A Family On The Road

Day 68: Visiting Lake Huron at Bay City, Michigan.

Last night we spent the night at a Walmart in Traverse City. It is the first night of boondocking since we replaced our batteries in Grand Rapids just before we headed to Grand Haven. I also was able to charge up our pair of old batteries while we were plugged into power in Ludington and connected them via the umbilical cord for extra amp hours. They worked great. It is the first time for us to wake up in the morning after running the furnace off and on all night and still be in the green on the monitors. As we start to head south, we will be able to last much longer without having to run the furnace and get better charge from our solar panels.

Day 68: Heading south to Bay City, Michigan.

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By Dan, ago

Day 64: Arriving at Ludington State Park.

I can see how Grand Haven State Park can be really crowded during the busy season. Even though the campground is essentially a beach-side parking lot and the sites are small and tight, it is right on the water and is in a quaint and unique city for a relative bargain to locals at only $27 a night. Although when it is cold, wet and windy, it is much less appealing. Our 2-night stop here will come to an end today, not because we wouldn’t like to stay longer but because we have a date to keep at another great state park north of here near the town of Ludington.

Day 64: Arriving at Ludington State Park.

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By Dan, ago

Day 57: Downtown Chicago via the South Shore Line.

When we were at the beach yesterday, we met a young mother and her son. She told us about the South Shore Line that picks up at the Beverly Shores station right outside of our campground. It is free for the kids to ride and only costs $8.25 each for us to take the train all the way to downtown Chicago. The station is a 10-minute walk from our campsite but we decided to drive here since we wanted to get an early start and didn’t know if it would be dark or not when we got back.

Day 57: Downtown Chicago via the South Shore Line.

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By Dan, ago