The Upstates of OH, PA and NY

We snuck out Detroit's back door and circled east around Lake Erie.  The first night we stopped at a KOA outside of Cleveland.  It was a long drive to town and we were not super motivated to explore Cleveland, so instead we had a mellow night of grocery shopping and laundry.

The next day we drove to a park in Pennsylvania that overlooked Lake Erie.  We were the only lake front overnighters, so we had the premium views to ourselves.  The shore was very rocky and at first I couldn't tell if the owners had dumped filler there to keep the beach from eroding.  But as I looked around I realized that the walls were layered and crumbling into thin pieces which were then rounded by the surf.  On one side of the beach there were slats of stone jutting out into the water.  There was also tons of driftwood, so we collected up a bunch for an evening fire.

It was a gorgeous sunset, but instead of dipping into the lake, the sun was lost behind a thick wall of clouds close to the horizon.  Around one in the morning the storm started.  The lightning was frequent and fierce, and one cracked far too close to the RV.  I couldn't help thinking that we were out in the middle of a field on the edge of the lake and definitely the tallest thing around.  The rain pounded for hours.  I was sure we would wake up amongst massive flooding and be unable to pull the RV out of the mud.  The thunder and rain finally subsided around eight am.  Miraculously we were not struck by lightning, nor stranded in the mud.  In fact, you could hardly tell it had stormed.  There were a few puddles but that was it.  The day was clear and beautiful as we left Pennsylvania and headed for New York.

It was Labor Day weekend and we were foolishly driving to Niagara Falls.  The nicer RV parks were all booked up, so we ended up at a not-so-nice KOA filled with lots of nice people.  There may have been other options in Canada, but again that pesky expired passport prevented us from going there. 

Canada, as seen through the mist

We visited the Falls the Friday before the long weekend, thus beating the crowds.  I was paranoid nonetheless and dragged Brian and Lukas out early and straight to the Maid of the Mist boat in order to avoid possible lines.  Numerous people had suggested we take the boat ride to the base of the falls so I was expecting quite a show.  At first the views were great, then the "mist" arrived and I couldn't really see anything anymore.  It was a thrilling ride, to be sure, but someone could have been spraying me with a garden hose and I wouldn't have noticed the difference.  The camera got wet and that was the end of pictures for a while.  Thankfully it was a hot day and a good soaking felt nice.

Lukas refused his own poncho, but when the spray came in earnest he hopped under dad's.

Romance at the Falls

Boat ride accomplished, we were hungry.  So we hopped on the trolley (at Lukas's request) and made for the Top of the Falls, a restaurant in the state park that has spectacular views.  It was only after lunch that I truly got a sense of the Falls.  On one side is a giant river with clear blue-green water, the color caused by dissolved minerals.  All of the water from the Great Lakes passes through the Niagara River, minus the bit diverted for hydropower, then drains into Lake Ontario.  Staring at the surging river bed, I could imagine being one with the water, traveling along the set path then suddenly encountering a cliff!  The water has no choice but to tumble down a hundred fifty feet and crash onto the boulders at the bottom before continuing on its river way.  I could vaguely sense the river's dismay as it was hurled through the air, stomach in its watery mouth, wondering when it would finally reach the bottom.  Staring at the lip of the waterfall I was transfixed, and had to be torn away from my musings by a family ready to head home.

On our final day in the Niagara area, Brian went golfing while I took Lukas to a couple parks downstream from the Falls.  Whirpool State Park and Devil's Hole State Park were both gorge overlooks with steep paths down to the river.  We had already seen a lot of rushing water the day before, so we took a peek then went on our way.  Back at the park they had a tie dye craft going on, so Lukas made a purple and green swirly shirt.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing basketball, going swimming, and playing basketball again.  I was getting pretty tired of playing basketball.

