Visiting the Big Apple – June 2022

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

We found a lovely campground near New York City, Croton Point Campground. It is a Westchester County park on a peninsula in the Hudson River. The sites are nice with electric, water, and sewer hookups, it appeared that most were 30 amp and some 50 amp service. They are good-sized sites with level gravel pads. There are walking trails in the park and a bicycle trail that follows the Hudson River. It was a hilly area and challenging for bicyclists, but we had several enjoyable rides while we were there.

There is a train station two miles from the campground and we took advantage of that when we went into New York City to go sightseeing. On Wednesday, May 25th, we hiked to the train station (all of our clothing, etc was in backpacks) and took the train to Grand Central Station where we transferred to the subway to Lower Manhattan.  We booked a room at the Holiday Inn – Financial District for two nights. It was centrally located for the sites that we wanted to visit.

Do you remember the Blue Bloods episode when Jamie and Edie had to patrol in the NYPD’s energy efficient patrol car? Well, it must be a real patrol car because we saw it parked right across the street from our hotel!

We were able to check early when we arrived and, after a quick unpacking, we walked to Battery Park to catch the Staten Island Ferry. We had no intention of going to Staten Island, but the ferry ride gave us a viewing of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and the NYC skyline. What a great introduction to New York. On our way back to the hotel, we had our picture taken beside the Wall Street Bull. We chose to be at the head, some others preferred to rub another part of the bull’s anatomy.

We had an early dinner at a pizza place next to the Holiday Inn, changed clothes and took the subway to Broadway to see a performance of Hamilton. What a great show! The cast and producers did a professional job and we enjoyed it all. I thought I knew quite a bit of history about Alexander Hamilton, but this performance inspired me to study our first Secretary of the Treasury in more depth.

On Tuesday, we took the 10:00 tour of the 911 Memorial. As we arrived Marines from the Amphibious Assault Ship “USS Bataan” were completing a unit run to the Memorial What an inspirational sight! Inside, the exhibits did a marvelous job of telling the story, including the attack on the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93. They also described the build up to that day with the story of the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. I was struck by how quiet it was throughout the tour. There was a low murmuring as families and groups commented to each other in low tones, but nothing more. Instinctively, everyone recognized the solemnity of the Memorial.

From the 911 Memorial, we walked to Battery Park to board the tour ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The National Park Service is in the process of moving the museum displays from the base of the monument to a separate museum building. Because you need to purchase a separate pass to go to the top of the pedestal, there wasn’t any crowd at all in old museum. It was interesting to see how the statue was developed and constructed and the timeline for it all. From the top of the pedestal, we had great views across the Upper Bay and Lower Manhattan. At one time, it was possible to climb interior stairs to the head of the Statue, but those days are long gone. After we toured the new museum (kind of a letdown after seeing the old one), we re-boarded the ferry to go to Ellis Island. What I liked best about the new museum is that the original torch is on display.

As we approached Ellis Island, I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like to be an immigrant arriving from Europe to settle in the United States. My own Great-Grandfather, Ollie John Wangen, migrated from Norway and passed through Ellis Island, before settling in Ludington, MI. We entered the Great Hall where newly arrived immigrants would be interviewed; they were then sorted into groups for further processing. They were given medical examinations, and hospitalized if necessary. Then onto legal examinations to insure they were legally allowed to enter the U.S., if there were questions, they would go before a Special Board of Inquiry. Once they passed these hurdles, they had to show that they had adequate funds, a sponsor, and a destination where they could find employment. If all of this worked in their favor, they were granted admission. If not, they were rejected and returned to their home country. The steamship line that brought them to the U.S. was required to give them return passage.

After returning to Battery Park, we stopped at Suspenders Pub for dinner before going back to our hotel to give our feet a rest.

We realized that we were in New York City during Fleet Week and the USS Bataan was available for tours. In the morning we checked out, left our backpacks with the hotel, and took the subway back to Broadway were we walked to Pier 88 to visit the USS Bataan.

The Bataan is an amphibious assault ship, which means she is like a small aircraft carrier and cargo ship combined. She can carry part of a Marine Corps Battalion Landing Team, discharge landing craft from a ramp on her stern, and fly helicopters and other aircraft from her flight deck. The Marines and aircrews were giving demonstrations of the equipment and explaining how they operate together.

We stopped at Times Square where there was a Fleet Week display. I took the opportunity to play underwater Tic-Tac-Toe with a Navy SEAL – I won! On our way back to the hotel, we ran into some of the Bataan’s Navy crew on the subway.

All good things must end, and we took the subway/train back to Croton-on-the-Hudson, and hiked back to our campsite. What a great trip!

On Sunday, we drove to the United States Military Academy at West Point to attend services at the Cadet Chapel. Our son, Scott, graduated from West Point in 1998, and it seemed fitting to go to church there while we were so close. While we were sitting at the start of the service, the chaplain invited everyone to turn and greet each other. The people in front of us turned around and we all stood there, staring at each other, recognizing and yet, not recognizing each other. Then the light bulb came on and we recognized neighbors, the Kirchen family, from DeWitt, MI, where we used to live. Their daughter, Paula, was also a West Point graduate and they were back for a visit. This world is getting way too small!

After church, we drove to the West Point Cemetery. One of Scott’s classmates from the Lansing area, CPT Steve Frank, was killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and we visited his grave.

