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By Katrina Kane, on October 15th, 2007 It was a lovely week in Ohio but that was only a pitstop. Back on the road again, I headed out through West Virginia. Lots of trees and mountains but not much else.
I hit a toll road unexpectedly and of course my purse was forgotten and still inside the trailer. Lucky for me, I don’t smoke so I use the ashtray to hold change and a spare dollar “just in case”.
I stopped at a rest area to retrieve my purse as soon as possible after getting on the toll road. I left the car running since I was only going to be a few minutes. When I got back, the quarter tank of gas I had now claimed to be empty on the gas gauge. Turning the car off and back on made no difference. Normally I would have been okay since I always carry a spare 5 gallon can but, unfortunately, I gave the gas the night before to two young ladies at 2am who had come to see some lads next to me in the campground and found they had missed the campfire and the lads were asleep. Knew I should have stopped and refilled it but I was in go go go mode. Aargh! Of course, it had to be a hot day as well and I have a cat in the car. So, I did the next best thing and called Good Sam Emergency Assistance on my cell phone for the first time. It took awhile to pinpoint where I was for the lady but someone showed up with gas 45 minutes later. The men were very nice and when the gas made no difference, they escorted me to the next gas station and gave me tips on how far I could go on a full tank with a broken gas gauge. Happily, once the tank was full, the gas gauge started to work again and has been working ever since. Go figure. Yes, I filled the gas can too. 😉 I highly recommend the Good Sam Emergency Assistance. They have kept me from worrying about these things this whole trip and then proved themselves. The incident cost me nothing.
Continue reading On to North Carolina
By Katrina Kane, on October 5th, 2007 Time to flock south with the other snowbirds for the winter. Michigan was getting cold and rainy not to mention northern campgrounds tend to start closing October 15th.
I spent my first night in a Walmart parking lot in Monroe, MI. The managers were very nice about it. It was easier considering I arrived late due to my work schedule and I needed to pickup my prescriptions there the next morning since they filled them once before. Spending a night with no electric or TV was somewhat boring but I did have a windup radio at least and I could still cook dinner on my stove. Having the slideout in was a little cramped but still useable. Only thing that bothered me was some idiot walking around the parking lot at 2am with a leaf blower like that could really clean it. Aargh!
Next day, headed out through a rain storm to Lancaster, Ohio and Lakeview RV Park for a week. Ohio landscape is flat with lots of farms and cornfields. Saw a sign to watch for horses and buggies. I got to use my Delorme Street Atlas GPS on my laptop to guide me. I love that it talks to me and I can command it with voice commands. I chose a slightly different path at one point and it recalculated immediately. I missed a turn and it got me right back on track. The best thing is it only cost $40 on sale at Best Buy. Came with the GPS device and software. The interface is non-Microsoft and weird but I’m learning it.
Lakeview RV Park was chosen because it is cheaper than the other parks with wifi nearby and close to a major highway. My trailer sits on a spit of land between two small lakes. I have a lovely 360 degree view of them out all my windows. I have a cement patio, lots of grass, a fire ring, electric, water, gray water hookup, and they run a honeywagon around once a week to empty black water tanks. The staff have been so nice and they guided me back into the site like champs right next to the patio.
Continue reading First Walmart Camp and Lakeview RV Park, Lancaster OH
By Katrina Kane, on September 23rd, 2007 First let’s get the pronunciation right. It is pronounced Mackin-aw not “ack”. It’s french. Mackinac Island is a 3 mile long summer paradise where the wealthy elite of Chicago and Detroit once summered to escape the city heat. Today it is still a paradise but for tourists from around the world.
The only ways to get there are by high speed ferry of which there are at least 3 to choose from and by air. Once you get there, you will notice there are NO cars. Cars were banned quite a while ago. The only land transportation is by horse, horse carriage, and bicycle. You can rent a horse right in town or your own carriage, take a carriage taxi, take a tour in larger horse carriages, and there are too many bicycle rental places to count. They even rent bicycles built for two.
   
Fudge shops and souvenir shops with tons of tshirts and sweatshirts are in abundance. I recommend checking out their inexpensive waterproof raincoats which are quite popular and the kite shop.
Continue reading Mackinac Island – Lake Huron, MI
By Katrina Kane, on September 23rd, 2007 Big reason to come to upper Michigan is to see the Shipwreck Museum on Lake Superior. It is at the top of the upper peninsula or the UP as they call it. You get there by going over the 5 mile long Mackinac bridge. I became a Yooper the other day to learn about the treacherous nature of Lake Superior and see the bell raised from the Edmund Fitzgerald in memory of the 29 men who disappeared on it. Whitepoint Lighthouse there is one end of the ship’s graveyard along the coast.
 
The museum is small but the displays are powerful, the video presentation on the Edmund Fitzgerald is fascinating, the tour of the lighthouse keeper’s family home is very interesting, and the shore along Lake Superior was windy and cool.
   
Continue reading Shipwreck Museum – Whitefish Point, MI
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