The Bees

Remember I said I was becoming an amateur bee keeper?  The bees are here!  I picked them up last week.  It was fun, something different for sure.  There is a lot more to bee keeping than just ordering 3 pounds of bees.  Who knew those little things were so complicated?  Feeder buckets, Pollen pellets, marshmallows.

Here they are...9 pounds of bees!  Each of those little boxes has 3 pounds of bees in there.  It was cool the day they came home, sunny and 40's.  I guess they stay huddled up like that to stay warm.  That's good when you're transporting them.

This is my friend, he is my expert instructor.  He's had bees for a few years so he is teaching me everything he knows and we'll learn the rest together.  He lost all of his bees over the winter so he replaced his when I got mine.  My bees are at his house, I guess they work better when there are 3 or 4 boxes.  I'm not really sure about all that, I just know it's better.  He also has a huge garden so there is a lot pollen around for them.  My dog wouldn't get along with the bees at my house either.

There they go...right into their new home.  We just took the little aluminum can out of the box they come in and got the queen out.  The queen comes in this little tiny screened in box with a plug in the bottom and you replace that plug with a marshmallow.  The bees eat on that marshmallow for a few days until they get through to the queen.  Then you put a feeder bucket in there with sugar water and a pollen pellet to get them through a few weeks until things start blooming, put the lid on and that's it.

Supposedly I should have honey in 3-4 months.  My Dad is getting bees this year too, I think he is bringing his home this weekend.  He is keeping them in the clover at the farm.  Someone said that will be really sweet honey.  Who knew!  The honey tastes different based on what kind of pollen they have.  I guess it makes sense, I just never really thought about it.

I'm always up for trying a new adventure or hobby.  And having fresh honey will give me a reason to try lots of new recipes!  Who knows, maybe it will turn into a business.  The husband always says he would love it if one of my hobbies actually earned money :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a long strange winter it's been...

Hello and welcome to March!  Wow, what a long winter it's been!  Anyone that has read my blog before knows that I HATE winter and anyone living in the Midwest knows that this was a bad one!  It's almost over and the truth is, this one really didn't bother me.  Say what?!?  Nope, it really didn't.  It was cold, really cold, but we had a lot of sunny days and I stayed busy so I guess that's what saved me.  As I'm typing this, there is a winter weather advisory in effect for tonight.  More snow!  Oh well, last year on spring break in Missouri it snowed a foot.  I guess if we can get through spring break without snow, we're off to a better start. 

So what's on the horizon for this summer?  Well, let's see...

Remember the pickling party from last summer?  I'm growing my own cucumbers this year and this just in, amateur bee keeper!  Yep, I'm getting a bee box and bees!  Lots of fresh honey (I hope).  I'm thinking of changing the direction of my blog, there are lots of different things I'm interested in, not just camping.  Any suggestions?

Camping of course!  The TEENAGER is still in the house so as usual his activities sort of dictate the schedule for the rest of the house.  I have a trip planned to the dunes (it's an annual destination now!), two long trips to Missouri (hoping for better weather this year).  Then there is a trip to Wisconsin and Michigan.  I've got a few bike rides thrown in the mix, hopefully an overnight trip or two for some fun mountain biking and a Halloween trip (boy #2 might be too old this year) Poof, that's the summer and fall!

In the meantime, Hustle up the Hancock is just a few weeks away.  That is loads of fun, hard but fun!  My goal is to shave a minute off my time from last year.  That's pretty ambitious and I've only practiced twice so far.  I still have plenty of time but I don't have my fast legs on just yet.  Lots of crazy teenager stuff going on the rest of the month and high school baseball season has started.  My first bike ride is April 28.  65 miles this time, new long distance record!  I'm not exactly sure how the weather will be, that's pretty early up here, as long as it's a bright sunny day, it should all work out.  I probably won't have time or decent enough weather to get outside much before then so I'm hoping my Hancock legs carry me through!

What a long, strange winter it's been...

Howl-o-ween at the Dunes

Boy #2 is still young enough to enjoy Halloween camping.  The Indiana Dunes State Park is a really nice park BUT there are lots of rules on the beach and the lake so we only visit for Halloween.  We prefer Michigan for the summer and beach going.  Halloween works perfectly, the kids are in school so this makes for an easy trip on a Friday afternoon.

The weekend before Halloween is the annual Halloween weekend.  I let boy #2 invite 2 friends this year, and of course, the teenager is way too cool for Halloween camping and hanging out with three 10 year olds.  The park has several activities, including trick or treating and campsite decorating.  Last year we did everything, owl banding, organized hikes, hiked over the dunes to the beach and when it got cold at night we watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein inside.  We didn't partake in any of that, the boys were busy exploring on their own so we missed almost all of that.  It was still a fun camping trip, they probably would have enjoyed all of the parks programs but I guess the truth was I just didn't want to chase them down.  I don't have any pictures either, they were never around long enough to take any good pictures!

Next year, our youngest will be in 6th grade.  This very well could have been the last Halloween camping trip.  This year for Halloween, the teenager went to the Florida Georgia Line concert and the husband and I went to Wisconsin so he could fish for Brown Trout.  Halloween has basically become a non-event at my house.  Next year Halloween will be on a Friday!  Maybe it will be a different story.  Who knows.  The trailer is winterized now, it will be 7 months before we get it out again.  7 months!  7 months of cold, grey, damp, snowy and icy weather.  I. hate. winter.

