Motocross Heaven

From Niles Michigan we had a long days drive to West Branch near Rose City. We crossed the whole state to end up on the east side driving north past Lake Huron. We have now seen three of the Great Lakes. The reason for the long(over five hours) drive was to get to Ogemaw Sport and Trail Center. Don't let the name fool you, it was a nice MX track with three total tracks and lots of trails but the camping facilities were primitive. We did have water and electric but man this place was way out in the boonies. The road leading there was over two miles of dirt.
John described the place as Eden however as combining MX with camping is just up his alley. Gabe and John rode for two days. John said on the evening of day two that his body was worn out apparently not as young as he used to be. Gabe however rode until almost nine that night. Gabe discovered he likes to trail ride even though he was very intimidated by it before trying it.
The other two kids and I went into town on Thursday to run errands and see a movie, here's a heads up don't go see the movie Wall E. I just didn't get this one. Probable the worst kids movie I have ever seen.
We left Ogemaw with intentions of heading north to Mackinaw City for the weekend. We had some tow dolly issues again. Of course we should have dealt with this already but we do tend to procrastinate. After the long drive out of the dirt road from the sport center John checked the tow dolly and it was so twisted and trashed that he knew we couldn't go any further. We had only gone 11 miles. We called around to different places hoping to either rent a dolly or buy one. Fat chance in the middle of no where. So we drove separate, me in the truck and everyone else in the RV. We later decided to bless someone else with the tow dolly. We knew that somehow we would get it worked out but it was dangerous to be towing that thing behind the RV.
We got to Mackinaw City and headed for the Upper Peninsula where I "thought" our campground was. The bridge to cross over to the UP is spectacular. The water is as blue as any tropical water you will see. I just couldn't believe it when I saw it. The bridge itself it a modern day marvel as it is over five miles long. And the cool thing is that Lake Michigan is on one side and Lake Huron on the other. Because we loved this bridge so much we crossed it twice and payed the toll as well due to me directing us to the wrong campground. Duh. Must be the fact that I am getting older.
Last evening after setting up camp finally we went to look at the Lake and check out the town of Mackinaw City. We ate a the Dixie Saloon, a very rustic and woodsy restaurant that overlooked the water. We then cruised through and open air mall and called it a night. BTW it is very cool here highs in the 60's.

Loving Michigan

Currently we are close to Grand Rapids (about 25 miles south), MI. We found out this am that our RV fridge has been recalled so we have to have it repaired ASAP in order that it doesn't start a fire. We will get that taken care of tomorrow on our way north.

I am so amazed how late the sun stays up here. It stays light at least until 10pm. Try telling the kids it is bedtime when darkness is no where to be found.

Today was a short drive. I love those. I think only 90 miles. We are at the Dutch Treat Campground in Holland, MI. The kids swam in the heated (a necessity) pool for hours. We went into Holland for dinner. What our luck to find a skatepark in this gorgeous town. The streets are lined with lovely historic shops. We are planning to take the children in town to skate at the park tomorrow for a little fun.

The playground near the park is littered with trash so we will be cleaning up the earth before any skating will commence. I was wondering and praying that God would give us an opportunity to serve now that we got our feet about us in the camping realm and low and behold it presents itself. And of course God knew that Gabe would need a motivation to pick up trash so He placed the area to serve next to a skatepark.

Red Bud

To everyone who has sent us comments on here, Thank you. We really look forward to your thoughts and contact. We have had to change our email address as our Verizon account was cancelled once our home phone was shut off. It was discouraging at first as we had that account for years. So if we don't contact anyone it is because we have no email addresses as they were lost with the old email as well. Just another lesson learned.
I can't say enough good things about this Michigan weather in the summer. It is just delightful here. Not at all hot during the days maybe 75-80 during the day and cool enough at night for blankets and no air conditioning. Very little humidity.
The kids have been busy fishing and swimming in a somewhat stinky pond. Bikes have been wonderful, I am so glad we brought them. There are also some nature trails and a stream for splashing.
John and the boys are at Red Bud Track and Trail for the national MX race today. They were up at 5 am and out the door before 6. We are only 20 minutes from the track so I am thinking they were the first ones there today. This is Bowen's first race so I am sure he will have a lot to talk about when they get home. He is rooting for James Stuart by the way.
We are heading north tomorrow to see what the rest of Michigan has to offer. We will keep you posted. If you have any ideas or suggestions let us know.
We hope you all had a wonderful July 4th. We did.

Five Days In

Here we are in Niles, Michigan a place I had never heard of before this trip. We are staying in a nice campground inhabited mainly by the older RV crowd. The kids like it because we are beside a playground -1970's style. Right down to the merry go round. Remember those??? This place was built, according to the nice lady at the desk, 42 years ago. I don't think there have been many updates but it is well kept.

