A Quiet Week

Well, we're not quite sure what happened, beyond a guess that an automatic update to Windows must have occurred at some point, which reset some of the connections to the internet. We've got those straightened out, and now seem to be buzzing along fine again. In fact, 4G has rolled out in areas around here, and every now and then the aircard picks up on it. Between 4G and using Google Chrome, it feels just as fast as the cable modem did back in the sticks n'bricks!

Last weekend it was still pretty hot, although not in the 100's like it was the day we went to see "Harry Potter". It kept things low-key around here, and I spent my hours in the park store cleaning shelves, re-organizing merchandise, and getting orders ready to go in on Monday. Lorraine is also teaching me to make "swirlies" out of plastic canvas, and I'll take a picture to show you all. They're pretty neat, simple decorations to hang from your awning, and we're putting up some in the cafe as decorations. Some of the campers here were watching us make them, and expressed an interest in learning, so Monday morning I'm going down to Michael's to pick up some supplies, and we'll be doing a class on Monday afternoon. Should be fun!

Tuesday was sunny and warm, but the humidity was way down so it encouraged us to go out for a walk. We drove to Brighton Recreation Area about 20 minutes away, and walked the 2-mile Brighton-Katchin trail. It was a pleasant walk through gently rolling woodlands, and reminded me of our walks behind the Noyac Golf Course back on Long Island. There wasn't much in the way of scenery, but it was quiet and secluded, and there were many songbirds out and singing. The trail head started in the day use parking area, and I walked over to check out this imaginative way to disguise a damaged tree that needed to be cut down:

The detail in the carving was quite impressive! I took a couple shots of Bishop Lake, and the swimming/picnic area was quite crowded on this hot sunny day.

Wednesday after I finished at the park store, we drove over to Pinckney and had a visit with Lorraine and Doug at their home on the lake. It was really nice there, houses along the canal leading into the lake. It was drizzly, but we still decided to go for a ride along the lake in their pontoon boat. I don't have any pictures as I had forgotten my camera, but it was really neat, and the houses along one section of a canal were beautiful. We anchored in "the shallows" to let the dogs go out for a swim, which they thought was great! I was surprised to learn that the shallows were actually in the middle of the lake, which just seemed bizarre to me. Threatening thunder and a distant bolt of lightning cut short the exploration, and we headed back in for a quick dinner of burgers and baked beans. Thanks Doug and Lorraine!

Both Wednesday and Thursday nights we had horrific thunderstorms, the worst we've had since setting out on the road. There were times the rumbles shook the entire trailer. Poor Chelsea was in the shower most of the night Thursday, and we didn't sleep too well either! They went on all night long, and some campers here who didn't put their awnings up before going to bed found themselves without awnings in the morning!Our screen room held up just fine again, it's one tough little screen room! Lightning actually hit the guard booth at some point over night, frying the system that opens and lowers the gate by the proximity cards. They had to replace the motherboard in the computer for that yesterday.

So far the weekend has been nice, sunny and hot again. The storms seem to have brought the humidity back! So I'm selling a lot of ice and ice cream. The wedding hall is very busy with weddings this weekend, along with a family reunion, and tomorrow I understand band camp is arriving for the week. That should be interesting :-). I took a picture of the garden toy I had bought back in Glen Arbor:

We call him "Kevin" because he looks like the giant bird in the Disney movie "Up", one of our favorite movies. He's stuck in the planter box I have by my steps. I also got a new window for my entry door:

There was a member here who does these stained glass windows as a side job, and has all his materials and tools in a utility trailer he tows behind his motorhome. This is supposed to be the Cape Hatteras lighthouse at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He'll also take a any picture you have and duplicate it in a window, but of course that's much more expensive. I was happy with this one, and it makes the trailer seem more of my own.

We have no big plans for this coming week again. Al has played golf with two other workampers, Bill and Shirley, and really likes the course. One of the workamper perks here is passes to play golf on the resorts course, The Majestic. They can play the last 9 holes of the 27 hole course for free, which is really nice. Al says the course is beautiful, and says I should come along for the ride one day with my binoculars as there are birds everywhere. I just might do that. Next Thursday we may take a ride over towards Lansing, where there's a park with a hike they call "The Ledges". We'll see how hot it is! Our next road trip isn't until the second week of August when we are going over towards Silver Lake State Park on Lake Michigan. We do need to watch the budget on these side trips, fuel is still expensive! And we are planning on heading up to Pictured Rocks National Shoreline in the U.P. right after Labor Day. 

That's about it for now. Mostly working and staying close to the campground. I'll hopefully have more exciting pictures coming along soon. Until then, don't get bogged down in the "dog days of August"!