Charleston, South Carolina: Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport - Convention Center

November 2019, Thanksgiving, 1-night, King guestroom 425

View from guestroom 425

Arrival, check-in, platinum perks

Our flight arrived before 11:00 AM, and we arrived at the hotel to check-in around noon. We had a bit of trouble getting the shuttle ride to the hotel, and the manager comped dinner for us that evening to make up for the excessive wait. We also received one of the larger king suite guestrooms, and the 600 platinum bonus points.

Tanger Outlet Mall across street from Crowne Plaza

King guestroom #425

This guestroom is on the 4th floor near the atrium. It faces southwest overlooking the hotel pool and Tanger Outlets across the street. We stayed on Thanksgiving, and the stores opened at 6:00 PM for the entire night with shopping specials. Traffic was non-stop across the street during our entire stay. The windows in the guestroom are very soundproof, and we did not hear any noise from traffic or the airport.

Crowne Plaza Charleston airport guestroom 425

Boyne City, Michigan: Young State Park, Boyne City to Charlevoix Trail, and Harvest Festival

September 2019, Weekend, 2-nights, Campsite 31

Above: sunset from campsite 31 at Young State Park while seated at fire.

Below: sunset from back of campsite 31 standing next to the water.

Young State Park reservations and campsites

There are three campgrounds in Young State Park, and it was difficult to choose a site beforehand, since this was our first visit. We decided to reserve campsite 31 in Oak campground, and after our arrival, we decided this is one of the better sites. After we had made the reservation, we wanted to arrive a day earlier; however, another camper was on this site the day before. Luckily, they had departed when we arrived.

Young State Park campsite 31.

Campsite 31 is on the lake, and there is a partial lake view from the back of the site (see top photo with fire pit). We would have had an even better view, if we had not backed in as far. We had hoped to park on an angle; however, there was not enough room to do this with our fifth wheel. There are a lot of trees on this campsite. You can see the white site line in front of the trees in the photo of our fifth wheel and truck (half the site is unusable because of the trees). Additionally, gravel had been brought in for this site, and placed only in the area straight into the site. There was standing water around the fire pit when it rained during our stay. 

Condition on campsite 31 at Young State Park after it rained.
Gravel brought in is visible to right of fire pit.

Des Moines, Iowa: DoubleTree by Hilton DSM

September 2019, Weekday, 2-nights, King guestroom 400

Sunrise from guestroom 400

Diamond perks, check-in, and arrival

I stayed in this hotel in 2013 as a Gold member, and received an upgrade to a suite. For this trip, I checked in online, and chose king guestroom 400, because there were no suites showing as a choice. My original reservation had been for two queen beds, because the cost of a king guestroom was more. This king room was probably an upgrade, although the Hilton benefits page says that Diamond members are eligible for an upgrade up to a one bedroom suite. I sometimes wonder if not checking in beforehand gives a better opportunity for an upgrade. I do not recall ever receiving a better guestroom during check-in after choosing one online.

When I arrived, I was told I would receive breakfast both mornings, and I had the choice of a snack bag with two bottles of water, or a beverage coupon to use in the lounge. I chose the snack bag, which contained Chex mix, trail mix, and a few candies in addition to the bottles of water.

Beverage counter in guestroom 400

King guestroom 400

This guestroom is on the top floor at the end of the hall. It overlooks the airport. The building is well soundproofed, and I did not hear any air traffic noise. I did not hear any noise from the hallway the first night, and the second night, the noise was minimal and non-intrusive.

Large safe in closet in guestroom 400

Northeast Lower Michigan: Rifle River Recreation Area

September 2019, Weekend, 2-nights, Primitive campsite #152

Additional photos and information about the recreation area can be found in my Facebook album.

Sign along the road after check-in

Advance reservations and arrival

Rifle River Recreation is 4,449 acres located within the AuSable State Forest. The recreation area includes seven lakes, three ponds, seven miles of trout streams, and four separate campgrounds. Since this was our first visit, choosing a campsite was not an easy task! Grousehaven is the only section with electricity, and this is the campground we initially considered. We have a 35' fifth wheel, which is quite tall, sometimes making it difficult to camp in primitive campgrounds with narrower roads and low branches. After a bit more research, I decided we would not have any trouble getting to any of the campgrounds. We reserved site 152, which is a primitive site in Ranch campground, and hoped for the best. When we arrived to check-in, the representative said we had a fabulous site. It is about three miles to Ranch campground from the entrance on a winding dirt road, so it takes a bit of time to get there pulling a trailer.

