Goodbye Summer, Hello Ford

September 21, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We’ve just finished our first summer as seasonal residents of the Traverse Bay RV Resort (TBRV) in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan. Where did the time go? We’ve been so busy having the time of our lives that we haven’t posted in quite awhile. Let’s try to get caught up!

After a busy June and early July with visits from Mitch and the Green family, my sister Mickie came all the way from Arizona to visit us in Michigan. We did our best to show her a good time. We went to the casino, visited lighthouses, and explored numerous wineries and distilleries. It was fun to share our new summer home with Mickie and find some new gems with her. Thanks for visiting, sis!

We were attracted to the Traverse City area partly because of the miles of bike trails. We can easily get out on the trail and ride or run for miles. As you can see, we explored as many miles as possible!

In addition, the area around Traverse City is chocked full of wineries. We became members at Chateau Chantal and enjoyed a weekly visit to enjoy the views and the wine.

One of the wineries on the Mission Peninsula

One of the best things about our summer was, of course, the wonderful friends we’ve made. It was Kunio and Michelle who first introduced us to their summer home, and they made our transition into the community quick and fun. Michelle coordinates the on-site breakfast four times throughout the season and recruited us to serve on the breakfast crew. Steve became an expert pancake maker by the last event!

Michelle and Marnie; Photo credit to Kunio

Our RV friends Gail and Jeff stopped in Traverse City for a week and stayed in a site right behind us. Together with Michelle and Kunio we had a wine tasting afternoon, which was super fun.

Lots of time was spent on the patio with new and old friends. Happy hour is a regular activity at TBRV, and we hosted a gathering one evening. Our theme was the Olympics, and we watched the Opening Ceremonies while socializing.

We also spent time with our friends Steve and Dwight. We met Steve almost five years ago when he hosted us at his home in Florida as part of the Boondockers Welcome program. These guys had planned to stay at TBRV for a week this summer but ended up staying longer in the lot they bought while they were here! We’re looking forward to more happy hours with them next summer!

A day on the Mission Peninsula with Dwight and Steve

The resort offers a busy social calendar. I participated in the monthly book club and even led the discussion in August. The monthly ladies luncheon provided opportunities to meet more of our neighbors and make even more new friends.

After Labor Day, Steve flew to Omaha to join his brother Brian and nephew Nathan at the Nebraska – Colorado football game in Lincoln. Go Big Red!

And since Steve was gone, Gail and Jeff joined me and the rest of the gang at Traverse City’s second annual International Fireworks Competition. While the weather all summer was warm and mild, we braved a little cold to view the choreographed fireworks spectacular. This is one event we’ll do again next summer.

Bundled up to watch fireworks – Jeff, Marnie, Gail, Michelle & Kunio

When the day finally arrived that we had to move along, we headed towards Detroit to check out the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and to take a tour of the Ford Rouge factory. No photos are allowed inside the factory, so you’ll have to believe us when we say it was really fascinating.

On our second day in Dearborn we visited Ford’s Greenfield Village, an 80-acre collection of artifacts and homes of famous Americans. Besides seeing Edison’s laboratory and Noah Webster’s (of Merriam-Webster fame) home, we rode the historic steam locomotive and a 1914 Model T. The 111-year-old Hershell-Spillman Carousel took us back to our childhoods.

Would we recommend a visit to The Henry Ford? The answer is a resounding YES! The factory tour gave us incredible insight into how our truck was made. The Village was filled with one surprise after another. We didn’t stay in the Detroit area for long, but the part that we saw was worth the detour.

The fall marathon race schedule is about to begin. Watch for more blog posts from some super cool places!

One Month in Michigan

July 15, 2024 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

When we bought lot 38 at Traverse Bay RV Resort last August, it seemed like FOREVER before we would be able to enjoy our little slice of paradise. After ten long months, we finally arrived to our “new to us” summer home. We are ready to experience the quintessential northern Michigan summer.

Within hours of arrival, our friends Kunio and Michelle escorted us to a resort-hosted Margaritaville party. What a fun way to get introduced to this wonderful community!

Within a few days they took us to their favorite winery, Brys Estate Vineyard on the Old Mission Peninsula and to Moomers Ice Cream, which is now our favorite place on Earth! We are so lucky to have such great friends here to help us navigate the important stops.

Within a week our first set of visitors arrived. Steve’s parents Judy and Larry came all the way from Arizona to join Steve’s brother Brian and his family here in Traverse City. In all there were 11 of us here at one time, and every day was a new adventure.

One day Lydia and I went zip lining, and on other days, we went shopping in downtown Traverse City. The group stayed at the Tamarack Lodge, situated on the beach of Grand Traverse Bay, so we hit the water with the kayaks, played sand volleyball, and roasted s’mores over the fire. The boys played golf on three mornings.

Torch Lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in northern Michigan. Our day on the double decker pontoon, complete with sun deck and slides, was a blast. We took turns on the jet skis, took the paddle board out a bit, and plunged into the still cool water as the day pressed on. Even though there were some mean sunburns, everyone seemed to have a blast.

Our visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes took the group out to the massive dune climb, but on a cold and windy day, no one took up the challenge. We did get a great group photo of almost everyone from the overlook.

At Sleeping Bear Dunes: Heidi, Marnie, Steve, Elise, Lydia, Zach, and Gibson

Traverse City has been abuzz with activity for the past few weeks with the National Cherry Festival taking place while the crew was here. We watched the Blue Angels in the air show on Saturday afternoon while Lydia rode ride after ride after ride at the carnival. I made it one time on the Tilt-A-Whirl and gave up my riding privileges. Spending Lydia’s 12th birthday at the festival made for an extra-special celebration.

