Of rainy days and meandering
“Not all those who wander are lost,” so wrote J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings.
We love that quote because we love to meander, to take roads less traveled, off the Interstate. And as we are starting our Great Lakes Shoreline Tour that will take us 3,500 miles across eight states along the shorelines of all five Great Lakes, we are reminded again about the absolute joy of slow exploration.
We’ve tried to explain it to non-RV people. Their eyes sort of glaze over. But you understand, don’t you?
When we first began our motorhome adventure two years ago, I was so focused on arriving at our destination that I missed the adventure and thrill of getting there. I drove mega-mileage, 400, 500, even 600 miles a day. I’d arrive exhausted, cranky and wanting nothing but sleep. I guess that’s part of the newbie’s RVing education, learning to slow down.
Now, it's hard to get us out of an area.
Even as I write this, in the tiny town of Geneva, Ohio, the heart of Ohio's wine country, we have found so many things to see.
Ohio? Wine?
You better believe it. Parts of this area look like the Napa Valley in California. Really.
It's raining again. It has rained for the last four days. But no problem. There are wineries to tour, small town attractions. Winding roads. The local drug store has a long, old-fashioned soda fountain bar. I'm going to go see if I can get a cherry phosphate.
We've traveled the U.S. shoreline of Lake Ontario and are now following Lake Erie. We'll end this leg of the tour at the mouth of the Detroit River, the lake's source, make our way home for the Father's Day weekend and then pick it up again Tuesday with Lake Huron, starting in Port Huron, MI.
Our first official report from the tour will be next week, sharing photos and videos here, as well as on the Verizon Wirelsss blog and the Pure Michigan blog. We’ll also tweet and post in Facebook and social media with #VZGreatLakes and #vzwmidwest.
Let me know what you think we should see. We'll probably avoid most of the big tourist attractions that everyone knows about. We want to highlight the surprises and little gems that delight and surprise.
Let us know….
I thought we were the only ones that knew about the Jello museum! We usually add odd stops to our long trips (Spam museum, make-your-own-kazoo factory, etc.) to keep it interesting.
I’m wondering if you can use your regular Verizon cell phone coverage in Canada, or if you have a particular plan that does that, or if you are adding Canadian coverage while you are there. When my husband is in Mexico, he adds Verizon coverage for his days of travel.
Has to be LeRoy..See the firehouse on the right and Murphys on the left
Is this in New Bern, NC
Leroy ny!
I believe it is in Leroy , NY. Home of Jello.
Mike, where does Tai stay when you go in museums etc? We have been skipping too much.
Gracie,
Wondering if you received a reply from Mike regarding “..where does Tai stay when you visit..” attractions? Had to skip Mammoth Cave & some other indoor attractions because my Standard Poodle couldn’t come with me. I wouldn’t think of leaving her behind. It’s a question I’d been thinking of asking. Thanks, Katail
Love it!
If you hove time in Cincinnati, OH visit the American Sign Museum. Its a wonderful self guided tour of various illuminated and non-illuminated signs from our past. We spent a whole afternoon there the other year with friends on a trip back from Florida. http://www.signmuseum.org
I will be following your Great Lake tour. I grew up in Hamburg, NY in Lake Erie and have visited Places on Lake Ontario, and Lake Michigan but never did the whole tour. That may be our next tour.
We did a circumnavigation of Lake Eric two years ago. We skipped the west end by taking the ferry from Sandusky to Pelee Island and then the ferry to the Canadian mainland. We never exceeded 100 miles in a day. It was a wonderful way to travel.
love this
Where is this at?
Love following you!!