Mayberry

Posted on May 30, 2009 | 4 comments

After another night at a Wal-Mart parking lot in South Bend, Indiana, I found a real house with a real bed and a real shower. I ended up staying all week with friends in Western Springs (a.k.a. “Mayberry”), a suburb of Chicago. We even got permission from “Barney Fife” to leave the Airstream parked on the street overnight. Thanks to all the people who stopped by to see a tour. There is an open invitation for anyone I met in Western Springs to come visit me on the road!

I needed to come back through Chicago, yet again, to get the stabilizer fixed (learn more about this idiotic moment), and I was also able to get some face-to-face time in at the office. The next leg of the itinerary is a quick circle tour of Lake Michigan. Anyone have any suggestions?

  • Brooke

    Not sure how far up you are going, but around Grand Traverse Bay is very cool (Sleeping Bear Dunes are also close to GTB). Charlevoix, Petosky, Harbor Springs and Bay Harbor are all a little north of Traverse City and all very cool. Have fun.

    • Kyle Bolstad

      Sweet! I will definitely be up in that area later in the week. I will check it out.

  • Pam

    We have done the Circle tour (in a tent) many times…
    We stayed at an excellent campground in Petoskey. Its just off the lake on US 31. It’s the Petoskey KOA. Very nice and everyone is extremely friendly. It’s a family owned campground, so they really try to make your stay enjoyable.
    The Traverse Bay area is nice, plus they have all that wine…
    The town of Mears is kinda cool; they have dune buggy tours that are quite fun.
    Another great campground is a state owned, PJ Hoffmaster. It’s between Grand Haven and Muskegon. We stay there frequently.
    And there’s always Mackinac Island, but I don’t think you’ll get the airstream on the ferry ;)
    Have fun!

    BTW…been watching you for awhile now…I’m your coworker Andy’s sister in law…

    • Kyle Bolstad

      Hey, Pam -

      Thanks for the suggestions! I already had Petoskey and Traverse Bay on the list, but now I will add Mears, too. I am staying at the JW Wells state campground in the UP right now, and love it. It just has electricity at the campsite, but fresh water/dump is available at various stations. For me, it is exactly what I need. Plus, the views are stunning! Glad to have you following my travels. Kyle