Oh deer!!

Well, I was a day late typing yesterday’s post and I’m half a day early typing today’s.  Kids are currently sleeping so I’m hanging out nearby since Max is on our bed in the back and Sophie is on the couch up front.  Max fell asleep on the way home from the beach (he’s finally starting to fall asleep in the car, so that’s nice).  I thought Sophie would have been out too but she stayed awake until we got here; after a snack and during a DVD though, she crashed out too.  She probably couldn’t fall asleep in the car on the way back because she was anxious about seeing a deer…

The plan today was to head to the beach and around 10:30 or so we were ready to get out of here.  Tom was going to take me and the kids, help us get situated, then come back from Grant & Bobbie but just as we were leaving someone else from the campground was heading to town so they decided to get a ride from them.  So we’re cruising down the road and I’m checking the map on Tom’s iPhone to tell him when to turn when I hear “Oh no” and see white fur flying at eye level just as I register that the thump and brakes mean that we just hit something.  Oh deer…

So we pull over and this SUV that was going the other way turns around and comes back.  When we hit the deer it threw it into the air and it clipped the top rack off of the SUV; how’d you like to see a deer flying at you?  He did a pretty good number on the front of the car but still drivable and nothing mechanical seemed to be affected.  Sophie was a little traumatized for a while, on the verge of breaking down crying as she was trying to hide her head in her hands.  She decided that she doesn’t like big deer right now, only little deer.  See, she was afraid that the deer was going to come back and eat her.  After she got over her fear of the deer, she was concerned for it, wondering if it was going to a deer hospital.  Max had nothing to say on the topic.

Grant and Bobbie made friends with the SUV people who detoured to follow us to the beach to drop them off (they sent the other people on their way since we didn’t know how long we’d be on the side of the road).  We did make it to Ludington Park Beach which was great.  There was a nice breeze off of the water keeping us cool and the water was actually pretty warm – warmer than I’ve felt in the bay or Tawas this year.  Sophie was in the water pretty much the whole time we were there – I couldn’t even coax her out for any of her favorite drinks or snacks.  She is getting good at “diving” forward with her floaties on and swimming.  Most of the time she just kicks but with a little reminding she can kick and paddle at the same time.  I almost completed my rock art “2012” that I’ve been trying to make for 4 beach trips.  I was on the last 2 when the tide rose up and took it away.  So close…

Max alternated between crabby and content at the beach.  He waded in the water for a bit and Tom got him out away from shore for a little while.  He was very content picking up handfuls of mud and looking at it.  I think he found it interesting because the sand is a much coarser grain up here so he could really look at the “giant” sand and marvel at the colors and shapes.  Tom also dug him a hole by the water’s edge (which Max calls a puddle) so he had fun “jumping” in and out of that.  Sophie did come to water’s edge for a little while to make “cities” up and down the shore.

Now we’re back here in the camper taking a late nap.  Tom’s over at Grant & Bobbie’s probably itching to play some Bid 500 but it will probably have to wait to later.  Hopefully his late nap will mean that Sophie will be ready to stay up tonight for a campfire.  Just before she fell asleep last night she sat up and said “Oh no, we forgot to have a campfire!”  Again, Max had no comment on the topic (but he’s always willing to stay up late, so that shouldn’t be a problem!)

My boys…

Swimming with Daddy

My little beachcomber finally gets in the water…
 

Tough to get a picture of my little swimmer today; she was “too busy”

Beach Time Pics!

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Making our way in the world today…

And we’re off!  Our first voyage was a success (of sorts).  The newest addition to our family, a 1999 Coachman Mirada motorhome, took us on our first family RV trip.  To commemorate such a momentous occasion, I’ve decide to not only resurrect the travel blog but to also give it it’s very own page that will be added to throughout the year(s).  This is not without a few hiccups though since the WiFi that I originally connected to has already booted me and I’m writing the first post a day late…

Alrighty, as usual, let’s play catch-up:  With the 4th of July falling on a Wednesday this year and Tom having Mondays off for the summer, it only took one vacation day for us to have a 5 day weekend.  We decided to head north to Escanaba to visit Grant and Bobbie at their summer RV home at Park Place of the North on Green Bay. 

The drive up was definitely different in the motorhome.  The kids were better on the whole but it was a lot more work for me (but less stress?) because it felt like I was constantly running around either getting them something to eat, keeping them entertained, or keeping them seated (Max!)  We left AuGres around 7 as soon as both were awake and stopped at H&H for a special vacation donut (extra special since they were extra fresh and still warm… as Max is fond of quoting Backpack, “Yum Yum Yum”).  We had one more stop for gas in Standish and then we were on our way. 

