A day of camping, grandkiddos and laughter at Kleinke Park, Michigan

Ahhh we slept with all the windows open, so we were waking up to the sounds of the water lapping the shore.... I promised you blog readers a "Get Up Early Sunrise Shot"    here it is:

Totally UNtouched, that is exactly how it looked....   just GORGEOUS! 

Steveio cooked up a nice breakfast of ham, sliced potatoes, eggs and toast, which is a nice treat! ...  I hauled out my spinning wheel and worked on some lovely roving that I had dyed up.  The colors reminded me of the waters of Lake Michigan.  Once the single strand of multicolored yarn is spun, (the bobbin on the left)  then I ply it back on a strand of thin bright silky blue wool/nylon yarn as a binder thread for strength.  (the bobbin on the right still on the wheel)  I am making up five bobbins of this yarn, and they will be made into two pairs of socks! 

After sipping coffee for a while under our awning, we hopped in the Tracker with the dogs and took a ride over to Cedar River State Forest to see how many campers were in there.  (That place is our first choice to camp in this area, but seeing as the weather was forecast to be so danged hot, we instead came to choice number two, Kleinke park where there are hookups for the AC to run) 

Only 2 campers and 1 tent in that campground at Cedar River... pretty quiet.  

I worked on knitting some of my thick wool hats as we drove along, and we enjoyed the rugged scenery of the U.P. of Michigan along the shorelines...

We then drove down to Bailey Park, which is a picnic park along the shore, but no camping allowed.  There is a Fishing Museum we are curious about, but it didn't open till 1p.m. ...so we will go back later.

http://www.menomineehistoricalsociety.org/westshorefishingmuseum.htm

Photos from their website

When we got back to the motorhome, we saw a nice post on Facebook:  

Gonna go swimming and get some well needed sun, with Jameson, Erin and chelsea. And we will visit grandma and grandpa Pfun while they're camping :)

Yayyyyyy  that meant we were gonna get some of our grandkiddos to come and visit us at the campground!   It's a 36 mile trip from Heather's to Erin's, and then another 40 miles from there up to here... so this is 77 miles one way for her... and over 150 round trip.  Just to come see us! awwwwwwww

They arrived around noon, with two sleeping kiddos in Erin's SUV to wake up.... 

and we had big hugs all around. 

  

The sand was the big attraction in our campsite, and soon we were littered with sand toys, buckets, shovels, and best of all, our dog-debarking flyswatter! 

Steveio hauled out the grill and we did up some burgers, and ate a lot of fresh fruit.  

Jameson enjoyed the salsa and chips more than his burger. 

With only one squirtgun, how can TWO kids have a decent water fight?  I hauled out my spritzing bottle for doing my hair, and Chelsea now had an even playing field against her opponent, Jameson! 

I can still hear the laughter and shrieks of delight as they squirted each other, the dogs, us and even the motorhome.  Yes, they decided they would *wash* Granfaddah's motorhome for him with their little squirters.  How cute is that? 

We donned swimsuits and headed to the beach...  Here is Chelsea showing off her bikini, and Jameson showing off his muscles.... my oh my, the beach scenario of male and female attractions never change do they?

The dead alewife population laying on the beach was diminished by the higher waves and more wind.  We didn't have to slap the kiddos hands from picking up dead fish. LOL   Sand and wind and water made for a delightful afternoon on the beach. This is the stuff Memories are Made Of !!!

Grandfaddah waded out to show them how shallow the bay was and it's all sandy bottom and no rocks.  What a great place to run and jump in the waves. 

After all the swimming was done, it was time for some cuddles in towels and blankets...

 They decided they had enough beach time, so we loaded up all the gear and toys from the beach and it was time to hit the playground!   Wheeeeeeeee

After the beach and playground, it was time to head on back to the camper and relax a bit (more for us grown-ups than the kiddos)  

We had ice cream cones and then I popped both of the little stinkers into the bathtub for a good cleanup.  Having a bathtub in a motorhome is a "must" for us, not only for washing dogs or taking a soak, but for scrubbing up grubby little grandkids too.  

Winding down, I brought out some coloring books and crayons, mainly to keep them on the ground tarp and out of the sand.  

Soon it was time for them to head on home... Their Daddies were done with work or projects and it was quite a drive back too.  We had hugs and kisses all around, and I sent the kiddos off with goodie bags of sugary treats to eat all the way home in the back seat of Erin's SUV... LOL    In two weeks we get Allegra for five days, so I think we will take her camping too.  Maybe Chelsea and Jameson can come and visit too, and we will have a real BEACH PARTY!

Steve and I took another walk around the campground, and chatted with a few folks here and there.  Our neighbor came over to share our campfire, and we sat out with some wine, my spinning wheel, and lawnchairs around the fire till late into the night.  It was a quiet night and the waves were the only sound we could hear in the darkness.  Ahhhhhh camping!   

Now on Sunday we are up and at em...  I slept on my wrist funny and now it hurts.  Dang, I wanted to get some knitting done, and maybe head to a sock-cranking gathering tomorrow.  With a bum wrist, not sure if I can do that?   

The humidity is creeping up to the mid 80's and the temp out there is 87 already at 10 am.  ACK!   We closed up the windows, fired up both of the AC units and are enjoying our morning INdoors.   Various folks around us are packing up and heading out before it gets too hot, I imagine.   Steveio is fiddling with a few maintenance things around the rig, and putting away some of the gear we won't be using anymore today while I write this blog in the cool AC interior.  I think MY job inside is easier... LOL 

About 5 or 6 campers stay here all summer.  The 6 month rate to stay here from May to Oct is 1,500.   That is less than $10 a day to stay here with 50amp service.  (no water, no sewer, you have to haul it over in a jug or bladder to your rig, and haul your tank dumpings in a rolling blue tote to the station down at the end of the park)   But the price is right for a beach front site on the Great Lakes! 

We might leave the dogs in the motorhome and head over to the fishing museum at 1pm to check that out.    No rush to go home, it's hotter there with NO AC going compared to the campground with 50 amp hookups.  Checkout time is 2pm but nobody is rushing to take our spots, so we can hang on a bit if we want. 

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