Batteries...the saga continues.

MONDAY, JULY 15 –
If I can request one thing right now, I’d like to ask “Trouble” to quit following me around on this trip!

Inasmuch as I am grateful my Nikon camera functioned long enough to snap that great photo of Donna and Clyde before the battery quit on me, I am puzzled, not to mention concerned as well, that the battery now won’t recharge.  Did that Batteries Plus store back there in South Dakota last month sell me a defective battery, or one that had been on the shelf for a long time?  I’ve certainly had my fill of battery problems on this trip!

Yesterday [Sunday 14^th], from Indian River, I drove north on Rt. 27 and returned to Cheboygan to resume my shoreline route.  During that brief drive I considered my options regarding the camera.  The familiar “Walmart,” with the star in the middle, loomed into view and, seeing a grocery store next door, I decided to pull in and see if they might have a battery for my Nikon.  They didn’t.  But I did get a case of water and some other items at the grocery store next door.  Best I support the local store, I decided. 

I then took Rt. 23 N towards Mackinaw City, the very “tip of the mitt.”  I could see the famous Mackinac Bridge and here is where I left Lake Huron behind and reached Michigan’s Lake Michigan side.  I’m glad to be on this Great Lake now.  I used to live in South Bend, Indiana and I remember trips to Lake Michigan.  My younger siblings probably don’t remember much of Lake Michigan but I know my older brother does!

Turning southward I picked up County Road 66 and headed west to connect to Rt. 119 S.  The map shows this to be a scenic drive and I had this image of Lake Michigan in all its sparkling blue glory, similar to the view of the Pacific Ocean from Rt. 1, the Pacific Coast Highway.  And then I saw the sign – “Tunnel of Trees.”  A scenic drive it was, indeed!  For about 15 miles, I was driving on a narrow winding road through, literally, a tunnel of trees!  I practically hogged the one-lane road but there was just enough space for incoming vehicles and me to move aside and squeeze through.  I bet my camper got whacked a few times by low-hanging branches.  And, yes, Lake Michigan was right there, off to the right, and I could see it through gaps in the trees.

Did I mention it was a beautiful day?  It was a gorgeous day!  The sandy beach at the Petoskey State Park, in Petoskey, was gorgeous!  The state park is situated on Little Traverse Bay and the water was gorg….OK, heavenly!  This area is famous for the Petoskey Stone, 350-million-year-old stones adorned with hexagon-shaped fossilized coral.  The lake dredges them up from the bottom every spring and it’s a lucky beachcomber that finds them. 

The sun set around 9:15 p.m. and I took pictures with the camera features in both my camcorder and iPad.  It’s not a total loss, Mappy…

Dusk at Petoskey State Park, Petoskey, MI.
(Photo taken with iPad)

Sunset, Petoskey State Park.
(Photo taken with iPad)

Self portrait, Petoskey State Park.
 (Taken with iPad)



A Lake Michigan morning at Petoskey State Park.
(Photo taken with iPad)

This morning, Monday 15^th, I decided to go to the nearby Office Max but they couldn’t help me with my camera either.  I did learn that there is a camera store in Charlevoix and possibly a Best Buy in Traverse City.  Both towns are on my southward route so, we’ll see.  While I was at Office Max I asked the woman at the print/copy section to print out a document for me – my automobile insurance card which I had received online weeks ago.  The effective date is July 17^th so I got this business taken care of just in time.

From there I went to Bailey’s Place, a store that sells polished Petoskey Stones.  I wanted to see what they looked like and the owner, a very nice lady named Bailey – first or last name, she wouldn’t say – showed me stones in their natural state and after they’ve been polished.  She let me see her workroom and explained how she cuts and polishes the stones.  She makes magnets in the shape of Michigan and that prompted me to ask her about Michigan’s unusual boundaries.  Most people picture Michigan as a “mitten” but there is that peninsula in the north which is part of the state.  She confirmed that the Michiganders up there do feel kind of “neglected” and she said that they call the Michigan folks who live “under the bridge” – that would be the Mackinac Bridge – “trolls” and they call themselves "uppers," pronounced as "oopers."  Clyde told me about that, too. 

Rather than move on, I decided to stay in Petoskey and got myself a site at Magnus Park.  It’s close to downtown, a marina, and also overlooks Little Traverse Bay.  After catching up on my writing, I went down to the beach.  The beach is rocky, the fellow in the office told me when I registered, and it certainly is!  Rocks and pebbles of all sizes everywhere and flat slabs of rock that extended all the way out into the water.  I took care, wearing my rubber-soled water shoes, wading in the water until I had gone deep enough to sit down and submerge myself.  The sunset, at around 9:15 p.m., was this big ball of orange, slowly dissolving into the water.  I wasn’t the only spectator.  Seagulls were in free flight and people were sitting around outside their RVs or near the water.   

 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17 –

 

Testing, testing...yup, it works!

 

My camera is OK.  My battery is OK.  My old battery charger, the one that came with the camera, apparently is not OK.  All I needed was a different kind of charger.  And it pretty much took me all day yesterday [Tuesday 16th] to find that out.

Charlevoix was the next town on my route from Petoskey, about 15 miles south on Rt. 31.  I had found online the address for the camera store there and when I walked in with my camera and charger apparatus, I thought I had misunderstood the type of store it was.  The owner said she used to operate a camera store but she changed the merchandise to photographs and framing.  Knowing cameras anyway she offered to take a look at mine and then said I really should go to The Camera Shop in Traverse City, 50 miles further south.

