Terri and Peter's RV Adventures

Pouring rain and thunder ushered us out of Canada. It was as if we needed the boot to extricate us from a country that brought us such joy and amazement. And then, the price of readmission to our country was our uncooked chicken and eggs (bird flu they said, sure–probably a conspiracy to force unsuspecting border crossers to surrender perfectly good food so the border patrol could resell them at a profit).

I don’t think it was my imagination that as soon as we crossed the border, a car cut us off as they were “merging”. With higher speed limits, our stress level increased as did our pace and rhythm of life. We saw a police car within five minutes of crossing the border whereas in Canada, I could count on one hand the number of police we saw in a month. As a consummate speeder, I never thought I’d say that lower speed limits lowered stress, measurably increased gas mileage, and reduced the number of car accidents (we saw one if that, while in Canada, and we did a lot of driving). The highest speed (rounded in converting KM to miles) was 66 mph. Most speed limits on Canadian roads were 54 and 36.

Then of course there were the Trump flags and bumper stickers every few miles or so, each one sending a jolt of disbelief, anger, sadness and fear knowing these people either don’t like me or hate me. Your choice.

But back to happy talk. Traveling over the five mile Mackinac Island Bridge filled me with questions and wonder. Here we were, traveling over Lakes Huron and Erie, and maybe even Lake Michigan (I’ll have to check my map) via the Soo Locks, a series of locks that connect the lakes, accommodating differing water levels and allowing commercial ships to pass through. I’m curious enough to look into taking a boat tour to learn more about this part of the country and these locks in particular.

Soon, we entered Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping, the Disneyland of upper midwest family camping: heaven for kids and families of all kinds. This is where you can let your kid go for the day, knowing they will be riding their bikes around a huge campground, maybe stopping at the pool, the playground, the lake, a grassy field, the campground store for ice cream or food trucks. There’s something for everyone, even a senior couple with two dogs like us.

We scored a great campsite yards from a wide sandy beach and Lake Huron. Given the density of this campground and it being the height of family camping season, our spot is fairly private and spacious. But nothing can beat the proximity to the beach and water, especially for little Lily, whose god, once again, intervened to get us this location.

After setting up camp, we walked along the beach, marveled at all the spots to sit, relax and watch the world go by. There are grassy fields, rocky shores and sandy beaches. There are tents, trailers, bigger trailers, and cabins. The overall vibe is family oriented, fun, safe and respectful. Quiet time is honored which is remarkable given the campground’s swollen population. (Loud motorcycles and trucks seem to be accepted unfortunately.)

Hankering for local fish and having been robbed by the border patrol of what would have been dinner, we drove into the big town of Cheboygan (a weird spelling as I lived in Sheboygan, WI many decades ago) and we ate at the Great Lakes Grill. Of course we had the fresh white fish which came with a salad and potato. Straight up Midwest country food. We topped off the evening with a quick dash through Walmart (if that’s even possible), complete with an “I love America” playlist booming throughout the parking lot. We are back at our campsite for the first of four nights and have a few ideas of what we want to do. More on that as the days unfold.