Family Vacation in Bethany Beach Delaware

Last fall, we planned a week family vacation at a Condo near Bethany Beach for the 2nd week in August.  Little did we know that Hurricane Irene would decide to hit the east coast the latter part of that week.

We left on a Saturday and had to "sneak" our luggage, etc. into the car without Willie (our 5th wheel) noticing.  He was so upset that he wasn't a part of this trip.  Jamie, Dane, and our 2 granddaughters arrived on Sunday as they had a wedding to attend on Saturday night.  Lanie, Bob, and our other 2 granddaughters arrived on Tuesday.  We had such a good time on the beach, enjoying the local playgrounds, and spending time on the boardwalk at Rehobeth Beach.  The little ones loved the rides in the arcade on the boardwalk.  The rides are so inexpensive and they have so many that are good for the age of our little ones - 4 years, 2 at 2 years, and 4 months.  (Katelyn, the 4 month old slept through all the activity on a bench with her daddy!) 

On Thursday, the news started talking about Hurricane Irene in detail and that it may become mandatory to leave the beach areas.  Jamie suggested 1st thing in the morning that we fill ourselves with caffeine because no one was allowed to go to bed early tonight - we were having a hurricane party after the little ones went to bed.  By mid afternoon Ocean City announced that there would be a mandatory evacuation started at midnight.  After discussions, we decided to head out around 7:30 PM to avoid the crowds of people that would be leaving.  With 4 little girls, they did not want to get in long lines of traffic and increasing the time needed to get back home.  Turned out to be a good decision, for people who left the next day took about 9 hours to return to our area.  It only took us 3 1/2 hours the night before.  The caffeine was helpful for the drive, but we were sad to miss the planned party and to have to cut short our family vacation!  We really had such a good time and Ken and I love spending one on one time with our girls, son-in-laws, and those precious little granddaughters.

  

 

Great Trip near North Wildwood NJ

 

We left at 7 AM on Wednesday morning with Fred and Doloris following us with their trailer and headed to North Wildwood.  Our 1st stop was at Perkins for breakfast.  I believe they make some of the best pancakes around.  So light and fluffy!  Then we went non stop to our campground - a Thousand Trail property called Sea Pines that we reserved through Encore.  We were very happy with this campground.  The gentleman who greeted us was so friendly and helpful.  A great PR person!  The CG offered many amenities including a mini golf course, nice pool, shuffleboard, several playgrounds, a small beach area, and very large, wooded sites.  It was an amazingly quiet park.  We did not have sewer, but they came around with the honey wagen on M, W, & F and pumped for free.  A nice service. 

 
The weather the entire time was gorgeous - in the 80's with plenty of sunshine and lower humidity.  We drove into North Wildwood, about a 15 minute drive on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and had so much fun relaxing on the beach.  There were several games of Kubb played, but unfortunately, the men won most of them.  We played about 5 games of cards of which the men won 3, but the women did win shuffleboard and mini golf.  Another competitive trip! 

The Kreiders were there the entire time too with their grandchildren, so they were not able to spend much time with us during this trip, but it was nice to have them there.

We had campfires all but one evening and enjoyed some wonderful meals and of course, s'mores. 

On Thursday morning Ken and I loaded our bikes and took an early morning bike ride on the 7 mile island of Avalon and Stone Harbor.  The bike path on the road is so well set-up for riding and both of the towns are beautifully maintained and landscaped.  The 14 mile ride was fun and good exercise.  We also took a long walk along the seawall in North Wildwood that leads to the boardwalk.  The inlet area we "beach" at is a nice area convenient to the boardwalk and downtown and we are always able to find free parking.

When we left today, Sunday, it was overcast with a few spotty showers.  We had a very tight spot for Willie (our 5th wheel) that took alot of work to get into.  So, we were abit nervous as to how we would get out.  But, that went well and Ken is getting more comfortable with that part of RVing.  We drove through heavy rain on the way home and some flash flooded areas.  Fortunately, we did not have to detour around any of the water.  Martins left after us, and did have to detour off Route 40 to avoid the heavily flooded areas.

