Issue 32, A WEEK OF FAMILY FUN

Diary published weekly since 2001

Hi All: WOW. What a fantastic week we have had!!! Last Sunday we stayed overnight at the Flying J in London so we could make a quick getaway on Monday. We were on our way to meet John’s family for a gathering near Traverse City, Michigan. Border crossing was slow – we didn’t expect so many Ontarioites would be heading to the USA on the holiday Monday. They stopped us at the tollbooth for 15 minutes until traffic on the bridge became less congested, however traffic stopped again when we reached the TOP of that high bridge from Sarnia – a bit unnerving after the recent bridge collapse but what could we do? However the water was a loooooong way down and every time a truck passed (no delay in the truck lanes that day) the entire bridge shook. Guess one more time our Guardian Angels were travelling with us. At the border the agents again scanned our passports and this time she came in to search our fridge but since we had nothing forbidden on board her quest turned up nothing. Great drive to Michigan.

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OUR WEEK IN REVIEW

Surprises this week began when we arrived at TRAVERSE BAY RV RESORT. www.traversebayrv.com 231-938-5800. The warm ‘Welcome’ during check-in set the scene for our outstanding week. Our site was spacious – all paved patio and parking spot – and within reach of one of 3 WiFi towers plus 50 amp connections. Flowers and picturesque lakes were everywhere within the park. Only then did we realize that most sites were owned by the individual RVers who were camped on them – many also had their boats docked. All the motorhomes were parked together and the 5ths were parked in a different aesthetic section. Some of my pictures (of the park and our entire family gathering) are posted on my Picasa Albums http://picasaweb.google.com/rv.lifetstyle.consultants Cool

To stay in this park, RV’s had to be new with in the past 10 years, unless the management approved them. It was good that cable was included because no tri-pod dishes were allowed – TV or Internet (I enjoyed free WiFi for the week). In a word, this posh park was more costly than most of our stays ($48.00 per night) but it was worth every penny because the amenities and overall appearance on a scale of 10 were a definite 12. It felt good to branch out of our normal box for a very few days. Cool

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HOW TO HAVE A SUPER FAMILY GATHERING

John’s sister Marilyn and hubby Arnold rented a huge elaborate three-story house overlooking Elk Lake, near Elk Rapids, Michigan. What an impressive vista opened up from any of the three expansive decks (one screen in). The spacious calm clean (green) lake had a shallow sandy bottom that was perfect for swimming right from the shoreline. A relaxing hot tub, long pier, boat dock, huge trampoline on the water, BBQ and enclosed fire pit in the yard kept both young and old entertained. Cool

John and I stayed in our motorhome but the other 10 (6 adults and 4 kids) all had a comfortable bed to sleep in. Marilyn is a gourmet chef, and son Jim took control of the BBQ. It was fun for all of us to sit down to a decadent meal. Arnold’s brother Jack and wife Marlene flew over from Montreal area and son Jim and wife Lee Anne along with their three boys (AJ, Henry and Ben) also drove down from Chicago area. Granddaughter Helene represented her mom, dad and brother who at the last minute could not make it. Although number of family members on John’s side is much smaller than mine, this no way lessoned our fun times. Cool

Jim rented a pontoon boat for 3-days – with room for all 12 of us to enjoy the ride together. Our daylong water excursions on both Torch Lake and Elk Lake were relaxing as well as interesting. The kids even had the chance to ride behind the boat in a special inner tube ride. Tuesday we enjoyed an on-board picnic on Elk Lake and Thursday we sailed from Torch River for a day on Torch Lake – our luncheon stop at impressive Dockside Restaurant added to our outing. Somehow it almost seemed idyllic to cruise up to the restaurant boat dock so we could dine on their spacious patio. What a way to spend the week. By the way I posted our family gathering pictures on the Picasa Albums http://picasaweb.google.com/rv.lifetstyle.consultants Cool

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ON THE MOVE AGAIN

Friday morning John and I were on the move again and Jack and Marlene drove to Sault Ste Marie to fly back to Montreal. The Chicago clan enjoyed their classy surroundings until Saturday. Our surprises for our week getaway continued. We wanted to drag our feet a bit longer, so we booked in at the VALLEY PLAZA RESORT IN MIDLAND, MICHIGAN. This pretty park is dotted with a variety of trees, however our Internet Dish was still able to access a signal – but not our roof-mount TV Dish. No big deal – thanks to our TV adapter for our versatile Internet Dish (pictures at bottom of main page of RV Living.net) we are receiving signal loud and clear for both TV and Internet. The park does offer FREE WiFi but it is not available from our spacious site. Cable and 50 amp connections are added pluses. Cool

Valley Plaza RV Park is part of a huge complex that borders a lake with a sandy beach; an immense health club (access available for RVers); an indoor pool/hot tub; bowling alley, billiard centre, mini golf, movie theatres; 3-restaurants/lounges plus a Convention Centre, a large Best Western Hotel and Plaza Suites. All in all it is quite a complex. This morning we took a short drive to restock the larder, but since Saturday is Diary day – more touring will have to wait ‘til Sunday. Pictures of Midland are not posted yet either. Cool