Traverse City is the kind of beach/resort town with “No Vacancy” motels everywhere you looked, restaurants, pubs, pizza and ice cream joints.  And people.  People everywhere!  People of assorted ages, heights, girths, and clothing attire!  Downtown is very nice, very chic with classier clothing stores, restaurants and coffee shops.  As soon as I located The Camera Shop, I then had to find a place to park.  After a series of turns I found one a couple of blocks away and had plenty of quarters for the meter.

The fellow assisting me suggested I let him charge my battery on their charger for about 45 minutes.  OK, I want to get some lunch anyway.  When I returned, the battery was nearly fully charged.  I decided then and there to buy that kind of charger.  I also decided it would probably be smart for me to finally heed the advice I had received, more than once, from my dear friends Linda and Helena, to buy a second battery for back-up.

It was going on 3:00 p.m. by the time I returned to my truck.  Not feeling satisfied with my visit around the Charlevoix region, I wanted to go back up there.  But not now.  Worrying about my camera and making such “tough” decisions wore me out.  Plus, the humidity had come back!  That alone can sap your energy real quick! 

There were plenty of sites at the nearby Traverse City State Park and I got one under the shade of trees.  The park has a pedestrian overpass and I used that to cross over Rt. 31 to reach the beach.  Situated on Grand Traverse Bay-East Bay, the beach is nice enough.  I’ve observed, however, the more secluded the state park, the prettier the natural environment and the clearer the water.

I needed to cool down in the water at least five times.  For entertainment, in addition to my book, there were ducks, including a mother with four ducklings, hovering around my space. The people next to me had been tossing out chips and bread and the ducks kept coming back for more.

This morning, Wednesday 17^th, I looped back, via Rts. 72 E and 66 N towards the Charlevoix region and got a site at the East Jordan Tourist Park in East Jordan, MI.  There’s boating, fishing, and swimming here on Lake Charlevoix…it’s pretty…and it’s still humid…

FRIDAY, JULY 19 –
Taking advantage of the $5.00 WIFI fee that I had I paid for at the East Jordan Tourist Park last Wednesday, I stayed there until the noon check out time the next day [Thursday 18th].  About an hour later, I was on the other side of Lake Charlevoix, at the Young State Park, near Boyne City.

I’ve fallen into a pattern:  Drive.  Enjoy the scenery.  Get gas.  Or don’t get gas.  Get a site.  Write.  Go to the beach.  Read book.  Go in the water.  Repeat.

At the Young State Park, as soon as I made my way to the beach, I encountered this gentleman who was just standing there on the sandy path.  My brain registered a number of things.  First, menacing dark clouds, just beyond the water.  Then, the man himself, who appeared to be in his 70s.  He wore a cap and had large headphones covering his ears.  In his left hand he was holding a couple of plastic chairs, resting them on the sand.  In his right hand, he had a cane.  We said hello and I asked him if he needed help.  “No, I’m just taking five,” he said.  Looking at the sky, I asked him, “Did you hear thunder?”  He said yes and advised that I come back to the beach later.  Storm clouds in motion are fascinating to watch but I did return to the camper when I saw the flashes of lightning.  Once that passed, I went back to the beach…and so did the guy with the cane.  My final dip in the refreshingly cool water was at 9:30 p.m., just after sunset.

Sunset silhouette of watercraft, Lake Charlevoix, MI.

This morning, Friday 19^th, I completed my loop drive and returned to Charlevoix, where I first attempted, last Tuesday, to resolve my camera’s battery problem.  It rained a little this morning, which was actually a relief due to the humidity.  Back on Rt. 31 S and, for the second time, heading towards Traverse City, I recalled several orchards and Farmer’s Markets along the way enticing travelers with big signs proclaiming “Fresh Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, etc.”  I stopped at one of those places, looked around, and bought a slice of homemade Cherry pie, which, when I ate it later, was absolutely delicious!  A few miles further south was the King Orchards and I stopped there as well. 

With my new digital camcorder in my shorts pocket and my Nikon over my shoulder, I went inside the market and asked if I could walk around the orchard.  This market was also a “U-Pick-Em” place but I was more interested in taking pictures, especially since I’d never seen orchards like this before.  The fellow working there said he would give me a tour on the golf cart.  Not about to pass that up, I hopped in with him and off we went.  The cart, I should point out, had no overhead cover.  All the better to see the rows and rows of fruit trees, I thought. 

The first thing he showed me was a tree with black cherries.  “You just pick them one by one?” I asked.  Yes, he said.  As we moved forward to the next fruit tree, I looked skyward and before I could say anything, the clouds burst open and we were caught in a torrential downpour!  I quickly covered my camera under my t-shirt and he just as quickly steered the cart back towards the market.  It was hilarious!  He was squinting against the hard rain, I was trying to keep my wet t-shirt from clinging to the camera and, with my free hand, holding on to the low bar on my right side.  We were both laughing all the way!  I took his hand, thanked him for his willingness to show me around, and told him I had fun!  Another missed photo opportunity but this time I can blame the weather! 

King Orchards, along Rt. 31 near Traverse City, MI.

Display of Cherries and Blueberries inside King Orchards.

For tonight and tomorrow I have a site at the Timber Ridge RV and Recreational Resort, in Traverse City.  This is a fun place for families – playground, pool, planned activities for the kids, a snack bar (ice cream!), and even an outdoor movie screen.  A good place for me to catch a driving break and wait out the weekend.  The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is nearby and I’m hopeful I’ll find a site there on Monday…after the weekend crowd leaves…