Savannah Georgia

Our second time visiting Savannah we took a day to walk around and visit a couple of the restaurants. This is a beautiful city full of history and beautiful city parks plus a historic port along the Savanna River.

We walked the streets of Savannah and enjoyed the historic homes, city squares, churches and old neighborhoods of the city. Many of the historic places have markers in front that tell their story and give the year of relevance. 

The old historic homes are magnificent and huge. The buildings have been well maintained over the past nearly two centuries.

The designers of the city set aside land for city squares or parks throughout the neighborhoods.

A view of the historic buildings along Whitaker Street. 

Brownstone houses and cobblestone streets give the area a wonderful colonial flair. 

A marker for Pulaski Square. Casimer Pulaski was a soldier from Poland that came to the United States and died fighting for the freedom he revered in this country. There is a fort named after him on Tybee Island near Savanna. 

I found this boar wearing a Christmas hat in front of a beautiful white brick home. 

And what a home it is!

The artwork and detail in one of the fountains was incredible.

An Forsythe Park Animal hospital built in the 1840's

Another example of the elegant architecture of the houses in Savannah. This one is available and can be viewed on the Seabolt real estate website. 

There were several old churches that were some of the first churches of their denomination in the country.

The first Synagogue in Georgia. 

Working our way south

We left Tennessee on Monday, January first, and found a campsite near Columbia, South Carolina. It was a good place to get re-acquainted with camping mode and de-winterize the fifth wheel.
Next stop was Magnolia Springs State Park just south of Augusta, Georgia for another night. This was a really nice campground and we were camped right next to the lake, but again, we only used it for a night and got underway again after a nice walk in the morning.
Day three of our journey and we made it into Skidaway Island State Park just outside of Savannah by 1:00 in the afternoon. After setting up camp we settled in for a three night stay. We've been at this park before and knew it was a good spot to camp and visit Savanah. There are trails in the park and all the conveniences nearby to restock the refrigerator and kitchen shelves.

Magnolia Springs state park in Georgia. Moving south.

We walked trails here around the lake.

Visiting Downtown Detroit at the end of 2019

While visiting with the family in southeast Michigan we took a tour of downtown Detroit with Dave and Becky. They wanted to show us all the new development and revitalization that is going on down there. Mike and Lisa met us downtown and we all walked around and were amazed at the atmosphere and vitality that has become the new character of down town. We walked for blocks and blocks, around Campus Martius and the riverfront area and there were people and activity everywhere.  It was good to see the city finally making a big comeback.

A fine group of folks touring the "D" on a Saturday night at the end of 2019.

We started near the casinos and Campus Martius. The square was loaded with vendors and people milling about.

The christmas lights added so much color and beauty to the area.

The Ren Cen is GM's headquarters and a beacon for the city.

A view south from the water front across the Detroit River to Windsor. 

Looking north from Hart Plaza at downtown.

The Renaissance Center from the south.

The ultimate carriage tour of downtown.

A few pictures from Leeleanau

A look at December activities before we left home...

This guy was parked in front of Happy Hour Tavern near Northport. Looks like he's late for fall harvest or early for next spring planting.

Red berries. I didn't notice the twinkle lights on them!

The iconic red school house on the side of M-22.

Picking out a christmas tree at the Kovarik farm. We wanted to be decorated for the holidays. 

On the Road Again

After spending Christmas with our family for six days in the greater Detroit area, (Howell, Ann Arbor, and Romeo), we drove to Elizabethton, Tennessee to celebrate New Year with David and Sara. This morning we pulled our fifth wheel out of the storage lot and are now near Columbia, South Carolina.
We set up camp at about 4:30 this afternoon and are getting settled in our winter home.
The weather here is in the mid fifties and we hope to be able to camp from here on out.

Mackonaw Island - September 29/30

We made our second fall trip to Mackinaw Island with our friends Walt and Denise at the end of September. The weather was a bit cool and rainy but we enjoyed the trip and the hotel and we even got in a little bit of biking on Monday morning.
We made this trip last year as the Grand Hotel offers special fall packages that include a room, dinner and breakfast in the morning. We enjoyed it so much that we went again this year. It's always neat to see the island and the old fashioned way of life since there are no cars on the Island (except when pompous Vice President Pence attends a meeting there). 
We had a great room last year with a view of the bridge, but this year our room was even better. It was huge and had a sitting area as well as a balcony overlooking the barn behind the hotel. The hotel is so elegant and colorful and the atmosphere is so grandiose. Dinner and breakfast were exceptional and we had afternoon cocktails in the canopy lounge.
We had on and off rain over our stay, and the temperature was in the mid fifties, but by the time we got back to Traverse City on Monday it was sunny and eighty. Why couldn't we have had some of that weather on the Island??

A cold ferry boat ride across the Straits of Mackinaw to get to the island.

Coming into the harbor. 

Walt and Denise's room had massive oriental furniture.

Our room was bright and huge! 

A sitting area with a TV.

Here we are all dressed up for dinner. 

This was a meeting room in the hotel.

The ice cream parlor.

The Grand Hotel shuttle.

The world famous front porch of the Grand.

Enterin the fort on a cold morning.

An old cannon protectng the fort.

A view overlooking the harbor and marina. Notice all the carriages lining up on the street.

Back Home on Wheeler Road

Well, the four months of winter vacation has come to an end. We spent the weekend at the campground at Brighton Recreation Area and visited with the kids and grand kids. Everyone is well and life goes on here. Ben is involved with his travel baseball tournaments again and we took in a game on Saturday. The wind was blowing and we froze watching, but it was good to see the new level that the boys have achieved in their sport.
We saw Mike and Lisa and Natalie and Hannah and Dillon and Brendon as well as Laura, Sean, Nolan and Kara. Also Becky, Dave, Kate and Trevor. Jenny drove from Lansing to see us too. It was good seeing everyone and we look forward to a great summer here.
We drove north on Monday and got to Wheeler Road at three in the afternoon. We saw only two small patches of snow not yet melted and the temperature was in the high thirties! Quite a change from what we are used to but I'm confident warmer weather is on the way.
We had a great year so far and are looking forward to a new summer and visits from friends and family over the next eight months until we start traveling again.

Sand hill cranes at Brighton Rec