RV Supershow in Tampa

The Florida RV Supershow in Tampa is one of the largest such shows in the country, with about 1000 dealer coaches and hundreds of vendors selling all sorts of what-nots and and gizmos. We have attended the show for several years in a row. This year we decided to spend two nights on-site at the Florida State Fairgrounds, giving us two full days to shop and see what's new in RVing. One thing we are considering buying is a satellite dish; another is a sleep number bed or mattress topper. Also, many resorts have booths and give away vouchers for free camping; we're always looking to score free camping at luxury motor coach resorts.

The weather has warmed a bit, so it is nice walking around the fair grounds and enjoying the festive atmosphere. Near where we are parked is an open grassy area where we can play ball with Matilda. On the first afternoon, we met a couple with a senior blue merle Sheltie and a year old Sheltie who loved playing with Matilda. Any time Matilda finds a playmate it's a good camping spot. We are also parked near some full-timer TREK friends Pete and Jennie. These folks do very interesting volunteer work. They work with the Lipizzaner Stallions near Myakka City FL during the winter and with the elk in Cataloochee valley during the summer.

After comparing all the satellite dishes at the show we decided on portable Winegard model from Camping World that was on sale. We decided not to make the investment in a roof-top dome until we decide if we really enjoy DIRECTV and if we ever want to get HD. We didn't have any luck with mattresses or toppers. While visiting an RV with a huge TV in an outside bay, we saw the Hearthside Grove RV Resort's promotional video playing, featuring none other than the great adventurers Myron and Dorcas. As you may recall from an earlier post, the video was filmed while we were visiting that resort in Michigan last summer. This was our first opportunity to see the finished product. Unfortunately, there was no one near us at the moment to show it to and point out that we were celebrities. We were able to obtain our own copy of the DVD when we visited the Hearthside Grove booth later. Autographs anyone?

Next, we're off to Thousand Trails Orlando.

The Mighty Mack

On Thursday we moved about 10 miles to the north end of Petoskey to Hearthside Grove Motorcoach Resort. Hearthside Grove is another deeded RV lot community, and you guessed it, we had a coupon for three free nights. This resort is a little different from the other deeded communities we have visited in that it is family owned and operated. The Rose brothers are hands-on and work every day at the resort and spend time with their guests. It had the friendliest and warmest atmosphere of any resort of this kind that we have visited. We actually arrived at a very opportune time. The day we arrived they had a professional videographer producing an updated marketing video for the resort. We were filmed being escorted to our campsite, led by Kirk Rose riding his new Segway PT; backing into our site; and receiving our welcome gift bag from concierge director Mary Stewart Adams. We will star in their new DVD. They promised to send us a copy when it is finished in a few months. I think there will also be excerpts on their web site. Anybody want our autograph?

The park is very nice. It is not landscaped quite as nicely as the MCR at Bay Harbor and does not have the expanse of open common space, but the individual lots are much larger, and the lot prices, should one decide to buy, are a bit lower. And, of course, it is much friendlier.

On Friday we drove 30 miles north to Mackinaw City to catch a tour boat to Mackinac Island. We had debated whether to take Matilda and leave the bikes at home, or to take the bikes and leave the pooch. The bikes won. We got a good look at the mighty Mackinac Bridge as the tour boat took us under the bridge and from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan and back to Lake Huron then to the island. The Mackinac Bridge is a very impressive sight to behold. It is the third longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet.

We were glad we decided to take the bikes. No motor vehicles are allowed on Mackinac Island. The primary modes of transport on the island are bicycle and horse-drawn carriage. In fact the island boasts the only state highway, M-185, that does not allow motor vehicles. And with all the horse carriages, you really have to watch where you step. When we disembarked on Main Street, we could not believe all the people. You couldn't pull your bike into the street without getting run over by a carriage (who had no right-of-way) or a pedestrian (who did have right-of-way) or another bike. Finding a bicycle parking space was as bad as it is for automobiles in most cities. The Post Office had a 10 minute parking limit for bicycles! Quickly we decided to head out of town to try to find some solitude. We headed up on a higher trail with views of the harbor in search of Arch Rock. Somehow we missed the trail to Sugar Loaf Rock and ended up on British Landing Road, that runs along the ridge through the middle of the island. Finally we circled back to town on the Lake Shore Road, a level, but heavily traveled loop road around the island. The one place on the island I really wanted to see was the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel was an important setting for the film "Somewhere In Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. "Somewhere in Time" is definitely a chick-flick, but contains some very interesting plot twists and some para-normal aspects that make it one of my favorites. Disappointingly, you could not enter the ground of the Grand Hotel without paying an entrance fee. Luckily I was still able to get a few photos before they threw me out. You would think that with room rates ranging from $395 to $705 per night, $10 was trivial. I think they really just wanted to keep the riff-raff out.