Pumpkin Pie Ride

I love to ride my bike!  I think it's probably what I enjoy most and am most willing to do regardless of weather.  I enjoy trail riding a lot more than road riding, mainly because I don't trust people to pay attention while driving.  I also have come up on packs of riders while I'm driving and I find it annoying (sorry to all you road riders out there) so I try not to burden others with the same annoyance.  I get bored on the road, I can see the same thing from my car, where I already spend many hours of my life.  The trails give me different scenery and take me to places I wouldn't go in my car.  Trails are more technical, they provide obstacles, terrain of all varieties and hills for a good workout.  What does the road give you?  Hmm, hills, road grit and road rage.  Maybe a pothole to avoid every now and then.

There is an annual ride in Ottawa, IL I've wanted to try for several years but it's never worked out.  The Pumpkin Pie Ride!  Offering several distances to choose from, including a trail ride.  It's on the I&M Canal and is limestone so nothing technical or challenging as far as terrain.  Anyway, I found a friend and we signed up for the 42 mile trail ride.  I have been to Ottawa but it had been a long time so as I was telling people that I was doing this, the common response was that will be a hilly ride.  Really?  Who knew.  I was going to be on the trail along the river so I wasn't expecting hills, just a pretty scenic ride for distance.

Fast forward to the day before the ride and the trail is closed due to flooding damage (flooding that occurred back in the spring by the way) and all routes are on the road.  Ottawa is about a two hour drive for us so switching bikes wasn't an option.  So, off I go on my very heavy mountain bike.  The ride was all farmland, corn to be exact.  By the time we finished I was really sick of the corn.  The first 25 miles was all hills!  I think we went up 24.5 miles and somewhere along the way there was a short little downhill.  That was a great workout on my very heavy mountain bike.  The last 20 miles we rode into the wind the whole time.  Between the wind and the corn, I really was sick of it and just ready for it to be over.  Finally, we rolled into the parking lot where we started.  Tired and sore, we set out in search of food and beer! 

Ottawa is so pretty!  Not the corn, but Starved Rock State Park.  We didn't have our trailer, we had to have something fixed so we stayed in a hotel.  That was fine but I would much rather have been in my camper at the park.  I really dislike hotel stays, I don't care to eat out for every meal and in this situation there wasn't anything for us to do except bar hop really.  I can't wait to do it again next year, in my camper and on the trail, not in the corn!

Zombie Invasion

So there was a small zombie invasion last weekend in N. Ill.  Maybe you heard it on the news? No? The same park district that hosts the kayak race every year also has a zombie 5K obstacle race.  It was something fun and silly.  It's kind of crazy really.  I'd never done anything like that before and really had no idea what to expect.

I expected it to be cool, so I over dressed and couldn't take off one layer.  Not in an appropriate manner anyway.  I expected the obstacles to be more physically demanding than they were.  I don't know what I expected about the zombie part but they hid in the weeds and grass and jumped out at us.  They sprayed us with water guns.  They were laying in the path, they were standing in the path and you had to run around them.  All the while, wearing a belt with three flags (think flag football) and the object was to make it to the finish line with at least one flag.  I didn't so I was doomed to eternity as a zombie.  The zombies looked good and the acting was great.  I was really surprised about that.  You could tell some of the zombies were having a great time too. 

We got in the first heat, we thought that was a good idea so we could finish before the sun started to set.  We knew we were going to get wet, we were trying to avoid getting cold too.  The zombies were a little eager right at the beginning and two us lost two flags right away.  Really, there was no getting away from them either because we were still caught up in the mob off the starting line.  Towards the end we had to cross a creek so that meant the last mile(ish) was in wet shoes.  That was gross then at the finish line you slid down a hill, a makeshift slip and slid, into the orange barrier that served as the finish line.  If you hadn't gotten wet and muddy before that, you definitely finished wet!

One observation:  two different times in open areas with a zombie ahead of me people ran right up against me, touching me so that when we went past the zombie they could get around and sacrifice me because I was in the middle then.  I get it, it's a competition.  But really, is it so serious that you feel like it's appropriate to run into and shove a total stranger?  I heard there were 200 racers, I guess there is always that one person in every group, two in this case.  I wasn't expecting that but I know now so next year the outcome will be different in that situation.

It was all in the name of fun and fun it was!  The results had 35 people so I guess of the 200 or so racers 35 finished with a flag.  We had a few drinks and dinner after and I crawled into bed exhausted and sore.  I went for a bike ride Sunday to get some half century prep miles in.  The weather has been G R E A T up here!! 

Silver Lake Apple and BBQ Fest

We headed back to Silver Lake for the Apple and BBQ cook off  festival the second weekend of September.  We camped at Sandy Shores again.  It's a perfect location for the festival, perfect to walk back and forth.  The campground was just as great this time as it was last time.  We got in Friday night just in time to grab some food.  All the food is bought with tickets.  The tickets are $1 each, non-refundable but they are good all weekend and every year.  I love that!  So many times you go to these festivals and you get nickel and dimed to death with the ticket game but not here! The food was great, we ate there Friday night and Saturday for lunch.  I think everyone had something different both times and I never heard any complaints.  We ended up with only one extra ticket and it's in the camper for next year.