We traveled through three states today to get here, Ohio, Indiana and now Michigan. Our two night stay in Sandusky OH was pleasant and quiet. We visited the Cedar Point Amusement Park yesterday. The place was amazing with its 17 roller coasters. You could ride for days. We were all beat by the time we got back to camp.

Setting up and tearing down is getting easier each time. John likes to keep busy with this stuff since this is his new "job".

I must say our kids have really adapted well to this new way of life, now granted it has only been 5 days but they seem to really dig it. We still find ourselves busy with all the normal life stuff like dishes, laundry, discipline and the like but now we find ourselves outside more, riding bikes taking walks and sitting around the fire. I think it suits us well. We will be here until Monday a nice extended stay for the fourth of July. I will check in here after the weekend when the Red Bud MX Race is in town and another one of John's life long dreams comes true

This pregnant momma is tired I need to go round up the troops for bedtime.

WE'RE OFF

We hit the road Friday around 1pm with my dear sister and her girls waving us off. It was a bittersweet moment with three out of five Cashman's in tears. We drove for awhile, maybe two hours before Gabe started to get sick. He continued feeling that way until 8 that night after throwing up one last time. Poor little man. Not the way we thought our first day would be. But we dealt with it, prayed for him and by that evening he was out riding bikes.
Our first night we stayed in Rockwood, PA near Somerset. Our campground was nice with baby goats and a donkey that the kids just loved to feed. We walked, talked and rode bikes. It is a real joy to be on this journey together even with life's ups and downs.
A few minor glitches with the trailer. It blew out some thing on the tire that spewed oil everywhere and now there is a bend in the hitch part. John can only see one side of the trailer while driving it is that crooked. SOOO we might have to purchase a new one or get that one welded. However in hindsight, which never serves us well it probable wasn't the best trailer for this adventure. I think we need one a little bigger and more sturdy. We shall see how this turns out. To be continued
Now we find ourselves in Ohio on Lake Erie. In a wonderful town called Geneva- on- the- Lake. My kids refuse to believe that it is a lake because it is ssoooo big. We hope to explore the town which is similar to a boardwalk at the beach minus the boards but with all the shops and eateries.
I hope to get some pictures on here within the day or so. And a virtual map so you can follow our path. Until then...

Feeling the Love

We had our bon voyage party here on Saturday. I feel blessed to have had so many wonderful people here to say goodbye to us. It makes me appreciate the way our lives touch those of others. Sometimes we get so caught up in all the busyness of life and forget how much other people make a difference in just knowing them, just loving them and having them near our hearts. So this is a big thank you to everyone who came here to spend those last precious moments with us. We love you and will hold you in a special place forever.
We drove the RV to church yesterday so that we could share with our church family the vision we have for our journey. It was an amazing experience to feel so much support and love from people that we had really just begun to get to know. Pastor Bonnie, that dear women shared our story from the pulpit and allowed us to come forward to share our vision for the crusade. She then asked people to come forward to lay hands on us and pray for our safety and blessing. It was overwhelming and very touching.
Many people were able then to come out to the parking lot and tour the RV in order to gain insight as to how we will live on the road. Again I can not say enough wonderful things about the people at Red Run thank you all for loving us in all this craziness. We will honor you and God with this journey.
By the way we are really getting down to the wire here with three days to go before we leave. We got a truck to pull behind the RV. Nice truck with a glitch or two in the towing department. It will work out though as John is on the job. I love that man. He has been so amazing these last few weeks. It's like he is reborn in his "retirement". I am so happy for him and the freedom he is having.
I really have so much to do that I can't even think straight but it will get done and soon enough we will be gone. We just feel so much love in all of this.

Our Maiden Voyage

The settlement went without incident. We walked away very happy with how everything went. It was so freeing and truly amazing to know that this crazy dream is becoming reality. We have no regrets selling the house. I was not sad for a moment., It has felt like we have been a slave to this lifestyle for so long that getting out from under it is like a weight being lifted from your shoulders. The stuff, the big house all really great blessings but John has put so much of his energy into just keeping the roof over our head that to get out from under is such joy for both of us. I am so excited for him to not have to work for the next six months that I could do a dance about it.
We ended up picking up the RV on Tuesday June 3. My sister came along to drive our car home so that we could ride home in Gracie as a family. It was so cool handing the check over for our new home on wheels. We said goodbye to George and Linda and with John behind the wheel we were off. The kids were wild in there. Bouncing off the walls excited. I too felt like a little kid. We made it home through a major rainstorm without any problem.
I was just thrilled to have the RV sitting in our yard. A reminder that dreams become reality if you just believe. Not that there hasn't been some blood, sweat and tears involved but with anything worth having it has been a journey I wouldn't change.
So we have been busy cleaning Gracie and filling her up with our belongings. We like just hanging out in there together. We even spent the night in it when my mom was up this weekend. LOVE IT. LOVE IT.