Too tethered to technology!

Say that ten times really fast! Being of the boomer generation, we've stretched ourselves to learn the latest technologies, kept up with the latest smart phones, have a router/network on board the RV, hooked up our own RV network, encrypted it, I compute while Eldy drives, I digitally scrapbook, get my recipes from the internet, we text, we blog, we Facebook, we love our technology when it works! Yesterday, the entire campground went down--satellite, all cell phones, our air card didn't work, no internet, and when I called the office to report that the wi-fi was down, I got a message that the call couldn't be connected because of a phone outage in the area. Whoa! One of the gals thought that was weird enough that she turned on the TV to check for terrorist news or explanation of what was going on....I thought the same thing! We twiddled our thumbs, we checked in with the neighbors--"are you having phone trouble, wi-fi trouble?" we kept thinking we'd like to get on the computer to do this or that, then remembered we couldn't. Couldn't check our emails, couldn't do research about the next campground we were headed to, my gosh! what were we going to do???? We felt lost, disconnected, literally!...but it was kind of a wake up call to realize, hey! We don't need all this "stuff" except to stay in touch with family, or in case of emergency. We should leave our phones home more or just carry one instead of two, not check them constantly for messages or email so often (like several times a day), and get into reading our Kindle (just kidding, we don't have one of those).

So, I attempted to teach myself how to knit a sock--no luck there, I need lessons! I read, Eldy went to the putting greens to practice his chip shots...we went to Alpena to pick up some things, and then we played golf on the back nine of the Thunder Bay golf course when we got back. There's a LOT of water on the back nine. We won't say how many balls we lost, but it was more than normal for the both of us! We watched the carriage go by around dinner time..the elk viewing and gourmet dinner we passed up, just a little too expensive despite a 10.00 discount for RV campers. (Cost: $75.00 a person) The photo is the closest I got to the carriage ride.

We will miss our new friends we made while we were at Thunder Bay--Ted and Jan Foster (check out their blog--www.rockytopramblers.blogspot.com) and Howard and Linda Payne and their blog-- RV Dreams...Linda makes beautiful beaded jewelry and sells her gorgeous creations online. She also does classes. Wish we were staying longer to get to know them better and so I could pick up another craft (like I need another hobby!), but we are heading west and south today to get closer to the Gypsy Journal Rally in Elkhart, IN at the end of this month.

Today we are headed to the opposite side of the state--Manistee, to the Little River Casino RV resort on the west side of Michigan, the "sunset side"..."Resort" can mean a lot of things, depending partly on whether you are in a northern state or a southern one like Florida...access to amenities, great pool, etc., or sitting in a trailer park so close to your neighbor you can't have a campfire, never mind the amenities..but we were pleasantly surprised when we got here. The sites have newer concrete pads, decent space and grass between you and your neighbor, and they offer a Good Sam's camping discount. The economy rate w/discount for water, cable, and 50 amp electric (but no sewer) is about 25.00 a night during the week, and about 28.00 for a Fri./Sat. night. In addition, despite this being the "economy" pricing, we get to use the casino hotel pool, hot tub, fitness room, and they have free entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights--woo-hoo! I haven't been dancing for so long, I think I forgot my mojo! Eldy says he will help me get it back Friday night..he likes to dance, too! With forecast of rain for the next two days, we'll definitely use the indoor free facilities offered to us....we might even check out the casino, if we're feeling lucky!

(Part of the casino hotel lobby on the left)