The plan was to get off before the bridge so we could let the kids run around and have a good look at the bridge.  This worked pretty well and we spent about an hour here.  We walked around to the lighthouse, down to the water, and the kids chased the sea gulls a little bit.  We would have just had lunch here except that we figured 5 days of sandwiches was probably going to be enough so we planned to stop at McDonald’s once we got over the bridge.  Before we got back on the road though, we needed to stop at the Visitor Center at the State Park so Sophie and Max could spend their $5 from Nana & Papa to buy a souvenir.  Though Sophie wanted to get a vintage tea cup (too expensive) she settled on a turtle for her and a snake for Maxton.  She named the turtle “Tailwagger”.  It’s funny when she has to make stuff up, it’s totally Usual Suspects style.  So when I asked her what her turtles name was she was in the process of flicking the tail so naturally his/her name became “Tailwagger”. 

The ride over the bridge was great for me and the kids, probably a little more nerve-wracking for Tom with the narrow lanes.  Max didn’t really pay attention to anything as we were going over but Sophie loved seeing all of the boats from up high.  It was also exciting for Sophie because we saw ducks as we were coming off the bridge and we had just watched the Little Einstein’s episode with the lost duckling trying to get home to the Mackinac Bridge.  After the $10 toll (ughhhh…), we made the aforementioned McDonald’s stop and hit the road again.  This stretch was a little tougher since it had been awhile on the road and the camper kept getting hotter.  However, after eating, Max did crawl up on the bed and say night-night so I gave him some milk and laid with him until he fell asleep.

[Newsflash:  Sophie wants to rename her turtle “Sophie Fox”.  I think this is to shift blame because Tom just said (in exasperation) “Oh, Sophie Fox” and she replied “I’m not Sophie Fox.”  She’s a turkey, that one.]

OK, so back to the recap.  We rolled into the campsite around 3ish yesterday, met the local firepit crew, and started to set up camp.  Setting up goes a lot faster when everything is already in the motorhome; just had the outdoor space to set up and that didn’t take too long.  Once we plugged in to the electric, we promptly turned on the air so we could cool down the camper.  Max’s mood improved once we got him inside and he ate something and cooled off.  I brought a little pool for the kids to play in and that provided some good entertainment right at the camper.  Sophie also got to play a little flippity-flip (Frisbee) with her Dad, Grandpa, and Bobbie.

Our site is right across the street from Grant and right next to a slide and swings so the kids are pretty happy with that.  Sophie was VERY nervous on her first trip down the slide (I wish I had THAT picture) but she was excited too and after a few trips decided that she didn’t need me to catch her anymore.  Maxton of course wanted to climb the slide (though we did get him to go up the ladder too!) and had fun going down but he needs a little bit of help so that he doesn’t roll off the side.  Dinner was a mixed bag, here and there type of affair and the evening was capped with a walk through the campsite and down to the water.  The walk out included a trip through the marsh on a boardwalk to the beach.  It was tough to get to the water though because the shore was full of sawdust from mills that used to be in the area many years ago. 

After a spin on the merry-go-round it was time to head back and get ready for bed.  In a cool camper after a busy day, the kids went down a lot better than our trial run just a few nights before.  After cartoons, I laid with Sophie until she fell asleep and then headed over to Max’s bed to help him fall asleep (and stop trying to do headstands).  After the kids were down, I joined Tom at Grant & Bobbie’s for a little Bid 500.  Tom and I won the first two games – but who’s counting right :) – but we called the 3rd game since it sounded like a kid was making noise on the monitor. 

So that’s it, our first day “camping” in the motorhome.  Yes, the quotes are required.  This is living in a different location but I don’t think the term “camping” can be applied here, this is way to easy and luxurious.  But you know what, it’s just the way I want it right now.

On the road in jammies.

This entertained for a (short) while.

Our fearless Captain…

On the way to the water… if we can pull Max away from the hill.  He loves to run up - “made it!” and then run down and try not to fall.  Sophie was striking a pose.

“Hold your brother’s hand” is easier said than done. 
 

“But I was here first!”

This picture did not end well…Sophie kept trying to run away so when I grabbed her she scraped her leg on the stump.  *sigh*
   

It’s Sliding Time with Maxton & Sophie!
 

I told Sophie that I was making a travel blog and she wanted me to take a picture of Tailwagger so we could put it on the computer and then she could play with it.  While I was distracted with picture taking Max thought he’d add his two cents to the blog.


More pictures!

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