We relaxed and generally enjoyed our time at Croton Point and on June 2nd, we drove to Milford, NH and stayed in the driveway of some friends from Key West, Ray and Harriet. It was an interesting experience to back our 38-foot fifth wheel up Ray’s steep, curving driveway, but we made it and we spent a nice couple of days hanging out with them. Some other Key West friends who live nearby, Ken and Susan, joined us for dinner and good conversation.

On Saturday, June 4th, we made a short drive to Freeport, ME – home to LL Bean Outfitters! If you are coming through southern Maine, this is almost a “must do” activity. After we set up our RV at the Cedar Haven Family Campground, we drove to the LL Bean Flagship Store. The entire area around LL Bean has turned into a retail bonanza. There are now all kinds of stores just waiting to sell you all kinds of neat stuff. We did get a couple of shirts and a pair of pants, but when you live in an RV, you only have so much room. There was a neat looking MacDonald’s where we had lunch, there was nothing different about the food, but the building was special.

On Monday, June 6th, we headed to Bar Harbor, ME to join an RV caravan to tour the Canadian Maritimes Provinces, that was the reason we drove this far in the first place.

Posted in Maine, New Hampshire, New York | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Journey North Continues, Washington, DC – April 2022

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

We arrived at Fort Belvoir on Friday, April 22nd. Fort Belvoir is a nice looking post, with many old, but well maintained buildings. The RV park is on the shore of the Potomac River and has great views. The sites are all level, paved, with full hookups. Fort Belvoir’s major advantage is being close to Washington, DC. It is a short ten-mile drive to the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station, and from there it is a forty-five minute ride to the National Mall.

Our son, Dave, flew in from Michigan to join us in touring our nation’s capital. While all of us wanted to see the Air and Space Museum, it was closed for a major renovation. Consequently, we opted to start our sightseeing at the Museum of American History. We began our tour on the upper floors where the displays are changed periodically.

We planned to see the monuments at the west end of the Mall in the afternoon, but we were able to get some last minute timed entry tickets to the Holocaust Museum and changed our plans. One of the first things you do upon entering the museum is pick up an ID folder that describes a victim of the Holocaust. This puts a face on the experience. The museum describes the pre-World War II situation the Jewish population faced, how they were marginalized, and later collected and sent to the concentration camps. It wasn’t only the Jews that suffered under this policy. Homosexuals, Roma (Gypsies), religious clergy, and other minority groups were also victims. The victims of the Holocaust were segregated into groups of the strong (those who would be literally worked to death) and the weak (women, children, the ill and elderly). The latter group was murdered and their corpses destroyed. The living conditions were, at best, horrendous, with people sleeping on top of each other on wooden bunks and not fed enough to sustain life.

As we toured the museum, I was struck by the silence around me. Everyone was impacted by the callous way these victims were treated.

On Monday, we took the Metro and walked to One Massachusetts Avenue to tour the National Guard Museum. I had always wanted to see this, but this was my first time. As a National Guardsman, it had a special meaning to me.

We had made arrangements to tour the Capital Building with Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD). We met Savannah, one of Senator Rounds’ staff outside the Hart Senate Office Building. Here we joined a group from the offices of Senator John Thune (R-SD) who is the Senate Minority Whip and Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD). Due to COVID-19 the Capital Visitor Center was closed and there were no tours from there. This was nice as we didn’t have the multitudes of visitors we had seen on previous visits. In addition to the normal tour, we were able to see the offices of all three Congressmen and Senator Thune’s Whip office. Talk about feeling like VIPs!

We explored the Lincoln Memorial. I was impressed once more by the strength of this man. The challenges he faced through his life and during his Presidency would have ruined a lesser man.

Our next stop was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The controversy that surrounded the design has been well documented. Every time I visit the Memorial, I am struck by how the noise of the surrounding area disappears as you approach the wall. It feels like you are leaving one world to visit another. It creates the level of somberness appropriate to this place.

From there we visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Looking at the figures, I could see the strain of combat on their faces and the beginnings of the “Thousand Yard Stare.”

The Martin Luther King Memorial was our next stop. The message of Dr. King is clear to me and the way the Memorial shows him in a section of a wall that has been separated, opening up a passage for all to use reinforces that message.

Our final stop that day was the World War II Memorial. This memorial is simple, but impactful. My dad served in the Pacific in the Marianas Islands and Kwajalein and that makes it personal to me.

 Tuesday, we drove to the Manassas Battlefield to tour the battles of the First and Second Manassas, or Bull Run depending whether you wore blue or gray. The first Battle of Manassas was the first actual ground combat of the Civil War and was a rude awakening to the horror of war. Both sides thought it would be the first and last battle and they soon realized they had several years of combat ahead of them.

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall may have been closed but the annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport was open. None of us had ever toured this site before. The Smithsonian has a unique place in the pecking order of aviation museums. Dave commented that other museums would have a B-29 Superfortress, but only the Smithsonian would be able to acquire the “Enola Gay,” the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. If you are into aviation history, this is a “must see” museum for you!

On Wednesday, we began our day by viewing the White House. It’s a shame visitors can’t get very close any more, but it is the new normal. From the White House we walked to the Washington Monument. Like many of the museums and memorials, we had to get timed entry tickets. The first time I visited the Washington Monument as a kid, you could climb to the top, now you have to take the elevator. Apparently, that makes it easier for everyone, visitors and staff. What a great view of the District of Columbia! The skies were clear and the visibility was unlimited. One new fact I learned was that groups and states contributed memorial blocks to be used in the construction of the monument.

