Day Twenty; D.C.

I have learned to listen to my son when it comes to the condition of campground bathrooms. We didn't bother showering at Raccoon Creek Park. We slept a little late and had plans on visiting, nearby, Zach's Great Uncle Bill. I have not seen Bill in over 8 years. We had a nice visit for an hour and had to get going if we were going to find a place to stay in the D.C. area. We rolled into town around 5:30 pm. Traffic was heavy around I-495. I was almost completely out of cash and had to go to the men's room in the worst way. I was driving on toll expressway and was completely lost. Even though I had the assistance of Ms. Garmin, I didn't have a clue where to go. I managed to find the Sheraton to hit the head. Panic was over with at that point. I found the Wingate Hotel, a place I had stayed a year and a half ago. THe rates had raised a little since then but the idea of a nice clean hotel was what was really needed. There is a Longhorn Steakhouse right out front. I got one of the last rooms available.

Day Ninteen; On the Road Again

Day 18 was spent packing and getting ready to start making our way back to Florida. At dinner, my bro-in-law, Bruce, suggested Zach and I go to Washington D.C. Great Idea, bro! We left Tuesday around noon and drove the extremely boring ride on the Ohio Turnpike to Raccoon Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, just west of Pittsburgh. I found a treasure of a campsite after driving around the park. I was getting pretty worried when I noticed that many of the sites where not exactly level. The staff at this park were very friendly and helpful. I called from the road to get some info and when I arrived, the ranger I met said they were expecting me. Nice folks. We managed to get some firewood at a nearby mom and pop convenience store. Since we were in PA, I learned that beer had to be purchased at a state store or a bar carry-out. I chose the latter since it was closer. Back at camp it was time for fire pit hot dogs, chips and marshmallows. That night it got pretty chilly.

Day Seventeen; Father's Day - Kayaking

It was a terrific Day! Today the family was all together and we had a barbecue on the back patio. My son Zachary, gave me a really nice Victornox Swiss Army knife. I love it. I have always wanted one of these. I have had several of the key chain versions of these knives but never a full size one. Later on Zach and I went to my sisters house to try out her and Bruce's new kayaks. It's done.. When I get back to Florida, I am going to dust off my old boat and buy one for Zach. This is something we will be able to enjoy all year 'round. Zach is the perfect age for this.

Day Sixteen; Family Time

Back home in Saline, I mowed Mom and Dad's lawn and then met my sister and bro-in- law at Millpond Park to check out some kayaks for a demo from the local kayak dealer. This is the first time I had paddled in over 10 years. What a blast! I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Ever since marriage and family life, my Scupper Pro has been hanging in my garage just sitting there and collecting dust. My son Zach got his first kayaking experience and he did great. It was me who spilled and tipped into the drink trying to keep him from being carried by the current into some submerged trees. I did, however manage to get myself back into the boat without too much trouble. I was a little embarrassed, though.

Day Fifteen: HarborSprings

Today, we woke up had a huge breakfast at the restaurant across the street from the hotel, checked out, then drove up to Harbor Springs. Not much to do there but it is a beautiful town with a very nice marina. A four hour drive back to Southeastern Michigan and I was whupped.

Day Fourteen: Mackinac Island

Today, we took a short drive up to Mackinaw City, MI to board Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry. Even though all of the different ferries charge the same price, we went with Shepler's because they were the nicest on the phone and willing to work with me to get an internet discount even though I did not have a printer. For three adults and one child, it came to $70 even. The wind was quite brisk on the upper deck. Grandpa and Zach couldn't hang tough with me and Grandma and ran down below to the lower enclosed deck. On the way over, you get a fabulous view the Great Mackinac Bridge and also a nice view of the famous Grand Hotel.

We poked in and out of a few shops and ate lunch at Millie's On Main. The food was great, service was wonderful and restaurant provided a terrific view of Main Street. The amazing thing about Mackinac Island is there are no motor vehicles of any kind; only horse drawn buggies and bicycles. Just be careful where you step. We spent the majority over our time on the island at Fort Mackinac. This fort was founded by the British in 1780 and has quite an interesting history. Some of the buildings still stand as they did 225 years ago and all of the other buildings have been restored to how they looked during the final years of the fort's occupation.

