Day14.....August 20, 2013.....to Allegheny National Forest

Left the Cuyahoga area, heading for PA.  Drove by Kent State Univ and wondered what young people today think of those protests and killings.  About a 4-hour drive on back roads, and I mean back roads.  There weren't even highway numbers.  George navigated, and I drove.  He has a great sense if direction which I completely lack.  We ended up on a beautiful road in the foothills of the Allegheny Mts.  The farms were almost all Amish.  Beautifully- kept farms and houses.  Amish children were out playing; buggies in the driveways; and tons of washing on the clothesline....must be laundry day.  

The park has dozens of national forest campgrounds, so we were able to be picky.  Midweek and almost no one here.  We hit the trifecta with the site....flush toilets, immaculate showers, and a good firepit for cooking....all for $15.  We are going to create a campsite rating system, which I will describe tomorrow.  

After setting up camp, we took a drive through the park.  I wanted some wine with dinner, so we found a little town.  It was quite poor.   It is interesting to see how each state has different liquor laws.  PA is one of the strangest.  They have beer stores, with only beer in large amounts.  If you want a 6-pack, you buy it in a bar.  For wine and liquor, you go to a state-run liquor store with a sorry variety of wine.  

After our purchase, we decided to go to something called "scenic area" on the map.  My stomach kind of felt funny when we passed a sign saying "pavement ends".  Of course, we kept on going.  It was a one-lane gravel road.  It was a beautiful forest with 200-year pines.  However, there were pockets of private land where they were cutting down trees and fracking.  There were signs on some of the side roads saying "no Shell trucks".  I can understand how environmentalists and townspeople can clash, as it was obvious that there is poverty and unemployment in the area, but really sad to see the landscape destroyed.

A word about the pop-up.  Here are some pictures of us getting it set up.  George is a bit of a perfectionist so uses a level to make sure we are even.  I am in charge of the cranking. Then he uses a power drill to put down and take up the stabilizers.  The camper is really easy to set up.  We just lift up the 2 sides and lock in place

We settled in for dinner....another salmon dish of course ....stir-fry.  Not bad.  

Day 12.... August 19. Cuyahoga National Park

A bit about breakfasts.....  I cooked up lots of scrambled eggs and sausage at Meredith's house.  Each morning, we warm some up, depending on our facilities.  We have electricity today so we warmed them up in the microwave, with some chipotle chicken sausage.   Then, we toasted a tortilla on our George Forman grill, and had roll-ups.  Later this week, we hope to buy a bagel and eat it with Meredith's salmon pâté. 

We spent the day at Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Kind of surprising to find a national park between  Cleveland and Akron.  There are hundreds of miles of hiking trails.  Seems like we hiked them all, but we only did 4 or 5.  Lots of ascents and descents so we will be feeling it tonight.  Beautiful countryside and homes that look like they are from the 19th century.  ,  Trails along the Ohio and Erie Canals.

Day 11.... August 18, 2013. To Ohio

Spent afternoon driving between Ann Arbor and Cleveland area.  We kept off highways and drove through rural Ohio.  Beautiful farms, quaint towns.....real Americana.  We are in Stow, Ohio near the Cuyahoga National Park where we will visit tomorrow.  We are in a nice municipal park @ $12/night.  

Food today:  salmon pâté picnic at road-side park for lunch.  Salmon/vegetable chowder with rice for dinner over campfire.  

Here are some pictures of our Aliner camper.  We specifically wanted a small camper without a bathroom.  It has an almost-queen size bed, tiny refrig, tiny microwave, and 2-burner stove.  The bed can turn into a dinette, but we leave it set-up as a bed since we use campsite picnic tables.   We washed sheets, etc at Meredith's, so everything is clean.  Nice!

Day 10 August 17, 2013. Salmon management

We just love Ann Arbor.  Last night we  took the bus downtown.  People everywhere,  especially  strolling the streets and sitting in sidewalk cafes.  We went to an outdoor beer garden.  It is the grounds of a real home and garden center.  We picked up a pizza from one of the food trucks.  I love the international vibes of the city.  At our next table was a family of 4.  Asian dad, Caucasian mom. 2 darling boys, all happily eating Mexican food.  While waiting for our bus home, we had a glass of wine at a rooftop Italian restaurant.  

This morning, we had to tackle the salmon as Meredith's refrigerator also has all her food for her clients' food for the upcoming week.  We made:  salmon pâté, salmon burgers, and cured salmon for salads.  We froze some filets for cooking over the campfire.  We also prepped eggs and sausage for the week on the road.  

Since we don't have a real address any more, we found a mail-forwarding company in South Dakota.  We ask them to collect it and then send to us periodically, wherever we are.   We received a package today from them so spent time handling bills, etc.  

We drove to a little town with a brewery that was having a fundraiser.  Nice.  Then came home for dinner.......salmon sushi and ikura (salmon roe) sushi.  

Day 9.....August 15, 2013. With Meredith and Gautham

We are trying to figure out what to with 100+ pounds of cleaned salmon.  For now, we have packaged and frozen most.  Will make some recipes to take with us when we leave.  Meredith also cured the roe so that it tastes just like ikura that you get at a sushi restaurant.  Gautham is going to see if they can go into business with Captain Dave, as currently he and most fishermen just throw it away.

One of Meredith's clients is a winery owner.  She prepares food for wine pairing events there.  Today, we visited the winery and sampled some excellent wines with the assistant winemaker.  Then we visited the owner's  private wine-tasting room and the work area.  The owner is a pilot so it has an airplane decor (including a real airplane) inside.  We tasted wines that are still in their stainless steel vats, waiting to

be bottled.  Yum!  The winery is outside of Ann Arbor.  It and all the houses around it share an airstrip, and their garages attached to their homes are actually hangars.  

We came home for dinner.....grilled salmon, of course!  

Day 8... August 14, 2013. Salmon fishing

We met Captain Dave whose charter boat is called "Salmon Slayer" at 5:00 AM.  It was cool....41 degrees.  Beautiful meteor showers then sunrise.  We immediately started catching fish.  We each pulled in some big ones.  By noon, we had 6 King salmon, each weighing 20-30 pounds and 4 coho salmon.  We also have a huge bag  of salmon roe that would be worth about $1,000 in Japan.  Now on way to Ann Arbor to spend a few days with Gautham and Meredith

Day 7.....August 13, 2013

Best laid plans....we were sampling craft beers last evening, when a storm rolled in over the lake.  It was like a hurricane.  We decided to go to Plan B for dinner.  We happened by a healthy food gourmet restaurant.  We bought a cremini mushroom burger and veggies and brought back  to camper for an indoor picnic in the camper.  In the AM, we took a drive on the Leelanu Peninsula.  Reminded me of California .....lots of vineyards and fruit trees.  Beautiful drive along the coast with picturesque seaside villages.  Returned to Traverse City for for one last brewpub. Then towards Ludington. We visited beautiful Sleeping Bear Dunes.  Stopped in more beach towns.  Tourists buy T-shirts that say "Michigan Unsalted" meaning that it is like being on the ocean, but without sea salt.  Arrived in Ludington in the evening where daughter Meredith and boyfriend Gautham joined us.