Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Campground Review - Loon's Point RV Park and Campground


Loon's Point in Cedarville, Michigan was one of the most quiet and beautiful campgrounds we have stayed at so far!

Nearby attractions - 8 - Mackinaw and Mackinac Island close by. Tons of fishing to do around here.

Staff - 8 - Campground Hosts were very nice and accommodating.

Natural surroundings - 10 - Right on an inlet of Lake Huron. Beautiful sunset and we saw some amazing sandhill cranes grazing in the cool of the evening. Our site backed up to an amazing lake view.

Value - 8 - We paid $ a night for a back-in grass site with full hook-ups using Passport America.

Bathrooms - 8 - Updated bathrooms, showers were nice, but they are the kind you have to keep pushing the button to get water from.

Roominess - 7 - Average in size.

Facility fun - 7 - Kayak rentals, fishing and boat dock, horseshoes and basketball court. Fish cutting table!

Cleanliness - 9 - Very clean and tidy.

Facility usefulness - 6 - Dump station, fire rings, small exchange library, laundry.

Overall - 9 - Very peaceful, tranquil and pretty place to stay.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Pictured Rocks



We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America!

 




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Monday, August 29, 2011

Campground Review - Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park


While it has a long name, Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park in Gwinn, Upper Michigan, was a pretty place to stay.

Staff - 7 - Self-registration, but we did talk to the camp host couple who were pretty nice.

Natural surroundings - 10 - Forest all around the park and a stream with a small sandy beach and little pond.

Value - 9 - We paid $10 a night for a back-in grass site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 5 - They were sort of like state park bathrooms with plenty of spiders.

Roominess - 7 - Average in size.

Facility fun - 6 - Hiking trails, stream with little beach.

Cleanliness - 8 - Nice except for bathrooms.

Facility usefulness - 6 - Dump station, picnic tables.

Overall - 7 - Small, quiet and out of the way little park.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Campground review - Harbor Village Resort



We got a great deal when we stayed at Harbor Village Resort in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Staff - 7 - The one downside of this resort was the staff was always very busy. Probably not as bad on the weekdays.

Natural surroundings - 8 - We right in the midst of a bunch of trees, like we were camping in the forest. Some areas are not as secluded.

Value - 10 - We paid $25 a night for a back-in grass site with electric and water.

Bathrooms - 7 - Several baht houses, and one needs a bit of updating and several of the showers did not work. Others were much nicer.

Roominess - 8 - Plenty wide, but a bit tight in length.

Facility fun - 10 - Activities, playgrounds, mini-putt, huge pool with water slides and little kids play area. Adult pool, BB and tennis courts, skating ramps, jumping pillow and much more!

Cleanliness - 8 - Nice except for one set of bathrooms.

Facility usefulness - 9 - Dump station, picnic tables, laundromat , propane, huge camp store.

Overall - 9 - Best pool we have experienced so far. Just a little crowded on weekends.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Door County



We are so sorry, but this post has been removed because it is a part of our book Napkin Dreams that details our trip around America!





Friday, August 26, 2011

Campground review - Jellystone Fremont, WI


We really loved our two nights at Fremont Jellystone Park.

Staff - 8 - The staff were younger and courteous.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Plenty of shade, out of town a couple of miles so no traffic noise.

Value - 5 - We paid $44 a night for a back-in grass site with water and electric.

Bathrooms - 9 - Two sets of bathrooms, both very clean.

Roominess - 9 - We were by ourselves in the area we chose, right by a pond and a large willow tree.

Facility fun - 10 - Two playgrounds, heated pool, BB court, horseshoes, shuffle board, and mini-putt, water slide and game room for extra cash. Plus lots of activities including a hayride, crafts and popsicle eating contest.

Cleanliness - 8 - Pretty clean place.

Facility usefulness - 9 - Dump station, picnic tables, laundromat, camp store, wifi (extra cost), propane.

Overall - 8 - Nice, clean and well run park.

50 McDonalds - Wisconsin


After learning that the Guernsey Gals we saw at Knigge Farms eventually end up in Big Macs and Happy Meals, we just had to visit our Wisconsin McDonalds! So we stopped in nearby Oshkosh for a little bit of beautiful beef! OK, so some of us had chicken and Chase went with just the cheese sandwich, but still many of us had some the delightful offerings of ground beef! Patsy was especially happy to have her Big Mac!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Knigge Farms

Our cheese loving family of seven had a blast touring a working dairy farm near Omro, Wisconsin. The Knigge Family Farms was one of the best "factory tours" our family has taken so far!



