Recently in Tourism and Travel Category

Our big camping trip of 2007 took us west of the Windy City where we stayed at Jellystone Park Chicago. The first thing to make clear is that this campground is most definitely not in Chicago or even in its suburbs. To drive in to the Loop from this campground took on a minimum of about 45 minutes during non-peak travel hours. It wasn't all that bad of a drive, but much of the trip is spent on rural two lane highways until you reach the western suburbs and catch I-55 inbound.

The campground itself was pleasant and well taken care off. There were two pools in addition to a kiddie pool and hot tub along with a mini-golf course, bike rentals, and a nice playground too. Probably the strangest thing we experienced here was the lack of a crowd on the actual July 4th holiday, probably because it fell midweek. I can honestly say that I've never been in a more empty campground on Independence Day.

The campsites were all level and good sized, many of them had full hookups or at least partial hookups. We were quite pleased to see that this Jellystone offered free wireless Internet hookups. The movie theater, wagon rides, and planned activities kept us busy during the rare times we were present to take them in.

The two weekends were very busy with many people from the Chicago area making the short trip west. Because we were focused on visiting as many area kid-friendly destinations as possible, we didn't spend a whole lot of awake time in the campground as compared to some of our other trips.

While the employees at Jellystone Chicago weren't the friendliest we've experienced overall, they were very responsive when we had a minor medical situation that required a late night trip to the hospital for our oldest son. I'll be forever grateful to them for giving good directions on a dark, stormy night and then following up with us the next day with a special visit from Boo Boo.

We would definitely return to this campground again - but be more prepared for the amount of driving required to get in and out of Chicagoland. This park is recommended for anyone on a budget that wants to experience Chicago but can't afford to stay in a hotel or motel.

 

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With the kids being on spring break last week, we took a quick trip with some friends to northern Michigan so we could experience some skiing and also check out Boyne Mountain's waterpark, Avalanche Bay. The kids seemed to enjoy being on skis, more so the second day at Nubs Nob than the first at Boyne Mtn. As for me, I need to figure out how to stop before I take on anything but a small bunny hill. I just couldn't get the knack of making a successful wedge/snowplow/pizza to make myself slow down and stop. Next year.

The boys really enjoyed Avalanche Bay and being able to go from winter to summer in about 15 minutes. Although a bit pricey (what isn't these days), it was worth it just to be reminded what summer is like.

Since we were in Petoskey already, we decided to make the 30-mile trek north just to see the Mackinac Bridge. I wanted the kids to see what it looked like with ice instead of water underneath; and besides seeing the real Big Mac never gets old for me. I always look forward to when it first appears in the distance and no matter how many times I see the bridge, it always inspires awe.

The clear skies on Saturday evening made for a nice backdrop for photo taking too.

 

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The third stop in our mini-tour of Michigan last July and August was at the Oak Knoll Family Campground just north of Muskegon near Holton. As we normally camp at franchised 'name' campgrounds, this experience was a bit different for us.

The first thing we noticed was how involved the owners are. They were active in ensuring we enjoyed our visit (without being annoying) -- helping us to get backed in to our site, making sure the site was cleaned up, and really just being very nice. They truly seemed to care both about their campground and the people staying there.

As for the facilities - my understanding is that Oak Knoll is relatively new and they are constantly working on things. The terrain is a tad hilly and the ground sandy, but they've worked on getting their sites level and accessible. A smallish campground, the sites themselves aren't that large and the majority of them are better suited for pop-ups and smaller trailers. The bigger rigs can still fit - it's just a tad trickier getting in and out. Most of the sites are electric and water only; our friends and us had the only two full hookups available to non-season campers while we were there. The kids playground isn't the greatest, but with all the nearby recreation (lakes, Michigan's Adventure) we didn't really need it. There are plenty of trees that have been left in place providing lots of shade. The restrooms were kept clean and functional and there is also a camp store but no wireless Internet.

This is truly a family campground and while we were there things were very quiet. Upon sign in, you sign a campground policy sheet that has quiet hours and other restrictions listed that are probably enforced (we didn't try to break any of the rules) -- either that or it was an unusually calm and quiet weekend crowd. If seems that if you're looking for a place to party hardy, this campground probably would not be a good fit for you.

Perhaps the most adventurous thing about Oak Knoll Family Campground is getting to and from it from the state highway system. Muskegon County roads all seem to be pretty narrow, have lots of blind curves, and plenty of patched over potholes. We tried approaching the campground from several different directions and always had the same result -- a relatively slow, twisty drive through the woods. Their location is about as far off the beaten path as you can get in that part of Michigan. Be sure to follow the directions they give on their web site instead of what Google or Mapquest recommend.

