On VACATION July 3 thru 11 Where 2 GO ???

kanyonkitty · 06-15-2010, 02:14 PM

OK, Gary has vacation scheduled for the above mentioned dates, now we are looking for ideas of where to go.

Kinda hoping that some fellow Sunliners might be available for a mini-GTG ????

We currently have reservations to spend the time in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN, BUT we are now thinking we might prefer heading north/northwest.

Would like to:

Hookup/camp with other Sunline Club members
Sight see
Have "chill-out" time
Avoid major "crowed, high traffic areas"

Short notice, we realize that, but wealso know there is a huge wealth of experienced Sunline travelers right here at our fingertips that might have some great ideas for us. "IF" time weren't a factor, Gary & I would head WEST !! Teddy Roosevelt SP sounds really great to me

So, we'd love to hear ideas from our friends.

OH, we'd prefer to keep our distance to about 400 miles from the Harpers Ferry, WV area.

Thanks,
Kitty

**Sunline Fan** · 06-15-2010, 02:29 PM

Well I guess Michigan is out since it's 425 just to Toledo...

kanyonkitty · 06-15-2010, 06:44 PM

Jon,

OK, tell me what you can about Michigan. Would like "some" sightseeing, chill out time, nice view would be a great plus, and maybe close to some Sunline Club members

for that "warm fuzzy feeling". I have been across that suspension bridge.

Kitty

**Sunline Fan** · 06-15-2010, 07:29 PM

Well, I know you are wanting a somewhat quiet week, but unfortunately I think that will be hard to find with those dates. Especially for the first weekend.

Honestly, I'd avoid the Detroit area. There's really no campgrounds in the area, and the few that there are will probably be booked up solid for the holiday weekend.

South Central Michigan (near the Midwest M&G) is a nice area, but typically a vacation area with very little to see. There's many small lakes, and people have cottages there and boats. The only major attraction in the area is the Michigan International Speedway, which the area gets very busy on the weekends for this. There's a lot of seasonals in the campgrounds in the area as a result.

Southwest Michigan has a nice state park with a nice beach and campground. Not sure what's in the area...I went there on a Boy Scout campout.

Going up the east side of the state, there's Frankenmuth. It's a small Bavarian themed town with some small shops and good food. There's also the world's largest Christmas store there. There's one restaurant in town that is known for their chicken dinners, which are very good. They seem to me like Michigan's best attempt to out-do Shady Maple, because they have buses come full of people and it's a constantly busy place. I'd say this is probably about two hours from the Michigan/Ohio border if I had to guess, but I've never driven straight there, so it's hard to tell.

North of Frankenmuth, you start to get a more rural feeling in about 50 miles. There's some small towns along 75, with things to see, but it isn't that much and aren't really known as tourist areas. There are a number of towns along the east shore of the state, such as Alpena, and most have a variety of things to do, though they are small and to put it in perspective, I rarely hear of people going on vacation there. The people I do hear going there have cottages and fishing cabins...actually one of my professors right now has a fishing cabin on a river. That side of the state has great fishing and great rivers for canoeing/kayaking. They have competitions during the year for all of that.

Further north, at the tip of the lower peninsula, is Mackinaw City. This is one of four main tourist areas that I consider in the state of Michigan. The town has some shopping as well as historical forts and stuff. There's also some other historical parks on the outskirts of town. Of course we can't forget about the island, which is a decent trip on its own.

I won't get into the UP, because I honestly think a week to go up there isn't nearly enough time. A classmate of mine is from the UP, though all the way over near the Wisconsin border, and they certainly have a different world up there. Long distances between things, so travel time is huge.

Moving down the west side of the lower peninsula, there's the Charlevoix/Petoskey area. Lots of great places to eat, little shops to look at, and some places to see. I'm not good with remembering the tourist type areas (but I'll remember campgrounds...), I know Charlevoix has a pier and beaches, and there's other stuff in town too. These towns have a significant historical background, so there's stuff to see if you wanted to.

Next down the west coast is Traverse City. I hate to really talk it up, but this is where I've spent most of my time. They've got lots of things to see within a day trip. To name a few, lighthouses, wine tasting, national lakeshore dunes, great restaurants, hiking & biking trails, some rivers to tube/kayak/canoe on, and much more. That week also happens to be Cherry Festival, which are far enough out of town that we really don't participate in due to the crowds (on the weekends), but they do have free concerts and other activities there as well as carnivals, fairs, etc. The best part is every other year, the Blue Angels come and do an air show, and this year is a year they're coming. They always put on a spectacular show.

Continuing down the west coast, there's Ludington. They have historical stuff here, but they are really known for the nearby sand dunes, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. There's a company that does custom dune buggy rides: they have highly customized trucks (I believe they were bottling company trucks) with 4x4 and large sand tires, so they can haul like 20 people over all the sand dunes. This is quite an experience, though it's been a few years since I last did it. This isn't that far away from Traverse City and could be done as a side trip, but it is a significant area that many people go to with their dune buggies.