After the Washington Monument, we returned to the Museum of American History to tour the permanent exhibits on the ground floor. This is my third visit to this museum and I am still impressed with how much I continue to discover. My favorite exhibits were those about transportation.

Our next stop was the Library of Congress. While it is first a research library, it is also a museum about learning. The walls and the ceilings tell as much of a story as the books on the shelves.

The Library was destroyed by the British Army during the War of 1812 and Thomas Jefferson sold them his entire book collection for $23,950 to begin the rebuilding. His personal collection is on display in the Library.

Thursday, we rode the Metro to the Arlington Cemetery. Thousands of service members and dignitaries, such as Supreme Court Justices, Members of Congress, and former Presidents are buried here. The U.S. Army Third Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, performs ceremonial duties for the cemetery. They are most well known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In the Cemetery Visitor Center we learned the story of how the Unknown Soldiers were selected from World War I and II and the Korean War. There was an unknown soldier from Vietnam, but due to advances in DNA technology he was identified and re-interned in his own grave.

The Guard of the Unknown Soldier is changed every half-hour and the public can observe this solemn ceremony.

Friday Pat and Dave practiced the fine art of doing nothing while I had some maintenance done on our truck. On Saturday Dave flew back to Michigan. Pat and I attended worship services at the Post Chapel on Sunday, and that afternoon I visited the National Museum of the Army. I wasn’t sure how it could cover the Army’s history in a way that I hadn’t already experienced at the Infantry Museum and others. However, I was impressed, the exhibits were very professional and took a different approach that made the history I was familiar with interesting.

Monday, May 2nd we drove north to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

Posted in Military RV Parks, National Guard, National Parks, Washington DC | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our Journey North Continues, Cherry Point-Richmond – April 2022

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

We arrived at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point on April 10th. Pelican Point, the base RV park, is very nice. This is a relatively new park, located well away from the busy areas of the base. The sites are paved with full hookups, and half of the sites are pull-throughs. In addition to a bathhouse and laundry room, there is a small community room. There is a boat launch a short distance from the park, and a bike path that runs all the way to the Exchange/Commissary.

We have Key West friends that live in the area and we made arrangements to meet them while we were there. We met Lynn at her house and drove to Beaufort to Dave and Clara’s house. Beaufort is a beautiful waterfront community. Clara grew up in Beaufort and they live in the family home. They are familiar with all the great places to eat and took us to a wonderful seafood restaurant.

We kayaked on the Alligator Cut, the river by the RV park, that is a branch of the Neuse River. I’m not sure where the name came from, but we didn’t see any alligators.

We headed to Richmond, VA on Saturday, April 16th. In Richmond, we stayed at the MWR campground at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Located south of Richmond, it afforded us a great base for exploring the city. The campground is small, only six sites, laid out in a circle, with plenty of open space between the sites. With a campground so small you would think it would be easy to schedule, but that must not be the case. As we were setting up another couple arrived and were booked into the same site. Fortunately, after a series of phone calls we got it all sorted out and we both ended up with a free night to compensate us for the hassle. We shared a couple bottles of wine and had a good laugh about it.

We arrived in Richmond on Saturday, and Sunday was Easter. We found a very nice church close to the campground – Beulah United Methodist Church. It was an enjoyable experience with our favorite hymns, a solid message, and they even gave us bags of candy as we left the church.

I love exploring history where it actually happened. Our first stop in Richmond was the American Civil War Museum. They did a good job of summarizing the conflict, but it seemed a bit superficial. I guess knowing so much history can be a problem sometimes. Exploring history is not always pleasant. It causes you to face both the good and bad of our nation’s past. This museum accomplished the goal of presenting the past so we can apply what we have experienced and learned to our future.

After the museum, we had a full schedule ahead of us. We walked under the Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge to Belle Isle. There is a pedestrian walkway suspended under the bridge. This was certainly more pleasant than walking next to the busy traffic of US-301.

Belle Isle has been the site of a fishery, a Civil War prisoner of war camp, home to the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Company, and a hydroelectric plant. It is now a green space for the city of Richmond. There is a network of walking and biking trails, and picnic areas. You can visit the ruins of the hydroelectric plant and the nail company, as well as the site of the Civil War prison camp. The trail network was a bit confusing at times, but we avoided betting lost and enjoyed walking the trails.

Next we walked to the Virginia State Capital Building. This building was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and has a statue of George Washington that is an exact replica of him. The sculptor made a plaster cast of Washington’s face and extensive measurements of his body before he even began his work. We took a guided tour that gave us the history of the building as well as the history that surrounded it.

After the Capital Building we walked a few blocks to have an early dinner at the Sine Irish Pub. It was a nice, relaxing meal after a busy day.

On our way back, we walked along the Canal Walk that included a section of murals. I found this one particularly interesting.

The next day we took it easy and we explored the area around the campground. We were surprised to learn that the Richmond DLA was home to a herd of elk. A local farmer, James Bellwood, had imported some elk from Yosemite National Park and Washington State and they evolved into a good-sized herd. When his property was sold to the Army for the Richmond Supply Depot, his heirs insisted that the herd be continued and maintained on the property.

On Friday, April 22nd we drove to Fort Belvoir, VA and Washington, DC.

