Finally Home!

So, to end our vacation saga. I drove home on Saturday after first stopping at my brother's in Kentucky. MM was towed to a Freightliner in Knoxville where the B@$&?y write up girl told him there was no place to plug in and the driver just dropped him in the yard. The tow driver even said to her "you don't want to be here do you?". An hour later MM saw another rig being towed in and parking next to the building and PLUGGING IN!! It was a different write up person and this one was nice. His whole weekend and Monday and Tuesday were spent in a lounge area and sleeping in the cold RV. At that time we didn't know exactly what was wrong with the rig and he didn't want to run the generator if it was bad fuel... so no electricity. All of the people he had contact with were extremely nice except for this one girl who was just plain ole NASTY!!

The rig finally got fixed late on Tuesday. It ended up being a lift pump and a computer board that shorted out and needed to be replaced. It was late when they finally finished so he waited til Wednesday morning to leave. In the morning he was ready to go and just paid the whole bill including the tow because he wanted to just get home. The 'nasty' girl called him when he was half way home and asked if he could come back so she could get the mileage. He laughed and said 'no way I'll just give it to you when I get out of traffic'. When he called back she couldn't be bothered, but must have written down the numbers. So when he got back he called her again and then we tried to process the reimbursement for the towing. He gave her a fax number so she could fax over the fully completed form that she 'failed' to do right in the first place.

In the afternoon when I hadn't received the fax yet I called her and asked about it. Her response was "I'll get to it when I get time." I asked if she knew when that might be since I don't have a fax machine sitting on the edge of my desk and I had to watch for it. She said she didn't know when she'd get to it. At that point my only mission in life was to get her FIRED!!! Anyway, shortly after that the fax came in and I got the letter off to another company to get the tow reimbursement. As time has passed I don't want to waste another minute even thinking about such a nasty person, but it just irks me that one person has that kind of power to make another persons life miserable just because they want to. I mean really if she doesn't want to work why did she come in to work that day. It made what was already a difficult situation just plain miserable.

So, what do you think? Should I pursue trying to have her fired or not waste any more time on such unpleasantness? Guess I'm really very blessed, because I can only think of one other time that this kind of thing has happened. In the whole scheme of things I am treated as I treat others... with respect and cheerfulness. And I might add always with a smile :)

Is The Trip Over??

Well, we thought we were going to get an early start home on Friday and get to stop and see my brother in KY. Good intentions right? Anyway, when we left at noon on Friday we noticed an oil leak. No phone service so we had to disconnect the car and drive up the mountain to call for service. We were told about a place not to far away for the service. YIKES! The guy was very knowledgable but his shop was scary. He was able to stop the leak, but the engine was really dragging and we think we picked up bad fuel in GA. So we decided to drive it as far as possible and deal with what we had to deal with.

We had to drive up and over Fort Mountain and it had lots of twisty curvies with a lot of elevation thrown in for more of a struggle. We made it to Knoxville TN around 9 p.m. and decided to wait it out and get an early start on Saturday. The mechanic advised us to let the fuel go as low as possible to eliminate as much of the bad fuel as possible.

Saturday 5:30 a.m. we decided to get an early start... the engine would not start. We called for a tow and he arrived around 10:00 a.m. Since no one would be able to work on it til Monday we decided to seperate and I'd head home and he'd wait get the repairs and head home later. Wish we hadn't made this decision, but it's over and we'll deal with it.

I did stop and see my brother and had a nice but short visit. They were talking about severe winter storms in KY and I was anxious to get out of town. I drove 3 hours to their house (even managed to get up their steep rutted driveway) and reluctantly left around 2:00 p.m.

Wanting to get home before dark and outrun the storm I didn't stop for anything but fuel once. I drove for 6 straight hours. A total of nine hours and I can honestly say I don't know how MM does it! The weather did hold out... it was actually sunny in Ohio and southern Michigan and I was home by just before 8. Had to stop to replenish groceries and I was starved! I had breakfast around 9 in the morning and that was over 11 hours without eating.

