Tag: RV Travel

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 5) Harvest Hosts

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One of the most interesting things of course with RV Travel are all of the great places to stay! We joined Boondockers Welcome before we picked up the Motorhome in Quebec and then upgraded to Harvest Hosts before our September adventure.

I have already mentioned our first Harvest Host stay…The Snowmobile Museum. Well our second HH stay was at an Apple Orchard… not far from Frankenmuth.

https://www.greenapplebarn.com

The owners were so friendly and accommodating, they encouraged us to explore which we did and of course purchased some yummy treats from their shop.

On the way home we stayed a second night at the KOA in St. Ignace Michigan.

Our last night was spent Iron River Wisconsin at the White River Winery. https://whitewinter.com/

After enjoying a tasting and visiting with the owner and staff and some purchases… we parked the Motorhome for the night.

We made good use of their trails, meeting up with a few side by side drivers along the way.

Before heading to the border we parked at the Marina in Grand Marais for lunch. The clouds were heavy and our drive home was wet!

We are always well prepared to cross back into Canada, including the Can app all filled in…something that is now discontinued.

We crossed easily and looked forward to being home.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 4) Mackinaw and Frankenmuth

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Our arrival to St Ignace seems well reflected in the picture of me on the ferry!

Upon arrival we were told where to park the motorhome and the shuttle was there waiting for us. I had expected a little time to get ready for the excursion…

I do enjoy being on the water and chose that we sit up top and on the side. It was a fun ride that before arriving at the island we were given an up-close look at the Mackinaw Bridge.

The arrival on the island and off the Ferry was fun and definitely felt like we were somewhere different. There are no motorized vehicles on the Island which gave it a peaceful feel. Of course being a tourist destination it was a busy place and considering it was a rainy September day and still very busy I can only imagine how crazy July must be.

We enjoyed some hiking and the beautiful scenery.

After several hours exploring we were on our way back to the mainland and our campsite for the night. The KOA in St Ignace.

The next morning we left to cross the Mackinaw Bridge on route to Frankenmuth Michigan. It was a rainy day and being on the passenger side I could definitely see how high above the lake we were…

We spent a few hours exploring…

Erik was really interested in the covered bridge..it really is something how they are constructed!

We left Frankenmuth headed to Freeland for the night…our next Harvest Host stay…which I will share in my next post.

We spent the next day in the area exploring.

Frankenmuth is well known as a Christmas Town and we did visit Bonners and their amazing shop of all things Christmas Decor. We did buy a few things though I am more inclined towards less is more and sentimental hand crafted decorating.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure (part 3) Da Yoopers and Top of the Lake

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After leaving Houghton/Hancock we were off to check out Da Yoopers Tourist Trap! https://dayoopers.com

You would need to see it along with a good sense of humour, it was a fun stop.

Largest operating chainsaw

Our next stop for the night was our first Harvest Host stay in Naubinway Michigan. The Snowmobile Museum. https://www.snowmobilemuseum.com

The museum was really interesting, the staff were very knowledgeable as well. Also on a quilty note their local quilters meet there weekly as do their knitting group as the have a meeting room as well.

We purchased a membership in the spring from Boondockers Welcome and upgraded to Harvest Hosts for this trip. Harvest Host lists thousands of businesses that allow members to stay overnight. Two other couples were also staying the night and we enjoyed visiting with them.

After dinner we walked to the Marina. Naubinway is located at the Top of Lake Michigan.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure part 2 Houghton/Hancock and area.

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We left Duluth after our 2 night stay headed toward the Houghton/Hancock area.

The Upper Peninsula is known for its Finnish Heritage, so one of our first stops was The Little Finland Heritage site. One of the great things about travelling in the fall is how much quieter everything is the downside is that most sites move to self guided tours with the buildings closed. It was still a nice walk and fun to look around.

Look what I found!! I had read about the heart project but never ever considered finding a heart myself… this discovery truly put a smile on my face and Eriks as well.

Erik had done some research and found another Heritage site to visit which was fairly close to Houghton, though it was a little challenging to find.

The Hanka Homestead, we really enjoyed our self guided tour!

I have always loved these pumps and this one worked!
A love of tractors!
Smoke Sauna
The root cellar tucked away, that door was open and it was very cold inside on that hot day.

The house was locked up of course however I was able to peek into the windows.

Check out this clothesline!

We really enjoyed exploring this site.

And then we were on our way to find our campsite. We stayed at the Hancock Recreation Area Beach and Campground. Our site allowed us a view of the river as they call it there.

We spent the next day exploring. Starting off with a fun snack!

Of course I had checked for a quilt shop in the area and I was not disappointed!! I did add to my stash a little too 😊 and highly recommend this shop.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September RV Adventure!

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Our long awaited first RV trip happened this month! We arrived home late last week.

After crossing the border into Minnesota, we stopped along the lake to both enjoy the view of Superior and capture some pictures.

One thing that we both decided years ago was that we don’t enjoy racing to each destination without stopping here and there and checking things out. With this stop I noticed something different…the lake always catches my eye but when I looked across the highway I was rewarded with another view!

One of the things that I enjoy about walking regularly is that you can’t help but notice nature and all of its beauty and especially the changes which are becoming more evident with each passing day.

We of course stopped for our regular ice cream treat! Erik discovered a new to him game!

Another familiar stop was Russ Kendall’s Smoked Fish shop!

The size of the motorhome of course requires a different parking spot, which provided a view that again I hadn’t noticed before.

Our first two nights were spent at the Indian Point Campground in Duluth. It’s a City owned small park, on the west side. We really enjoyed the walking trails and nature!

We left Duluth and we headed off to the Upper Peninsula (Michigan)…

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Long Time Dream Come True

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Something that I had always wanted to do before I met Erik was to go fishing and maybe even some camping. He very happily helped me to achieve those dreams!

It wasn’t intentional but the colour of the boat matches the old RV!

We have used the motorhome many times over the years, some trips but mostly for camping and fishing. As the years went by we have talked about retirement years and dreamed of RV travel.

Our vintage motorhome fit the bill for short camping trips and there are many great memories attached however it was time for an upgrade. Something a little more modern. After years of research and discussions on what we wanted, Erik found exactly what we had in mind.

As a retired GM mechanic the chassis had to be a Chevy for sure. We wanted a bedroom…the old motorhome has a bench that pulls out and is then made into a not so comfortable bed.

The purchase required a quick trip to Lavaltrie Quebec, just outside of Laval. We flew Porter and had a quick stop at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto, we were there just long enough to have breakfast and then we were off to Montreal. I was able to use my new Uber skills attained last summer taking Eriks Mom to Toronto.

We had a one night stay in a small hotel in Laval, we enjoyed walking around the area and a yummy supper before settling in for the night.

The next morning we took another Uber ride to the dealership and then after a couple hours learning about and looking over our new little house we were on our way.

We have one slide for the bedroom.

Before we left home we bought a membership for Boondockers Welcome and we were able to secure a place for the night in Kanata just outside of Ottawa. We really enjoyed the drive, and after stopping for supplies met our first host.

No snow and green grass…

Our second night was our first night boondocking at a Walmart, we spent the night in Sault Ste Marie and enjoyed another good sleep though chillier than the night before.

The rest of the drive was for the most part along Lake Superior and then home.

We haven’t planned our next adventure with it yet but do have some ideas.

I will of course need to make new quilts for it!