Gotta love sleeping outdoors in a tent! I love the crisp cool weather and hearing the leaves rustle in the breeze, but both Steve and I could do without the noisy woodpecker in a neighboring tree at 5am!
Steve got up around 6am and left us sleeping beauties, sleeping. He got everything else set up and organized and I was amazed at how good our campsite looked! We invested in a new tent - one that Steve can stand up in and one with plenty of room. We also got a screened in tent so that we could spend more time outside without being bothered by mosquitos and other bugs.
Here's a quick little tour of our campsite:
Our tent (which stayed dry despite rain!)
Steve and my bed
Amaya's Bed (and storage for our clothes, toys, etc.)
The end of our beds and lots of room!
Our screened-in tent (a lifesaver from the bugs, but not for the raccoon - more later on this!)
The picnic table in the screened in tent.
My stove!
Dishwashing station.
Water source.
A special place for our bikes.
Steve and I have collectively been at numerous Jellystone's in our lifetime and we were anxious for Amaya to experience Jellystone herself. We have such great memories of sitting in Yogi's picnic basket, watching old movies, and meeting Yogi and Boo-Boo. So for the next two days, we decided to relax, unwind, and enjoy all that the campground had to offer.
After a "hearty" breakfast of cereal, hard-boiled eggs, milk, juice, and coffee - Steve realized that he forgot a belt! Which meant... road trip to the nearest Wal-Mart in Cheboygan (about a 20 minute drive). We needed to go to a grocery store to pick up a few things anyway, so this was about the best time as ever to discover Cheboygan. After Wal-Mart, it was nearing lunch time, so we used the GPS to take us to Great Lakes Buffalo Company. Unfortunately the Great Lakes Buffalo Company is not a restaurant anymore, just an old house with a big ole buffalo in the front yard. Once again, we used the GPS to take us to the Great Lakes Grill. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a little shady and perhaps inappropriate to take a 3 year old. So... we turned around and found Alice's Restaurant and it turned out to be pretty tasty food! We found an advertisement for a used bookstore and the three of us couldn't pass up an opportunity to find more books - so off we went. Steve found a Stuart Woods book and Amaya and I picked out a small stack for her. What a great find!
We headed back to the campground and headed straight for the pool. The pool was in the shape of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the bottom of the pool had a road map labeling the biggest cities in Michigan - quite a clever and cute idea!
Once again, the water temperature was a little on the chilly side and even though it was a warm day (lower 80s), I still wasn't brave enough to face the cold water. Steve and Amaya had a great time though while I watched and threw balls to them.
Amaya also had a blast jumping off the edge of the pool!
After swimming, Amaya tried riding her bike around the campground, but it was pretty sandy, so she kept getting stuck. Instead, we decided to walk around the campground and explore. The campground wasn't very full - we only had one pop-up camper next to us - we think the campground cleared out after the 4th of July.
Since we had a big lunch, we just had salami and cheese sandwiches, chips, and applesauce for dinner and then got ready for CANDY BAR BINGO! Every night at 7:30pm, Ranger Kim leads a game of BINGO. Admission to play is one candy bar - hence the name! If you win BINGO, you get a stash of candy bars. Amaya won a Hershey Bar and then after we finished, a little boy gave Amaya another candy bar! How sweet!
Steve and my bed
Amaya's Bed (and storage for our clothes, toys, etc.)
The end of our beds and lots of room!
Our screened-in tent (a lifesaver from the bugs, but not for the raccoon - more later on this!)
The picnic table in the screened in tent.
My stove!
Dishwashing station.
Water source.
A special place for our bikes.
Steve and I have collectively been at numerous Jellystone's in our lifetime and we were anxious for Amaya to experience Jellystone herself. We have such great memories of sitting in Yogi's picnic basket, watching old movies, and meeting Yogi and Boo-Boo. So for the next two days, we decided to relax, unwind, and enjoy all that the campground had to offer.
After a "hearty" breakfast of cereal, hard-boiled eggs, milk, juice, and coffee - Steve realized that he forgot a belt! Which meant... road trip to the nearest Wal-Mart in Cheboygan (about a 20 minute drive). We needed to go to a grocery store to pick up a few things anyway, so this was about the best time as ever to discover Cheboygan. After Wal-Mart, it was nearing lunch time, so we used the GPS to take us to Great Lakes Buffalo Company. Unfortunately the Great Lakes Buffalo Company is not a restaurant anymore, just an old house with a big ole buffalo in the front yard. Once again, we used the GPS to take us to the Great Lakes Grill. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a little shady and perhaps inappropriate to take a 3 year old. So... we turned around and found Alice's Restaurant and it turned out to be pretty tasty food! We found an advertisement for a used bookstore and the three of us couldn't pass up an opportunity to find more books - so off we went. Steve found a Stuart Woods book and Amaya and I picked out a small stack for her. What a great find!
We headed back to the campground and headed straight for the pool. The pool was in the shape of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the bottom of the pool had a road map labeling the biggest cities in Michigan - quite a clever and cute idea!
Once again, the water temperature was a little on the chilly side and even though it was a warm day (lower 80s), I still wasn't brave enough to face the cold water. Steve and Amaya had a great time though while I watched and threw balls to them.
Amaya also had a blast jumping off the edge of the pool!
After swimming, Amaya tried riding her bike around the campground, but it was pretty sandy, so she kept getting stuck. Instead, we decided to walk around the campground and explore. The campground wasn't very full - we only had one pop-up camper next to us - we think the campground cleared out after the 4th of July.
Since we had a big lunch, we just had salami and cheese sandwiches, chips, and applesauce for dinner and then got ready for CANDY BAR BINGO! Every night at 7:30pm, Ranger Kim leads a game of BINGO. Admission to play is one candy bar - hence the name! If you win BINGO, you get a stash of candy bars. Amaya won a Hershey Bar and then after we finished, a little boy gave Amaya another candy bar! How sweet!
Here's a picture of the Bear Pavilion where all the games and activities are held.
After Candy Bar BINGO, we had a small fire and roasted marshmallows. Steve is absolutely the best fire maker/starter ever!
And he's the best marshmallow roaster too! Perfectly flame kissed!
At 9:30pm, we trekked down to Cindy's Cinema to catch a couple Yogi Bear cartoons. Steve bought me some popcorn and they got Superman ice-cream to eat during the movie. It was a little chilly watching the movie, so the next time we brought a blanket. There was a little boy - we call him "the boy without a shirt and mullet" - who wanted to sit by Amaya, but told him she was saving her seat for her Daddy. I think he had a little crush on her!
After the movie, trekked back to the campsite to grab her soap-on-a-rope and headed to the showers. She liked taking a shower much more tonight, not sure what changed her mind. Then off to bed for another great night's sleep!
After Candy Bar BINGO, we had a small fire and roasted marshmallows. Steve is absolutely the best fire maker/starter ever!
And he's the best marshmallow roaster too! Perfectly flame kissed!
At 9:30pm, we trekked down to Cindy's Cinema to catch a couple Yogi Bear cartoons. Steve bought me some popcorn and they got Superman ice-cream to eat during the movie. It was a little chilly watching the movie, so the next time we brought a blanket. There was a little boy - we call him "the boy without a shirt and mullet" - who wanted to sit by Amaya, but told him she was saving her seat for her Daddy. I think he had a little crush on her!After the movie, trekked back to the campsite to grab her soap-on-a-rope and headed to the showers. She liked taking a shower much more tonight, not sure what changed her mind. Then off to bed for another great night's sleep!