Talked with MM and he's waiting in the parking lot of the freightliner repair garage til Monday. I feel so bad and I don't think I'll ever make this decision again. I should have stayed with him even if I wasn't able to get back to work on time. But, decision is made and hopefully they'll be able to get the coach in right away and he'll be on his way home Tuesday or Wednesday. So I guess it was a nice vacation with a horrible ending. Lesson to be learned is watch where you buy fuel from. Think we'll stick with Flyin J or Pilot..... no stations in cities that really don't use diesel as quickly as they should. Stay tuned .... MM will be home soon and I'll be as excited as he is.

Travel Update of the U.P.

We've always loved the State of Michigan so this summer we decided to explore the Upper Peninsula, which is every bit as beautiful as any other place on this planet. Since there are so many lighthouses and waterfalls we decided to make that our focus along with relaxing and unwinding.

We arrived at Aune Osborn Campground in Sault Ste Marie on Saturday the 22nd. The campground is situated on the St Mary River just east of the Soo Locks. Several freighters passed while we watched. This is a beautiful spot for a County park right along the river yet almost downtown Sault Ste Marie. While camped here we explored the area going down some long less traveled roads – berry picking along the road/trail. The whole of the upper peninsula takes you back to a less hurried era with lots of older homes and cars that are just common place around these parts.



The second day in this area we revisited the Soo Locks. We’ve been here in the past, but it still amazes me that you can fit a huge barge in that small lock to be raised to Lake Superior or lowered to the St Mary River going to Lake Huron.


Monday morning we left Sault Ste Marie for a short trip to Three Lakes National Forest. We got a campsite on Walker Lake. The National Forests, State Forests and State Parks have possession of some of the most beautiful properties. I think the reason that they are not more sought after is because they have few if any amenities. This is from Walker Lake looking back at the campsite.

This a picture of the lake from the campsite.


The beautiful setting is more or less all you get, but that’s enough for us. We went exploring and visited the Iroquois Point Lighthouse. This lighthouse is very well maintained and manned by volunteers with lots of historic information. We were lucky enough to be able to climb the 72 spiral steps to the top of the lighthouse, what a beautiful view of Lake Superior. In its’ heyday the Iroquois lighthouse housed three families that operated the property.

We then visited the Whitefish Point Lighthouse. This was a larger setup with many more outbuildings. The house portion was freshly painted and the crews were working on the lighthouse. No climbing to the top of this one.


We went on to Tahquamenon Falls, we only visited the upper falls this day.



It was a sunny clear day for a meandering drive along the shoreline of Lake Superior. We had a nice campfire that evening and turned in early – no electricity. The next day we planned on going fishing, but the weather looked ominous and windy all day. We did fish from shore – no luck. There is also a nice trail around the lake – about a mile. We got back just before the rain got a little serious. It didn’t last long though and we were back out trying to get the fire going again. It was a nice relaxing day.

We moved again on Wednesday morning to Colwell Lake National Park. This is another beautiful park that had lots of openings. We got a nice site with electricity (only 4 sites in the park) right on the water. After setting up we were off to explore. In our book, MICHIGAN WATERFALLS, we learned of several falls in the area. First was Sable Falls located west of Grand Marais MI. This falls is a short ¼ mile hike followed by 169 steps down to the falls, well worth it.

The next one on our list was Chapel Falls just north of Melstrand MI. This could have been a trip in itself, but unfortunately it was already getting late. We hiked the 1.5 miles into the falls – it was a well maintained path with a few hills, nothing too strenuous. There was a view of the falls at the end of the trail and if you crossed over a bridge you got a closer look. The way the water washes over and rounds out the rocks in an amazing thing.

