Detroit Michigan

 Waking up on June 21st, the day after we said goodbye to our girl, was a very hard day. We packed up the motorhome and were heading into Michigan to start our journey up the lower peninsula. Izzy was a big part of our routine, without her there we were pretty empty.

We pulled into the campground in Monroe called Harbortown RVResort. This resort was geared toward families. A lot of activities for kids. Mark and I even broke out the pickleball paddles and found a community court to practice/play one morning. The humidity was a killer and we lasted about an hour and a half.

While here we cleaned out Izzy’s belongings and donated them to the Humane Society in Monroe. Giving them to a place that could put them to good use felt good.

While in Monroe we took in Lake Erie and were introduced to the Mayfly. That experience was educational.  The mating season is normally the month of June when they come ashore in waves and only live for about 24-48 hrs where they basically procreate and then die off en-mass.  I learned quite a bit as someone who had never seen or even knew about Mayflies.

Lake Erie

Mayflies covering the car!

We took one day and drove into Detroit. While we were there, we went to visit the Motown Museum; unfortunately, we should have bought tickets in advance and didn’t - we could go into the museum's front area to look around but not the full tour. Being a huge Motown fan, this was pretty cool.

Going into Downtown Detroit 

Henry Ford Museum

Motown Museum

From there we headed over to the Henry Ford Museum and spent a few hours walking around. There is a lot to see inside and well worth it if you are in the area.

While in Monroe I also filled in the map on our motorhome with the states that we have visited and if you look at it, it’s getting filled up, and not much left to fill in.

While taking in the scenery here in Monroe, we were able to experience some rain and thunderstorms which were pretty intense, it does help the temps drop and make things more tolerable.

Also, one day we decided to be a bit more adventurous and mosey on to Canada. It was cool being able to say we were in Windsor, but the day was kind of a flop. Once we crossed the border, it was on a Monday, most of the restaurants were closed and so were many of the parking areas near the waterfront. (We later learned that there would be a large fireworks show that evening so they were clearing all the area for viewing.) So, we turned around and returned and had lunch in Detroit. I’m glad we went, but wish we were able to see more and experience more.

Coming into Windsor

On June 28^th, we left Monroe and headed to Grass Lake, Michigan to a campground called Hideaway RV Park near to Ann Arbor.

Campground in Grass Lake ~ Adorable!

This campground was absolutely adorable. It’s more of a “down home” type atmosphere on a little pond, but a great “jumping off” point for seeing things in this area.

Some of the things that we experienced, visited, and really enjoyed were:

Matthaei Botanical Garden – Great place to spend the afternoon walking amongst the flowers, butterflies, and children’s garden.

Botanical Garden

Downtown Ann Arbor – we went shopping in Kerrytown, drove through the city and took in the University of Michigan campus and football field.

Entrance into the Michigan State Football Stadium

Downtown Jackson – We took in the street art, did some shopping, and had lunch at a cute little restaurant/brewery. Then one evening we took in the Cascade Waterfall and light show which was genuinely nice. It was a wonderful site for kids.

Street Art in Jackson was stunning!

So far this part of the state has been full of a lot of mixed emotions of course. We are missing our girl, but still keeping as busy as we can be trying to get a taste of Michigan and all it has to offer.