Saturday morning we hit the dunes.  We went out about 10 a.m. and it was perfect, hardly anyone out there.  What a beautiful day too!  It really couldn't have been a nicer day.  It's just so pretty, I could have stayed out there all day.  Sometimes I can't believe we're in Michigan!

We hit the festival for lunch and took in the car and buggy show.  Then it was back to the campground for college football and dinner.

That looks like a ton of steak!  There were 11 of us for dinner though.  Steak and shrimp, it's kind of our usual for camping I guess, but it's always a success.

I was really hoping it would be warm enough to pack my bathing suit one last time.  No luck with that, I packed my UGG's instead.  It was 42 degrees Friday night about 10 p.m. or so.  I couldn't get close enough to the campfire.  Sunday it rained all day so we found ourselves packing up in the rain, once more.  The end of summer dread finally set in with this trip.  There is no denying it now, summer is really over.  It will come again, it always does but it just takes so long!  And I hate the in between.

Our Least Favorite, Favorite Trip

Table Rock Lake is our favorite vacation destination as a family.  We go every year and it's the trip we look forward to the most.  It was our least favorite this year.  It rained.  A lot.  Every day and every night.  Inches and inches and inches.

The trip is the always the same, every year.  Friday we go to the farm.  The sweet corn was ready.  We picked, shucked and froze 50 quart bags of sweet corn for the winter.  It didn't take as long as the pickles!  WE didn't get pickled either.

Sunday, we head towards the Lake and we always stop at Lambert's Cafe for lunch.  We try to get there about 10 a.m. there is always a line.  We've waited as long as long an hour to eat here before, it's worth the wait!

Look at the rain!

 

It was raining, of course.  When we finished we left the truck and trailer and took the car back to Springfield, MO to Bass Pro Shops.  It's the original Bass Pro store and they have several different museums in the now.  It's really worth a trip but with the rain, there wasn't anything else to do anyway.

We always boat Monday through Thursday, with a rental from the State Park Marina.  We finally were able to get on the water Monday about noon.  It rained on us a couple times then the sun finally came out.  Tuesday we hit the water about the same time and it was a great day.  The sun was out all afternoon and no rain!  It did rain all morning but once it cleared up, it was beautiful. 

Wednesday it rained, and it rained and it rained more.  We didn't go out on the water.  We ended up driving all the way back up by Springfield, MO to see Fantastic Caverns.  It's the only ride through cave in North America. 

It rained all night Wednesday night.  The highway around St. Louis, MO had been closed on and off all week for flooding, but it was open Thursday morning.  The mountain bike trails were closed, the fishing wasn't good and we were tired of being rained on.  Everything was wet and dirty from the rain.  We were all crowded under the awning every night and usually every morning.  We left Thursday morning.  Three days early!  By the time we got my parents packed up and on the road, then got ourselves packed up, it was 2:00 before we actually got on the road.  We got home at 11:30.  What a miserable, long, tired drive!  When we finally got home, the weather was great here.  It seems like such a waste. 

Usually Table Rock is our last summer trip.  I hate coming home because it represents the end of summer and back to the monotony of the school year.  This year, I came home early and hated it because the weather ruined our trip.  I told the kids it happens to every one sometime, I guess it was our turn.  Next year will be better...we really, really hope!  Our favorite trip was our least favorite this summer.

Pickling Party!

Yep, pickling!  As in...canning!  Odd topic, right?  We know a group of guys from from our favorite local establishment and they do everything!  When I need something fixed at home, one of them can do it.  They fish in Wisconsin and maybe twice a year we have a fish fry, at the local establishment, of course.  They make their own pickles, horseradish, peaches and I don't even know what else but I'm sure there are plenty of other things.  The husband scored an invite to the pickling party this past Sunday and insisted that we be in town for him to participate.  I have to say I thought it was kind of silly at first.

Friday night, at the local establishment, a couple of the guys invited me to the party.  I hadn't been invited previously and was under the impression this was not a party for wives.  The husband did not approve at all but Saturday morning he ran into one of the guys at the farmer's market and realized that yes, I was indeed, invited.  Sunday morning I went out for a quick bike ride with friends.  The picking party was scheduled at 10 a.m.  One of the people I was biking with had a mechanical problem, which caused a crash, which caused a small injury and together, it was all enough to end our bike ride.  I had to call the husband to come and get us.  He was, of course, totally irritated because one, he is totally sick of bike season and the repairs we've had to deal with but this was going to make him late for the pickling party.  Anyway, we got through it all and I think we were only about 20 minutes late for pickling.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was in store for.  The first thing they handed me when we (finally!) arrived was a mimosa! 

This might turn out to be okay!  We had three bushels of cucumbers

I didn't know exactly what three bushels of cucumbers meant but I sure do now.  I was the official cutter.  Wow!  That's a lot of cucumbers.  I thought my fingers were going to be stained green for days to come.  The little ones too, so there was plenty of cutting and slicing.

We had appetizers.  Good appetizers too!

Zucchini Fritters

Smoked salmon

 

One of the sisters made all this food for us.  I am not a fan of fried zucchini BUT these fritters were DE-lish!  She made two kinds, one variety had Quinoa!  She said she would share the recipe with me but I forgot to leave my email address for her.  I could not believe how good that all was!