We had such a good time on this trip and really enjoyed our time with the Martins.  It is some much fun to travel with special friends and share special moments.

Willie will be in our driveway for the next 3 1/2 weeks, probably shedding a few tears.  We are leaving next Sat. for a week in Bethany Beach DE with our girls and their families, staying in a Condo.  We have to be careful that Willie doesn't see us leave with our suitcases.  It makes him sad and probably a bit upset!

Special Trip with 2 of our Grandaughters!

Our youngest daughter, Jamie, brought Bria and Cali to our house at 9 AM on Wednesday for a camping adventure with Grandma and PawPaw until Friday!  Bria is 4 1/2 and Cali was 2 the end of March, so Ken and I knew it would be a busy few days.  We originally planned to take Bria and have Cali join us on Thursday afternoon, but we realized Cali would be devastated not to be with her big sister.  We were happy we decided to have both of them with us the entire time.

We only went about 18 miles from home to a Thousand Trail Resort, Circle M just south of Millersville PA.  It is a nice place for children as far as amenities, but they could do a much better job of maintaining the property.  Upon arrival, you do not have an assigned site, which has its pros and cons.  We really don't enjoy driving around trying to find 2 sites beside or behind each other.  We were camping with our friends, Gary and Marcia and their two adopted grandchilden, Anya and Camrin who are 4 and 7. 

Unfortunately, the weather was not great - warm but cloudy most of the time, except for today when we were leaving.  Last year we had all spent 2 nights there too, and the kids just loved the indoor waterpark that was perfect for the age of the children.  But, this year the waterpark was closed for repairs, which was probably a bigger disappointment for the grandparents than the children. They do have an indoor and outdoor pool, an indoor small maze/ball pit area, and a covered miniature golf course.  So,  we did have plenty to do.  We had campfires both nights complete with hot dog roasting, s'mores, and cinnamon buns in the pie maker over the fire.  The girls wanted to wash dishes outside so they could help, so of course, we had to do that too!

We left around 11:30 today, but not before Cali and Bria and a chance to play some miniature golf.  That was fun!  I am sure there are 2 very tired little girls that are ready for naptime.  They played so hard. 

Ricketts Glen Adventure!

Last Thursday, July 24, Ken and I headed out in Willie to go to Ricketts Glen,  World's End, and Eagles Mere in NE Pennsylvania.  What a beautiful area!  We were there with 2 other couples that we do alot of camping with in the summer.  We stayed at one of our favorite campgrounds, Pioneer Campground located in LePorte which is a somewhat central location for all of the mentioned areas.  The campground owners, Ray and Kathy, are some of the nicest folks you will met and they are determined to make your stay enjoyable.  All the sites are wooded, private, level, and large. 

We hiked the Falls Trail at Ricketts Glen, close to 4 miles, and you pass over 20 beautiful waterfalls.  World's End has hiking trails too and a very nice beach area.  We all sat on rocks in the river eating our picnic lunch.  Eagles Mere is a quaint little village with lots of history and an excellent free museum that is interesting and informative. 

We have campfires every night, good food, and of course, s'mores.  Played numerous games of ladder golf, with many games going into "overtime".  The men usually won!  Enjoyed the salt water pool at the CG, the free ice cream sundae making social on Saturday, and then the fire truck ride to the Roadhouse for drinks at 9:00 PM on Saturday.  What a hoot!!!  It was the 1st trip for Ray's "new" fire truck. 

If you get in the area, this is a wonderful area to visit!

 

Relaxing Day at the CG and then an early departure to head home!

Saturday was a slow down day at the CG in preparation for our trip back to PA.  We had been "on the go" so much that we were all ready for a quiet, slow day.  We enjoyed watching the National Guard launch 2 boats at the dock beside the CG and then place some floating bridge sections in the water that they connected.  (There were about 50 of them that they connected to each other!)  It was a drill that they do every so often in the St. Clair.  So, we only had "brunch" around 11:15, but it was delicious.