There seemed to be a large Indian population in Niagara Falls, which got me thinking about curries.  On Saturday night we found a block off the strip that had, literally, five Indian restaurants in a row.  I picked one that got good reviews and then we stuffed ourselves silly.  The waitress was pleased when I went back to the buffet for seconds on dessert, so she warmed up my gulab jamun and covered it with kheer.  Excellent!  I had so missed the spoils of diversity as we crossed the US.  

Labor Day Sunday the rain started.  We drove out at the same time as many of our neighbors and went East on I-90.  Toll roads in New York are seriously pricey!  It was almost thirty bucks for us to drive on their stupid road to Syracuse.  We were tired of kampgrounds after Niagara so we chose a state park for the evening.

Green Lakes State Park was packed.  I'm not sure if the tenters or the RVers were worse.  The tenters were setting up outdoor living rooms and were much louder at night, while the RVers were running their generators during the day and messing up the woodsy feel with all that metal and fiberglass.  It was actually a great park, just overrun for the weekend.  The main attraction is the lakes, which are in fact green.  They are glacial lakes that are more deep than wide.  The lakes are meromictic, which means the upper and lower level do not mix.  Thus there may be ancient life forms near the bottom of the lake, one hundred and eighty feet down!  It was pouring when I visited the lake so didn't get any pictures.

The next day we drove through the rain, in Labor Day traffic, from Syracuse to Albany.  We passed Schenectady, which had been badly damaged by floods from Hurricane Irene.  Then we got stuck in traffic caused by two trailers colliding.  During a short break in the rain we hooked up the RV.  It was a good night to stay in.

However, I wanted to go out!  The wonders of Facebook had alerted me to the presence of friends in the Syracuse and Albany areas.  In Syracuse we had met up with Emily, a former roommate from SF who just started a journalism Master's.  And in Albany I had dinner with Ken, a friend from junior high and high school.  The rain was steady but the Mini Cooper guided me home to my sleepy motorhome family in the woods.

RV PARK REVIEWS

Cleveland/Streetsboro KOA, Streetsboro, OH: A-

  Swimming lake, grassy, large shade trees, nicely maintained.  Points subtracted for the ten year old girl working the front desk.  I was impressed with her training, but felt uncomfortable that such a young'un was swiping my credit card.  She later drove a golf cart off the edge of a parking pad.  Sweet girl, just too young to be a regular employee.

Virginia's Beach Campground, North Springfield, PA: A

  Lake access, great view, grassy spots, playground, boats for rent.

Niagara Falls North/Lewiston KOA, Youngstown, NY: C-

  Tight spots and very crowded, practically on top of the neighbors.  Movie night (technical difficulties), tie dye activity, pancake breakfast, kiddie sized basketball hoops, pool, giant chess board.

Green Lakes State Park, Fayetteville, NY: A

  Crowded holiday weekend.  Site impossible to level, but we didn't have a reservation and had to take what they had left.  Lots of unsupervised kids at the playground.  Beautiful lakes, nice park.

Woodland Hills Campground, Austerlitz, NY: B

  Swimming lake, game room, muddy site, out in the woods.

Michigan

Note:  I am dispensing with the week count because it's just gotten confusing.  The count was how many weeks I had been off work, but at this point who really cares?  I'll be back at San Francisco Zoo next January after a hiatus of over ten months.  Our total RV time is estimated to be almost eight months.

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Michigan!  The state where I was born.  From zero to four my family lived in Lansing, and my memories revolve around playing in the yard with friends, a pet cat named Fluffy, and growing rhubarb.  Rumor has it that my parents moved me to Maryland when the accent started kicking in, but I never lost the Michigan way of saying "melk" instead of "milk."  Thirty years later, I was looking forward to a grand tour of the mitten state.

Michigan was not on our original itinerary.  We received an unexpected invitation from a Santa Cruz friend whose family has a cottage on Higgins Lake in Michigan.  It sort of fit in with our plans, if we didn't mind taking a thousand mile detour and delaying our New York City visit for a month.  But hey, life is as flexible as it's going to get right now and it would be a shame to pass up such a nice offer.  And so we missed out on the earthquake in Virginia (original plans would have us in Maryland at the time) and the hurricane across the East (would have been in New York City).  Instead we enjoyed perfect weather in Michigan and thought about what a great choice we had made.