SPECIAL PLUS for Canadians RVers – regular rates are $37.00 (with Good Sam Discount it is $33.00) but they offer a $30.00 rate (including 50 amp service) for us Canadians. Since the Canadian dollar is almost at par these days, those of us living north of the border do not expect to receive special treatment. Thanks Valley Vista for caring. This park is a perfect spot for those who want a quick getaway across the border. They host special weekend events throughout the year. Next two are over Labour Day and Halloween. Log onto www.valleyplazaresort.com - Call 800-262-0006 or 989-496-2159. CALL FOR CANADIAN DISCOUNTS Cool

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FINAL THOUGHTS

We leave here Monday morning for another overnight at the London Flying J. Tuesday we have an appointment at Team Truck to have the drive belt changed. It is not giving us any problem but since it is 12-years old, this is a preventive maintenance appointment. Crossing on a working Monday should be a bit less busy than it was on the holiday. After our appointment we’ll return to our park in London. Till next week travel safe P&J Cool Cool Cool

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TIPS OF THE WEEK

There are many RECALLS on various parts of different RV’s. A listing was published in the ‘RVTravel.com’ newsletter today. Click here for the complete contents http://rvtravel.com/publish/news/july07RVrecalls.shtml Why not sign up for your own copy of the RVTravel.com informative weekly newsletter?

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Two other FORUM posts that were in this newsletter are worth mentioning...

#1 covers an RV BURGLARY. This one happened in a campground when an RV was set-up in an isolated part of the park. What is interesting about this forum post was the comment near the end from the retired policeman with 26 + years service. Bottom line is we all have to TRAVEL SAFE EVERWHERE. Read full story go to http://rvtravel.com/forum1.shtml

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#2 NEW INFO – USING VISA CREDIT CARDS IN THE TRUCK LANES OF FLYING J – may not be accepted at all locations. It may be wise to ask first - read the full story and possible solutions here for this temporary (we hope) interruption. http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/rvsinthenews/2007/08/flying-j-visa-fueling-fouled.html

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HOW TO DEAL WITH ‘TELEMARKETERS’ was received from Carolyn by email – Solution – when ‘Telemarketers’ call, simply say “HOLD ON PLEASE” and put the phone down. When you hear the beep of the disconnected call, hang up the phone.

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If it is a MACHINE making the call – to see if you are home – simply hit the # sign continuously. This confuses the machine and it kicks your number out of the list.
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NEW VIRUS WARNING received from Angie by email. Many of us are receiving email lately telling us we have a greeting card from a friend etc. – if you click on the link you could release a virus into your computer. Some of these email are a HOAX but others like the POSTCARD NOTICES are real. Bottom line if there is no name you recognize on the email – do not click on the link. Complete details can be found on www.snopes.com Bottom line is, if you do not know who sent it, simply delete the message WITHOUT opening the link or the attachment.

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PROMOS THIS WEEK

WAYFARER RV INSURANCE is the leading RV insurer company in many areas of Canada. If Wayfarer is not available in your area check out other listings on my RV WEBLINKS page look under ‘RV Insurances’. Bottom line – no matter what company you insure with – your policy should cover the actual resale value of your RV (unless it is less than 5 years old and then it should be insured for replacement costs). Your policy should also include contents insurance etc as part of the policy.

Wayfarer also sells a ‘HOME OWNER’ STYLE FULLTIMER PACKAGE. It is not wise to add your RV to your house insurance – you may not be protected if your RV is broken into while it is in storage, or if you leave it at the park when you return home. When your RV suffers a loss ‘on vacation’ when you are not with it, it is possible that your contents insurance may not be covered. Check out this story on what to look for when buying insurance http://www.rvliving.net/Look%20for%20the%20Difference.htm

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Is a trip to Mexico planned for this year? Finding quality, reasonably priced MEXICAN INSURANCE can be a huge challenge. However whether you call Canada or the USA home be sure to check out http://www.rvliving.net/Mexacan.htm Both ‘MexAcan.com’ and ‘Drive Mex.com’ offer quality and inexpensive coverage. Check it out today!!! To read my Mexican planning story (written 2 years ago but general info is still current) go to http://www.rvliving.net/Mexico-plans.htm

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My FANTASTIC INTERNET DISH has come through one more time. As I said in the beginning of this post, we are in a pretty park with a lot of trees. We managed to get the Internet Dish working but NOT our roof mounted TV Dish – No problem, we simply connected the cable to our TV adapter and we are getting ALL our Express Vu channels (also works with Star Choice) It is no longer necessary to set up two dishes. Read the story http://www.rvliving.net/EarlyObserationsDirecWay.htm - See the picture at the bottom of the main page of RV Living.net