Sam went on the computer to pay some bills and Ken slowly started to pack up Willie for our return trip to PA.  Kathy and I played 2 handed Pinochle, several games of Word Nerd and ended with Bananagrams.  The men worked around us, but they really didn't mind.  We stopped numerous times to watch the freighters "float" by.  They are so quiet and looked so graceful on the water.  They are a sight to behold! They day just raced by!

We enjoyed making hot dogs over the open fire.  Visited with the Canadian folks beside Sam and Kathy and then the folks directly behind us.  You certainly meet the nicest folks when camping.  We made "snakes" for dessert over the fire and our neighbors joined us.  It was a great last night at Sault Ste. Marie.  We also rode bike just a short way to the ferry dock near the CG to see our last freighter round the corner.  At that spot, they are so close to the shoreline.

Ken and I got up at 5:30 and were on our way by 6:15.  Kathy and Sam probably left abbout 45 minutes after us.  We plan to meet at a CG near Cleveland towards suppertime, traveling about 550 miles.

Ken and I did take our last photo of the Upper Peninsula when leaving - the sunrise.  What a perfect end to this part of our adventure!!

Our Northern Adventure Continues!

I am abit behind on my blogging so I thought I would try to update it while driving back to PA.  Amazing what a great job this little mifi card does connecting us to the internet.  Reasonably priced and it has worked everywhere we have traveled with no difficulty!

On Friday we decided to leave Sault Ste. Marie and drive back towards Mackinaw City and take the scenic loop towards Harbor Springs and then onto Petoskey.  The drive was beautiful and the little seaport town of Harbor Springs very picturesque.  We enjoyed eating our picnic lunch at a park right at the marina.  This area does such a wonderful job of maintaining all of their small parks, harbor areas, etc.  So many beautiful flowers, benches, tables, etc.  Then we drove on to Petoskey, another town on Lake Michigan.  From here we got on our bikes and took the paved bike trail for about a 16 miles round trip along the shoreline and through some wooded areas.  Lovely, well-maintained trail.  After getting off our bikes (we looked alittle strange trying to walk normally), we sat in the town park near the marina enjoying the view.  Walked up to the town of Petoskey and had dinner on the upper deck of Pap Joes.  Delicious food!  Only got back to the CG around 8:30.  It was a lot of driving today, but worth it.

We played another game of Bocce with the women being victorious again!  We decided to have a relaxing day tomorrow at the CG slowing loading up for the return to PA.  Can't believe how quickly these 2 weeks have passed.  We have had so much fun and saw so many wonderful things. 

Tahquamenon Falls Day!

We were alittle late getting on the road today because I woke up with a migraine and it took me some time to get it under control.  We did leave the CG by 11:00 and headed to the Paradise area stopping at the Point Iroquois Lighthouse.  You could actually climb the 72 stairs to the top and then see the Living Room and Kitchen of the lighthouse keepers home.  They also had a very nice gift shop and it was all by donation.

On to the Pendills Creek Fish Hatchery where they produce more than 6 million eggs annually and right now they have about 11/2 million 6 month old trout that they are raising.  They will be used later to stock Lake Superior.

From there we headed to Tahquamenon Falls State Park to hike to the Lower Falls and then the Upper Falls.  The trails were so nice and the falls were beautiful.  The "boys" enjoyed a beer at the Brewery and Pub at the entrance to the park.

We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way back to pick up a few groceries.  Besides the Farmers Market, this is only the 1st time we did some food shopping since leaving home.  Wow!

We cooked ribs over an open fire and as per usual, we only had dinner around 8:45.  Maybe it was breakfast, I'm really not sure!  Got to see several freights go by the CG this evening either leaving the locks or heading there.

Large freighter passing our Campround
on Wednesday night!

Finally saw a moose up close and personal!

Another fun day!

This deer was right along the fence
where everyone walked by!  No fear!