MAC WOOD'S DUNE RIDES

The last area of significance is the Grand Haven area. That whole area has a very strong Dutch influence, and is one of the cleanest, best kept up areas of the state. It's not just Grand Haven, but it's also Holland, Grand Rapids, etc- the whole area. There's lighthouses all over the area too, as well as tulips and wooden shoes.

I think as a whole, you'd get a good view at pretty much any place. Great however, that's probably going to be difficult at this point. With the amount of people who have moved away from Michigan, the week of the 4th is nothing like it used to be, but it's still busy.

Chill out time...well that's pretty much up to you. It can happen anywhere you go... We usually spend the week of the 4th chilling a lot too and we cook in most of the time, since we aren't able to walk right in to restaurants like we usually can

.

If you pick an area, I'd be glad to help you choose a place to stay. Keep in mind that a lot of state parks will be close to full now probably. Also, just about all Michigan state parks are just water and electric, while some do have full hookups and some are just electricity. So pay careful attention on websites. The state does have a large variety of private campgrounds too though.

Jon

ihsolutions · 06-16-2010, 01:11 PM

We'll be in Ludington, MI which Jon mentioned above. We had to book our site 6 months in advance within minutes of the phone lines and internet site opening. It was all sold out in a matter of minutes.

Having said that, nothing beats Ludington State Park. It is quite simply the greatest place I've ever camped. For more reasons than I have time to list at the moment...

**Sunline Fan** · 06-16-2010, 01:15 PM

Jeff, I'm interested to hear after you've been there if they got everything rebuilt up there. I heard I think it was excess snow load on the main building caused the roof to collapse over the winter and caused a lot of damage...

ihsolutions · 06-16-2010, 06:58 PM

Jon, the visitors center was destroyed by snow in the winter of 2008-2009 I believe. It is closed with no reopening scheduled.

Hematite · 06-16-2010, 10:11 PM

Kitty: My recommendation is the shore for the Summer. I head for Cape Cod or Maine whenever I can. Hard to beat the seafood and the ocean. Bad part is the lousy Maine Turnpike road surface but Michigan is even worse in some areas. LOL.

kanyonkitty · 06-17-2010, 07:06 AM

Ok, thanks for all the ideas so far. Yeah, Jon is correct Michigan is probably out

Maine, Cape Cod - Well, I'm really the only "seafood" eater, lived in Newburyport, MA for many years. Born on the Cape. I'm a military brat.

Still holding onto the Pigeon Forge reservations for right now.

"IF" truck gets totally fixed, might just hit the road to where ever it takes us, upper NY, Vermont, Maine who knows.

All of this hinges on whether the truck co-operates or not. New fuel pump was manor issue, as it's now up & running, but now Gary thinks it's got a bad injector

My truck still "bedless", so it's not set up for towing yet, and vacation week is coming pretty fast.

Hey JohnB how about some of your "Sweet, Camping Places ? "

Kitty

Hematite · 06-17-2010, 11:30 AM

Whoops, let me correct what I said, I meant the Mass Pike. For an Interstate, the Mass Pike roads have to be about the worst. Actually the Maine Pike is excellent.

**JohnB** · 06-20-2010, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanyonkitty

Hey JohnB how about some of your "Sweet, Camping Places ? "

Kitty

Tell me what you are looking for?

We are camping here July 2 thru July 6. South west Ohio http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/par...2/Default.aspx

Looks like this.

We might be able to weasel in another weekend campout July 9 thru 11 pending where in the state you might be near.

Let us know.

John

dkasten39828 · 06-23-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanyonkitty

OK, Gary has vacation scheduled for the above mentioned dates, now we are looking for ideas of where to go.

Kinda hoping that some fellow Sunliners might be available for a mini-GTG ????

We currently have reservations to spend the time in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN, BUT we are now thinking we might prefer heading north/northwest.

Would like to:

Hookup/camp with other Sunline Club members
Sight see
Have "chill-out" time
Avoid major "crowed, high traffic areas"

Short notice, we realize that, but wealso know there is a huge wealth of experienced Sunline travelers right here at our fingertips that might have some great ideas for us. "IF" time weren't a factor, Gary & I would head WEST !! Teddy Roosevelt SP sounds really great to me

So, we'd love to hear ideas from our friends.

OH, we'd prefer to keep our distance to about 400 miles from the Harpers Ferry, WV area.

Thanks,
Kitty

If you have ressies in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, you are right in the middle of the most "crowded, high traffic area" in about 70 miles!

We just finished a 4-day trip to the OTHER side of the Smoky Mountain National Park... Cherokee, NC. I posted a review of the campground we stayed at. Nice, quiet place. WAY less traffic than Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. Not certain what sites would be available on this short a notice, but you can check. Still within easy reach of the Tennessee side of the Park... the Gatlinburg Aquarium is worth seeing... the Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville... the Coleman Outlet Store... Bass Pro Shops... Lodge cast Iron shop... Tanger Outlet Mall... whatever your interests may lead towards.

Many water falls to see on the NC side, especially down towards Highlands and Cashiers. Many great sights to see in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway (it's my FAVORITE place to visit).

I do have a list of sites at this CG that have "better" entry/escape angles.
If you are interested, PM me or email me. Checkout my review.