Last year my father past away. Since I am the only family living in Texas where he lived, I was left with making the arrangements for my dad. My siblings and I had all agreed that when I could make the trip that I would bring his remains and we would have a party of sorts to celebrate his life. It just so happened, that I needed to come to Detroit for a tradeshow, so a adventure was planned.

The plan was for me to pull my rivet to Nashville, and then the next day arrive in detroit. There was a time when I would drive the 24 hrs straight through. That was when I was young and dumb and thought I was invincible. Now that I’m older and it hurts to get out of bed, I take two days to drive from Dallas/Fort worth to Detroit.

I stayed at Montegomery Bell state park near Nashville. Keep in mind that I usually travel during the week and have parks to myself. This was not the case on this beautiful Friday night. This place was very busy. It was enlightening to see so many families taking a break from work, TV and internet to spend time as a family. I think we need more of that. Within minutes of setting up camp I had a knock on the door asking if they could have a tour of my Airstream. If you ever purchase one, get used to it! I always enjoy showing off my home away from home. The park is very clean and is heavily shaded. It is a beautiful place to stay. Unfortunately, this would be just an overnight stay.

After a cup of strong Nespresso, I got on my way to Michigan. The drive went well until I get into Ohio. It appears that the gas stations are either old designs or nobody pulls a trailer in this state or Michigan for that matter. I found it very difficult to find a gas station that I could manage to pull into for fuel and get out without much difficulty. I had multiple exits in certain areas because the rig would not physically be able to fit . Note to self, when you see a truck stop this far north, use them.

Have you every driven in Michigan? No? Well, the roads are what you would envision the surface of the moon to be like. The pot holes are massive. So much so, that they swallowed the entire front end of my F250! Unfortunately this continued for over 20 miles. I had numerous pictures shaken from the walls and broken on the floor. In fact, the solar suitcase I carry in the closet to charge the batteries when off grid, was jostled out of the closet and lodged into the floor and the door of the bathroom. Nothing like a $1k repair due to horrible interstate highway. Once you get past this stretch of I-94 things begin to get better and the state begins to show its beauty. I stayed at Northpoint Shores in Ida Michigan. It is a very small park but it sits right on Lake Saint Claire. It was a beautiful view and great amenities for such a small park.

I had mentioned that I needed to come up for work. I was attending a tradeshow in downtown detroit at Cobo arena. Detroit appears to be going through a Renaissance. The downtown area was full of life and a bustle of people. I had the opportunity to fly my girlfriend up for her birthday and she played at the Greek town casino while i worked. We also, made it a point to visit Motor City brewery, 3 man records and Shinola. If your in the area, you should definitely stop and check them out.

After many adult beverages and socializing, it was time to head back to texas. The trip back, would take me to Saint Louis to spend the evening.

The risk you always have with travel is weather and traffic. Unfortunately I hit both of them driving through Indianapolis. The highway was shut down due to a accident, and then once I make it past that, I hit torrential rain and wind. Thank goodness I pull a Airstream. They truly are near impervious to bad wind and rain, pulling straight as an arrow.

I stayed at the KOA park on old state Route 66. The park is what you expect from a KOA on the weekend, packed with families. I was only staying one night so no need to unhook for the night. I have traveled for most of my adult life and have been fortunate to make friends from all over the country. A good friend of mine came to meet me at the park and we went to a local Italian bistro for dinner and drinks. It’s times like these that makes you appreciate the experiences you make along the way.

I have several more trips that I need to update this site on, stay tuned and thanks for following.