Days 50 - 53: Southeast Country Coachers Rally

 

Our last stop on this summer’s trip is the Southeast Country Coachers rally at Holiday Trav-L Park in Chattanooga.  The highlight of the rally was the dinner cruise on the Tennessee River aboard the Southern Bell.  We had great views of the city and its bridges including the marvelous Walnut Street Bridge which we had biked on the day before. The food was great too, and we were lucky that the heavy rain had stopped.   Earlier in the day, the women toured the Hunter Museum and ate lunch nearby at Tony’s.  The men’s outing was to the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame Museum.  The rally also included happy hours, pizza, info from Lee-Smith coach repair facility, and a talk on “how to save yourself from disaster” if your coach has to be towed given by SECC member John Hawkins, owner of Miller Industries, the world’s largest tow truck manufacturer.  John had a huge tow truck on site and demonstrated to the group how a Country Coach should be towed. In addition there was free time to enjoy some of the many attractions Chattanooga has to offer, and we bicycled on the river walk.

Sunday morning, we headed home to Rome on the 53rd day of our trip, having covered a little over 3,000 miles . The happy bus is in the barn, and it has been a great trip. It’s good to be home, but thankfully it is only for three weeks before we head out to Orlando for an Overland Trailblazers rally.

Sweet Appalachia

 

This morning we galloped out of the Kentucky Horse Park above Lexington and headed south on I-75. Soon we encountered  long grades taking us over 2,000 feet into Appalachian ridge country. We saw layered sedimentary rock that is characteristic of this region similar to that in the Nashville, TN area. The hazy, blue mountain vistas looked mighty good to us and the lady on the radio station didn’t have a funny accent like what we’ve heard over the last 40 some odd days.

We are at Buddy Gregg’s campground. Irene is shopping at nearby Turkey Creek Mall while George warms a leather chair in the  Panera Bread shop working on the blogg.

George and Jan Sanders are about 300 miles behind us and we are hopefull they will make Knoxville some time tonight. We’re both due to arrive in Chattanooga tomorrow for a Southeastern Country Coach Association rally which will be the grand finale for the Busbloggers Great Lakes tour.

Days 45 – 47: The Henry Ford

 

Saturday was a travel day from Holland 200 miles east across Michigan to Monroe, about 30 miles south of Detroit and Dearborn.  We arrived at our RV park, Sterling State Park on the shores of Lake Erie, in the afternoon after stopping for diesel and a few groceries en route.  Having sat all day, we set out on our bicycles on the paved trail that winds through the large state park which is sandwiched between a large coal burning power plant and two giant cooling towers that appear to be part of another power plant.  It was quite windy and white caps adorned Lake Erie. 

We came to this area to visit The Henry Ford, the collective term for the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour.  It was highly recommended to us and was compared to the Smithsonian.  Having spent Sunday at the Henry Ford Museum, we concur with that statement.  There is an amazing assortment of cars, trains, airplanes, industrial machines, agricultural equipment, furniture, and much more.  George enjoyed seeing Henry Ford’s private railcar, the Fair Lane (the same name as his home), which he used from 1921 – 1941.  Ford came to Rome in his private car to visit Berry College and made a donation which funded Berry’s Ford Buildings, originally a girls dorm, dining hall, and classrooms.  George was also impressed with the very extensive collection of antique steam engines, some of which were huge, that were housed in the museum. George commented that this must be the largest collection of steam engines in the world. We also saw a number of early R.V.’s including the one that Charles Karault used for his “On the Road” TV segments.

Tuesday morning we toured the Ford Rouge Factory.  The original Rouge complex was a mile-and-a-half wide and more than a mile long.  Henry Ford attracted employees by offering $5 a day pay, twice the going rate.  At its peak in the 1930s, more than 100,000 people worked at the Rouge.  One new car rolled off the line every 49 seconds.  

