We're Back!

I know, I know where have we been.  Well, we've been all over the place since we last posted on our blog.  After we left Hearthside Grove Motor Coach Resort we headed back through the UP of MI and visited family in Grand Rapids, MN; friends in Bemidji, MN; doctors, dentist, and opticians in the Twin Cities; family in the Twin Cities and then on the road again.  After we left the Twin Cities we went south on I-35 toward Liberty, MO where we connected with family; then to KC to visit good friends that we met at Hearthside Grove; Branson, MO to visit good friends that we know from Bemidji KOA and take in a couple of shows; spent a couple of days in the French Quarter of New Orleans; then a day in Destin, FL taking in the beautiful white sand beaches; a day at Keaton Beach where many of the scallops that you and I eat at restaurants come from; a stop to visit my parents at their new place in Sun City Center, FL and then to Riverbend Motorcoach Resort in LaBelle, FL. 

We'll make our home here until early April.  We've already had a Halloween Party, a Veteran's Day parade and meal; cooked turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy for 170; cooked for about 60 on Wednesday night Bar Food Night each Wednesday; decorated the resort for Christmas; and now on Saturday we'll have our annual Christmas parade and meal.  Whew!!

We helped friends from here host a Toys for Kids event at their home on the Caloosahatchee River. 

Pat Harder and Sue at Toys for Kids at the Harder home

The "Toy Train" on the Caloosahatchee

Roger and the Crew helping Mike Harder at the Toys for Kids

The tree and some of the Toys for Kids

  Our lot is different this year than the lot we had last year.  This season we face one of the 3 lakes here on the property.  It's a beautiful site and the owner of the outdoor furniture that we rented last year is letting us rent the furniture again this season.  Today we had a flock of what we will call "dalmatian ducks/geese". 

You've heard of 101 Dalmatian Ducks haven't you?

View of the "lake" and fountain from our wind shield

Until next time, have a wonderful night!

Temporary Site

Our dear friends, Emil and Debi, went to watch the NASCAR race in Bristol so they offered to let us use their site while they're gone.  We didn't hesitate to accept their offer.  We are truly enjoying ourselves, we did a little entertaining with our friends on our first night at the site.

Waterfall to the umbrella table

Umbrella table eating area with Eileen & Rick Nygaard, Fred Langdon & Roger

Stream running into the lake by the beach and gas fire pit area

Beach fire pit area

Fred & Diane Langdon, Rick Nygaard enjoying the fire pit

Roger enjoying the lake and fire pit

Today, we went with Fred & Diane and Rick & Eileen through the Tunnel of Trees to Cross Village.  We had lunch at Leg's Inn outdoors overlooking their gardens and Lake Michigan.

Leg's Inn "back yard"

Leg's Inn is so named because of the "stove legs" around the edge of the roof

Diane, Fred, Rick, Eileen & Roger at our garden table

One of the beautiful flower gardens in the "back yard" overlooking Lake Michigan

The restaurant vegetable garden.  Veggies are picked fresh as needed.

Diane with more of the beautiful garden flowers

Flowers and the lake - doesn't get much better than this!

We're living the dream!

All Decorated for the 4th of July

Roger and I have always considered the 4th of July one of our favorite holidays.  This year is no different, we decorated the coach for the holiday.  Please notice the beautiful flowers on our site, they look that nice because of Rogers' tender loving care.  I have a tendency to kill them.

Bay Harbor Yacht Club

On July 3rd Roger and I, along with many of the Owners and Guests at Hearthside Grove. were invited by the Rose brothers to attend the fireworks spectacular in Bay Harbor.  We were invited to watch them from the outdoor deck of the Bay Harbor Yacht Club.  The Yacht Club had a band that many couples danced to while waiting for the sun to set.  It was a beautiful night to sit outdoors and enjoy the view.

View of Bay Harbor from the balcony of the Bay Harbor Yacht Club

Close up of the homes on the Little Travers Bay

Two of the beautiful boats just below where we were sitting

This home is the home of the Burger King CEO

Sunset from the Yacht Club deck

What a view!

Ron & Kathy Parker-Griffith, friends from Hearthside Grove

Roger and I  on the deck of Bay Harbor Yacht Club

The Bay Harbor Yacht Club and the Bay Harbor Fireworks where beautiful!  It was a really fun night and a wonderful experience.

Venus Transit of the Sun

The Transit of Venus (Venus is the dark spot against the Sun)

June 5th was the date of  a rare and historic event where Venus moved in front of the Sun and was visible on Earth.  We went to The Headlands Dark Sky Park located near Mackinaw City with our friends Ann and Joel Lowman to view this event that will not take place again until 2117.  Headlands Dark Sky Park is one of six such parks in the US.  It is a park possessing exception starry skies and natural nocturnal habitat where light pollution is mitigated and natural darkness is valuable as an important educational, cultural, scientific and natural resource.

The Beach House at The Headlands Dark Sky Park

The Event drew stargazers from all over the US.

One of three large telescopes available for use during the Event

The Transit was also visible to the naked eye using our Eclipse glasses.

Our Eclipse glasses

Roger viewing the Transit Event

Ann & Joel enjoying the Transit Event

Once we had our glasses and knew where and what to look for, the four of us left Headlands and drove into Macinaw City for Whitefish dinner and a little exploring.

Charlevoix and Bay Harbor

Today was one of our days off, we decided to do some more exploring of the area and hear toward Bay Harbor and Charlevoix.  Both towns are very affluent and very scenic.  We stopped at Big Rock Point first.

Roger at Big Rock Point

After we left Big Rock Point, we headed to Charlevoix and came upon this beautiful castle.  Self guided tours were available and we decided to go for it.  The castle, we discovered, was originally built in 1918 by Albert Loeb to operate as a model farm.  Mr. Loeb was, at that time, the CEO of Sears Robuck.  For many years after Mr. Loeb died, the farm was left to decay.  Then John VanHaver purchased the farm in the 1960's and used it for his metal casting gallery.  He also hosted concerts that drew fans of acts such as: John Denver, Def Leppard, Chicago, Doobie Brothers etc.  The farm was abandoned and went into further decay until Linda Mueller purchased the farm in 2002 and completely restored it to it's original grandeur.  All restoration was done using original wood, windows etc. whenever possible.

Castle Farms Queen's Castle

Castle Farms Rose Garden

Sid the Sea Monster at the Reflection Pond

Children's Alphabet Garden

Roger in the Kings Chair

Sue in the Queen's Chair

Castle Farms

The castle is enormous!  I couldn't possibly put all of the photo's I took on the blog.  I suggest that if you want to see more pictures, that you check out castlefarms.com. 

On our way back from Charlevoix we went a different route and rode the Ironton ferry across Charlevoix Lake.

Ironton Ferry bio

The 1884 Ironton Ferry Rates

Our ride to the other side of the lake

After our tour of Round Lake and Lake Charlevoix, we headed back and made a stop at the Bay Harbor Village. These homes all overlook Lake Michigan. 

 This beautiful Inn overlooks the beaches of Lake Michigan.

Bay Harbor Inn