Don't forget to pick up some fudge when you are on Mackinac Island. I'm told that this is some of the finest fudge in the world. A few more shops and, hey, where did the day go? Back to the mainland to get some chow after all of that, we were all pretty exhausted. We then headed back to Petoskey, back to the hotel. I know we will all sleep pretty well.

Day Thirteen: Petoskey, Michigan

This Morning, I knew it was time to resume travel and continue on to see some more sites. The weather in Michigan was forecast to be rainy and cloudy in the lower portion of the state, however, it appeared to be a little nicer in the upper region of the lower peninsula. I figured Mackinac Island would be a great place to go. I have not been there since 1975 and I know my son would enjoy a place with no cars - just horse drawn carriages and bicycles. Since there was a chance of rain, and the weekday rates at the hotels aren't bad, we decided to leave the tent behind; besides, Grandma and Grandpa would be coming along and this would be better for everyone. We left a little after noon and arrived in Petoskey around 7 o'clock pm. Petoskey has always been a family favorite of places to visit in Michigan. In the morning, we will make our way to Mackinac City as long as the weather holds out.

Days 6-12; Michigan

After a nice free breakfast with waffles and hard boiled eggs at the La Quinta. We stopped across the street from the hotel and visited the Coleman Outlet store. I thought I might find a good deal on camping supplies. What I did find was a really nice deal on an inflatable 2-person kayak for $39. I only now wish I had bought it. We left Severeville, TN at around 11 am and headed right for Michigan. The trip was quite uneventful. We arrived just in time for Mom's home cooking. The trip was just over seven hours.. Not Bad. Since then, Zach and I have just been spending time with the family and visiting old friends.

Day Six: Laurel Falls

Last night Zach and I slept well. We did not hear or encounter any bears. Note to self: When tent camping, it is best to stay for a couple of days or more once you have set up. It is a pain in the butt having to set up and take down every day. Today is the first day we skipped making breakfast. I didn't want to deal with cleaning dishes with no running water. The campsite was clean but It would have been a lot better if there had been water and electric. My 12v cooler drained out my power pack sometime during the night. I was expecting to get 30 hours of use out of it, according to my calculations, but that didn't happen. Luckily,the eggs were still cool when we woke up. We decided we didn't need to spend another day at the National Park. Both of the restrooms near our site were nasty smelling. Those facilities need a good bleaching. On the way out of the park, we stopped at Laurel Falls. This was a 1.3 mile trek up a hill that leads to a beautiful set of falls. Parking was a little bit of a pain. If we had got there later than 10:30, I would imagine we would have had a lot more trouble finding a spot. The trail was fairly easy and worth the view. Once we got back into town, we ate at BK and took the Sky Lift. You get a great view of the valley and this doesn't cost an arm and a leg. After purchasing the picture and a couple of gifts at the top, I got out of there only about 38 dollars less than we arrived.
I realized it was time to move on and as we were leaving, it started raining. I gave up on the idea of a campground. If I had a trailer, that would have been another story. We made our way west to Severeville, TN. and checked into the La Quinta. Ahh.. Hot showers, clean bathrooms, fresh laundry and no setting up camp. Good choice, Mark! Zach was getting a bad case of the squirts. Good thing! Tomorrow we are going to head for the motherland; Michigan.

Day Five: Great Smokey Mountain National Park

We rolled up camp this morning, thanked EJ, Dreher Island State Park Manager, and left for Gatlinburg, TN. We arrived a little after 3pm at the Sugarlands Visitor Center and proceeded to our new campsite at Elkmont, one of the campgrounds in the park. That particular camp ground was almost completely sold out but we were able to have a site for just this one night. After that we would have to find another vacant site. We set up camp and decided to get some dinner but first, I would need to clean up a little. I worked up quite a sweat setting up camp. Since there are no showers or hot water at any of the camp grounds here, I stripped down and took a quick shower at our site using water we brought from home. We then went into Gatlinburg and ate dinner at No Way Jose'e Mexican Cantina. The food there was Ok. Afterward, we walked around to see some of the shops. After returning to Elkmont Campground, Zach and I went on an evening hike to see the amazing firefly show located in Elkmont. This is a very popular natural display that thousands of people come to see at the park. There is a trolley that will take you from The Sugarlands Visitor Center to see this wonderful site. The road is closed to most traffic but since we were campers at Elkmont, we just show our pass and could drive back to our site. We hiked to the viewing area, which was about 1.5 miles, and witnessed this amazing phenomenon. These fireflies put on this beautiful synchronized light show. I have never seen anything like it. I noticed that while we were hiking to the viewing area, most of the way, we were witnessing this spectacular display along the road. Once we arrived, there were just too many people packed around with flashlights, taking away from the show. Nevertheless, this was a great experience. The walk was the best part (with no people around, you get a much better view.)