We enjoyed the island and were glad we went, yet we were a little disappointed. It was very crowded and didn't have that magical feel that I expected. Plus, there was an additional fee to go into almost all the historical attractions, such as Fort Mackinac. While it does have some nice bike trails, and solitude can be found on the smaller, more remote trails, I don't think we will want to go back anytime soon.





On Saturday the resort hosted a breakfast for all the guests out by the pool. The breakfast included eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and pancakes. All were prepared by the resort staff including owners Kirk and Craig. We got a chance to chat with some other campers, both lot owners and transients like us. After breakfast we had a chance to ride the resort's new Segway transporters. The Rose boys use them to escort coaches to their campsites and to zip around the resort. They are in the process of setting up a rental program and a tour operation to take guests on the Little Traverse Wheelway to Petoskey and beyond.

In the afternoon, we had intended to go into Petoskey to attend the last day of their annual Festival on the Bay, but we got sidetracked instead. It was such nice weather and such a nice camp site that we decided to drag out the food we had brought for our upcoming Boundary Waters trip and do some meal preparation. We made meal plans, packaged what food we had with us and made a grocery list to get the remainder. Packing the food is definitely the hardest part of preparing for the Boundary Waters. In past years we have done it at home, where we have a dehydrator, vacuum packer and lots of room to spread out. It is even a bigger challenge to prepare on the road. Plus, it's very difficult to run to the store and get grits and country ham up here. They look at you like you are from the moon.

We regret that we didn't see more things in the area. We had heard that Harbor Springs was nice, and we never got down to the waterfront in Petoskey. I guess there's always next year.

Petoskey MI

 On Saturday we drove about 25 miles over to Petoskey Michigan on Little Traverse Bay at Lake Michigan.  Petoskey is a quaint coastal resort community with a population of about 6,000 folks.  The last time we were in Petoskey was in August 2009 when we stayed at Hearthside Grove Luxury Motorcoach Resort, a very high end ownership resort.  During that visit they were filming a new promotional video for the resort and asked if we would mind being in it.  Of course we said yes.  DUH!  You can read about that visit HERE.  The next January we were at the Tampa RV Supershow and saw the video playing on a TV in a 2 million dollar Prevost conversion.  You can read about that encounter HERE. 

The Little Traverse History Museum is housed in the former depot for the now defunct Chicago and West Michigan Railway, which served the area in the late 1800s. Unfortunately the museum was closed on Sundays. DANG!

We are seeing a little early fall color

Downtown Petoskey

Petoskey is famous for Petoskey stones, the state stone of Michigan.  From Wikipedia:

A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized rugose coral, Hexagonaria percarinata. Such stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern (and some in the northeastern) portion of Michigan's lower peninsula. In those same areas of Michigan, complete fossilized coral colony heads can be found in the source rocks for the Petoskey stones.  Petoskey stones are found in the Gravel Point Formation of the Traverse Group. They are fragments of a coral reef that was originally deposited during the Devonian period. When dry, the stone resembles ordinary limestone but when wet or polished using lapidary techniques, the distinctive mottled pattern of the six-sided coral fossils emerges. It is sometimes made into decorative objects. Other forms of fossilized coral are also found in the same location.

Dorcas bought a set of earrings made of Petoskey Stones.  I bought a small polished slab onto which I intend to attach a magnet and put on the fridge.

My Petoskey Stone

Dorcas and I enjoyed some brews at Beards Brewery, close to the waterfront, then staggered back to the car and headed back to camp.  The best (and only) restaurant in Wolverine is the Thirsty Sturgeon on the bank of the Sturgeon River.  We had planned to stop in there for dinner, but when we arrived the wait was over 45 minutes, so we decided to head back to camp and make our own dinner. DANG!

Tomorrow we continue north to Sault Sainte Marie where we will spend 6 nights and attend an NKK rally.