Posted in Military RV Parks, North Carolina, Virginia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

We Begin Our Journey North, March-April 2022

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

We left Key West on March 10th and headed for the Tampa area. We made an overnight stop at our “go to” campground on the Tamiami Trail (US-41), Midway Campground, operated by the US Forest Service. It’s not easy to find campground vacancies in Florida for this time of year, but we were able to get a site at Sundance Lakes RV Park in New Port Richey. Pat’s brother and sister, and their spouses rented a house in the area and we wanted to spend some time with them and our niece, Robin, and her family. After a week of enjoying time with family and friends, we made an overnight stop in Titusville to take our granddaughter, Katrina, out to dinner. She is a freshman at the University of Central Florida.

One of our favorite RV parks in Florida is at the Naval Station Mayport. Pelican Roost is right on the shore of the St. Johns River and ship watching is a favorite pastime. Our morning exercise routine became a more pleasant experience with a nice beach for our walks. We watched a fleet replenishment ship leave port for a shakedown and return. It was interesting to watch the harbor tugboats maneuver the ship away from her moorings, after which it left under her own power. Another significant sighting was watching the Destroyer Orleck sail up the river to Jacksonville. The USS Orleck is a Korean War era destroyer that was moved from Lake Charles, LA to be a Naval Museum in Jacksonville.

Two of our friends, Ray and Harriet, pulled in a few days after us. They joined us for dinner at the Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant and birthday cake at our rig to celebrate my 73rd birthday. We don’t often have the opportunity to celebrate these occasions with friends, so that made it special.

Our next stop was Joint Base Charleston. We had originally planned to stay at the RV park at Charleston Air Force Base, but it was full. We were able to get a site at the Naval Weapons Station Goose Creek. This is home to the National Nuclear Program Training Center. We had toured several Charleston sites during a previous visit but sought out some new sites.

Our first site was the Boone Plantation. Boone Hall Plantation was founded in 1681 when Englishman Major John Boone came to Charleston and established a lucrative plantation on the banks of Wampacheone Creek.

The farm passed through a series of owners and was eventually sold to Harris M. McRae and his wife Nancy in 1955. The McRaes continued to farm the land, and they opened the plantation to public tours in 1956. Boone Hall is still owned by the McRae family, which has made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens. Today, Elizabeth McRae operates an agricultural and historical tourism business on plantation grounds. Mount Pleasant’s Boone Hall Plantation has remained as one of our nation’s oldest and most prominent plantations. The mansion that exists on Boone Hall Plantation today was built in 1936 by Canadian ambassador Thomas Stone. We were only able to tour the first floor because the second floor is reserved for the use of the McRae family. Part of the plantation that remains are the slave quarters. These lodgings are now the site of many presentations that include the history of slavery in the South and the conditions that they endured. I was impressed that there was no attempt to romanticize or “sugar-coat” how the slaves lived and worked.

“Exploring The Gullah Culture” is a unique presentation where the lives of the slaves can be experienced firsthand.  Boone Hall is the only plantation in the Charleston area to present a live presentation of this unique culture adapted by African slaves. We listened as a true descendant of the Gullah people presented the history of this culture through storytelling and song.

Next to the Boone Plantation was a small plantation owned by Charles Pinckney. He was one of the drafters of the Constitution. It is always interesting to see where history actually took place, rather than just seeing a display in a museum.

Our next trip was to visit the Summerville Azalea Festival in Summerville. This is a three-day event to raise money for the Summerville YMCA. The town of Summerville cordons off three blocks along Main Street for a wide variety of vendors and food trucks. We had a great time wandering the vendors, picking up a few items and sampling the food offerings.

On Saturday, we visited the Friends of the Hunley Museum. The CSS Hunley was the only true operational submarine in the Civil War. James McClintock, Baxter Watson, and Horace L. Hunley were the inventors and builders of the CSS Hunley. Hunley recognized the importance of breaking the Union blockade and keeping supply lines open to the South. These three developed two prototype submarines, the Pioneer and the American Diver, before creating the Hunley. The Hunley arrived in Charleston on August 12th, 1863, and the crew quickly began testing the Hunley in Charleston Harbor.

On a moonlit night in February, 1864, the crew of the CSS Hunley had the calm sea they had waited for and embarked on their ambitious attack. The target was the USS Housatonic, one of the Union’s mightiest and newest sloops-of-war. The Hunley’s approach was stealthy and by the time they were spotted, it was too late. As the Hunley approached the ship, the alarm sounded and the sailors fired their guns, the bullets pinging off the metal hull of the Hunley. Below the surface, the spar torpedo detonated and the explosion blew a hole in the Housatonic. The sloop sank in less than five minutes, causing the death of five of its 155 crewmen. However, the submarine and crew disappeared into the darkness of the sea.

After fifteen years of searching, on May 3rd, 1995, best-selling author Clive Cussler and his National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), team finally found the submarine. Using a magnetometer, the NUMA crew located a metal object about four miles off the coast of Sullivan’s Island. After diving in nearly 30 feet of water, they removed three feet of sediment to reveal one of the Hunley’s two small conning towers. Bringing the Hunley back to land proved to be an engineering challenge of unprecedented proportions. Further complicating matters was the presence of human remains within the submarine. Friends of the Hunley Chairman Warren Lasch brought together a high caliber team to recover the remains of the crew and restore the Hunley.

Our next campground was Myrtle Beach State Park. This is our favorite campground in Myrtle Beach. It is like a forested oasis in the midst of commercial RV parks. This is a place to relax and enjoy the ocean. We got to walk on the beach for miles as well as ride the multiple bike paths. There was a multitude of geocaches in the area for me to find. One day the air was warm and the waves were high – that made for a perfect day for body surfing in the ocean. What a fun time!