Mr. Knigge, the founder of the farm, gave us the tour himself. The unique aspect of this dairy farm is that is all robotic. The cows wait in line to get milked by this machine which holds the promise of a treat for the lovely Guernseys. Then it uses lazers to line up the milkers withe udders, cleans the cow, pumps the milk, stores the milk and then opens the gates for the next lovely lady.



The happy cows of this Wisconsin dairy also live in a temperature controlled barn that mists the cows when it gets over 75 degrees and they eat a wonderful diet of mixed grains, corn and grass.

At the end of our tour we each got a package of string cheese made from the milk given by the bovines we saw in action! Very tasty indeed.



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Eating good in Wisconsin





We are sorry, but we have removed this post becuase it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.




 



 



 




Dairy State is number 20

Wisconsin was the 20th state on our cross country trek! The northwest looks sort of lonely up there, but fear not, we will get there!! Anyway 40 percent of the states in 11 months. One Mexican state was also visited - Baja California Norte.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Campground review - Wanna Bee Campground

Our club, Passport America has two campgrounds in Wisconsin Dells. We think we picked the wrong one when we picked Wanna Bee Campground.

Staff - 9 - The gentleman that checked us in was super nice and gave us some coupons and answered all of our questions. Talked to another gentleman later and he was equally helpful.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Plenty of shade, out of town a couple of miles so no traffic noise.

Value - 7 - We paid $22 a night for a back-in grass site with full hook-ups. Sewer was a good distance away from rest of the hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 3 - Need a bit of updating and some serious cleaning.

Roominess - 6 - Average, but a bit tight in width.

Facility fun - 7 - Older playground, unheated pool (advertised heated), BB court, mini-putt and game room for extra cash.

Cleanliness - 6 - Nice except for bathrooms.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Dump station, picnic tables, laundromat - cold water only, camp store.

Overall - 5 - Dirty bathrooms, vulgar campers, and cold pool made this place just a little disappointing for us. It sort is a wannabe campground.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Mt. Olympus


We got super deals from our campground at the Wisconsin Dells for a day at Mt. Olympus and could not resist the offer of paying about 20 percent of normal entry cost!


Mt. Olympus is part amusement park, part water park, part go-kart park. We did a little of each, but spend the entire afternoon and evening at the water park. There are some great rides at the water park, including man different styles of slides, a wave pool, some lazy rivers, and three different little kid areas.


For our family the coolest attraction was Poseidon's Wrath, where every few minutes a huge nine foot wave is unleashed on the bobbing crowd of sun-baked tourists. If you stand towards the back the wave is only about two or three feet when it hits you, which was just perfect for our three youngest guys! They still got pulled back and had to hang onto our hands for dear life, with plenty of giggles and screams of joy to go along with the flush of terror that comes from being swept up in a miniature tsunami!

We also enjoyed the slides, and all three of the little boys went down some of the bigger slides, which produced even more shouts of joy and glee which were heard around the park. Chase just about sucked all the air out of the park when he saw a pirate ship with slides and fountains and other fun playthings.


My one complaint with Mt. Olympus was that they would not let one of our younger boys ride in the go-karts with Blake. Since they had to ride with an adult and an adult could only take one extra rider with them, and the lines were about an hour long, it made it very difficult for our family to all go on the go-kart rides. Besides this we all had a great day of playing and enjoying the fun in the sun.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Great River Bluffs State Park




During our stay in Winona we spent part of the day in Great River Bluffs State Park. The park overlooks the nearby Mississippi River and has several nice views and loads of green forest and restored prairie land.

Even though it was a bit of a wet and muddy day we still decided to take a little hike and see the views an enjoy nature. After awhile the sun came out and we got to appreciate the wild flowers in the prairie as well. Very pretty state park!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Campground review - Pla-Mor Campground

We were not overly thrilled at Pla-Mor Campground we stayed at near Winona, Minnesota. Especially for the price!
Nearby attractions - 7 - Close to Winona, La Crosse, several state parks and the Mississippi River.

Staff - 6 - Spoke with guy on the phone who took our reservations, but then the other staff could not find it later. No problem, but the staff was just a bit careless in several things.

Natural surroundings - 6 - Lots of trees, small stream. Part of campground is on Mississippi River. Train goes by quite close several times a day and night.

Value - 2 - We paid $50 a night for a pullt-through grass site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 5 - Need a bit of updating.

Roominess - 7 - Average size. Tight on hook-up side of rig.

Facility fun - 7 - Older playground, some activities (Bingo mostly), game room, unheated pool.

Cleanliness - 6 - Our part of the park was inhabited by summer long campers with some older rigs.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Dump station, picnic tables, laundromat, camp store.

Overall - 5 - Very disappointed by price, it should have been a lot cheaper considering shape of the park.

