NOTE: This post has 22 photographs with captions and some narrative. Photos were taken by me (Bruce) using a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated. (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)
WEDNESDAY 27 September to TUESDAY 03 October, 2023 — Jellystone Family RV Resort, Frankenmuth, MI
Our dear friends, and fellow “bus nuts,” Bill and Karen from Ontario, Canada have been visiting the Jellystone Family RV Resort (JFRVR) in Frankenmuth, Michigan for many years during the mid-September to mid-October timeframe. There are a number of reasons they do this. They have other “bus nut” friends in the area (besides us), and they like the town. The downtown area is quaint, has shopping and dining options, and is a walkable distance from the RV park, if one so desires.
They also like the RV park, in part because of the indoor swimming pool, which the owners maintain at a pleasant temperature. They both like to swim, and the first half of the morning is reserved for adults. They have gotten to know the owners quite well over the years, and always book the same site, in the first row right across from the entrance to the indoor pool, before they leave each year. (I think the owners hold this site for them.)
But this time of year, the Park does something special; a hay-wagon ride and Trick-or-Treating every weekend (on Saturday), starting with the last weekend in September or the first weekend in October, and leading up to Halloween. The park is well known for this, and these weekends must be reserved well in advance as there won’t be any vacancies. Bill and Karen enjoy supplying treats for the kids (and some of the adults) and in recent years have taken to giving out juice boxes rather than candy.
Last year (2022), we booked a spot spanning the last weekend in September to early October while Bill and Karen were there. We took the Airstream travel trailer and had our son bring his daughters up on Friday after school to stay with us for a couple of nights, with us returning them home on Sunday. They enjoyed the park and the pre-Halloween activities, so before leaving the park we booked a spot again for the same time in 2023, near Bill and Karen’s site. We drove up on Wednesday 27 September, and the grand-daughters got delivered to us on Friday 29 September after school and work. They stayed with us in the Airstream travel trailer until we took them home on Sunday afternoon October 1st. Bill and Karen enjoyed spending time with the girls, but we booked our stay for a Tuesday 03 October departure so we had some additional adult only time before and after the girls were there.
Anyway, that’s the context for the photos which follow:
Sadie, who just turned 5 years old, is a very energetic young lady, seen here exiting the bounce house. (Photo by Linda)
Sadie moves across the bounce pad with speed and determination. (Photo by Linda)
Madeline enjoys a conversation with Karen.
Sadie decorates a pumpkin.
Sadie poses for a photo with Yogi Bear.
Madeline and Sadie on the Royal Chair by one of the shops in downtown Frankenmuth, Michigan.
The hay wagon ride at Jellystone Family RV Resort. Linda, Sadie, and Madeline are on the ride with their backs to the camera. Linda has a yellow ellipse around her.
Our Airstream travel trailer at JFRVR.
Bill and Karen’s 1960’s GMC TDH-5301 “New Look” (aka “Fishbowl”) bus conversion. This bus was in service with Toronto Transit Co. Bill bought it, in open auction, when it was retired from service and converted it into a motorhome. He drove this exact bus briefly during is 30-year career with TTC.
Linda escorts Madeline and Sadie during trick-or-treat at JFRVR.
Bill and Karen with their juice boxes set out by their bus for the trick-or-treaters to pick up.
Sadie makes a scary (?) Halloween face.
Sadie proudly displays her Apa (me) sporting her “Super Sadie” cape.
I use Linda’s phone to capture Sadie proudly displaying her Ama (Linda) sporting the “Super Sadie” cape.
Bill and Karen’s juice boxes notwithstanding, the girls collected a fair number of sweet treats. Far less than they could have, however, had been allowed to. The RV park as approximately 215 RV sites and 16 rental cabins and every one was occupied and every one was giving out treats.
Madeline’s trick-or-treat makeup.
The earlier photo of their “sweets haul” did not tell the whole story.
Madeline models a chef’s Hat on our visit to N’orlins Café in the Frankenmuth River Place Shops complex on the south end of downtown Frankenmuth, Michigan. A stop here has become a tradition for us. They are known for their beignets and chicory coffee. From MS Edge Co-pilot regarding beignets: These delightful French fritter-style donuts, known as “ben-yays,” are a specialty at N’orlins. They’re made fresh to order, served hot, and generously dusted with powdered sugar (and they are available with several different dipping sauces).
Madeline expresses her fondness for N’orlins beignets by mirroring the shape of one of them.
Sadie was as fond of her beignet as the rest of us.
The munchkins have been returned to the parents and I (Bruce) catch the moon rising over the RV park. Some of the other campers were still in the park and had not yet taken down their decorations. The extent to which some families decorated for the weekend was impressive.
The girls collected enough sweet treats to get enough Snickers Miniatures to spell it out. (We did not realize this was even a thing until now.)
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