That’s me, body surfing in the wave.

Saturday, April 10th, we pulled out and headed to Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point in North Carolina.

Posted in Florida, Military RV Parks, South Carolina | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Back to Paradise (Key West) – Dec 2021 – Mar 2022

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

We departed from Patrick Space Force Base on Dec 9, 2021 and drove to Sigsbee Island RV Park at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West in one long day. We arrived after dark and, as required by their policy, we spent the night in the office parking lot and checked in first thing in the morning. As opposed to previous years, we would not be rotating between dry camp and full hook-up sites (a process known as rotation or shuffling), but remain in dry camp for our three-month stay. We knew this from the start and were ready, both physically and emotionally.

We were used to arriving later in December and having around a dozen sites from which to choose. This time dry camp looked like a ghost town. I can only remember one time when there were so many vacant sites. On the plus side, there was no waiting in line to use the showers!

Because we were not “shuffling,” we put up more decorations and made our site more permanent than past years. We had a nice site, close to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, with a shade tree – life is good!

We got right into the swing of things. I hooked up with the Navy Chaplain to play at Sunday Chapel services. The Base Chapel is always in need of musicians to lead the music during the Sunday Worship. There was already another guitar player, but he was an air traffic controller and his work schedule prevented him from playing on a regular basis. We picked up a third sailor who played guitar and drum a week before we left. It was a unique situation where I was able to select the songs we would sing every week.

We began our routine of riding our bikes all the way around the island (It is only two miles wide and four miles long), and watching the sunset with friends. Snorkeling is fun here as we could snorkel right off the shore in the campground. I found two new sunken boats with loads of fish around them, including a large Goliath Grouper and a Green Moray Eel. I hadn’t seen these kinds of fish off the campground in past years.

We arrived in Key West in time for the annual Army vs. Navy Game and were able to watch it at the Sunset Lounge, our campground Tiki bar. Unfortunately, Army lost 😦

We wanted to participate in some of the Key West Christmas activities and we were not disappointed. There was a Christmas lighted boat parade, Christmas Trolley Tour, and a bicycle parade through old Key West. We had a great time.

Many parts of Key West were decorated for the Christmas holidays. Key West started out as a fishing village, and developed into a tourist town. This has resulted in some unique decorations, such as this Christmas tree made from crab traps.

Happy hour dining is a long-standing tradition in Key West and we visited some of our favorite haunts. One of our favorites, Turtle Kraals, had gone out of business, but was purchased by the Boathouse. The food and service at the new Boathouse at Turtle Kraals was just as good as at its old location.

Kayaking is always high on our list of fun things to do. We were able to kayak with a couple of different groups. We kayaked in the salt marshes and mangroves behind the Key West airport followed by a lunch at the Hurricane Hole Marina. Later we kayaked with another group through the mangroves at Geiger Key with lunch at the Geiger Key Marina and Fish Camp. It was so much fun to share this activity with other campers. We rediscovered the canal that runs through the base housing area. On windy days, it is a quiet and enjoyable paddle. There are always iguanas hanging out on the trees along the shore, sunning themselves, and a variety of fish.

I normally volunteer as a docent on the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Museum. However, she had been towed to Tampa and dry docked to have repairs made to her hull. She returned on January 1, 2022 and we were on hand to welcome her home. We were surprised when we were pressed into duty to help guide her into her mooring at the Truman Waterfront and help set her mooring lines in place on the wharf. It was a fun night!

We spent the next five weeks cleaning her up and rebuilding all of the display areas. When most of us signed up as volunteers, it was to act as a docent, orienting visitors on the self-guided tour and answering questions. Now there were many other tasks that needed to be done, and we jumped on them. Finally, we had the Ingham open for tours on February 8th and we could put away our brooms, mops, and paint brushes.

Every Friday morning we helped with “Plogging the Keys,” a City of Key West program to keep Key West an attractive vacation destination. In short, we picked up trash!  There was a regular group of volunteers (about twelve or more), a mix of residents, snowbirds, and military retirees from the campground, that made a point of giving back to the community. The City of Key West is actually paid a fee for cigarette butts from an organization that recycles these into another product. Harriett and Ray Riendeau took this to the next level and organized a Plogging event to clean the causeway at NAS Key West.

Music has always been a part of our time in Key West. There are entertainers in many of the restaurants and pubs. In the campground, we have a group of amateur musicians that met every Wednesday afternoon for a “jam session” where we took turns leading a song with the group. It was a great opportunity to learn new songs and improve our skills, and just a lot of fun. Sometimes we even had an audience! I discovered later in the season that one of the guitar players was the brother of one of my soldiers in Company F (RANGER), 425th Infantry and was also a retired Michigan Guardsman – what a small world!

After Christmas, a couple of vacationing, drunken bozos thought it would be a good idea to burn a Christmas tree leaning against the iconic Southernmost Point in the USA marker. While the concrete structure was fine, the paint job was ruined. Pat and I happened to ride by one morning when it was partially repainted and had a picture taken with this “work in progress.” By the way, the two bozos were identified by a local bartender that they had given a hard time, and were arrested and fined.

Pat and I either walked through the campground or rode our bikes around the island for exercise almost every morning. In Key West you just never know what you might see as you ride around town.

