Sun 20th July
A leisurely breakfast lasting about 2 hours again, followed by socialising around the hotel foyer, waiting for the bridal couple to surface, then on to lunch at Waterford – cheese and spinach pie! – and lounging about Kathy and Paul’s beautiful home and garden and lake.
Rick and the lads dismantled the catamaran to bring on honeymoon, Kris opened the remaining presents and cards – most of which contained generous cheques, which pleased everyone! All too soon we had to say tearful farewells to Gill and John, who wanted to see the Ford Museum before heading off to Yellowstone Park and then Montana to a Dude ranch. Paul and Laura also said goodbye as they were going to Niagara Falls on the next leg of their journey. Don and Linda were continuing their Detroit visit with Lewis and Keighly a bit longer, so we had to say Goodbye to them and Mark and Gary and our other new friends when we set off on honeymoon with Rick and Kris, Marion and Vince and the kids, Gareth and Julie, and Jenny, and Jim, Roly and Brett. The journey was straightforward – we stopped for a bite at a Wendy’s en route, and arrived about 7.30pm. We were sorry to see the accommodation was more cramped than we’d hoped, and the lads felt they wouldn’t all fit into one cabin, so they went over the road instead and got a refund, after some haggling with Sandy, our landlady. The cabins were very clean and reasonably equipped, although ours smelled slightly of damp or drains.
Mon 21st Jul
Up early and went for a stroll round – met Mum and Dad coming back from the beach and had coffee with them. Met up with the whole gang and went across the road for breakfast at Bob Evans’ – a tradition carried on every morning by at least some of the party. It was delicious – fresh coffee on demand, juice and a huge pile of fruit for me – others had waffles, omelettes, fry-ups etc, as the fancy took them.
3 carloads set off for the Sleeping Bear Sand dunes National Lakeshore. We made for the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and stopped at each viewpoint, until we reached the Cottonwood Trail, which we decided to walk along. Jenny’s car missed the turn off, and we didn’t see them again till later. Dad opted to stay by the car, and the rest of us set off. It was a lovely warm day and the scenery was terrific – lots of gypsophylia bushes in bloom, and other flowers and dunes to marvel at. We ended up overlooking the Dune Climb that some of us had attempted last year – marvellous views. The kids trundled up and down the lesser dunes, but not all the way down the big one. Then we walked back along a cicular trail, only reversing our steps at the end. Lovely. We were met by Jenny and co, who led us into Empire and an icecream and coffee shop they’d discovered, then we all went on to the Information Centre and had a look round the exhibits and shop there.
Back at the ranch, we hoped to eat at Bubba’s, our restaurant from last year – but the only place that could accommodate all 17 of us was a hotel restaurant up the road recommended by Bubba’s staff. It was nearly empty, which meant the ambience was poor, but we all got served straight away and the food was good! Josh arrived late.