In the end, I think we had 106 jars of pickles.  All different varieties, fryers, dill, bread and butter, zesty, etc. etc. etc.  All the garlic, dill and onions came from the guys garden as well. 

What a party!  Who knew pickling could be SO much fun!  We were invited to the peach party in September.  The guys that do it all have peach trees AND they have white peach trees too.  My favorite!  The pickling party left me with a headache Monday morning (we got pickled too) but it was worth it.  I can't wait for the peach party!

New Buffalo, MI

Around the middle of July, it worked out that both kids would be gone the week of July 22.  I was ready for a break and feeling beach deprived by that time so I booked a room at Marina Grand Resort for a  couple nights.  I booked a room (instead of a campsite) to give the husband a break from pulling the trailer all over.  The husband can commute to work pretty easily, actually very easily.  It's a longer drive but he makes it in the same amount of time as he does from home because there isn't any traffic.  It's a bit easier for him to get ready for work in a hotel room than it is from a campsite, another reason I booked a room.

We were at the Warren Dunes the weekend before, it was hot and the lake felt great.  We headed over on Tuesday and I woke up that morning to the Chicago weather man talking about a cold front moving in from the North and dangerous conditions on the lake.  15 foot waves and dangerous rip tides.  What?  Why now?  Sure enough, I think the high on Wednesday was maybe 70 and the wind was horrible.  I assumed that meant paddleboarding was out for the week and I was right.  Packing was a little different.  I had to think about how to pack for traveling when it doesn't involve my trailer.  I have everything in the trailer, all I pack for camping trips is clothes and food.  I had to find nice clothes, not camping attire and I had to make two trips to the drugstore for things I forgot.  It sort of felt like that first trip of the season when I forgot some everything.

I went for a  chilly bike ride in the morning, I had to pedal fast to stay warm.  I'm more of a trail rider, the biking around New Buffalo isn't great for me.  There is a bike route but some of the back roads are windy and narrow and I don't trust that people pay that much attention.  To get any serious amount of riding in, I would have had to load the bike up and head north to find some good trails.

I spent the rest of that day at the pool.  It turned out to be an okay afternoon for the pool, but not in the water.  I stayed in the sun and I finished the book I was reading, The Midnight Room by Ed Gorman.  Great book! 

Thursday I spent the majority of the day at the beach!  It was cool still but the wind had died down.  Good thing it wasn't blistering hot because the lake was freezing by then. I came home Friday morning with my need for the beach fulfilled so I guess that means it was a successful trip!

Overnight at Warren Dunes

In the early spring or maybe late winter I was looking at my calendar and two things stood out to me.  First, I had two weekends with nothing planned in July.  That just seems like a waste of a summer weekend to me.  Second, with everything I did have planned, I didn't have a beach day.  I know I've said it before but here's the deal...I love the sun and I love the beach!  I knew by the time summer  sports wrapped up I would be dying for beach time so I got online and booked a site at Warren Dunes State Park.  Warren Dunes is one of my fav places, I don't know if I could bear to go through a summer without a visit.  The beach is so pretty and so close to home, it's an easy drive.  The dunes are fun to climb up and the river that goes back to the clay always provides plenty of entertainment (translation: people watching).  By the time I was doing all of this, I could only get a site for Saturday night, another overnight camping trip!

Warren Dunes State Park

I told all of our friends, beach day July 20, put it on your calendar!  When it came time to go, it worked out that just half of one family could go.  Our friend (who doesn't camp) and her freshman daughter along with six of her friends met us there and spent the day.  None of those kids had ever been to the Dunes before so I filled them in on what to do and they were off!  Not to be seen again until they needed food and water.  Neither of our kids went for different reasons so it was kind of funny to have all these girls running around.  We had lunch ourselves and then headed to the beach.  It was hot and had been really hot for a week or so, the lake felt great! 

This was the first time we had ever camped at the State Park.  In the past, we've camped around there in private campgrounds then just drove to the park.  The campground itself is kind of narrow so it makes navigating with a long trailer behind a big pickup a little tricky.  The sight I had reserved was just at the beginning and a corner lot so the husband got the trailer in pretty quickly and easily.  If we had been back further in the campground, it would have been a nightmare!  The campground was full so there were cars, people and other various camping paraphernalia scattered around a very narrow campground.
 
Our friend and her kids all loaded up and went home, leaving us to ourselves.  We had some dinner then just hung out.  The husband said so this is what camping is like when my wife doesn't have 30 activities planned!  Hmmm, I think he is bitter about the bike repairs from Devil's Lake.

The trailer is parked now until it's time to head to Table Rock!

Devil's Lake

Devil's Lake is one of my new favorite places!  What a great park, there is so much to do around there.  All this time we've lived here and we've never been there until this summer!  It's an easy drive for us, about three hours.

We camped at Baraboo Hills Campground.  Nice campground, nice amenities and lots of entertainment, especially for families with younger kids.

Friday night, I took boy #2 on a kayaking tour of the lake with the naturalist.  When we got to the park, there was a fish fry and a live band next to the lake.  Kayaking on flat water is incredibly boring but for boy #2 it was just the right length of time and level of difficulty.  We learned a little about the history of the lake, I'm always interested in the history of places we visit.  At least, when there is something interesting to learn.