Day Four: More Dreher Island

Zach and I knew we wanted to stay another night at Dreher Island State Park. When I walked into the visitor's center register for a second night , I met the park manager. After inquiring about canoe rental, he offered up his personal canoe!... And even delivered it to my campsite! Wow. That was unbelievable. Zach has never been on a canoe before and we paddled out to a remote island where Zach got some fishing in. We paddled back to camp, had dinner and washed up right there in the lake. I hope nobody was looking. Tomorrow we will head for the Smoky Mountains.

Day Three: Dreher Island State Park

I stayed up late last night doing some last minute laundry at the hotel. I figure I may not get the chance again for a while. Today, it's back to the wild - no, really. I found a beautiful State Park called, Dreher Island State Recreation Area. It is what a camp ground should look like. Not stuck behind a 7-Eleven in a tent. This place is far away from any city life and surrounded by a really beautiful lake; Lake Murray. This was an amazing day. After viewing all of the available campsites, I had my heart set on T7, a waterfront site with a majestic view. Even though there were a couple of boats parked on my waterfront, I just had to have it. While setting up camp, we met the owners of one of those boats, Andrew and Drew, who were also on a father-son camping expedition. We hit it off right away and they invited us out on their pontoon boat. What an awesome time we had seeing the Murry Lake Dam and getting a tour of Bombing Island, were the Doolittle Raiders Practiced during WWII. We ended up back at the campsite for a cook out. I provided the hot dogs and stove, while Andrew brought turkey burgers and beer. After chow, we headed back out on the water to do some cat fishing. Even though we didn't catch any thing we enjoyed a beautiful evening on the water. Ok, so we get back the the base camp, light a fire then Andrew took us out on the off-road golf cart to tour the island. We spotted many deer and the kids had a blast. It was nice to come back to a nice fire and unwind for the rest of the evening. Thank you, Andrew and Drew. That was the greatest time.

Day Two.

We were very lucky that the rain subsided throughout the evening while we slept at the KOA. I woke up at 6:45 am to the sound of the dude the next site over sawing logs. I believe he had a major case of sleep apnea. A quick and healthy breakfast of Kashi cereal and OJ and then it was time to take down the tent and stow the gear. Of course, everything was still kind of wet so it took some extra time to wipe off our dirty supplies, tent, etc.. Before leaving St. Augustine, we visited the Spanish Fort, Castillo De San Marco and then the oldest house in America. By noon, we were on our way north. It was a good thing we left when we did because as we were leaving, we were hit with heavy rain. It wasn't until well after crossing the the South Carolina State line that we were able to escape the weather. It was starting to get a little late in the day by the time we reached Columbia, SC, so I decided to look for a new place to make camp. That place was the Comfort Suites. A hot shower and a nice bed was sounding pretty good, not to mention, there was a Hooters across the street.

Day One: St.Augustine, FL

After a four hour drive, we arrived in St. Augustine to find that there were no campsites available at Anastasia Island State Park. There were sites available, however, at the nearby KOA. While setting up camp in the light drizzle, I noticed that behind our campsite there was a strip mall. The hum of the many air conditioning units helped drown out the noise of traffic. This was not an ideal campground for my son's first camping experience but we made the best of it and had fun anyway.

We're Off!

We were supposed to leave yesterday but it seemed that for every one step forward we'd take two steps back. The bills are now paid, the pools is clean and the lawn is mowed. Just gotta load a couple of bags in the car, fire up the GPS and away we go. We should be in St. Augustine this afternoon. I'm hoping the weather holds out. I don't want to have to set up camp the first night in the rain.