Ionia Michigan / Ionia State Park Recreation Area, Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail, Steele Street Brewing

May 2017

All kinds of last minute trip changes for us this year! We had not planned to stay in Ionia State Park Recreation Area again so soon. Since we did, I am sharing some new travel info about the area. You can find more park details in my April 2017 blog post. 

Ionia State Park Recreation Area, campsites 77 - 82

We chose a site in the northeast loop near the equestrian campground this time, because the lakeview sites had all been reserved. The sites in this loop are also larger than most of the sites in the lakeview loop.

Site 81
Horse trail behind trees

We stayed on site 81, which was mostly sunny, mostly grassy, and slightly secluded. There are trees/bushes between site 81 and site 79. Site 82 is sunnier than site 81. Site 80 is directly across the road from site 81, although it does not look like it on the campground map. Click on the photo below to enlarge it and see more site details.

Mesick and Cadillac, Michigan / Jeep Blessing and Mitchell State Park

May 2017

We stayed at Mitchell State Park to attend the Jeep Blessing in Mesick, Michigan. This was our third stay at Mitchell State Park, and you can find more campground details in two of my previous posts: May 2016, and September 2014.  

Sunset view from back of campsite 180

Mitchell State Park: sites 174, 176, 179, 180, and 181 

We camped in a new area [for us] of the state park this visit, and I am sharing a few photos and information about some of the campsites in the channel area. Information that I shared previously concerning the facilities and amenities has not really changed any.

Sign at park entrance

We were camping during non-peak season, and there was not anyone working at the ranger station during our stay. The sign at the entrance said we could just proceed to our site, if we had a reservation (which we did). Pictures in this blog can be enlarged by clicking on them. The only new thing I observed about the facilities was a sign by the showers saying that the shower cost is $1 for non-campers. Must be they have a lot of non-campers using the showers!

White Pine Trail and West Michigan Brewery Experiences ~ Brewery Vivant, Cedar Springs Brewing Company, Rockford Brewery

April 2017

At Brewery Vivant

Brewery Vivant

Brewery Vivant is a pretty cool place. The beer and food we have had has always been excellent, and this visit was no different. We shared the beer cheese pretzels and a "limited time" dessert, because the menu said the dessert paired well with Undertaker beer (which I was having). Everything was delicious, and we had our growler filled before we left. Brewery Vivant is located on Cherry Street near Eastown.

Taken from our table at Cedar Springs Brewing Company

Interlochen, Beulah, and Lake Ann, Michigan / Lake 'N Pines Lodge, Lake Dubonnet State Forest Campground, and more!

May 2017, Weekend, 1-Night/2-Days

We had several places to visit in northern Michigan, which we decided to do in two days. We stayed overnight at Lake 'N Pines Lodge, we drove through the nearby state forest campground, and we visited Lake Ann Brewing Company and St. Ambrose Cellars. Following is information to assist future visitors.

Sunset from boat dock at Lake 'N Pines

Lake 'N Pines Lodge ~ Angler's Nook

We had a last minute change of plans at the time of our stay, and Angler's Nook was the only unit available at Lake 'N Pines. Pines Nature Suite would have been my first choice; however, that unit had already been rented for both weekend nights. Bay Chalet looks like an amazing unit, although it has a higher price than we would usually pay for a quick overnight (and, it was not available either). Definitely, if you are looking for a special weekend away, Bay Chalet would be the way to go. Angler's Nook is located on the ground floor beneath Pines Nature Suite.

Unexpected and nice surprise in the fridge when we arrived!

I have not included many pictures from our room at Lake 'N Pines Lodge because their website is very detailed and accurate. There is a floorpan for each unit along with several room photos on their website. I am including just a couple of photos showing a few unexpected amenities that I did not see listed on the website.

Englewood, Ohio / Hampton Inn & Suites Dayton Airport

May 2017, 2-Nights, Weekdays, 2 Queen beds, Rooms 420 and 320

Diamond perks and check-in

I arrived from the airport after dark. I decided to take 40/National Rd. rather than the interstate, as it looked like a direct route. The drive was about 10 minutes, and it would have been less except that there was a line of traffic behind a car going much slower than the speed limit. Fortunately, my GPS took me to the exact location of this hotel, because it was difficult to see the drive in the dark. There is no outside lighting at the entrance from the road.

During check-in, The agent did not specifically mention my status, although she did confirm that I wanted the bonus points for my on-property perk, and she also offered me a bottle of water. I did not receive an upgrade, and I did not receive the room type in my profile. I had reserved a room with two queen beds, because there were no king bed rooms available when I made the reservation. King study rooms were available, and I did not receive an upgrade to one of those (even after the agent offered to let me switch rooms).

View from guestroom 420

Guestrooms 320 and 420

Both of these guestrooms are exactly the same. The only difference was the style of the soap dish in the bathroom, and the carpet stains in room 320. I did not like the stale and moist odor in guestroom 320, or the cheap perfumey scent that had been used to try and mask the odor. I usually keep a small lavender spritzer in my luggage for situations like this; however, I discovered I did not have this in my bag. I called the front desk to ask if they had Febreeze or something in the hotel that I could use to spray in the guestroom. The agent said yes, and then she offered to switch me to another room. Since I could hear the floorboards in this hotel making noise, I agreed, and I said I would prefer something on the top floor, if possible (I had also made this request in my reservation notes). She told me the room directly above this one, 420, was available. I picked up my luggage, and she met me in the hallway with the new keys. Guestroom 420 did not smell any better than room 320. It was late, and I was ready for some sleep, so I made the best of it.

Saranac, Michigan / Ionia State Park Recreation Area, Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail

April 2017, 3-nights, Weekday-weekend, Site 13

View from site 13

This was our first visit to Ionia Recreation Area. It looked like a great place to check out in the spring or fall when it is cooler in the Lake Michigan area campgrounds. Also, we stayed over Easter weekend, and Ionia was a reasonable drive from our son's house making it easy for him to visit.

Advance reservations, arrival and check-in

Since this stay was before peak-season, we considered just choosing our site after we arrived to save the $8 reservation fee. There are not many water view sites though, and after I noticed a couple of them had been taken, we decided to make a reservation. We initially reserved site 13 for Friday and Saturday night, and then we called on Thursday to add Thursday to the reservation. 

The camp office was closed when we arrived Thursday evening, and we checked in via the yellow telephone outside the office. I was glad I had called beforehand and taken care of the additional night, or I would have had to provide all the payment information and such during check-in.

Campsite 13

Campsites 13, 15, 18, 22

It was pretty easy to back in on site 13. The site was grassy, and we had a decent view of the lake from outside. From inside, we had a view of the lake out the back window, and the view from our living room looked out toward the trees behind site 15. The online information for this site says that it accommodates a 40' RV. We have a 30' 5th wheel (about 35' overall), and we took up just about the entire site lengthwise. I think it would be tight with a 40' RV on this site.

Standing by fire pit on site 13

Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan / Holiday Inn, Boat Show, 20 Monroe Live, Happy Hours

February 2017, Friday afternoon - overnight

View from Holiday Inn guestroom 511

Holiday Inn, King executive suite 511

This was our third or fourth stay at this Holiday Inn, and our experience was pretty similar to our past stays. Here is a link to photos and my 2014 post for executive guestroom 811. The only real difference in the guestroom this time was that the in-room coffeemaker had been upgraded to a Kuering K-cup machine. I was surprised there were only disposable cups in the guestroom, as there had been ceramic coffee mugs in 2014.

Coffeemaker in guestroom 511