Descending the Sunset Side of Michigan

Leaving Mackinac City, we traveled south, rounded Grand Traverse Bay to the west and settled into a nice park just south of the city.  I had changed the bedclothes so had laundry to do.   In between the washing and the drying I cleaned the bathroom real well, dusted and discarded the collected papers from our last stop.

Ted was washing the trailer and Tom and Eileen went looking for a car wash.  When everyone was finished with their chores we went to Sam's for a few things.  Eileen wanted to know what Menard's is, a store we have encountered in Ohio and Michigan, so we stopped and I actually bought my Windex and paper towels there because Sam's packs were too big for the RV.  

Ted started the grill and we had steak, fries and salad for dinner.  It was very windy so we ate inside.  Everyone needed a down day and we all just stayed inside for the evening.

Our second day was spent picking cherries and raspberries.  We drove an hour north to King's  Orchards and Ted and I picked 8 cups of raspberries, 24 cups of tart cherries 1.5 gallon bags of Queen Anne and 2 gallon bags of Bing cherries.  Then we came home to clean and package them all.

I had put meatballs and spaghetti sauce in the crockpot before we left so dinner was almost ready when we got home.  We ate outside then came back in.  The fresh air is tiring us all out.  I put together a cherry pie and baked it in my countertop oven.  The convection oven doesn't brown well, the gas oven tends to burn a stripe into the bottom of things.  I had to guess on timing because the oven is a smaller area than a normal oven.  It cooked until the cherry filling was bubbling up through the slits but I should have covered it with foil so the crust wouldn't have gotten so brown.  But it tastes good!

Our day in the orchards.

Tom, Eileen and Ted picking cherries.

The trees were loaded.

We hit four orchards - Bing, Queen Anne, tart and raspberries.  We paid for our cherries and had the tart ones pitted.

First you pour your bucket of cherries into the water and skim the floating debris.

The conveyor picks them up.

They enter the circular drum where the pit is punched out.

The lady bags them up for you.

I wish I could share some of the sweet cherries with you all.  The tart ones and the raspberries are washed, measured and in the freezer for use later on.  But we have all been eating the Bing and Queen Annes so much we are fearful of the Bing Cherry Two Step!