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

Tunnel of Trees

Roger and I started off our afternoon with a trip to the Odwa (Ottawa) Indian Casino in Petoskey.  They have a wonderful buffet and we were able to sample their Sunday brunch.  One of Roger's choices was a piece of prime rib that was about 1" thick and practically hanging over the  sides of the plate.  After our relaxing meal we headed over to the slot machines and since we never gamble, we had no idea how to work the cards they gave us to use.  We had to read the directions on the little cards they gave us so that we could use the money that they gave us on the cards.  I immediately blew the $5 I was given and didn't win a dime.  Roger played his $5 on the same machine I used and won $10.  he cashed in his money and we left, our Sunday brunch ended up costing us $3.  Not bad!

We took off for our trip to Harbor Springs, which is only 9 miles from Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay of  Lake Michigan.

Sailboat in Harbor Springs

Tug Boat & Speed Boat in Harbor Springs

After we left Harbor Springs we embarked on our 20 mile trek to Cross Village along Michigan's Tunnel of Trees.  The trip consists of 137 curves along the shore of Lake Michigan. It was a spectacular day for the drive, the views along the way were beautiful.

White Trillium in the Trillium Woods

One of the nice things along the way is that some of the curves are marked if they have natural or historical significance.  The Trillium Woods is one of those spots.  In Northern Michigan, late April through mid-May is trillium season. These protected wild orchids are a wild flower.  The woods explode with a carpet of trillium and create an incredible landscape that exists only for these few weeks. When the first trillium bloom, there is an excitement in Northern Michigan as within a few days, the woods will contain thousands and thousands of these spectacular flowers. 

 After about 12.5 miles, we came upon the town of Good Hart.  The downtown consists of three businesses; the Good Hart General Store that was built in the 1930's and is complete with deli, bakery, the original post office and a resident hound dog.  We picked up one of their "world famous pot pies" that we'll enjoy in the future; a gift store; and Good Hart Soul Tea Room.

The end of the drive is at Cross Village.  The village was once a thriving fishing and lumber town and is one of the oldest settlements in Michigan.  One of it's famous destinations is Legs Inn. 

Legs Inn bio

Legs Inn

Next door to Legs Inn is a replica of  the Odawa tribal setting.  As late as 1787, as many as 20 tribes populated the region and met here around tribal council fires.

Odawa tribal setting

There is also a beautiful Presbyterian church in Cross Village which dates back to the early 1800's.

Presbyterian Church in Cross Village

On our return trip, we were able to pick up on some of the sights that we missed on the way to Cross Village.  The Tunnel of Trees is a very beautiful drive and well worth the time, but I'm glad that we were able to drive it before all of the tourists get into town.

Bungalows at Hearthside Grove

Most of the people who own a lot here at Hearthside Grove have built bungalows on their property.  Many of them also include a gas fireplace area and an outdoor kitchen.  Our site is located in the Phase IV portion of the property, which is the newest phase of the property.  These pictures are of the site just across from ours.  The owners of this site are from Toronto, Canada and all of these "extra's" were just finished yesterday.

Bungalow

 

Outdoor Kitchen and Pond

Outdoor gas fireplace near seating area and outdoor kitchen

Another pond and waterfall (water drains into previous pond under walkway)

Lower level walkout of bungalow

Lower level gas fire pit

If we wanted to buy a place in the woods and still own a motor home, this would be pretty nice! 

Upper Michigan and Hearthside Grove

After I posted to the blog last night, the sunset was glorious.

Sunset at Munising City Campground

 

Grand Island - across from Munising City Campground

 We got up to beautiful skies and no wind this morning.  We only had to drive for a couple of hours before we hit the Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan.

Roger at Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan - his 1st time on the lake

Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan beach 5-16-12

After our short rest stop enjoying the beach, we continued our adventure for the day.  Next stop Mackinac Bridge.

Toll bridge - Motorhome = $10, Towed Car = $4, Memory = Priceless

Crossing the bridge from the Upper Peninsula to Lower Michigan

Almost halfway, passing lane is a grated lane, right lane is concrete

Only 35 miles until we get to Hearthside Grove Luxury Motorcoach Resort.  After checking in and parking in site 237, we got all settled in.

Our new "home" site

Tomorrow, wash motorhome, car, and clean inside.  Until then.......