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Cliches, anyone?

6/5/2018

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This campground is beautiful.  Really beautiful.  A lot of the campsites are owned, so they really did a great job in landscaping and hardscaping.

So, after Dave took a rest, we pulled down the golf cart to drive around and look at all the gorgeous campsites.

The campground also has walking paths in the forest, that Dave decided we needed to take in the gold cart.  I tried to caution him not to, but he said it was fine.  So, off we went in the forest.  There was a noticeable trail for a bit, but it started getting more and more like there was no trail.  I kept telling Dave we should turn around, but he doesn’t back down from a challenge.  So, Chacho and I were scratched by the wild rose bushes that hit us and we went over logs and God knows what else.  He finally saw RVs in the distance, so he headed straight for there, without following any kind of trail.  I kept saying that this was a bad idea, but he was having fun, and hubby is not one to back away from a challenge  (watch this - sound familiar?). Soon, we arrived at the back of several campsites.  Looking ahead, I saw a ditch and black soil so I told him that this looked like wetlands and we shouldn’t try to cross it because we’d get stuck.

Anyone want to guess what happened?.  And take a second guess what happened next.  Yep, we got stuck in the ditch with black, sucking mud all around us.  We spent ten minutes trying to get it out of the ditch by pushing, putting wood underneath it, nothing.  All we got for our trouble was full of black mud and lots of mosquitoes. At that point, we knew we needed to get the truck to pull it out.  Of course we had both dogs with us and no leashes, so we had to carry them.  Luckily, across the street a couple was watching us and came to meet us out in the street.  He had a jeep and pulled the golf cart out.
​NOT OUR GOLF CART!


We chatted for a while and invited them over later for a beer to thank them.  In the meantime, Dave drove us back and he took the golf cart around back and washed it again, after I had washed it the day before.  I went in and cleaned my black feet.  My shoes are still outside, waiting for Dave to clean them.

Then, I went to Meijers to get some dinner and some beer.  Of all the cliches, I slipped on a banana peel in the store and landed on my ass.  It wasn’t a whole one, just a piece.   Of course, the employees cam rushing over, wanting to take a report, etc. , but I was ok, other than wrenching my back a little.  So, I got to go home and tell Dave that story.

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What a day!  But we ended up sitting outside with the couple we met and had a lovely couple of hours, chatting. They’re also full timers and are from Michigan, so they gave us some suggestions on where to go.

The only thing I regret is that Dave had my phone during the towing experience.  I would have loved to take a picture of that and send it to you all.  But he wouldn’t hand it over.  I guess he knows how wicked I am :)  The good news is that my mosquito bites aren’t bad and we had a great laugh about it.  This story is definitely one for the books!
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Our summer begins...in Holland

6/3/2018

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We left Tennessee on May 30, with new shocks on the rig.  Headed for Holland, MI, we stopped for the night at a Flying J between Cincinnati and Indianpolis.  As always, the stop over at Flying J was uneventful except for the young man who ran our door bell at 1:15 in the morning because he didn't see our reserved sign taped on the window.  In the grand scheme of things, this was a minor irritation.

We got to Holland at about 2 pm and checked in at Oak Grover Campground.  This campground is great!  Good space between campsites (in the new section), nice grass and a paved patio.  The weather was perfect, sunny and warm and we relaxed, finally.

The next morning, after a delicious cup of coffee outside, listening to the birds chirp, we took off for our first sightseeing adventure.  We started at Nelis' Dutch Village.  This little village showed us what life was like for the Dutch in the old days.  It featured a windmill, an authentic polder mill and was used to move water to drain land.  Much of the original Netherlands are below sea level, so these types of polder mills played an integral role in keeping the land dry and habitable.

There were several cement statuaries throughout the park, modeled after some local villagers and handcrafted in cement by local artist Joyce Sweers.

The bridge tender drops the wooden shoe to collect a toll from a passing boat that needs the bridge to be raised.

Cheese vendors transport their products to the weigh house.

The baker transports his fresh products to the farmer's wife.

When the fleet comes in from the sea, the fish salesman sells a herring to be eaten raw at dockside.

The netmender repairs his net - notice the long points on his wooden shoes that hold the net.

Pieter with his finger in the dike and the priest represent the fairy tale by Mary Mapes Dodge.

The wagons and carts throughout the village each had a specific use and were powered by horses, goats, dogs and bicycles.  They were used for transporting mail, people and products and hauling manure.  On the narrow streets in Holland, these small wagons were more maneuverable.
The same afternoon, Dave and Chacho opted for a nap, so Sage and I went to the Windmill Island Gardens.  What a beautiful place!  The gardens were spectacular and the De Zwaan Windmill is the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the US.  The windmill was brought here from the town of Vinkel in Noord Brabant.  It's still being used to make mill-ground flour.

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Last, but definitely  not least, we were able to enjoy watching the sun set over Lake Michigan last night.  What a beautiful view, seeing the sun go down over the water and watching the sailboats glide by.  It was a sight we'll treasure forever.
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