The Rouge, which now makes F-150 pickup trucks, was rebuilt in 1980 to be a “green” factory and has a roof planted with15 types of sedum which helps cool the building, protects the roof, and uses water that would otherwise  be run-off.  The plants also clean the air by using carbon dioxide and provide a habitat for birds.  Seeing the assembly line at work was the most amazing part of the tour.  It demonstrated the level of refinement and technological advancement of Henry Ford’s basic idea of mechanizing the assembly of automobiles.  It not only has evolved to a more efficient system of assembling cars, but provides safer and healthier conditions for the workers.

Our next destination was Greenfield Village which Ford began during his lifetime by collecting important historical buildings and artifacts to record the “sights, sounds, and  sensations of the American experience.”  It’s similar to Williamsburg, VA, in that it seeks to  recreate a time of the past.  In Ford’s Bagley Avenue Workshop, an early pre-assembly line  plant, we enjoyed talking with the host who had worked for Nissan in Tennessee.  He was  quite knowledgeable about Henry Ford. He showed photos of several autos Henry Ford designed, but the businesses behind them failed for various reasons. Some of his partners wanted to build an expensive car, but Ford wanted a car that was reliable and inexpensive that people could afford. His Model T was that car and the rest is history.

Now we’re leaving behind the Great Lakes region that was the focus of our trip.  We’ve seen how the economy of this region revolves around the iron ore mines of the Iron Range of Minnesota west of Lake Superior, railroads that haul the ore to processing plants where it’s made into taconite pellets, the Great Lakes freighters that carry the taconite to the end user, the automobile industry in Detroit.  There’s also the traditional fishing industry that we became aware of as we enjoyed local fish like walleye, trout, Atlantic salmon, and whitefish.  And we’ve seen much beauty and amazing geological features like waterfalls, Pictured Rocks, sand dunes, and three of the Great Lakes. 

Happy first day of fall to all!  We’ve seen a few early signs of fall in Michigan, including the maple tree in the adjacent photograph which we shot on September 14 at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. 

Days 43 – 44: Holland, MI

 

Leaving Grand Haven, we had a short drive – about 20 miles – to our next location, Holland, MI, and it was a beautiful drive with dunes, trees, and lovely homes/cottages along the way.  We arrived before lunch at Holland State Park  where we had a woodsy site a short bicycle ride from the lake.  In the afternoon, Jan and Irene drove into town and browsed in shops and enjoyed looking at the very attractive, well-kept buildings downtown.  George and George went to bicycle shops to get Irene’s flat tire repaired, to look at bicycles, and to check out better bike seats for the electric bikes. 

Friday morning we all bicycled to the beach and enjoyed the views and taking photos of Big Red, the lighthouse at the mouth of the river.  A fisherman in a passing boat landed a good-sized fish, and boats were heading out on the lake.  The sunny pleasant day added to our enjoyment.  When we returned to the campground, Jan’s sister Marilyn and her husband Ed had arrived, and we all went downtown for lunch at the 8th Street Grill, George S.’s favorite restaurant in Holland.   Later in the afternoon, Jan, Marilyn, and Irene drove south to the charming little town of Saugatuck which has tree-lined streets full of people looking in shops. 

This was the last day of our travels with George and Jan, and it’s been a great trip.  They invited us to join them to visit their favorite places in Michigan, and we totally agree that each location is outstanding.  Jan is an excellent “tour guide!”  The two Georges seem to click as buddies – both are motor home “techies” and  share a sense of humor.  What a rare and valued thing to find a great friend that you share so much in common with.  We really enjoyed traveling with them again, and look forward to seeing them again in a few days at a Country Coach rally in Chattanooga. 

Days 41 – 42: Grand Haven, MI

 

Grand Haven State Park, located on the shore of Lake Michigan where the Grand River  empties in it, has great views of the lighthouse and boardwalk making it an outstanding RV park.   While the roads and sites are paved, the fine sand blows and partially covers them.   We arrived here on Tuesday, and George and Jan and George and Irene headed out on our bikes on the boardwalk along the Grand River which is next to the park.  

Later as we sat outside talking and enjoying the view, our warm sunny day turned cool as a cold wind blew off the lake.  We went out to dinner to enjoy fried  clams and returned to the park before sunset which was impressive with the lighthouse and pier in the foreground. 