The sun set on our kayak tour of the lake and we headed over to the campsite for a late dinner then to bed.  Rock climbing at 7 a.m.!  We used a guide, Devil's Lake Climbing Guides, we have never climbed before so we don't have equipment or knowledge.  Nick was our guide and he was great, really nice guy, fun to hang out with.

We started with talus scrambling.  I guess that's the rock climbing term for climbing up the big rocks without ropes.  There is a path that goes around these rocks, to the bottom of the bluffs but Nick said it was easier to go this way. 

Hmmm.  I'm not sure I totally agree with that but we did it.  The kids went right up and over without any trouble, I was a little slower.  It's pretty high at the top, I had to stay focused on where I was going, not where I came from because it was a little unnerving for me.  Anyway, we did finally make it to the real climbing. 

We climbed for several hours but ended up cutting it a little short so we could get off to Devil's Lake Resort for some mountain biking.  In July and August the chair lifts are running up to the top of the ski hill so you can mountain bike down. 

This was loads of fun, however, we did come back with two broken bikes.  Boy #2 crashed at the very end of a trail and the teenager did who only knows what, his chain and gears were messed up.  That was it for biking!  I wanted to ride the trails at Devil's Lake State park on Sunday but I was the only with an operational bike so we skipped that.  Next year!  Bike repairs in this house put the husband over the edge, he was pretty crabby when we were loading up the bikes to head back to the campsite.

Sunday morning the husband fished the WI river.  About 9 a.m. he called and said he wanted to stay again Sun night and head back Mon!  Shut the front door!  Really?  That never happens, I always want to stay and he always wants to go home.  Anyway, that gave me some extra time to take my SUP over to Devil's Lake Sunday afternoon.

We got back and dropped the teenagers bike off at the shop, I had loads of laundry to do but all that's okay.  Pay to play, right?  Devil's Lake is on our list of favorite places and will be one that we return too often!  I can't wait to head back next summer. Maybe, if I'm really lucky, we'll go back in the fall...fingers crossed!  Isn't there something to fish for in the fall?

The 4th at Indiana Beach

We usually spend the week of the 4th camping.  Somewhere close so the Husband can get to work.  The past few years we have gone to Michigan to stay at the beach.  For whatever reason, we decided to go somewhere different this time. 

Monticello, IN was it.  The amusement park, Indiana Beach, is there so we got a site at one of their campgrounds, Ideal Beach Campground.  I didn't love it and I really can't recommend it.  The pictures online of the campground are deceiving, it looks really nice but when you get there it's just okay.  The maintenance staff at the campground are very nice and the lifeguards at the pool were really nice but there is one manager in particular that is flat out rude and unfriendly.  I understood from some of the employees of the campground that the company that owns all of this have really let the campgrounds go downhill.  The sites are very narrow, you're really close to the sites next to you.  There was a shuttle from the campground to the amusement park that was really nice for everyone to come and go without us having to drive them and there were nice bathrooms.  It's expensive also.  The most expensive campground we've ever stayed at.

The amusement park is in serious disrepair.  The bathrooms are disgusting and some of the rides look like they are on their last leg.  I mean they really look unsafe.  There is a waterpark at the amusement park, I just told everyone to stay away from it.  What a shame too, the town appears to be built around that amusement park.  It could be great and for an amusement park, it's not crazy expensive but it does need maintenance, repair and upgrading right now.

The weather was not great for most of the week.  I guess it worked out that we weren't in Michigan because it would have been cold and miserable.  We did get out on the lake some.  Lake Shafer is the lake, it's actually a damned up river.  There is a lot of debris in the water, you really have to watch what you're doing.  We rented a boat at Lake Shafer Boat Rentals and went out with the wave runners.  Again, the weather was not great so I was actually a little bored and wanted to get off the boat after a few hours.

We rented kayaks from Hodges Canoe Trips.  It rained. The whole way.  Not just a little rain either.  I thought it was going to start hailing at one point.  I was freezing, I have never been so glad to get out of a kayak in all my life!  The teenager says his kayaking career is over, he is officially retired and will gladly go fishing from now on instead of kayaking.  It's funny now, of course, but at the time it was absolutely miserable. 

Oh well!  Even though we aren't returning to this area, we did have some fun.  There are some memories, some good, some not so much.  The teenager can complain about the kayaking trip and we all know that teenagers need something to complain about!

Cheese Country Trail and Lake Joy Campground

At the end of June we took a trip to Belmont, WI to ride ATVs on the Cheese Country Trail.  We camped at Lake Joy Campground .  We had a nice big campsite, three actually, we had friends with us and a lot of vehicles!  The campground was extremely accommodating for us.  They had several planned activities and nice amenities.  We had an RV, our travel trailer, 4 vehicles, 7 ATVs and 2 trailers!  We put the empty site in the middle and all the stuff on the end, it worked out perfect.  One other nice thing about the campsites is that we were able to pull in one of the campers the other way so our campers were facing together.  The sites had plenty of space to work that out. 

The weather was not good, Sunday was sunny and warm, of course the day we had to come home.  It rained all night Friday off and on so we had to stay inside and watch a movie.  It rained Saturday off and on, mostly ON Saturday afternoon when we could have been at the lake.  This would have been a lot more fun if we had good weather! 

