ST. IGNACE, MI: We're in the UP!

Monday: Before we left Whispering Pines RV Resort, we filled up with propane. After deciding to stay off the interstate as long as could, we left the campground about 10:30 A.M. and headed north north  via US 131, US 31 and then  I-75, passing through beautiful Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay and going over some extremely rough roads along the way.  The drive across the Mackinaw Bridge was slow as one lane was closed in each direction on about half of the 5 mile span,  

 

so we had ample opportunity for lake viewing - Lake Michigan on the left

 








 and Lake Huron on the right.

On the north end of the bridge, we paid the toll - $10 for Little House and $4 for the car.  From there, it was only a few miles along the shore of Lake Huron and through some of St. Ignace, before reaching the Tiki RV Park.

The Tiki RV Park is mostly wooded and within walking distance of Lake Huron.  We're in a full hookup pull thru site.  We get free Wifi which has worked well most of the time.  Cell phone signals are not reliable however, and dropped calls are frequent.

Monday afternoon, Hank spoke with the Toshiba support center regarding the return of his laptop for repairs.  Due to poor cell phone coverage, we had to drive about a mile to get better reception and even then the call was dropped.  After the one-hour call, we returned to the RV to get the address information needed for the return.  Toshiba will only ship back to a residential address due to their FedEX contract.  Luckily, our friends Charlotte and Dave live 20 miles away and agreed to receive the repaired laptop for us at their house.  Toshiba had given Hank a link to an online form to facilitate the return, but that link didn't work as promised.

Tuesday morning, it was necessary to make another 45 minute phone call to Toshiba to get the details for the return of the laptop.  Fine tuning on the arrangements was made - again with calls dropped and returned, and we finally sent the laptop on its way to California.  Luckily, the local True Value Hardware store handles UPS shipping, so we didn't have to drive up to Sault St. Marie in order to arrange for shipping (St. Ignace is a fairly small town). We drove to Brevort, MI where Charlotte and Dave have a lovely home  in the woods on the shore of Lake Michigan, and spent several hours visiting before going to a local restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner.  On the way back to St. Ignace, we stopped at Lakeshore Park Campground on the shore of Lake Michigan to check on the cell phone and Wifi reception there , and  decided to move there on Sunday, August 2.

Wednesday we didn't do anything special in the area.

Thursday, we went with Charlotte and Dave to the Kewadin Casino just a few miles north  of the Tiki RV Park.  The casino is smaller than most we've been in but has all the usual activities.  Thursday is Seniors Day and the soup, salad, and dessert buffet was only $4.25.  We got the usual 'free' money when signing up for the players card and spent a little time at the slot machines before returning to Little House to relax awhile. In the evening, we returned to the casino for some more slots action.

 The rear of the casino faces Lake Huron.

 After exploring some of the side roads around the shore, we took a stroll along part of the Huron Boardwalk along Lake Huron.


Today (Friday) , we met Charlotte and Dave for lunch at the Driftwood Motel and Restaurant.  After lunch, we did some grocery shopping at the local Family Fare Supermarket - the only grocery store in St. Ignace.  The rest of our day was spent relaxing in Little House. 

 The weather has been almost perfect although often windy during the day. We'll be at this campground until August 2 before moving a few miles west, and we expect to be in the UP for 2-3 weeks while we wait for the return of Hank's laptop.