Almost On The Road! 7/24/15

I wonder if anyone has as much trouble packing as I do!!

Here’s the deal. We don’t want to lug our huge suitcases out of the car each night on the road. So, we pack a “destination” suitcase (or two or three) AND a “trip up” suitcase. The “trip up” suitcases are small and carry ONLY what is needed to spend a couple of nights on the road.  They go into the truck bed LAST so they are easy to get out.

But – you have to be somewhat organized to be able to plan a 3-day/2-night road trip and think of every little detailed thing you might need once you stop for the night. One year I had everything I needed EXCEPT my huge round hair styling brush, which for some reason I’d packed in a “destination” suitcase. There was just no way I could “do” my hair without it the next morning, so Ted had to haul every single “destination” suitcase, dog food bin, cooler, toolbox, camera case, etc. out of the truck to get to the bag that held my brush.  Well, let me just tell you, THAT was not a happy way to start the day, and I’ve done my best to make sure it hasn’t happened again!

Even Maddie and Bear have the two types of luggage – big green bag (destination-toys, meds, brushes, etc.). Small tote (trip up-dogfood and bowls)

Anyway, we’re almost packed, and I’ve spent most of this afternoon cleaning house.  Ted always asks, “Why are you cleaning the house when we’re not going to be here?”  It’s kinda like your mom telling you when you were young to always wear clean underwear in case you’re in a car accident and end up in the emergency room. I’d hate mighty bad for someone to have to come into our house (for whatever reason) and find dust on all the furniture and Bear hair floating across the floor and in every nook and cranny.  So – I clean before we go.  And yes, that’s what my mom did.

While I’ve cleaned, Ted and our neighbor Ernie have worked out in the near-100 temps to cover our boat. Ernie will be in charge of moving the boat to dry dock IF a hurricane should be about to hit our little stretch of beach while we’re gone.  We pray that is something he doesn’t have to deal with!

I got a text message this morning from Sue and Terry, whose lake cabin we’re renting for the first three weeks of our Michigan trip.  She was warning me that the temps are on the rise for the next two weeks, and forecasts are calling for highs in the 80’s.  Frankly, “the 80’s” sound like a cold front to us!

Orietta Barquero, our friend on Mackinac Island, shared some great photos this week!

A beautiful view of ferries coming and going on a busy summer day.

Looking across Fort Mackinac toward the Straits.

Main Street hustle and bustle.

Carriage Tour horses walk past the always-flowering grounds of the Metivier Inn.

 

Another view of Main Street.

We’re only going to drive 7 hours on Saturday because we’re stopping off in Atlanta to spend the night at Jason’s  On Sunday we’ll hit the road early and drive until we feel like stopping.  Since we won’t be on the island the first three weeks of our stay, we don’t have to worry about ferry schedules – we plan to arrive at Black Lake sometime Monday afternoon.  Even though we were just on Mackinac a few weeks, ago, it’s been almost two years since we’ve spent long, QUALITY time on our favorite island. By that I mean weeks with plenty of time to relax, walk trails, eat out all over the island, see friends, check out what’s new and revisit what’s old, and just hang out. We are excited!

I will try to write a blog post at least once on the road, and if we’re friends on Facebook, I’ll post there pretty much daily.

Safe travel prayers are always appreciated.  See you in Michigan – and from points north – good Lord willing!

God bless.

Update on Max Jones Ride Across Iowa for the Mackinac Island Fire Department:

This photo was in Hiawatha, Iowa yesterday. They were 130 miles from their 480-mile goal! Max is on the far right.