Lake Joy Campground

Sunday, June 29, was International Mud Day!  Didn't know there was such a thing?  Me either, but I know now and I'm always looking for a reason to celebrate something.  It's an annual celebration for this family now! 

We rolled in Sunday, just in time to get boy #2 to his water polo match, switch the gear from ATVs to wave runners and head out Monday morning on our next trip!

Sandy Shores, Steak and Cinnamon Rolls

So by now you've probably read about all the fun during our weekend at Silver Lake for Father's Day.  We did actually camp while we were there, at Sandy Shores Family Campground.  What a great campground!  This is one of the nicest, if not THE nicest campground we've ever stayed at.

They have nice paved roads all through the campground, no speeding allowed!  Bath houses that are newer and clean, clean at all times.  They actually smell clean too!  Anyone that follows my blog knows by now that we no longer tent camp BUT staying at a campground with a nice bath house is always a plus.  Even though we have a camper with a bathroom, if we are somewhere with a nice bath house we use that instead.  It's just easier and it's less for me to clean after we get home.  They have full hook up sites too, another bonus!  Guests at Sandy Shores have access to their private stretch of beach right across the street from the campground.  That was my favorite part, for sure!  The beach was really nice, not too crowded and just right across the street.

We made a long weekend of it since it was Father's Day, Thursday to Monday.  Sometimes, one of the best parts of camping is eating!  I usually feed my family pretty good (all boys = big eaters) but during the craziness of summer activities, especially the first six weeks of summer, home cooked dinners tend to go by the wayside.  Camping provides us an opportunity to eat good dinners again! 

Steak kabobs

Dinner Friday night was steak and shrimp kabobs on our new Coleman grill.  The grill was the husband's Father's Day gift.  Usually I make my own marinade but I was pressed for time so I used Newman's Own dressing to marinate the meat this time around.  It was DE-lish!  I'm not a beef eater so that review comes directly from my family.

One of my Dad's favorite treats...cinnamon rolls!  I always make cinnamon rolls for my kids when we camp.  When we got a trailer and oven, it became one of our must have camping treats, I guess because I never make them at home.  Usually just out of a can too, but because it was FD I made homemade rolls.

First time I've ever done it but it was super easy.  I got the recipe from a blog I follow, Sally's Baking Addiction.   I made them at home before we left and they were a big hit! Here's the recipe.

Sandy Shores is five minutes from everything.  The bike path is right outside the entrance which allows for a quick easy ride to the ice cream shop, pizza place and all the go karts and rides, etc.  Yep, there is all that stuff too, we don't do that but it is there.  It was also fun to sit around the fire and watch the parade of vehicles going to and from the dunes.  That in itself was almost endless entertainment.

We've been at many campgrounds that have permanent sites or seasonal sites.  That isn't appealing to us, we like to go to new places and revisit our favorites.  I can see why someone would want something like that at Sandy Shores.  It's such a picturesque area with so much fun to offer!

Silver Lake and the Dunes

The husband likes to fish for Father's Day, originally we were going to camp in Ludington (via the S.S. Badger) where the fishing is supposed to be fantastic.  Full discloser - I don't fish, I don't want to fish and I don't know anything about it, so when I say that, it's because I read it somewhere.  Anyway, after some research, I decided Silver Lake might be better to set up camp to cut out of some of the driving for activities I knew we would be interested in.  So, I switched gears and made a reservation at Sandy Shores Campground in Mears, MI.  It was a short 30 minute drive off the boat from Ludington.  More on the actual camping later...

There is so much to do in the area.  We packed our long weekend full of fun and still didn't get to everything!  Friday morning we went horseback riding at Rainbow Ranch.  The TEENAGER is a little old for this type of riding but he went and seemed to enjoy himself and boy #2 loved it!  I really wanted to do the creek ride but with all the rain this spring it wasn't an option, we did the regular trail ride instead.  Friday afternoon we went for a ride on the dunes with Mac Wood's.  We even got my Dad to go with us!  The ride goes by Silver Lake and Lake Michigan and the driver stops along the way with various information about the dunes.  When we got to Lake Michigan, fog was rolling in.  I'd never seen that before, I thought it was sand blowing at first.

Lake Michigan

Saturday we rented buggies at Silver Lake Buggy's.  When we got out on the dune's, it was like a hidden world, I couldn't believe it.  People were parked along the dunes bordering Lake Michigan, there were people drag racing, people just climbing the dunes in whatever vehicles they have and people just park along the borders and hang out and play in the sand.  It was a lot of fun, the husband and teenager have decided this is a new sport for them.  When we were on the Mac Wood's ride, the driver said on holiday weekends they can get up to 2,000 people out there and that people come from all over the county to get on these dunes.

ORV's in the dunes

Sunday the boys all went salmon fishing on Lake Michigan.  Both of the boys hated it, but the husband thoroughly enjoyed his Father's Day so that was all that mattered.  It's a good thing he enjoyed it too, because I don't think he'll convince either of the boys to do that type of fishing with him again.  It's too much of a commitment for them and I think they both got a little sick but everyone caught a fish!  I guess that makes it a successful fishing trip?  I don't really know.

