Monday, August 28, 2017, Cave City, KY

Day 109

For the first time in quite a while, we did not need the heat at night. In fact, the air conditioner kicked on even though it was a cloudy and rainy morning. Our campground was conveniently located only 15 minutes from the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center. Mammoth Cave is the world’s largest with 405 miles of caves surveyed and mapped. We took the morning Historic Cave Tour which was rated “moderate” at 2 hours, included some 500 steps and covered 2 miles. The cave had some large rooms including one about half an acre. The cave is mostly dry and inactive. The cave featured a “bottomless pit” and an area called “fat man’s misery” which was very narrow and low and required one to squat and move sideways. An enjoyable tour and good training for our tour tomorrow which is rated difficult. The afternoon was spent in the Visitor Center’s museum which had a good display of the history and geology of the park. We also hiked the Heritage Trail about .7 mile. We drove the entrance road into the park twice as we ate lunch at our coach and each time going in and going out we passed several deer grazing by the road side. We also saw wild turkeys twice. None of the animals seem fazed by our presence. Another good day and excitement for tomorrow.

Sunday, August 27, 2017, Cave City, KY
Day 108

Departed Fort Wayne, IN, and headed south to Louisville, KY with a stop at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. Included was a tour of the paddock and grandstand. Derby Day is attended by over 200,000 but the grandstand only holds 58,000. The rest are in the infield where the track is not visible. There is a giant screen that the race is shown on but the guide informed us that most people in the infield don’t care about watching the race but are there to just party. We continued south, crossed into the central time zone and checked into Spring Hills RV Park (fhu) in Cave City, KY.

Saturday, August 26, 2017, Fort Wayne, IN
Day 107

Departed Traverse City and drove 5.5 hours to Fort Wayne, IN. Unfortunately, the drive was not uneventful. Just as we were exiting I-94 and entering I-69 we hit a bump, not an unusual occurrence. But this time our front shade came crashing down on the driver’s side. Fortunately, the view was only partially obscured and I managed to pull into the breakdown lane. The screw holes on the driver side were completely stripped so the only thing I could do was to remove the shade. We arrived at the Walmart on Coldwater Road in Fort Wayne for our visit with cousin Lila who is 90. Very nice visit and Italian dinner at Casa Grill. Lila had a photo of my great grandfather on my maternal grandmother’s side who I had never seen before. We took a photo of the photo which came out fairly good.

Friday, August 25, 2017, Traverse City, MI
Day 106

We departed Mackinaw City and drove to Walmart in Traverse City, MI in about 2.5 hours. We took the car for an 18 mile drive along the Old Mission Peninsula. Beautiful rolling hills with Grand Traverse Bay on both sides of the Peninsula and lots of vineyards. We had wine tastings at the Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery and Chateau Chantal. Unlike the previous Michigan wines we tasted earlier on this trip, these wines were good and we bought a couple bottles. At the top of the Peninsula we visited the Old Mission Lighthouse Park. Back to Traverse City where we were just in time for the closing of downtown Front Street at 5:00 for “Friday Night Live” which was like a big block party with bands and food vendors. Dinner at Harvest, a farm to table restaurant, was good. After dinner a stop at the Grand Traverse Pie Company where I bought a Vernors Cherry Pie to take home. For those unaware, Vernors is the world’s best ginger ale and was my dad’s favorite. The pie is a cherry pie infused with Vernors syrup. Yum!!

Thursday, August 24, 2017, Mackinaw City, MI
Day 105

With an early start we caught the 8:30 Shepler’s Ferry to Mackinac Island. The Island has no cars, only pedestrians, bikes, horses and horse carriages. After the 16 minute boat ride, we rented bikes and drove clockwise around the 8 mile perimeter. With several stops along the way, we completed the loop in 1 hour 40 minutes. Then we visited Historic Fort Mackinac just in time for the cannon demonstration. Built in 1780 by the British, Americans took control in 1796. In 1812, the British captured the Fort in the first land engagement of the War of 1812. After the war, it was returned to the U.S. The Fort remained active until 1895. Fourteen of the buildings are original. Lunch at the Ice House Restaurant was a ½ pound of pulled pork, bake beans, cole slaw and cornbread for $13 which was the lone bargain on the Island. I ate all of mine but Rosemary left enough for my dinner another day as the restaurant was willing to place our leftover bag in their refrigerator until we returned at the end of the day. We then hiked the middle of the Island and viewed Skull Cave, Sugar Loaf Rock, Fort Holmes, Point Lookout and The Grand Hotel Carriage Barn. Time of hike was 1 hour 45 minutes. The hike to Fort Holmes was uphill to an elevation of 325 feet so it was a good thing we had already done the biking or we may not have had enough juice left to do it. Fortunately, the second half of the hike was downhill. We walked Main Street where it seemed that every other store was selling fudge. We had our fill of samples but that stuff was so rich and sweet, I could hardly believe how the fudge was flying off the shelves by the pound by seemingly everyone else. Picked up our bbq and took the 5:00 ferry back. A fun day but exhausting. Over 20,000 steps approached but did not beat Chicago’s record.

 

Wednesday, August 23, 2017, Mackinaw City, MI
Day 104

Cold, windy and overcast made us postpone our trip to Mackinac Island a day. Today we saw the sites in Mackinaw City. First stop was to the McGulpin Point Lighthouse and Historic Site. Rosemary passed on the small spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse so I ascended alone. The top provided a great view of the area. We also walked past the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and along the lake shore. Lunch was divided between 2 places to get the area’s local specialties. A beef pastie at Mackinaw Pastie & Cookie Co. was nothing special. However, the Whitefish basket at Scalawags White Fish and Chips was very good. Their hush puppies were among the best. The afternoon was spent walking the town and visiting the shops.