The Key West Half-Marathon is one of the most popular half marathons in the country. Conducted every year in January (except in 2021, when it was a virtual race), it draws runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers from all over the country. We have volunteered for this event for the last five years, selling merchandise and staffing an aid station (water point) to hydrate the racers. For all but one year, the weather has been challenging. This year had high winds (20+ mph), blowing water over the seawall onto the course. We got soaked! However, we felt we were providing a needed service, and we enjoyed celebrating with the racers at the finish line party.

We celebrated the Super Bowl with a watch party at one of the campsites. Our friend, Rudy, makes this an annual event, projecting the game onto the side of his fifth wheel trailer. Good food and camaraderie, combined with an OK football game, what could be better?

When the Cutter Ingham was towed to Tampa for repairs, it consumed all of the funds that had been raised for a major overhaul and there was a need to rebuild the bank account. To further that goal, I presented a benefit concert at the Southernmost VFW Post. We had a great turnout, mostly from the campground. I was so psyched by having so many friends in the audience to support me! I had modest hopes to raise a couple of hundred dollars and ended up raising $950 – I was thrilled. Needless to say, the crew of the Ingham was thrilled as well.

Pat and some of her friends visited the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, a butterfly park that houses 50 to 60 different species of live butterflies from around the world.

I love museums. One day my friend, Steve Smith, and I rode downtown to tour the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and the 200 years of Key West display at the Custom House.

Traditionally the campground would be the scene of many parties. Due to COVID-19, many of these were small get-togethers. In February, we revived an old tradition of the “Sigsbee Shuffle.” This is like a progressive dinner. We would gather at one of the campsites, be treated to drinks and snacks by a team of hosts, and then move on to the next site. Approximately 90+ Shufflers joined in the fun. It felt like old times!

As the end of February approached, some of our friends were going to head Up The Road, also known as UTR. We hosted a UTR party to send them on their way in style. One thing about Sigsbee, there is always something to celebrate!

With every passing day, we saw one friend after another head up the road. Three days before we were scheduled to leave, we were able to move into a full hookup site. Here we were able to give our waste tanks a thorough rinsing, vacuum the carpeting, and a few other maintenance items. On March 10th we made our last goodbyes and headed UP THE ROAD.

Posted in Florida, Military RV Parks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Exploring Florida’s Space Coast, Oct-Dec 2021

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Michigan Traveler

Manatee Cove RV Park at Patrick Space Force Base is a nice location. The park itself is right on the shore of the Banana River and a short bike ride away from the Atlantic Ocean. On a clear day (or night) you have a great view of launches from the Kennedy Space Center. The downside is that they don’t accept reservations and you drive down with no guarantee of getting a site. We were lucky and we are all set on site #61.

We made contact with a veteran of my old National Guard unit, Company F (RANGER) 425th Infantry. Gary Siedel and his wife, Linda, moved to nearby Melbourne after he retired from the Southfield Fire Department. We shared a meal at the Manatee Cove Marina and an evening of Karaoke at their community clubhouse.

Our oldest granddaughter, Katrina, is enrolled in her freshman year at the University of Central Florida. We couldn’t be this close to her with paying her a visit. We enjoyed having lunch with her and getting a tour of the campus. It’s hard to believe this child I used to rock to sleep is now a young woman, starting out on her own! Unfortunately we were having so much fun together, we forgot to take any pictures.

The shortage of workers is affecting the Outdoor Recreation Department like the rest of the country. It took awhile for them to get activities coordinated, but they overcame that and got activities going as in past years. We now have karaoke once a week in the Community Center and the campground bowling league had its first practice session on November 15th with competition starting on November 20th. The league is fun. While everyone tries to bowl their best game, no one really cares about the score, just having a good time. The league is scheduled on a day when the bowling alley is not open, and we have the place to ourselves. Although no one really cares about the score, it’s pretty bad to get beat by VACANT, a player who isn’t even there!

Outdoor Recreation hosted a Welcome Back Luncheon to kick off the “high” season (when the bulk of the campers are here) and I was able to entertain everyone with a guitar concert while we were waiting for the food to be served. Unfortunately, there were no pictures.

After spending the summer in Washington with almost no rain, we have been blessed with an abundance of it here. Our site is prone to flooding and we have had a small lake next to our door several times. Fortunately, we have a platform so we can sit outside even when the ground is saturated. Thank goodness for small favors!

The Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts at nearby Eastern Florida State College is the venue for many great performances. We have listened to Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas albums for years. Now we were able to watch Mannheim Steamroller give a Christmas performance at the King Center. What a great performance! Watching the musicians was as entertaining as listening to them.

We were considering several options for Thanksgiving dinner when one of our friends suggested that a group of us go to the “Mansion.” That sounded good to us and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. Tony and Lori invited their neighbors, Josh and Cassandra. While the Mansion was very busy, we had a small alcove all to ourselves. The food was delicious and the portions were huge! All of us took leftovers home with us. After our meal, we retired to Tony and Lori’s RV for a game of Dominoes. We had introduced them to Dominoes the week before and Tony fell in love with the game!

We discovered that Josh and Cassandra were also kayakers. Consequently, we invited both couples to join us for kayaking in the Thousand Islands at Ramp Road. We enjoyed paddling the trail through the mangroves and we checked the homes that none of us could afford in some nearby canals.

I enjoy entertaining with my guitar and I followed up my performance at the Welcome Luncheon with another performance in our Community Center. We had about twenty people show up and it was a good night for all.