Sunday afternoon it was sunny and 80 and I spent the whole afternoon at the beach.  The best day so far.  I used my SUP! I used my beach chair and kept my feet buried in the sand for several hours.   I didn't use sunscreen and got a sunburn (I know, I know) but I was just so happy to finally have a hot sunny afternoon, I just wanted to soak in as much sun as I could. 

Silver Lake

We went to the West Michigan Sand Dragway Saturday night.  They started early due to the threat of rain so we missed all the action but it looked like it would be lots of fun to watch.

A bike ride on The Hart-Montague Trail was on my list of things to do Sunday morning while the boys were out fishing.  It rained Saturday night so by the time I got things cleaned up and my bike seat dried out, I was expecting the boys back and wanted to head to the beach so I just never made it.  Also on my list was a kayaking trip on the White River.  Next time!

Sunday late afternoon we went down the road to check out the lighthouse.  There are tours available and sometime I would like to do that, but there wasn't time for that on this trip.  We had to get back for the Father's Day fish fry!

I love Michigan and this is why!  Every time I'm there I just fall in love all over again! 

Silver Lake, with it's near endless list of things to do, is a new favorite for this family.  I can't wait until I can plan our next visit!

Setting Sail with the S.S. Badger

I'm a sucker for nostalgia.  Last summer during one of our camping trips, we ran into a man that told me about the S.S. Badger  and he told me at least once, we should experience it during one of our camping trips to Michigan.  More on the camping later...

The S.S. Badger sails from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI daily and is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year!  It's like a mini cruise, really.  There are viewing decks and lounge chairs.  It was too cold the day we went for outside viewing, but on a hot sunny day I'm sure it would be great. It's about a 4 hour cruise across the lake.

We played bingo.  Boy #2 even won a souvenir glass when he had B.O.!  He didn't understand what B.O. meant when he yelled it out, but he does now!  We watched Hotel Transylvania in the forward movie lounge.  We shopped!  We bought t-shirts, stickers and a blanket for the camper.  We had lunch, burgers, pizza, cookies.  Oh and

the Portside Bar has plenty of drinks!  There are state rooms available too.  We cruised across the lake in the middle of the day so that wasn't really necessary for our trip.  The teenager spent most of his time in the t.v. lounge watching Sports Center.  There is a small museum in the quiet room.  I found it very interesting, shipwrecks and boats of days gone by that sailed the great lakes are very intriguing to me.  The kids weren't interested in that, but I spent about 30 minutes in that room looking at everything.  Boy #2 loved the whole experience and was wishing we could take the boat back to WI on the way home.

We camped in MI for the weekend, so we specifically went out of our way to take the S.S. Badger across the lake.  Our four hour trip turned into almost six hours because the boat was late, so if you're looking for convenience this may not be the way to do it, but it is something to experience once in your lifetime. 

This is the view coming into the Ludington, MI port

What a view!!  That just screams SUMMER to me. 

Illinois PaddleFest 2013

This is how my day started...After a late night at the local watering hole with the husband, I got up early for my group exercise class and decided I should run (or at the very least, walk) there and back.  It's only 1.5 miles one way but I had a monster headache so it was challenging.  Anyway, I did it, and of course, felt a lot better after.  I despise group exercise, I like training one on one with my trainer but the group thing just really isn't for me.  I take this class because it's a core class and I need it and the trainer that teaches it is GREAT so I endure.

The Illinois Paddlesports Festival was this weekend in Aurora, IL.  A friend and I signed up for two classes, stroke improvement (it's a paddling term) and kayak rolling.  The friend totally bailed on me but I still went alone.  When I got there to sign in, the class schedule was different from the schedule online.  The only rolling class was the earlier time and the later time was all intro classes that wouldn't be appealing to me.  After a little switching around, I was in the rolling class.  I don't have my own boat but the instructor let me use his.

I did really good at the beginning!  I couldn't believe it, really.  I flipped myself over and did a wet exit with no problem at all & I was practicing edging with great control.  I practiced hip-snaps and it felt great and I wasn't having any trouble flipping the boat back up.  The instructor spent a good 30 minutes with me practicing hip-snaps.  Then it was time for him to work with someone else so I paddled off for a spin around the lake.  I have no idea what I did BUT just like that...I was upside down.  I totally panicked too!  I couldn't flip the boat over and I couldn't get out of the boat either.  There I was in the middle of the lake, flopping around, attached to an upside down kayak, trying to keep my head above water until the instructor could get over and rescue me.  It scared me to death!  I've never been in water in a situation that scared me like that before.  That technique is obviously one that requires a lot of practice, now I totally understand why every single time I've been on the water at Rock Cut State Park, there has been someone in a kayak practicing rolling.  Over and over and over.

So now, as I'm typing this, I'm sitting in the chair and my hips are sore, my back is sore and I am exhausted!  Much like last weekend when I got home from Rock Cut, but for very different reasons.  I'm probably a little sore from my core class and a lot sore from my fiasco in the water today!  It also is one of the first really nice summer days we've had in Northern Ill.  I went out by myself to learn something new and after all that, I had a great time and I'm glad I went!  Maybe next year, I'll be back with my own boat and get in the rolling competition!