The Michigan tour took us up the west coast of the state which borders on Lake Michigan, to the mid-north on Traverse Bay, south to Higgins Lake which is in the middle of the state, then east to Detroit on Lake St. Clair, and finally south east around Lake Erie.  We would have cut through Canada if I had a valid passport and our tow car had a supplementary brake system as required by Canadian towing standards.  We may not have stepped onto Canadian soil, but we saw buildings on the horizon and quite a few Canadian geese.  That will have to do for this trip.

Our first stop was a small town in the Berry Belt of Michigan.  Michigan grows berries beautifully: blueberries and raspberries in particular.  We passed numerous pick your own lots, but in the grocery stores all the berries were from California.  Makes no sense.  

Anyway, we found a little campground in the town of Covert with a sandy beach on Lake Michigan.  It was strange because I knew we were close to a huge body of water, but my senses were not telling me so.  Where was the salt smell on the breeze?  The salt tolerant plants?  The gulls?  Instead you round the corner and there is a giant lake with waves, right next to a beach with large trees anchoring the sand.  Lukas loved swimming in the waves without getting salt in his eyes.  I wasn't worried about sharks sneaking up on us or riptides carrying us away.  It was really very pleasant.

Until that evening, when we noticed little bumps all over Lukas's body.  We did some research and learned about swimmer's itch, a parasite that reproduces in a freshwater snail host.  The parasite likes to live in waterfowl, but if it lands on you then it will dig into your skin and die there.  About thirty percent of people exposed to the parasite will have an allergic reaction akin to mosquito bites.  The rest will have no reaction at all.  For those who are allergic, the reaction may get worse with each exposure.  The kicker was that much of the research had been conducted in Higgins Lake, just the place we were heading in a few days.  We decided not to worry about it for the time being.

It took longer than expected to drive up the west coast of Michigan, and was less scenic than we had hoped.  We made a stop at a nice RV park off the freeway just to take a driving break.  The next day we made it to Traverse Bay, a touristy area with wineries, golf courses, and miles of shore along the turquoise blue Bay.

Our RV park accepted motorhomes that were at least 10 years old or newer and many of the lots were sold to permanent residents.  The place was immaculate and staff was constantly cleaning up or trimming foliage.  The park had a separate area for the big forty foot Class A motorhomes, while we were placed in the Class C ghetto (which was also very nice).  There was a Class A exhibition when we arrived, along with a free bratwurst lunch, so of course we stopped by.  These rigs were set up really posh, with mirrors on the ceiling, bidets, and two bathrooms - one with a gold leaf sink.  The price went up to 1.75 million for a 2012 model.  Personally, I thought they were really gaudy and would never want to live in one.  But I could see the convenience of an IPod application that allows you to operate the slides, awnings, leveling, and holding tank rinse.  In any case it was fun to check out these million dollar RVs, especially on a full stomach.

That afternoon we explored the Old Mission Peninsula which juts out into Traverse Bay.  It hosts quite a few wineries as well as a lighthouse and beach area.  The end of the peninsula was interesting because the sandbar continues underwater for quite a ways.  One could wade out at least 150 feet and still be in less than a foot of water.  We stopped by the Chateau Chantal winery, which is situated on a hill and has a dual Bay view of the east and west.  Michigan wineries are celebrated for their Rieslings, so that's what I tried.  I found it too sweet to choke down, but I'm a stuck up California wine snob so pay no attention to my review.

Tip of the Old Mission Peninsula

The next day Brian hit up a golf course and I dragged Lukas to the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  The dunes rise 450 feet above the Lake Michigan shoreline and are created by the winds off the lake.  It ended up being a very foggy day which made many of the vista points a lot less interesting.  First things first, we went to the area where you can climb up the dunes.  Lukas climbed up the hundred foot dune at least three times, then ran all the way down.  After he was sufficiently tired out, I took him on the scenic drive to the aforementioned vista points.  The picture below gives you an idea of what we saw.