One of the benefits of staying on the Space Coast is the opportunity to watch launches from the Kennedy Space Center. For nighttime launches, we only have to walk to the north end of the campground for a clear view of the launch. I want to thank my friend, Jim Belisle, who is a better photographer and has better equipment than I do for these terrific shots.

Every year Wickham Park, part of the Brevard County park system, hosts a fundraiser for the local Boy Scouts with their Space Coast Christmas Light Fest. One of the weekends is set aside as a “stroll though,” with no cars allowed. Two of our Key West friends, Steve and Kathleen, joined us for this. We started with a meal from a group of food trucks and then walked the 1.1 miles of lighted displays. It was a pleasant night for it and we had a wonderful time.

One of the last things we did was to visit the crafts fair at Historic Cocoa with Tony and Lori. There were plenty of shops and street music. One of the treasures we left with was a small steel drum. The jury is still out on how well I can play it!

Eventually, our time at Patrick SPB came to an end. We pulled out on December 9th and headed south to the Southernmost point in the USA – Key West.

Posted in Florida, Fulltime RV, Military RV Parks | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Camp Murray – One of Our Favorite Campgrounds – May-Sep 2021

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Michigan Traveler

There are three military campgrounds in the area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). The Army Travel Camp at Lewis North, the Holiday Park FAMCAMP at McChord Field, and the Camp Murray Beach Campground. While the Army Travel Camp and Holiday Park are operated by the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Program at JBLM, Camp Murray Beach is located at the National Guard Headquarters at Camp Murray, and operated by the National Guard Association of Washington.

Camp Murray is our favorite of the three and I hesitate to tell everyone about this hidden gem. It is tucked away on the shores of American Lake. The shoreline of the campground is a channel between the mainland and Barlow Island. This channel is blocked by mooring buoys, making it a safe place for swimming and other kid activities.

All of the sites are full hookup sites and, with a couple of exceptions, are pretty spacious. When we first arrived we were fortunate to get into site A-1. I consider this to be the best site in the park and could not believe we were lucky enough to get it. It is right on the lake and your door opens directly onto the beach area. Later in our stay, we moved to C-5 on the back row. The “backyard” areas here are huge with three community fire pits.

As opposed to the other two parks that are limited to 14-day stays, you can get a reservation at Camp Murray for up to 30-days. When your time is up you have to leave for a minimum of three days before you can return. Another benefit is that you can wash and do maintenance on your RV in the park, which is not allowed at Lewis or McChord.

American Lake is a popular destination for boating. Many of the service members live in the housing areas near the lake and take advantage of this great recreational resource. A marina on base supports JBLM families. Weekends find the portion of the lake surrounded by JBLM property a popular spot for boaters to relax and swim. We like to kayak in the lake and found some of the best blackberry plants along the shore for easy picking.

A special attraction of Camp Murray is the opportunity to watch military exercises on American Lake. We have been able to watch helicopter helo-casting by the 2nd Ranger Battalion and helicopter personnel recovery winch operations.

At Camp Murray, there is a green space between two rows of campsites that forms a natural amphitheater. I took advantage of this to present two folk music performances to our little RV community.

We enjoyed bicycling in the area. From Camp Murray, it was a short ride over Freedom Bridge to Lewis Main (the old Fort Lewis) and Unity Bridge connects Lewis Main to McChord Field. Most of the roads in the area have paved bike/walking paths or bike lanes on the roads. On occasion, we would combine our biking with shopping at the Base Exchange or Commissary.

Obviously, we enjoyed our time at Camp Murray. The staff is friendly and cooperative. It was fun having the family join us for fun in the water and dinner.

However, in life all good things come to an end and we hooked up our trailer and started our journey east on September 7th.

Posted in Military RV Parks, Washington | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Getting the Gang (Family) Together – June 2021

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Michigan Traveler

For the last several years, we visited the Tacoma, WA area in the summer to see our oldest son, Scott, and daughter, Elisabeth. Then the next summer we would see our other son, David, in Lansing, MI. This year we decided to break the mold and get everyone together in Washington. Dave flew out to join us for a week.

We got everyone together for dinner at our campsite and spent a lot of time catching up and playing games. Sorry, I was too busy enjoying the time to take any pictures!

Scott, and his oldest daughter, Katrina, joined the rest of us (Elisabeth, Dave, Pat and I) to travel to Mount Rainer to hike some of the trails. Our first stop was the Grove of the Patriarchs. This is a small island of HUGE trees. Some are more the 40 feet in diameter and over 300 feet tall. The trail led us to a suspension bridge across the river to the Grove. The National Park Service has limited the bridge to one person at a time. With traffic going in both directions there was quite a wait before we could cross. As I crossed the bridge I recognized the wisdom of this limitation, the bridge was very wiggly as we crossed!

The trees in the Grove are just awesome; to say they are huge is an understatement. These trees are thousands of years old! Where trees have died and fallen, there are new trees growing out of the old trunks.

After we finished the Grove of the Patriarchs, we crossed the road to hike the Silver Falls Loop. What a change from the Patriarchs, with much younger trees on a trail that followed the Ohanapecosh River. We passed several small waterfalls and rapids until we reached Silver Falls. It was a great day for a hike and the scenery was terrific.

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center. The Center is at a higher elevation then the Grove and we were treated to a good view of the snowfield at the base of Mount Rainer, even on June 29th! Many of the trails were closed due to the snow. We were able to give Dave a great view of Mount Rainer.

