TICK TOCK GOES THE CLOCK !!

Wow, nearing the end of August already. I've seen other bloggers mentioning their yearn for migrating. Miss Heather and I are starting to feel the pull too!

I wonder if Michigan's summer weather is any indication of how winter will be? It certainly won't go in the record book as a hot summer. Most nights have hovered in the high 60's to low 70's. We've had some pretty nice days and I'm glad we weren't down South in the 90's+. Usually August is a hot month, but not this year. Last year we were out West and had to contend with upper 90's for weeks on end.

We've been enjoying our stay here and have seen quite a few of our friends. Got some short trips in and a few campouts accomplished. We've had bonfires almost every night and a lot of good meals. Jerry & Terra have made us very comfortable while moochdocking at their place.

We just bought a Honda Goldwing !!!

It felt really good cruising home on it. Now I've got to rearrange the trailer so it'll fit in it !! After seeing all the bikes in Florida, over the past few winters, I've had a bug to get one. Once it's loaded I'll run the trailer over some scales to make sure it's not overloaded.

We scrubbed and waxed the rig last week so it's looking pretty. Sure was overdue for a major cleanup. It took about 2 days for my arms to get back to normal.

       Since today is Wed 8-27, we'll be going to The Back Door Saloon in Houghton Lake, Mich. for the evening and enjoy some spaghetti again. We usually shoot a few games of pool too. If you're in the neighborhood come join us.

       REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

     Charlie & Heather

CAMP 114 FRED'S

8-18-14---We decided to have a visiting weekend in  North Michigan. If you follow the blog you know we're moochdocking at our friends house in Houghton Lake, Mich.. We decided to use this camp as a base and just go visiting from here. This past weekend we did a trip to Vanderbilt, Mi. and visit my friend Fred and his family. He just did a second retirement. He bought a 5^th wheel and travelled to the N.E. last month to sample lobster. Of course he had stories to tell! I've known Fred for decades and his 2 sons and families came over. It's hard to believe the boys are in their 40's ! We all did a lot of reminiscing and catching up. Fred BBQ'd and we had some corn on the cob, camper style, and sat around for hours til it got too chilly out for all of us.
Sunday we drove down to Grayling and caught up with our young friends, Rob & Amber, who were doing a DJ Karaoke gig, at a nice, out in the country, pub called Dingmans.

They were entertaining out back while a horseshoe tournement was happening. Nice crowd and lots of fun. About 5PM we headed back to Houghton Lake.
Michigan's summer weather has been weird this year. It's been more like fall than summer. Low 70's in the daytime and 50's at night. Our furnace and electric heater have been used most nights. We can feel our “Florida” thin blood being tested after 5 years of snowbirding. Even the die hard Michiganders are commenting on the coolness. There's even been a change of colors in the trees and we're seeing a few leaves falling already. Michigan had an unusually long winter and a cold one last year. I wonder if that's going to happen again.
We're probably gonna stay here til after Labor Day. We still haven't made any solid plans, other than South, of where to go from here.
REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie& Heather

 7-31 to 8-12-14 Camp 113.

We've been “ camped “ (moochdocking) at our friend's house in Houghton Lake since July 19^th and have been out-tripping from there about once a week. Our decision to go directly to Houghton Lake from the upper penninsula of Michigan was a good one. We've seen a lot of friends and had the chance to bop around upper Michigan sporadically.
Two weekends ago we camped at Reedsburg Dam State Forest and enjoyed some good weather.

Had visitors all weekend and our friend Carrrie Westbay played her guitar for our entertainment. We stayed til Tues and returned to Jerry & Terra's place.
Our moochdocking camp is in the country and has a nice bonfire pit and lots of wood. Happy hour prevails every evening and Jerry, the master smoker/cook, has been feeding us well and Terra has been fixin' breakfast regularly.
Our good friend, Dora, has even managed to getaway from her business, The Back Door Saloon, for a few days.

She joined us a Reedsburg and paid a visit Sunday too. It was good to see her. We've been going to her Spaghetti Dinner every Wednesday and camping in the parking lot overnight.
My buddy Jerry is Rolling Earthquake's master mechanic here in Michigan. He's going to do a brake inspection, rear brakes seem to be hanging up, and replace a universal joint next week. He's always worked on our motorhomes for years and does high quality work.
Last Friday we visited Chi-Town

which our friends Cindy & Willie own. Another outback campout. Our friend, Pam, was DJ'ing a large class reunion and we all had a great visit. Sat up even after they closed up and chatted into the late night hours.
If you're ever in the Houghton Lake, Mich. Area we suggest you visit The Back Door Saloon and Chi-Town if you like good food.
I think we've been spoiled by all the good weather. Today is a gloomy, sprinkly kinda day so we'll probably do some reading and TV today. I might even do some paperwork and organizing that I've been putting off. (procrastinating??)
We've been starting to talk about our takeoff date. My oldest daughter, Nicole, thinks she'll be visiting up here over the Labor Day weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing her .
I hate travelling on a holiday weekend so it'll be soon after that when we get on the road again. We might do a Niagra Falls trip after this.
My blogger friends are all starting to mull over plans for fall. It seems we all start getting wander lust ( hitch itch) about the same time every year. You'd think we were migrating birds, wouldn't ya??
Hope ya'll are having a great summer. We are !!


REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!



Charlie & Heather