Breakfast Pizza

As promised in my post about the kayak race, here is the recipe for the breakfast pizza!  I love this recipe, I make it quite often.  It's easy, fast and feeds a crowd.  It also travels well and is as good cold as it is hot!

1 lb pork sausage - cooked, crumbled and drained
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls or dough sheets
1 cup frozen hash browns - thawed
1 cup shredded cheese - sharp cheddar or Colby Jack
3 eggs - beaten with a 1/4 cup milk and salt & pepper to season

Spread dough on pizza pan or cookie sheet.  Make the dough as thin or as thick as you like, as big or as small as you like.  I like mine thin, so I usually use a half sheet pan and 1 full can of crescent dough sheets.  Sometimes I use part of another can around the edges and corners.  If you're using crescent rolls you will have to push each roll together to close up the seams.

Spread the sausage over the dough, then the hash browns and cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over all.  Bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes, or until eggs are set.  This will depend on how thick you make your pizza, the thicker (or smaller the pan) the longer the bake time.

Full discloser - I have no idea where this recipe originated.  I got it from my mother many years ago.

Enjoy!

Off To The Races...

Kayak races that is!  2nd annual for this family but 52nd annual for the Fox Valley Park District.  This is a lot of fun, hundreds and hundreds of people come out every year for this amazingly well organized event!  The Mid-American Canoe and Kayak Race.

I'm not sure I could have done anything that involved my legs after Saturday so this worked out perfect!  I got up & dressed for a hot day on the river, came down for my morning coffee and to get breakfast started only to realize it was 49 degrees outside!  Say What??!!

I got the breakfast pizza in the oven...recipe here

and managed a quick wardrobe change, had to put on longer pants and another layer, just in time for the crew to show up.  Both of the boys go and usually various friends.  This year our family friends, known as "the girls", joined in the fun.  The husband usually tags along and after we get going he sets off down river to find a fishing spot along our route.  The TEENAGER complained about going (shocking I know), Boy #2 was ecstatic (he went solo this year) and the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  They usually do!

There are two distances, we do the shorter one that is 6 miles (I think?) with only 1 portage.  We all got through it, everyone stayed in the boats and in the girls vs. boys race...

The GIRLS BEAT the TEENAGER by 5 seconds.  He thought the race was over when you got out of the water so he passed them quick at the end and hurried to get out but the race actually ended at the finish line which was just past the bridge.  I guess he doesn't know everything yet.  I stayed pretty close to boy #2 and we didn't break any speed records but he did go the distance by himself.

Lunch and beer after shaped the day up pretty nicely.  You just can't beat a good day on the river!

Overnight at Rock Cut State Park

Last Friday, May 31st, was the maiden voyage in the new camper!  After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got out in our new Lake House.  It was just an overnight trip, not far from home and a park we have visited many times BUT it was packed full of fun!

We left Friday late afternoon.  We forgot chairs and fishing poles!  Wow...amateurs!  It was the first trip of the season.  We didn't have toilet paper either, boy #2 couldn't seem to remember that.  Fishing poles were the only thing that was really disappointing.  There were several other things but none of it mattered, especially since it was just one night. 

I really wanted to check out the water ski show in Rockford Friday night but it didn't work out.  Another time for sure!  We had friends meet us at the park Friday and the boys took off on bikes almost as soon as we got them out.  They finally came back but then were busy throwing a football.  Why interrupt them?  That is sort of like waking a hibernating bear, you just don't do it.  By the time we all retreated to the camper Friday night, they made it through 20 minutes of Caddy Shack before they were out cold.

Mountain biking is a must at Rock Cut State Park.  There are miles and miles and miles of single track trails.  Enough that we really didn't know where we were.  We weren't lost exactly, we were still in the park but by the time we started thinking about where we were and how to get back, we were a LONG way from our campsite.  When we got back I was only bleeding in one spot.  That's a pretty good day on the trails for me with the TEENAGER.  I also only fell once, on a muddy slippery downhill slope. 

There was plenty of mud, thanks to all the rain in Northern Illinois.  The bikes are in desperate need of a bath now but the mud adds to the fun of it all! 

Back to the campsite for a break & a quick lunch then to the Lake for some kayaking.  There is a great concession store at the park, they have rental kayaks, canoes and SUP's.  The employees have all been great every time I've been there.  The TEENAGER didn't go, he's too cool for that I guess but boy #2 was all for it.  I just started letting him go solo last year, he is still learning, the lake is perfect for him to practice.  We paddled around the lake for an hour then headed back to the campsite. 

I was planning to stay all day Saturday and head back Saturday evening.  This is when the husband starts with "I want to get back before dark".  It was only 2:00.  He didn't have fishing poles, if he did that would have kept him busy.  So whatever, one more spin on the trails and we'll call it a day.  We did the easy tour the second time, we just took the path around the lake.  It's a big lake, so it took us about an hour but it's pretty easy terrain.

We pulled out just in time too, we drove home in rain.  This is still one of my favorite parks, mostly due to the mountain biking but also the great fishing (when you have poles).  There are great corner sites with plenty of space for the dog. 

The bikes are at the bike shop, they will be trail ready just in time for the next trip.  Saturday night was pretty low key after we unpacked the little amount of stuff we needed too.  To be honest, my legs were completely shredded and I was exhausted.  A good night's sleep and it's off to the races Sunday morning...