Thursday Dave and I drove to Everett to visit the Boeing Museum of Flight. Dave and I are both aviation junkies and we loved touring the museum. Boeing has done a professional job in displaying their collection.  

The T.A. Wilson Great Gallery displays more than fifty historic aircraft from a replica of the Wright Flyer to the M21 Blackbird (a variation of the SR-71 Blackbird). Aircraft are displayed on the floor and suspended from the ceiling. The display discussed the development of aviation and aviation services, such as airmail, crop dusters, and bush pilots.

The J. Elroy McCae Personal Courage Wing displays aircraft from WWI and WWII. While we enjoyed seeing aircraft that have been restored to flying condition, the personal stories of the pilots and commanders were more interesting to me.

The outdoor Aviation Pavilion gave us the opportunity to see large aircraft like the B-17 and B-29. We were able to go inside the Boeing 707 (VC-137) Air Force One that supported Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Secretary of State Kissinger later used it in his “shuttle diplomacy” for the Vietnam and the Middle East. We were also able to tour the original Boeing 747, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Boeing 727.

Air Force One

Our final stop was the “Red Barn,” the original Boeing manufacturing plant. Inside we were able to see some of the original tools and replicas of aircraft of the era under construction.

On Friday, we celebrated Dave’s birthday with a special meal and Saturday we were up before dawn to take Dave to the airport. It was a great visit and even better to have our whole family in one place, even for a short time.

Posted in National Parks, Washington | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fathers Day and Ape Cave – June 2021

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Michigan Traveler

It was nice to celebrate Father’s Day with my daughter and oldest son. Scott is also a father, so we were both able to choose what we would like to eat. We all met at our campsite at Camp Murray Beach, where we had a great view of American Lake.

The next day we drove to the southern part of the Mount Saint Helens Volcanic Park to hike through Ape Cave. My first thought was, “Why is it called Apr Cave?” Ape Cave is actually a lava tube. A lava tube is a cylindrical cave formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. As the lava in the tube empties, it creates a cave.

This particular lava tube was discovered by Lawrence Johnson in late 1951 when he almost drove his tractor into it. He told his friend, Harry Reese. Over the next few years Reese and his sons explored the cavern. The Reese boys were members of the Mount St. Helens Apes, a local outdoor club, and they led many visitors through the tube during the 1950s. Eventually the lava tube was named the “Apr Cave” to honor these early explorers.

What makes Ape Cave unique from other caves we have explored was that there are no artificial lights in this cave system. The only light is provided by your own flashlights and headlamps. We began with the Lower Cave. It’s a broad lava tube that descends gently to its end. The floor is flat (though a bit uneven at first), then sandy later on from a mud flow that filled the lower portion centuries ago. The end of the cave now is where the sand has filled in to within a couple feet of the ceiling. The Lower Cave is an easy walk, for a 1.5 mile round trip.

From the end of the Lower Cave we retraced our steps to the Upper Cave. It’s a 1.5 rugged miles one way, requiring significantly more time, caution, and some physical agility. It is a more interesting route, with the lava tube shape, size, and geology changing frequently. The passage encounters many rock piles. You must climb up, over, or around the rocks, taking care not to twist an ankle or, in some places, bump your head. After the first rock pile most of us had had enough, but our granddaughter, Sierra, wanted to continue. She and her parents finished the journey, overcoming the many rock piles and obstacles along the way. Some day, I want to go back and hike this part of the cave system.

Posted in Washington | Tagged , | Leave a comment

On the Mat in Washington – June 2021

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Michigan Traveler

We arrived in Washington on May 26th and set up at the Camp Murray Beach RV Park. Camp Murray is the Headquarters of the Washington National Guard and the RV park is operated by the Washington National Guard Association. Camp Murray is our favorite campground in the area. All the sites are full hookups and on the shore of American Lake. We lucked out on our campsite and got Site A-1. This, in my opinion, is the best site in the park. It is the only site that has your door facing the lake and is easy to back into.

Family was our reason for visiting the area. Our oldest son and his family (including our three granddaughters), and our daughter live in the area. We wanted to be there in time for the year-end school activities.

Several years ago, our granddaughters got involved in wrestling, first as a club sport and now in high school. As with most sports, the girls have had a shortened season and had to follow COVID-19 protocols. They wore masks while wrestling, the number of visitors was limited, and we had to enroll in contact tracing before we could enter the gymnasium. All three girls are very skilled wrestlers and win their matches pretty consistently. Because there are fewer girls involved in the sport, they sometimes wrestle with boys that are in their weight class. While they don’t always win these bouts, it does give them a good opportunity to improve their skills. I think they did enjoy competing against boys and winning!

The primary reason we wanted to get to the area so early was that our oldest granddaughter, Katrina, was graduating from high school – at sixteen years old! We are all so proud of her. She has been able to take classes at Tacoma Community College in addition to her high school classes and, as a result, will also graduate from Tacoma Community College with two Associate Degrees. Her plans are to attend college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

COVID-19 had an impact on her graduation. The graduation ceremony was held in four sessions to reduce the number of students, parents and guests in attendance. At that ceremony each student was presented with their diploma folder. The next day, they had a drive through at the high school where the students picked up their actual diploma. It was fun to help decorate the car and watch the procession of cars past the high school.

Posted in Military RV Parks, Washington | Tagged , | 3 Comments