Michigan ~ Belleville

Belleville

We left family in Ohio on September 10, 2018 and headed to family and friends in Michigan for a wonderful 8 week stay. We stayed at the Wayne County Fairgrounds Campground, in Belleville. This is our second time staying here and we booked our site for next summer before we left. We had two different sites during this stay.

Site 73

Site 73 was a pull through with only water and electric hook-ups, which means we had to move the RV every 3-4 days to empty the tanks. It is an all grass site and a little on the narrow side. Luckily it wasn't long before they had a full hook up site open up and we moved there for the reminder of our stay.

Site 63

Site 63 is a back-in with full hook ups. Also a grass site but this one was a little wider. The park is well maintained and pretty quite.







Being on the fairgrounds there was something going on just about every weekend, horse shows, dog shows, an antique show and a gem and mineral show to name a few.
This tree was a cheerful greeter outside Site 63.


Our first week here, Les and Mielikki stayed at the campground while Nancy stayed at Katrina and Steve's house.
They were on vacation in Utah so Nancy hung out with their dog Heidi. She is older and pretty set in her ways (sound like anyone you know) so it is a little stressful for her to have Mielikki around 24/7. Nancy vegged out on the couch catching up on all her favorite TV shows she hasn't seen in a few years. She also got to release the butterfly that Katrina and Steve were raising.

After 3-years of constant moving it was nice to be in one place for so long. We did a little bit of sightseeing, but mostly spent time with family and friends and doing some home repairs and projects.

Nancy did get some pictures of our limited sightseeing but totally dropped the ball when we were with friends and family!
There are a few stores we like to visit at the Howell Outlets and while out there we stopped at the Howell Nature Center with plans to hike. We arrived just after three school groups and it was slightly chaotic so we decided to come back a different day, which of course never happened! This adorable tree stands guard in their entrance courtyard. If you haven't been there, do yourself a favor and go, they have so many things to do and see.
Of course we had to Go To Hell.  There really isn't much in Hell, but you can pick up a souvenir at Screams, play in their backyard and grab a bite to eat next door.



Being in Hell left us a little thirsty so a stop at the Dexter Cider Mill was a must. Cider and donuts are one of the best things about being in Michigan in the fall. We also enjoyed cider from Erwins Orchards, Plymouth Orchards and our favorite Parmenters Cider Mill.






Roadsides are everywhere but we only got a few pictures - told you Nancy dropped the ball!

L - The Ford Plant ~~~ R - UAW Local

One roadside can actually be found in two places. The statues of three men stands in front of the Ford Plant in Rawsonville and its twin is just down the road at the UAW Local. Stephen Yokich, President of UAW 1994-2002, William Clay Ford JR, and Peter Pestillo, CEO of Visteon 2000-2004. Listed as seen in the left hand picture.

On the corner of Woodward and 9-Mile in Ferndale is a "Crows Nest", a tribute to the Street Semaphores that dotted Detroit roads in the 1920's. A traffic cop would direct traffic from the nest using red and green signs. The link takes you to an interesting article about the development of traffic control along with pictures from back in the day.

The Metal Bike is parked in Howell. The Sculpted Pig sits outside Michael's Crafts in Canton, It's for sale for $3,500 if you're interested. The Giant Cow stands on top of a party store in Ypsilanti. A couple of days before we left town we drove past it and was surprised to see it was painted black and white! It was pouring rain and the parking lot was closed due to resurfacing so no new picture. It you happen to drive by, snap a picture for us.



Being in Michigan is all about spending lots of time with family and friends. Again, really lacking on pictures but the memories made are great. Nancy enjoyed a ton of laughs when Mary Ellen and LeeAnne came to dinner while she was staying at Kat and Steves. Les had his annual lunch with the gang from Teamsters Local 214, he always enjoys catching up with them. Nancy and Terry caught up over coffee.
It is always fun hanging out with Kitt and Dianne . Plus, we were honored to participate in a fundraiser dinner for their daughter-in-law Becky, who is battling cancer. The link will take you to their Go Fund me page, if you would like to support her medical expenses.
Nancy and Katrina put together a Pure Michigan gift basket, filled with local craft beer and snacks. It helped to raise $125.

Our niece Jennifer and hubby Jim had us to their house for a delicious lunch, and we shared dinner and beer with them and Katrina and Steve at Rappourt Brew and Chew in Ann Arbor one night. Nancy and Anne enjoyed lunch and it was just the two of them, something that rarely happens!
 Nancy, Katrina, Tina and Anne had so much fun at the Vineyard Church Paint and Sip Night. Not one of us did the painting they were demonstrating - no surprise there!

Mike and Anne hosted lunch for all of us, we celebrated Tina's birthday and family from Ohio brought her some salamanders. Tavi, Cora and Sydel loved them.

Katrina and Steve joined us when we met Amy at the Farmington Brewing Company, this also meant we finally got to meet her friend Kevin. Nancy and Gail solved all of the worlds problems over lunch, when you have been friends for over 50 years that's what you do! It was so much fun shopping the Vintage Market with Connie.


A trip to Frankenmuth for lunch with Tina and Jim was a fun day. No pictures of them but did get the welcome sign and our chicken pot pie!

It had been way to long since Nancy and Dana spent time together. So glad we got to meet for lunch.
Thank you Maggi for remembering to get a picture when we met you and Denny at Bobcat Bonnies.

 Unfortunately we only met up with our nephew Mike and his wife Jennifer once, but we take any time we can with them. Mary Ellen and Paul served up yummy steaks when they had us over for dinner.

Halloween was spent at Nigel and Tina's, it was so fun watching the girls enjoy the day, and we got to celebrate Anne's birthday as well. Cora and Sydel made the perfect butterflies. Cora counted all her candy, over 200 pieces! Steve seems a little frightened of cousin Marion.

Cranbrook

Of course we save the majority of time for Katrina and Steve. We enjoyed art museums, street fairs, live music and lots of yummy food and beer.

Our day at Cranbrook Institute of Science turned into a day at the Art Museum. When we arrived we found out the Science Center was closed for a private party! Despite that and the rain we had a great time.

We had dinner or lunch with them at least once a week, if not more. Lots of craft beer and games were shared with them.






A favorite place for the four of us is the Northville Winery and Brewery. It is right next door to our favorite cider mill - Parmenters.
Every Thursday night they have "Dead at The Winery." The house band, Social Bones, plays a Grateful Dead concert. They really are very good, so if you get a chance to go - they play other times and other music - do it!

Nancy and Katrina even got a few days for just the two of them. A little hiking at Island Lake and a whole afternoon enjoying the scarecrows, coffee and shopping in downtown Plymouth.

When we lived in Michigan we belonged to two Folk Music groups, we were so happy that we could go to both of them while here and we found a third one to enjoy as well. Baseline Folk Society meets in Plymouth, the East River Folk Society meets in Wyandotte and the Wayne's Soul & Sole meets in Livonia. All three groups have FaceBook pages.

L: Baseline ~~~ C: East River ~~~ Wayne's Soul & Sole 

Next up is Asheville, NC for a short stay then Foley, AL.

Till we meet again...

Happy Trails to You!

Tips and things we have learned along the way. 
~ Hung out to dry.
No one likes a damp smelly towel, or we can't imagine that anyone does. The towel bars in our bathroom are on the back of the door, which is a great place because it keeps them out of the way. But, not so good for drying as the bars are very narrow.
Our solution was to hang Command Hooks in the skylight of the shower stall. We can drape the towels across two of them or hang them straight down on one. The hooks also come in handy for hanging up damp clothes out of the washer, and the dogs towels as well.