Petoskey, Michigan: Hampton Inn & Suites

View from guestroom 304 Hampton Inn Petoskey

 March 2023, Sunday-weekend, one night

We previously stayed in this hotel in whirlpool guestroom 120 in January 2019. You can find details from that stay in the following link. The guestroom photos on the website were a bit incorrect before that stay, and it looks like some of those errors have now been corrected. This time we reserved a king bed studio suite with sofa bed. 

Guestroom diagram from Hilton Honors app

Arrival and diamond perks 

When my check-in notification arrived a couple of days before our stay, we were being assigned an odd numbered guestroom on floor three. Odd numbered guestrooms face the parking lot, so I ignored the check-in notifications. When I checked the app a few hours before our arrival, we had been assigned guestroom 304, which is on the side of the building facing the water. If the room we received was an upgrade, then some guestroom photos on the website are still incorrect. A king study suite shows a balcony door in the photos, and the guestroom type I reserved is $10 more than a king room that says bay view. None of the guestrooms actually say they have a balcony, although you can see the balcony door in the photos. The two even numbered guestrooms at each end, on floors two through four, have a balcony. The front [odd-numbered] guestrooms, like the room initially assigned to me through the app, do not have a balcony. I confirmed that our guestroom had a balcony when we completed check in at the front desk. The clerk was friendly and professional. She recognized my status, and provided waters and a snack.

Hampton Inn Petoskey guestroom 304

Hessel and Cedarville, Michigan: Kewadin casino campground, Les Cheneaux Distillery, and more

September 2022, 1-night, weekend

Kewadin casino campground in Hessel, Michigan

Kewadin casino campground in Hessel, Michigan

After camping in Mackinaw City with no facilities, we needed a place to recharge our camper and dump our holding tank. Although we are not huge gamblers, this seemed like one of the better options available for just a one night stay. We paid $20 for a campsite with electricity, and I see the rate on the Kewadin website now says $22. We joined the players club after we checked in, and each received $10 in free play.

Kewadin casino campground in Hessel, Michigan

This campground has vault toilets, and a sanitation station on-site. I am not sure why the website says the dump station is off-site. We were on the first campsite against the woods on the right, although I do not recall the campsite number. The only other people in the park the night of our stay were a few campers together in the center lots. Apparently, there are no rules about how to park campers because the campers in the center were not actually parked within their sites, and they had their fire in another fire pit, which was not on the campsite of any of the campers. 

Mackinaw Bay Nature Preserve in Cedarville, Michigan

Orange Beach, Alabama / recreation (bike trails, parks, arts), dining, Happy Hours

November 2018, 7 nights

This post contains information about some of the places we visited by bicycle or on foot from Grand Pointe Condominiums. You can also click on the labels at the end of this post, or on the Orange Beach recreation links for 2018 and 2017  for further information about area bike rentals, trails inside Gulf State Park, Happy Hours, dining, parks, boating, and more.

Orange Beach Waterfront Park

Bicycle trails, Orange Beach Waterfront Park, Coastal Arts Center

In addition to biking and walking in Gulf State Park, we rode our bikes from Grand Pointe Condos to the bay on the north side of AL-180. There is a bicycle lane alongside Perdido Beach Blvd., and then most of the remaining route is a designated trail. We turned off Perdido Beach Blvd. onto the road to Cotton Bayou Boat Launch just east of AL-161. There is a trail from the boat launch that connects to the bicycle trail, which runs parallel to AL-161. Next, we turned toward the police station just before Al-180, and then crossed AL-180 at the crosswalk at the end of Callaway Drive. The screen shots below can be enlarged by clicking on them to view this detail.  

The turn from Perdido Beach Blvd.

The turns just south of AL-180

Orange Beach Waterfront park, located on Wolf Bay, has restroom facilities, picnic pavilions, BBQ grills, bicycle racks, a playground, and a fishing pier. There are also benches and swing seats in the grass overlooking the bay, and an area to launch canoes and kayaks. When I first looked at the canoe map in the park, I got excited because I mistakenly thought it was a bicycle trail map showing a different route we could take back. Silly me - the map clearly says "canoe" trail! I labeled our "GP" condo on the canoe map below to show where we started.

Orange Beach Canoe Trail

Alabama: Dauphin Island & Mobile Bay Ferry

November 2018

We learned about Mobile Bay Ferry when we were deciding upon our route to Orange Beach, Alabama from Mobile, Alabama. Since we had previously traveled around the top of the bay, and also visited USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, we decided to take the ferry from Dauphin Island across this time. We always like to try new things! Taking the ferry added less than ½ hour to our travel time.

Bridge to Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island 

Getting to Dauphin Island from Mobile was easy. The traffic was minimal, and the drive was less than 45 minutes from the Renaissance Riverview in Mobile. The island is not very big, and we walked around for a bit after we paid and parked for the next ferry departure. There is a paved trail, which goes as far as Fort Gaines at the east end, and almost to West End Public Beach at the opposite end of the island. There is a bicycle lane for a short distance where the paved trail ends before the beach.

Entrance to Fort Gaines

A private campground is located near the ferry dock, and there is a short trail across from the campground on the north side of Bienville Rd. called Magnolia Park. I was surprised there were not any businesses or tourist type shops near the ferry dock.

Carnival Fantasy Cruise ~ 6 - Day Western Caribbean [Cozumel Plus] from Mobile, Alabama

November 2018

This was our first experience on Carnival Fantasy, and our first time cruising out of Mobile, Alabama. You can find additional pictures and information about Carnival Fantasy in my Facebook album. 

Carnival Fantasy atrium steps and elevator behind bar.

Pre-cruise

This cruise was kind of a last minute decision for us. We initially thought we would rent a condo in Orange Beach, Alabama for two weeks; however, the cost was quite high. We rented a condo last year for a week, and my husband said he wanted to go for two weeks this time to make the drive from Michigan worth it. I am the one who usually does all our vacation research; however, he found this cruise! The cruise was a much better value than booking the condo for a second week. 

View of Carnival Fantasy in Mobile showing location
of cabin E244. Click photo to enlarge it.