<

Hartwick Pines SP, MI
Summer vacation had been scheduled with all our employers for the months of July and August. So following minimal delay for physicals for four-footed and two-footed travelers, we pulled out of Columbus on 4 July. Once again we snuck around the stop-and-go traffic on US-23 between I-270 and Delaware by going up the old Scioto Trail to US-42 and then picked up the US-23 bypass around Delaware. Then it was OH-15 and I-75 to where we picked up US-23 again at the mosque in Perrysburg. We took it up the west side of Toledo and 5 miles into Michigan, where we stopped at the Covered Wagon Camp Resort.

We had stayed at this camp a few years ago in the rain and experienced proof that it was built in an old swamp. However, this year it had not rained there for many days, so we figured we were safe. Not so. The elderly new owners clearly were not up to the task of sanitation. Most of the toilets were stopped up when we arrived, and despite employees unplugging them several times a day, continued to plug up throughout our stay. Clearly, the sewers were inadequate -- a conclusion reinforced by the odor from the leach bed. The bathrooms did not receive a badly needed general cleaning during our entire stay (remember, this was over the busy 4th of July week), paper towels ran out more than once, and one day someone removed the soap dispenser from the wall. Outside the bathhouse, the dumpster was overflowing when we arrived, and was not emptied until Monday (the 9th).

The evening we arrived there was only time for upkeep: supper, showers, put locks on the Airstream.

The next morning (5th of July) Lew phoned the first people he wanted to see: cousins Sylvia and Darlene, + Roger Rummell, an old classmate who went clear back to the first grade and Marian Wood's piano classes. Roger was out on the golf links, but we were able to leave a message with his wife Margie. Afterwards we again went in to the Ottawa Hills Memorial Park to see the graves of Lew's old neighbors, Mary Carole Spence and her parents. When Lew had finished, they went on to the Franklin Park Mall to eat lunch at Panera's and use their WI-FI. While we were there, Sylvia was the first to respond, and accepted our invitation for supper that afternoon. We had a good time visiting again with her and her husband Earl, and took them to their choice of restaurants (Bob Evans) for supper.

Friday 6 July we again went in to Panera's to use their WI-Fi and get lunch. Initially Lew had to spend a great deal of time closing out an unused credit card account whose number somone had picked up. Lew got a phone response from cousin Darlene, and they arranged to meet at the Elephant Bar Restaurant the next evening for supper. Then Lew got an email response from Roger. It seems his wife had given him our phone number with one erroneous digit, so he fell back on email. Lew phoned him back, and after considering the possibilities, he decided to come over to meet us at Panera's. We had a long and pleasant visit with him, reminiscing and updating one another for as long as Roger dared.

After Roger left, we drove over to the Toledo Memorial Park, where Lew checked out his parents' graves as well as the graves of Charlie and Lizzie Dean (1898-2002!)... and the surprising vacant spot next to them. Afterwards we went on to Woodlawn Cemetery to look up the Lindner plot, but found the office closed, and returned to the campground.

On 7 July (Saturday) Lew took Bobbi in to Woodlawn Cemetery to see his ancestral Lindners, and then went on to Forest Cemetery. But the office at the latter was closed -- open only during banker's hours. So it was back to Panera's again for WI-FI, then back to the campground for lunch. That evening, we met with cousin Darlene and her husband for a really wonderful get-aquainted meeting -- never having met before! Back at the campground, Bobbi proposed that they stay an extra day so Lew could look for his relatives in Forest Cemetery.

8 July (Sunday) was spent in the campground, except for the obligatory trip to Panera's for WI-FI and supper, followed by a re-stocking at the Sylvania Kroger.

On 9 July (Monday) Bobbi and Lew went in early to Forest Cemetery. Lew readily found his grandparents'graves, but the heat precluded any real search for any more relatives. They went on to lunch at the Franklin Park IHOP -- and Panera's again.

It was late -- almost 9 am -- when Bobbi and Lew rolled out of bed on 10 July. Lew made the bed, walked the dogs, and removed the locks from the a/s while Bobbi set out breakfast. After cleaning up, securing the loose items in the Airstream, hitching, disconnecting from the power grid, stowing the "Blue Boy", and letting the dogs into the van, we were on the road again by 11 am. The entrance ramp to US-23 was right outside the campground, and we pottered along at our usual steady 55, joining with I-75 at Flint. Civilization quit suddenly when we exited Bay City, so Bobbi didn't find a place for lunch until she told Lew to get off at West Branch and stop at a Wendy's. Refueling at the same stop, we slipped back onto the freeway.

Bobbi chose Hartwick Pines SP again for our overnight, because she had been impressed with the facilities when we stayed there past years. So shortly after 4 we pulled into the campground. We were fortunate that the site was flat enough we did not need to unhitch, so we quickly plugged in and were at home with the A/C on.

Although definately still warm and humid, even at 4 pm Hartwick Pines was not nearly so uncomfortable as Toledo was when we left it that morning. Dark clouds flitted irregularly across the evening sky, and a couple of time dumped a little water on the park while we ate supper, walked the dogs some more, and showered.