Campground review - Lebanon Hills Campground



We stayed at a nice little county park near the Mall of America called Lebanon Hills in the town of Apple Valley.

Nearby attractions - 8 - Within minutes of most Twin Cities sites, including Mall of America.

Staff - 8 - Talked to two different staff members who were courteous and professional.

Natural surroundings - 9 - Lots of trees, ponds, wildflowers and birds.

Value - 8 - We paid $26 a night for a back-in blacktop site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 7 - Nice and clean, but only one shower for each sex.

Roominess - 9 - Pretty long sites, and very wide as well.

Facility fun - 8 - Bike paths, playground, lake for fishing and other water sports.

Cleanliness - 9 - Nicely kept up.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Dump station, picnic tables, laundromat.

Overall - 9 - Great Twin Cities option, close to the metro area but totally close to nature.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Campground review -Autumn Woods Campground

While Tanner and I had our big day, we stayed at Autumn Woods Campground in Rochester. It has such a nice name!

Nearby attractions - 7 - Very close to Rochester. Within 90 minutes of most Twin Cities sites.

Staff - 9 - Talked to two different staff members who were courteous and professional.

Natural surroundings - 7 - Our area was newer with small trees. The older part of the campground has more mature trees. There is a pond at the campground.

Value - 6 - We paid $36 a night for a pull-through gravel site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 9 - Nice and clean. Tanner's only complaint was he could not reach the shower nozzle.

Roominess - 8 - Pretty long sites, average in width.

Facility fun - 2 - Not much extra to do here other than to walk around the small pond.

Cleanliness - 9 - Nicely kept up.

Facility usefulness - 8 - Dump station, a few picnic tables, laundromat, exchange library, propane.

Overall - 7 - Very quiet, nice campground, but no ameneties.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Campground review -Checkers Welcome Campground

Had a quiet and nice stay at Checkers Welcome Campground in a tiny little town called Welcome, Minnesota.

Nearby attractions - 7 - Right off of I90, but nothing major to do nearby other than fishing.

Staff - 7 - Lady who took my reservation and checked us in was real nice. Another guy we met was a bit creepy.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Nice mature trees, corn fields nearby. About a mile from the interstate.

Value - 8 - We paid $16 using Passport America a night for a pull-through grass site with full hook-ups.

Bathrooms - 5 - Older, they need a little updating.

Roominess - 7 - Pretty long sites, average in width.

Facility fun - 6 - Small Playground, fire pits at campsite. Big field to play in.

Cleanliness - 7 - Average.

Facility usefulness - 8 - Dump station, picnic tables at each site, laundromat, exchange library.

Overall - 6 - Very quiet, nice play to stay overnight but not a destination campground.

50 McDonalds - Minnesota


After our trip to Walnut Grove we were feeling a bit peckish and stopped on the way back to Howard at a McDonalds in Windrom, Minnesota for some shakes and slushies. I was quite healthy and got a strawberry and banana slushie! Yum yum! Hard to believe this is the 19th state with a golden arch stop. I took this picture of David outside because if you look closely you can see the Windrom water tower in the background.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Walnut Grove

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Patsy is not the only one who shares stories of growing up with our kids. I do too! Our recent stop in Walnut Grove, Minnesota was a great opportunity for me to share some childhood memories. My mother was a huge fan of the TV show Little House on the Prairie, and we watched it every week plus reruns! As I got older I called it Little Tears on the Prairie because someone was always crying on the show.


291As we toured through the first part of the museum where they focus on the real Laura Ingalls Wilder and the one played on television. I told my boys stories of Carrie falling into a well, Nellie being very spiteful until she got married and Mary going blind. They had a brail Bible at the museum for the boys to touch as we explained this part of the Ingalls family history.


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It is hard to believe, but my boys have never seen an episode or read one of the Little House books, but now we might have to change that! The museum has an old church, a very cool sod house, a room with old games to play with, two working pump organs which you are allowed to play (see the video), a jail, a recreation of their first wooden plank house and a doll collection.


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My kids’ favorite part of the museum, however, was a full-sized working edition of an old mercantile and bank with fake money and goods to purchase. They all played at this for quite some time with Blake and Tanner doing a great job and playing with their brothers! It did our hearts good to see the older boys patiently playing this game with their younger brothers.


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Our trip to Walnut Grove made me nostalgic for my childhood and made me miss my mom a bit. I kept picturing her sitting on our couch crying away while my dad made fun of the whole thing. I admit, a few times some tears might have swelled up in my eyes too. Little half-pint could do that to you.



Sunday, August 14, 2011

Jolly Green Giant





We are sorry, but we have removed this post becuase it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.





 




 

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