and got a quick start on breakfast. Since we had French toast yesterday, today it was pancakes with sausage and bacon. After we had finished eating the kids took off to say goodbye to their new friends while the adults worked on doing dishes and picking up. Since today was our day to leave (Dad & Mom were staying around to meet some friends from church during the week), we had to do a thorough cleaning and pick up job.

    When it came time to leave, Tara & Samantha took Dad to Rick & Shirley’s house to pick up his Chevelle while Mom rode with me along with Tyler, Drew, & Jayden. We stopped in Sandusky at McDonalds for lunch, and at that time Drew and Sam changed vehicles. The rest of our ride home was uneventful, and we arrived home around 4:00pm. Of course, this is when the fun begins – putting away everything that we had to take with us for the weekend away from home.

Trip Summary

    Overall, it was a good weekend. We decided on some changes for next year, namely not doing our dinner at Williams Inn on Friday, instead we would want to go on Saturday next year. This will give us more time at Wilson Park for the truck pull, and we can get out of there in time to watch the fireworks as well.

    As for the campground, it was definitely a nice place to stay. Being brand new, everything was obviously still nice and clean. Being brand new also means that there are almost no trees to provide shade. In fact, I think that this was the biggest complaint that we had. When you add in the proximity to Lake Huron and the breezes that provides it was almost impossible to leave the awnings down (I tried that Saturday night without success). The sites are all nice and level, and there are plenty of places to ride bikes. Mom didn’t really care for the gravel in the roads (the main roads are paved), but it didn’t stop the kids nor did it really bother me. It was nice to have full hookups, as showers are not a concern in that situation. There was also cable TV, but it had very limited channel selection. Overall I think it was a nice place to stay, with plenty of activities available throughout the summer. I imagine that we will be staying there again, on a weekend without so much going on so that the kids can explore more of the campground – they were dying to try out the pool.