It’s amazing how many hidden gems are here in Northern Michigan. Little lakes found off country roads. This is just one of them.

It’s always nice to have my brother here to do some maintenance for mom.

And seeing deer on the way to the walking trail just behind mom’s home.

Never had this happen before in all the years I’ve lived here. Crazy people in this world. Hopefully this is a a fake threat.

It was a great day out exploring Lavender Hill farm outside Horton Bay, Michigan with friends who have never been here. Even though they live in Charlevoix, it was a first for them.

After walking the fields of lavender, sunflowers and wildflowers our driver Rob took us to Petoskey Farms Vineyard and winery for a tasteing and snacks. Too bad my photos didn’t turn out well but it was a beautiful place and wine was good.

Next was Boyne Valley Vineyard and winery. Again another beautiful setting to enjoy a glass of wine. We were in the ‘tree house’ overlooking the grounds.

From there, Rob took us the backroads to Walloon Lake for dinner at the Barrel Back. Wonderful food and view of the lake.

Ended the night downtown Charlevoix listening to music and watching the moon rise.

I really hadn’t planned on this much work taking place on Pearl but when the help is available…

While the pully system was being worked out, discovered a leak from the exhaust fan. Thank goodness we were in a shop out of the pouring rain.

Then there was the springs on the bed platform that needed some attention.

After checking my Facebook group asking for suggestions, I was told to screw each small square to prevent this from happening. Thank God for my sister Beth for having the tools, hardware and patience to help me.

And not shown is a new 2 inch mattress topper. I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight.

I have been so lucky to have met a new friend who’s been extremely helpful working on new projects with me. Bruce L. You rock!

1st project was adding a lightweight board across one of my back windows to create a storage space for my electric cord. I was able to store a collapsible totebag and a brush to wash Pearl.

Then we took the dining table out and cut off 4 inches to create a little more room to walk from the front to the back. It certainly helps to have the right tools and room to get a project like this done.

One last dirty job was taken care of at a RV company in Traverse City. New rubber coupler for black tank to drain pipe. Glad I noticed a small leak the last time I dumped. Would have been a really messy mess if I hadn’t caught the crack in the old one.

Because Pearl was in getting her maintenance done, I had a loaner car to use and took a short drive to Frankfurt for breakfast, a walk on the beach, chat with some guys on the pier and then a drive to Point Betsie Lighthouse for a tour. Even though the day was rainy and storms rolled thru it was a great time. I’ve been here before but it’s always beautiful and I learn more each time.

Pearl had her 60,000 mile maintenance today. Transmission filter, fluid and a cable that was on a recall done. Alignment, balancing and tire rotation. I highly recommend Watson’s the Promaster dealership in Benzonia. They took excellent care of Pearl and me. They loaned me a car so I could go exploring a little. That will be a separate post with pictures!

Had a great night enjoying open fire cooked pizza and local brewed beer. Yummy and a great view.

I love shopping Aldi and finding things like foam flooring to add some cushion and insulation to Pearl. I think it turned out well.

This festival is a celebration of Charlevoix. So many different things to do and enjoy. This always comes with an incredible increase of tourists as well. I was able to enjoy the car show, shopping the local shops and walk along the marina to admire the “boats” docked here. Free music all day a into the night and fireworks to end the day.