Ranch campsite 152.

Ranch campsite 152

This site is spacious and grassy; we loved it! I actually thought all of the campsites in Ranch campground were great. The sites that are not on the river were also grassy and somewhat private.

Ranch campsite 152.
Chairs in the distance are on campsite 153.

Benzie County, Michigan: Betsie River Campground, Betsie Valley Trailway, Betsie River, dining, and more

September 2019, Weekend, 2-nights, Campsite 57

Water conditions in Frankfort the weekend of our stay.

Bestie River Campground reservations and check-in

We had hoped to take our boat to Frankfort and stay at Harbor Lights Resort Marina (details in one of my previous Frankfort posts); however, the boating forecast was not good, so we decided to camp instead. Just a couple of days before the weekend, we called, and were able to reserve the last available pull-through campsite at this park to accommodate our 5th wheel. The owner said that the sites along the perimeter against the woods are not large enough for us. I thought the cost was a tad steep; $37 a night for 30 amp with water hookup, and $35 for 20 amp with water. Friends of ours stayed here a couple of years ago, and told us the breaker kept blowing on their 30 amp site. We did not have that problem, although the campground website says the following for 20 amp sites: If ya try to run a toaster, hair dryer, coffee pot and microwave all at the same time while eating pop tarts and watching satelite TV...well ur gonna watch us flip breaker switches. If you can camp without all of the bells and whistles goin' at the same time you will be fine.

We paid one night's deposit when making the reservation, and the balance at check-in. We were allowed to check-in early, as there was no one on our campsite from the night before.

Campsite 57 at Betsie River Campground.

Betsie River Campground site 57

The pull through sites in this campground are set up to face each other (with alternating connection locations), and the fire rings can be placed wherever you want. There were at least six fire burn spots on our site. The alternating hookups are great, if you are camping with others; however, we had hoped for more privacy, since we were camping alone for the first time in several weeks.

Another view of campsite 57 at Betsie River Campground.

Paris, Michigan (Mecosta County): Paris Park & Kayaking Muskegon River

September 2019, Weekday-weekend, 3-nights, Campsite 62 

Paris Park campsites 58, 60, 62, and 63

We camped on site 62, and friends camped on site 58. We initially wanted sites 60 and 62; however, 60 had been reserved by the time we finalized our plans to visit. If you want two sites together, sites 60 and 62 are two of the best campsites in this park. If you are camping alone, and want privacy, be aware that these campsites are very open to each other. We parked our truck next to the line to create a bit of privacy between 60 and 62.

Click on photo to enlarge it

On the reservation site, campsites 58 and 62 both say they accommodate a, "Large RV or 5th Wheel;" however, it was tricky getting into both of these sites. Additionally, I was verbally told that site 63 would accommodate a 5th wheel (even though the online information says it is a tent site), and neither of us would have gotten on that site because of the trees and incline.

Campsite 58 is tricky, because there are many trees on this site. Our friends barely fit on the site with a 28' 5th wheel with one slide out. We actually had to remove one of the posts until they had parked. We were obviously not the first ones to do this because the post was loose when we checked it.

Chanhassen, Minnesota: Holiday Inn Express and Suites

August 2019, Weekday, 1-night, King guestroom 305

Platinum perks and check-in

Check-in time at this hotel is 3:00 PM, and I arrived just after 2:30 PM. After the agent asked if I was checking in, and I said yes, she pointed to the check-in sign on the wall and said check-in is not guaranteed before 3:00 PM. This was before she even requested my name or checked to see if my room was ready (it was). I was a bit put-off by the way she said this, and the remaining check-in process was not any better. 

As she requested my ID and such, a man entered the hotel and stepped up to the counter near where I was standing. He spoke with the agent a moment, and then waited while she finished my check-in. During the process, she placed the check-in paper (with all my personal information, including complete name and address), then my driver's license, credit card, and room key packet with number, all on the counter face up with the information highly visible to anyone standing at the counter. In fact, she placed the items so indirectly in front of me, that when she had set the paper on the counter, the man standing there asked if it was for him. Unbelievable! (referring to the agent; not the guest)

I did not receive a room upgrade, although I did receive a room on the top floor.

King guestroom 305 Holiday Inn Express Chanhassen, MN

King guestroom 305  

Overall, this was a nice guestroom. I was happy with the location and sleep quality. The mattress was comfortable, and the sheets were good quality. I liked the suitcase bench, and Keurig coffeemaker. there was also a small fridge and microwave in the guestroom.