After most of the crew departed, we were lucky enough to have a little time to spend with Zach and Gibson before they caught their flight back to Chicago. And what do two 25 year olds want to do for a few hours in Traverse City? Wine tasting, of course! We visited Chateau Chantal and Mari Vineyards before the boys caught their flight home.

The day after Brian’s crew left, we welcomed my cousin Mitch to Traverse City. He left 115 degree temperatures in Phoenix and seemed happy to be here in our 75 degree weather. Even the occasional rain shower didn’t seem to dampen his spirit! In our week with Mitch we visited wineries, hiked in Sleeping Bear Dunes, walked through the Cherry Festival, and checked out numerous local breweries and distilleries. Steve and Mitch also participated in the Cherry Scramble Golf Event as part of the Festival.

Mitch’s visit coincided with Independence Day, so he was able to join us in the resort’s activities. Our day began with a parade in which I had the honor of riding in Kunio and Michelle’s cart. Even Bob sat out to watch the parade of over a dozen spectacularly decorated vehicles pass by.

When we haven’t had visitors, we’ve been enjoying our new community, participating in happy hours, the book club, the ladies luncheon, and volunteering at the community breakfast. We’ve taken the kayaks and bikes out and hope to do even more of that as the summer rolls on. Up here there’s a festival, event, or farmers market nearly every day. We try to get out as much as possible to enjoy the activities, but there’s just so much to do!

You can be sure there will be more updates ahead, when we can find the time to sit down to write! Hope your summer is going well!

We Loved It So Much…We Bought One

August 2, 2023 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

Our time in northern Michigan has been sublime. From the beaches to the wineries, from the views to the weather, we loved everything about our time here. In this blog post we’ll share with you where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing. However, let’s get the big news out up front: we are now Michigan land owners! Yes, we loved the place so much we bought a little piece of summer paradise. Read on to learn what, where, and how.

After our time in the Mackinaw area we traveled south just a bit to Petoskey to explore this famed resort area. We drove the nearby tunnel of trees, which is hard to believe more spectacular in the fall when the leaves are turning. Our scenic drive was awe-inspiring from end to end.

Nearby Charlevoix was especially pretty with boats cruising into and out of the lake through the draw bridge. Nice weather and spectacular views make for some fun afternoons. However, we had to move along…

Our next stop, where we spent over a week, was Traverse City. Another resort town, we’d been encouraged to visit it by our RV friends Kunio and Michelle. We weren’t able to book a spot in their super-booked RV resort but we scored a coveted spot at the Traverse Bay State Park which borders Lake Michigan and the town’s network of bike trails. It was also our first chance to hit up a Costco in over a month.

Nearby Traverse City is the Old Mission Peninsula where we visited numerous farm markets and wineries with incredible views of Grand Traverse Bay. The lighthouse at the tip is a fun stop too.

After almost a week being surrounded by the crystal clear blue water of the bay and all the other fun things around town, we decided to drive out to Kunio and Michelle’s place to “just take a look.” One thing led to another, and we are now owners of a lot at the Traverse Bay RV Resort!

Our lot is a deeded property that includes lush landscaping and an oak paneled carriage house used for storage. The covered patio will be a great place for entertaining. And, when we are not using the lot, we can rent it to other RVers.

Our plan is to spend summers in and around this area and hopefully share our time there with friends and family. There’s so much to do and see and now we have a home base from which to launch our continuing explorations. Next summer we plan to participate in the National Cherry Festival, which is a major event in this cherry-growing region. We also hope to ride more of the trails, drink wine at more of the wineries, and enjoy the near-perfect northern Michigan weather.

Unfortunately we didn’t have much time left in our schedule to use our new lot this time, as we have plans down the road. But we’ll be back next summer!

From Traverse City we moved out to Empire on the edge of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Known for its sweeping views and massive dunes, this park is famous for the Dune Climb. I am not a fan of walking in sand, let alone hiking in it for miles and miles, but Steve wanted to give it a try. We also enjoyed watching others slowly trudge up the steep sand dunes and descend in seconds.

The cute town of Empire has an award-winning beach on the shores of Lake Michigan, so a few hours sitting in the sand with a good book while enjoying the view was a must.

Of course, we never seem to have planned enough time to fully enjoy these breath-taking places before it’s time to move along. From Empire we began our journey southward with stops in Manistee for more beach time, and to watch the big Great Lakes freighters pass through the town’s narrow channel in order to deliver coal. What a sight to see a boat slowly making its way through the canal, towering over the buildings just yards away. We finished our time in Manistee with a lovely evening of music in the park.

In Grand Haven we camped right on the beach. We got lucky with a very warm, clear day that brought out everyone and their brother to the beach. Look at those crowds! It was fun to be right in the middle of the fun for a day, to watch the breathtaking sunset, and eat a famed Pronto Pup. We didn’t even know what they were but we got in line with the locals who informed us a Pronto Pup is the best corndog on a stick you could ever have. Since we don’t usually eat corndogs, this one probably was the best we’ll ever have!

We’re now making our way back west for a fun event in Colorado. On the way we’ll make stops to visit friends in Des Moines and family in Omaha. Always fun!

And can you believe it? We’re Michigan landowners!!!

Marnie and Steve Travel

We're retired! Let's go!

Michigan

Goodbye Summer, Hello Ford

One Month in Michigan

We Loved It So Much…We Bought One