We also had a couple restaurant meals in Traverse Bay, one very tasty, one not so tasty but with a great view.  First I must mention that Traverse Bay is the cherry capital of the United States.  So it is not a surprise to most of you that one of the first things I did while there was get a slice of cherry pie from the Traverse Pie Company.  That night we went to Pearl's New Orleans Kitchen where I washed down some excellent vittles with a cherry margarita.  The next night we supped at Apache Trout Grill right on the Bay.  I ordered a whitefish (the Lake Michigan special) encrusted with pecans and topped with cherries.  Our food did not live up to the rave reviews.  But at least the view was good.  And after dinner we had a lovely time at a nearby lakeside park.

The next day we had a short drive to Higgins Lake, where we would meet up with Brad and his family.  Brad's great-grandfather built a cottage in 1913 on the shores of Higgins Lake, property which was incorporated into the Pinewoods Association.  The woods are untouched, the cottage is simple, and everything you lay eyes on is dripping with memories and love.  There is a central dining hall where everyone in the Association goes for meals.  The bell is rung fifteen minutes prior to serving, so if you are out on the lake you know it is time to come in.  The family owns a sunfish sailboat, a small catamaran, a canoe and a kayak, and shares a covered motorboat with the neighbors.  Most of the Association families have known each other for generations and it feels like one large extended family.  It is a summer camp for all ages, and we were welcomed with open arms.

Brad and Diana have a girl just about Lukas's age, and they had a great time alternately playing together and fighting over toys.  And what toys there were!  Vintage trucks from the seventies, buckets and nets galore, not to mention the bikes and boat rides.  Diana had found some Snail Itch goo that keeps the parasites away, so we lubed up with that stuff anytime we went into the water.  No bites for Lukas!

Olive and her Ema

It was a magical place and a wonderful time.  Some of the highlights for me were the sailboat ride on the catamaran, watching the sun set from a canoe, stargazing after a giant bonfire, and a motorboat ride to find the spring that feeds Higgins Lake.  It was really hard to leave, but summer doesn't last forever.  Thanks to Brad, Diana, Olive, and the rest of the family for sharing your amazing Higgins Lake cottage with us!!!

Our final stop in Michigan was Detroit.  The RV was over its recommended miles for an oil change, and what better place for a tune up than the birthplace of the automobile industry?  While our house was at the shop, we checked out the Ford museum.  The collection pretty well covered the transition from life in the seventeenth century through the industrial revolution to today.  They had tractors, steam engines, trains, airplanes, and automobiles.  Unfortunately the auto section was being renovated so there were only a few cars to be seen.  I found the most interesting displays to be the president's cars, including the limo in which Reagan was shot, and the bus where Rosa Parks refused to get up.

The area near Ford headquarters is quite nice, but after lunch we took a drive through downtown Detroit.  I had heard an urban myth that kids in Detroit set buildings on fire for fun on a Friday night.  Looking around, it seems that might be true.  It is hard to convey the ubiquitousness of burned buildings within Detroit in just a few pictures.  So many beautiful old buildings in ruins.  The mood was gloomy and hopeless.  For a pick-me-up we tried some Faygo, Detroit's pop of choice, and went to retrieve our Ford motorhome from the shop.

RV PARK REVIEWS

Covert Beach and Campground, Covert, MI: B-

  Short trail to beach, woodsy, dusty, no sewer connection.

Poncho's Pond RV Park, Luddington, MI: A
  Well kept grounds, nice playground, adult and kiddie pools, level cement lots.

Traverse Bay RV Resort, Traverse, MI: A
  Fancypants, lots for sale, good location, lounge, pool, laundry, rec rooms, woods trail.

Pinewoods Association, Higgins Lake, MI: A+
  Lake access, friendly neighbors, dining hall.

Harbertown RV Resort, Monroe, MI: B-

  Busy street, pool, mini golf, lots of unattended kids.