While this campground isn't on our list of places to go back to right now, we'd definitely consider it sometime in the future - especially considering how close they are to places like Michigan's Adventure and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

 

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Due to my (lack of) employment situation last summer, we made a big trip out of three little journeys. From Harrisville, we traveled across M-72 for a midweek visit to one of our favorite campgrounds, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park- Grayling, located a few miles southeast of Grayling itself. Having seen that the new owners had made some nice changes in 2006, we were anxious to see what was new in 2007. The most obvious change was the addition of a giant bounce pillow, which our kids just had a blast on. Because we were there on off-peak days, there was never any problem with getting in some bounce time. Another cool addition, that we just missed out on, was a fire truck to take 'wagon' rides on. Something to look forward to, I guess.

The biggest complaint we have continues to be the condition of 4 Mile Road, which never changes from year-to-year. Although we were told that the road eventually will be paved should the planned amusement park get built, I'm guessing that is still years off. And if/when that amusement park does become reality, this campground will change from being a relatively quiet, out of the way place that's great for kids to a hustling, bustling activity center. Still a good thing, just different.

As I sit here and enter this review of last summer, I'm already starting to look forward to another journey to go see Yogi in Grayling and enjoy an ice cream while watching the evening cartoons. The next improvement I'd like? wireless Internet, of course!

 

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The summer of 2007 was one of our busiest as far as using our travel trailer was concerned. Although our camping travels were limited to Illinois and Michigan, we spent a lot of nights in quite a few different spots. In July, we spent a long weekend at the Harrisville State Park in Harrisville, Michigan.

Our friends were lucky enough to book a site right on the Lake Huron shoreline, so while we were there, it was easy to stroll over to the beach and take advantage of the lake. Interestingly, our first couple of days there we had an incredibly strong wind blowing from the east, providing the campground with both natural air-conditioning and a not-so-lovely fishy smell. After that settled down, it was a very enjoyable weekend.

The sites only had electricity, so you had to fill up with water first and then dump at the end of the weekend, and with only two lanes for dumping, that spot got pretty busy on Sunday morning. Someone clogging the catch drain with a sweatshirt didn't help matters. There was no wireless Internet at this campground. The lakeside sites are pretty narrow and on a grade, but still usable. Inland sites were decent sized and pretty well shaded. The shower houses were clean, albeit a bit undersized when the campground is full on weekends. Harrisville is pretty much a run-of-the-mill Michigan State Park.

The campers present were well-behaved - it seems that the system of having campground hosts present 24/7 has helped calm things down in Michigan State Parks from the days when the DNR officers were solely responsible for keeping the peace. When they were out of any campground, the places got crazy. Of course having a trailer and not a tent helps filter noise. There were organized weekend activities to get involved with and the kids enjoyed a seashell exploration one day. The playground was pretty basic, but with Lake Huron, it wasn't in high demand.

The town of Harrisville is just that, a town. You can get the basics, but to do any serious shopping you have to go either north to Alpena or south to Tawas.

Bottom line for us, Harrisville was worth the trip and we'd go back. And you can't beat the moonrise on Lake Huron!

 

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Why is it that visiting attractions in your home town seems to be the last thing on the "to do" list? Thanks to winter break, I took our boys to visit The Henry Ford Museum for their first visit. I admit feeling a bit apprehensive - a preschooler and a first grader usually don't have the longest of attention spans, and I've never really heard that the museum is an outstanding place for kids that young. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the kids did and how they found things somewhat interesting. Our youngest son is a big train fan - so seeing the huge locomotives was a big hit - as was the Oscar Mayer "weinermobile".

We didn't spend a lot of time in any one of the sections, instead opting for a quick breeze through much of the museum. It's been years since I'd been in the place myself, save for a quick trip last summer to see the traveling baseball exhibit. Quite frankly, from what we did see in the nearly four hours we spent there, it is outstanding. Especially for fans of the automobile. 100 years of cars is really something to see in one place - and I wouldn't mind going back to spend more time there to study the exhibits a bit closer.

I wouldn't exactly call The Henry Ford a hidden treasure - but it is definitely a part of Metro Detroit that I've been overlooking for too long. And now that I know our kids are getting old enough to handle this kinds of trips, it certainly opens up a lot more options for places to visit and things to do.

 

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Here's a real life photo of the new 'Spectacular Peninsula's" Michigan license plate (with some digits obviously removed). I took this photo just as it was getting dark so the flash would fire and you'd be able to see some of the hidden details of the plate that are not apparent in the daylight (like the ribbon running down the center).

I've only seen a few of these on the road thus far - and from a distance they aren't as eye-catching as the old "Great Lake's Splendor" plate. The new ones look nicer up close in the daytime -- no orange is a good thing -- but to me they look a bit too much like Minnesota's color combination.

I like having the option to display a different license plate - and just about anything looks better than the new standard issue plain blue letters on white background one that's being issued this year to replace 'Old Blue'.

And does anyone else think those old white on blue plates are much easier to read- in the daytime at least? I suppose the new ones are better at night, but my guess is that the decision to change is more about money and less about readability.

 

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