Wednesday morning was cool and windy when George and Irene bicycled to the Grand Haven farmer’s market where there was a variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  We’d  passed by apple orchards throughout Michigan and were glad finally to arrive where the apples were ripe.  We bought Honey Crisp apples and raspberries.

In the afternoon, it was a little warmer and we all bicycled on some of Grand Haven’s paved bike trails and then ended up downtown for coffee and snacks.  Jan and Irene went in a few shops.  When we started back, Irene’s bike had a flat tire so she started walking (pushing the bike) accompanied by Jan who also walked.  George S. biked back to the RV park to get George who returned in the truck to pick up Irene and her lame bike.  After dinner, Jan and Irene walked down the beach to the pier, walking out to the lighthouse where people gather for sunset.  It was another great sunset, ending another great day in Michigan.

 

Shown left are bus drivers George Sanders and George Harper standing ready to receive passengers for a 17 mile run from Grand Haven, MI to Holland, MI. 

Days 38 – 40: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore is characterized by rugged bluffs rising as high as 480 feet above the lake, and many are covered with  grass and trees – not just sandy dunes.   They were created by a series of glaciers over 11,000 years ago.  The park’s Platte River Campground was full when we arrived, so our first night was spent at a nearby condo park, Indigo Bluffs.  From there we drove north along the coast with George and Jan to Glen Arbor where we enjoyed looking in art galleries and stopping for an afternoon snack.  A shop featuring “everything cherries” had dried cherries, chocolate covered cherries, trail mix with cherries, cherry salsa, cherry BBQ sauce,  etc.

On Sunday afternoon, we drove back north to Traverse City where George had planned to see a miniature 1/4 scale steam locomotive train owned by the city.  He had read about the train previously and learned that a man had built it in the 1940’s (except for the boiler), and it had been subsequently owned by two other individuals before being sold to the city.  This Sunday was the last day the train was running before closing for 2009.  George talked with the engineers extensively, and then we boarded the train for a circle tour of the park on the 15 inch  gauge rail.   It was surprisingly like the full grown thing with steam spewing up, typical chug-chug steam locomotive sounds, and whistle tooting at crossings. 

TART, Traverse Area Rails Trail, was right beside  the train track so we rode our bikes along the lake enjoying views of boats on the lake, including tall ships that were part of the Schooner Festival taking place through the weekend.  The beaches were crowded with people – quite like a view of a Florida beach.

On Monday we bicycled with George and Jan to the shore of the Platte River where we had great views of the dunes and watched fishing boats coming in.  We also saw a few kayakers.  For lunch we all headed north to Leland, a charming fishing/tourist village on the lake.  Jan told us the view from our restaurant was one of the most painted scenes in Michigan – a view of the river with docks and shops on both sides of it.  We browsed in shops (while the Georges waited) and took lots of photos before heading back toward the park and stopping at a kayak rental store for ice cream which we enjoyed sitting by the river. 

 

Days 36 – 37: Petoskey, MI

 

After a short drive south, we arrived at Hearthside Grove RV Resort in Petoskey, MI, a vacation Mecca along Lake Michigan.  Hearthside Grove is an ownership park and is top of the line with outstanding sites and landscaping.  George and Jan took us on a tour of the area including Harbor Springs, Bay View, and Charlevoix.  Harbor Springs is an exclusive, moneyed resort with grand Victorian homes, and Bay View was established by a group of Methodists in 1876-77 as a summer camp “for intellectual and scientific culture and the promotion of the cause of religion and morality.”  The chautauqua-like program continues today as the Summer Assembly.  The most remarkable views were of the “mushroom houses” in Charlevoix which seemed to be enlargements from a fairy village.  They were delightful!  We also had great views of the lake with many marinas.  Jan is a great tour guide, and we had a great tour.

On Friday morning we bicycled along the lake in Harbor Springs and enjoyed seeing the grand homes, afterwards meeting George and Jan at Stafford’s Pier Restaurant on the lake for a very enjoyable lunch.  After lunch we drove to Petoskey and bicycled on the Little Traverse Wheelway, a paved trail mostly along the lake, and then explored some shops in Petoskey.  Unfortunately, when we left the coach in the morning, we forgot the camera.