Coloma, MI September 2006

Dates: September 1-4, 2006

People: Mark, Sarah, Luke, Mark's Mom & Dad.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 1

Today was a driving and relax day. We left home around 10:30am and Mom & Dad left the Chicago area around the same time. We took the scenic route along M-50 and even some back road country roads until we hit I-94 and took that to Coloma. We got in town around 2pm after hitting some heavy construction traffic past Battle Creek. The Google Maps paper we had with us had the KOA campsite mapped wrong, but we eventually found it. Took the afternoon to setup camp and cook a nice dinner. Played at the camp's playground awhile with Luke and enjoyed a peaceful evening by the fire.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 2

Cooked breakfast at camp in the morning and took our time getting going. Eventually made our way to the Deer Forest in Coloma. Was a unique sort of petting zoo with the so-called world's largest tamed deer herd. We got to pet up close the deer and feed them as well as goats and ponies and the like. They also had rabbits, a racoon, a pair of mountain lions, cows, pics, and a bobcat. Had a good playground for Luke to play on and a few cheap amusement rides. We ended up spending most of the day there until heading home. We did a dinner at the campsite and then headed down to Hagar Park on M63 along the shores of Lake Michigan. We watched the sun go down over Lake Michigan to cap the evening.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3

Went to church in the morning at Trinity Lutheran in St. Joseph. We knew Pastor Batsky there from our days at St. Peter's in Fort Wayne. They had some nice facilities and a beautiful old sanctuary with a pair of projection screens up front. After church we headed back to camp and cooked some lunch. We spent the afternoon down at the beach of Lake Michigan. Luke loved sitting in the sand and was content for some time to sit and dig in it. Mark dug a big hole for Luke to sit in and play. Mark and Sarah were enjoying walking in the lake and reading on their beach chairs. Day was all fun till Luke stepped on a bee. Got him in the middle of his right foot. He started screaming and Mark picked him up. Dad helped pull out the the bee's stinger. Mark ran to the car to get some ice. We iced him for awhile and decided to head home. Luke was surprising fine the rest of the day and didn't show any trouble walking on his injured foot. The next day all that remained was just a small red mark from where the sting happened, no other swelling.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 4

We took our time this morning getting things packed up. We had our second breakfast of sausage and pancakes this morning and they were great. We survived the weekend of camping without getting any rain, thank God. And were able to pack up the tent and other gear without any major wetness. As we were ready to leave the campsite we found both vehicles had dead batteries. We had to get jumper cables from the front office and found a neighbor with a car to jump from. We finally got both vehicles going and headed into the town of Coloma for a Subway lunch and then headed home. We made good time getting home and even made our first stop at the Cabela's in Dundee for the first time.

The End.