For our summer trip to “somewhere cooler,” we decided to join up with Yankee RV Tours and take the Upper Great Lakes tour which was recommended by fellow Southeast Country Coachers members who have made several Yankee trips. We left Rome heading north and made an overnight stop at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington where we enjoyed a short bike ride on the adjacent Marquee Trail. Great trail with great scenery!
The next day we arrived at Jellystone RV Park in Frankenmuth, MI, where the caravan began. There are 19 coaches of which 2 are the wagon master and tail ender. Most are from Florida, but Oregon, New York, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia are also represented. Incidentally, in the group there are 2 men named Bill, 2 named John, and 5 Georges.
Frankenmuth, a Bavarian community founded by Lutherans who came to bring Christianity to the Chippewa, is famous for its Bavarian architecture, German restaurants, and the largest Christmas store in the world. In addition to getting to know the caravan members, we enjoyed seeing some of the sights of Frankenmuth including the beautiful flowers all over town.
The group ate dinner at the Bavarian Inn which is famous for the family style chicken dinner, (which we had) with numerous cold and hot side dishes. Though he looks like a native in his German hat and vest, John below is a member of our caravan,
After dinner we enjoyed seeing the glockenspiel which performs several times a day. After the musical numbers, the Pied Piper story was displayed. George and I watched the “performance” also when we bicycled one afternoon.
We took a river cruise on the Bavarian Belle, a Mississippi river boat that was bought by a Frankenmuth family, dismantled, and brought to the Cass River where the family operates it in the summer months. The captain narrated the trip, telling about the area and pointing out landmarks including the covered bridge.
An optional tour was to St. Lorenz Lutheran Church where a member gave an interesting history and tour. The church’s beautiful stained glass windows tell both Biblical stories and the history of the church which began with the founding of Frankenmuth in 1845. The name Frankenmuth came from Franconia, the area many of the settlers were from, and “muth” meaning courage which they would need for their mission.
A nice feature of the Yankee RV caravan is that we stay three days at most places, and one of those is a free day, so we explored Frankenmuth on our bicycles one afternoon. We rode on a trail by the Cass River, downtown over the covered bridge, and to several shopping areas.
One of our stops was at Bronner’s – the world’s largest Christmas shop – where Irene found a few special ornaments. The parking lot is decorated for Christmas all year, including this large Santa.
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