Not Teardropping

Well, last night was day 3 of sleeping in a "real" bed. 

I am back to my old eating habits since there is a kitchen at my mother-in-laws' stocked with food and I nibble something every time I pass through it.  I fear that the weight I lost may creep back on.  So, I need to think about the healthy way we've been eating and revel in the weight loss.  Did I ever mention that since we started on our Odyssey, I have lost over 20 lbs. and Michael has lost around 50!  It's helpful having a teeny, tiny 'fridge and "kitchen" in our trailer; and it helps that we aren't planted in front of a TV every night eating ice cream.

But, we are visiting friends and family, and that is great!  Michael is cooking in a "real" kitchen so he's happy.  I have a computer to use -vs- the phone for writing the blog and surfing the internet.  We have a beautiful sunroom to sit in -vs- our tent that often serves as our "living room".  We have a laundry room -vs- the little Wonderwash.  Oh, we are sitting in the lap of luxury!

For the next couple of weeks, we will be in southern NJ.  The glorious Indian Summer weather we've been experiencing will give way to rain and dipping temperatures later this week.  Our plans have been to winter in warmer weather, but Weather Underground predicts temps below average and wet conditions for Texas and Arizona.  Funny.

We're in the Garden State

Let's work backwards!  We made it to NJ Friday and stayed in North Jersey with our friend,  Pam.

We traveled from Michigan's upper peninsula after attending a big teardrop gathering in Necedah, WI, hosted by Camp-inn,  the maker of our teardrop.

About 60 or so teardrops participated in the gathering,  held September 25 - 27, at Castle Rock campground in Mauston, WI.  It was very social, and we met many people,  and enjoyed checking out other trailers.  A big pot luck dinner was held Saturday night and our contribution was a live cooking station where we made Native American style fry bread.   It was a hit!  We served it with a choice of salt or a honey butter spread! We got to meet even more people!

We also visited the beautiful Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and walked trails there.  Great birding!  Whooping and Sandhill cranes, bald eagles, and more!

We left WI and headed into Michigan and the upper peninsula.  We traveled through the lower part of the UP, so we missed some waterfalls and other beautiful spots.  (But we always save something for next time! ).  However, we did like what we saw.  We drove on route 2 along Lake Michigan and visited the "big town" of Escabada.   From here we found a great campground called Big Knob State Forest (Boulder City) along with a free camping area in Hiawatha National Forest. 

In Michigan, I bought a very cool wool hat made in MI.  Designed by "Stormy" Kromer back in 1903, it has lots of character!

From Michigan,  we headed into western Ohio and Pennsylvania.   There we enjoyed beautiful scenery, rolling hills and trees bursting with autumn colors!

So, here we are in southern New Jersey!  We'll be here with family for about 2 weeks or so.  Then we head south down the east coast toward Florida for a Native American Flute School and Festival and Thanksgiving.   In December, we're heading west along the Gulf Coast to spend the winter in a snow-free zone!!

Life is indeed great and we acknowledge our good fortune to be able to experience the USA every day!