We were kind of tired at this point, but the book said that Munising Falls was just a short walk from the visitor center in Munising MI. We still had some daylight so we headed to Munising. They were right, it was a short walk and I can see why these are the most visited falls – you don’t have to work hard to get there.

Back at camp the sun was setting and we settled in to cozy by the fire.


8/27/09
Miners Falls
Today we discovered Miners Falls. Well, maybe not discovered, but explored. The falls are NE of Munising MI and are just a short ½ mile hike into the viewing platform. We did the additional 64 steps down to a better viewing area. There were several sprays of water that bounced off the rock and sprayed further out. Very unique.

From the falls we drove down to Miners Castle viewing area. This was a topside view of Castle Rock that lots of people see from a boat tour of Pictured Rock. The beautiful color striations travel around the castle and further around the shoreline. Looking down in the lake from this viewpoint is an awesome experience and the color of the water is a beautiful blue-green. I don’t know if our pictures do it justice, but it was quite striking.

From Castle Rock we took a quick drive over to Miners Beach. I’ve got to say that this is section of the area that I’m glad we didn’t miss.


After getting back to camp MM inflated our rubber yacht and we set off for a fishing excursion on Colwell Lake where we are camped. I’m sure we are missing a very important piece of knowledge about fishing, because once again we came away empty handed. It was still fun to get out on the water and enjoy the peaceful serenity found drifting on a quiet lake. The evening was spent relaxing around a campfire.

That's all for now. Lots more to follow.

We're Going To Disney World

Well, we've got our tickets and we're ready to go to Disney World!! When the kids were little we went a couple of times. I really liked the Magic Kingdom, but with the new Hopper Pass you can go to all the parks while on your visit. The kids really enjoyed the fact that they had rides their size, from It's a Small World to a little roller coaster. I liked the fact that I felt the kids were together and enjoying everything. They used to have all the characters walking around mingling with the guests - I think now you have to go to a special spot, which is probably better because our little Peanut doesn't like people with "Big Heads".

We got our tickets from Disney Tickets. This site has the best deals for all the Disney parks. We're staying at Fort Wilderness Campground again... it's right on location and has transportation running all day and into the night. While staying at the campground you can go into the parks early or stay late on certain days making it a lot less crowded. I think what's best about camping right on site is we can go back and rest if necessary and take a little break.

I also remember the Hoopty Do Revue. It's lots of bears on stage doing a presentation that the kids LOVE!! We all giggled and laughed, even my mother who went with us back then. This time we're the parents of the parents lol. I can't wait to see everything through lil Peanuts eyes. It's going to be so exciting.

Another great memory was of having breakfast with the Disney characters. The kids thought it was hilarious when Goofy came over and kissed grandma on the neck. She did the obligatory screams of excitement and giggles. Hope they don't come up and surprise lil Peanut, because the surprise will be on them when she has a meltdown lol. Yeah, we've learned that she doesn't like characters with big heads. The Princess will probably be okay because she's 'normal', but Mickey and Goofy had better keep their distance, if you know what I mean.

It's going to be tempting to buy every souvenir on site, but we'll just have to pick her favorite if that's possible. I wonder if they still have the hat with ears? I'm sure some things have to stay the same or it wouldn't be Disney. As our trip gets closer I keep thinking of the commercial where the kids are trying to sleep and say "I can't sleep, I'm too excited". That's the way we're all feeling in great anticipation of a memorable trip.

More Peanut pictures

Had to take lots of pictures this weekend to last me the summer. Is she cute or what?


Or do you like this face better? Her teeth even show up in this one lol



I'm going to miss her so much. Of course I'll miss my Mom and kids too, but Peanut will have the most changes in the time we're gone. They promised to send lots of pics and videos so I'll be content with that and never go away again lol. Good thing my Maintenance Man doesn't read this - that last statement would not make him happy.

North to Alaska

Be sure to keep an eye on my ticker tape at the bottom. It won't be long now. Lots to do, but we're leaving ready or not.