Stormy Holland, Michigan

We departed Jackson for Holland located on the "mitten's" western shores adjacent to Lake Michigan. We arrived at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds and found only one other rig in the RV campground. We had stayed here three years ago on May 28, 2022 for two nights and visited our friends Jay and Elaine True, who are now living in Holland, as well as our good friends Nancy and Richard Swain who were living in Michigan at that time.

This time around we arrived a little earlier in the month hoping to see the tulip blooms throughout the city. We caught the tulips on the tail end of the blooming season and also experienced some nasty weather on the evening of our arrival Thursday, May 15.

We experienced wind gusts of 80-mph and heavy rain whipped across the county fairgrounds while we hunkered down as the shore power went out. There was actually a tornado warning that came through on the emergency broadcast system which said to go to the nearest storm shelter. This was unnerving, but we stayed put and survived with no issues. Phew! Fortunately we had our batteries in the RV to power everything and the storm only lasted an hour. After the rain stopped I went out to turn off the 50A breaker for the night and we went to bed.

The top half of this large tree, near the mobile home of the campground host, fortunately missed their home during the storm.

This tree uprooted just east of our location in the campground, was blown over then knocked down two other trees in the storm.

In the morning, we went outside to survey the damage around the RV campground. I was amazed at the number of downed trees either completely uprooted or snapped halfway up. One of the larger trees on the perimeter of the fairground fence fell onto the neighboring road partially blocking Post Street. We had some minor branches fall around our rig but suffered no damage from the storm. I checked the power pedestal for our site and we had power again. Thank you God for your protection!

On Friday morning, May 16 we joined Jay and Elaine True for a late breakfast at a Dutch-based bakery/restaurant called deBoer Bakkerij North just down the road from our campground. We had a great visit and much of the conversation centered around the unseasonable thunderstorm that hit the area. Later that same day we had dinner with a couple we met while traveling in Alaska. Gary and Mickey Vander Veen own an Alliance Avenue RV like our rig so we connected as fellow "Allys". After meeting them last summer, it was fun to catch up with them in their hometown; they graciously invited us to their home and we had a wonderful meal as we got caught up on life.

In between visits I had a chance to start the kitchen Island cabinet modification after multiple trips to Lowe's for a hinge jig and the proper hinge type. The doors needed to be cut down and new hinge mounting holes drilled. I got a good start and took my time thinking it through but needed another day to complete the project at our next camping venue.

Saturday morning, May 17 we left Holland and headed to Custer, Michigan about 96 miles north near Lundington. We booked a Harvest Host and found out that we would be their first guests. We planned on two nights at the TwoSprings Farm. After arriving and setting up we ventured into Lundington to do a recon and picked up some information about the vehicle ferry that travels across Lake Michigan to Manitowac, Wisconsin. The trip takes four hours and they can accommodate our truck/RV if we decide to ever make the crossing. This information is good to have in our back pocket for future trips to the area.

Sunday morning we attended Trinity Church, an EV Free congregation, in the morning then returned back to the farm so I could get to work finishing the island cabinet project. After a few hours of fitting and adjusting I got the door in just right...hallelujah!

We had a great stay at TwoSprings Farm with our welcoming hosts, Tim and Gabrielle! They had plenty of room to accomodate our large rig in the beautiful countryside. Our hosts graciously invited us to their home and served us a delicious dinner as we shared life stories. From the farm, it was an easy drive to the larger town of Ludington, MI. We recommend large rigs approach this farm property using the driveway opposite the red barn.

On Monday, May 19 we continued north to Friske Orchards and Farm Market in Ellsworth, Michigan. This picturesque Harvest Host location features orchard scenery, incredible eats and treats, an expansive selection of Michigan made products. We visited this multi-generation family farm destination and took advantage of the famous scratch bakery and brick oven pizza. We ordered the "John Deere' and another specialty pizza with asparagus and pesto. Visit their Facebook page for more information at https://www.facebook.com/FriskeFarmMarket.

We stayed one night before leaving on Tuesday for the UP. That's Upper Peninsula for all you non-yoopers out there! Our destination was Sault-Ste-Marie on the Saint Mary River which separates the US from Canada. The Aune-Osborn Campground is right on the shipping channel south of the famous Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks.

We are planning on spending a week exploring the UP so stay tuned for more adventures about this unique part of the Great Lakes region.