I originally posted this photo and started this post about a year ago when I was taking a lot of my photos and putting them on Google Photos and this is one of those pictures. I noticed that many of the photo links broke and I think it might happen if I link to more than one photo. Honestly, I’m not sure because I also linked to some Facebook photos and those definitely broke. I went to update a post a couple of days ago on an RV we’re selling and all 26 pictures were broken. I had them posted on Facebook Marketplace. We are not in Michigan right now. It’s way too cold. We are still in California and I’m hoping my next post will be about our visit to Death Valley. I’ve been before but my companion has never been. And I’ll update on the car fire that happened before we went to Lake Shasta.
Anyway, for Lake Michigan, I first visited Michigan back in 2007 after wrecking a brand new car I’d just bought, finding out if the driver that hit me had been going just three miles more I would have died and developing sleep driving. Many people think I just fell asleep at the wheel but that was not the case. Sleep driving is basically sleep walking. You’re not awake when you sleep-walk or sleep-drive. I would physically get out of bed at the apartment I was living in and get in my car and drive. I once drove over two hours away in nothing but a sheer nightgown I was wearing and woke up at a rest area practically naked, no shoes, out of gas and no money. Thankfully, I had dirty clothes in my trunk because I was going to do laundry the night before but the laundromat was too crowded so I decided to do it at a later time so I had clothes, albeit dirty ones, but clothes nonetheless and had a pair of sneakers I was going to wash. I had some money stuffed in the side pocket of my car from when I’d went through the Burger King drive-thru and stuffed the extra money in the car instead of putting it in my purse, luckily for me. Another time, I woke up at the wheel and yet another time I tried to drive my car over a parking stop and down an embankement. Luckily, it woke me up when the car wouldn’t go over the stop.
My aunt suggested I hide my keys, only I probably would have forgotten where I put them and if I could not have found them I would have probably screamed like a madwoman in the parking lot of the building where I lived and ended up being taken to an institution for the mentally insane. A friend suggested I go to the Detroit Sleep Center but I was afraid they would report it to the NCDMV and I would have ended up stuck in Michigan, out in the middle of nowhere (the closest stores were not within walking distance, I was over thirty minutes from the nearest Walmart and anything really and back then there was no Uber, Lyft, Doordash or delivery. So that would not have been a good situation. I dealt with it the only way I could and that was to drink McDonald’s Iced Mocha’s every day and that’s why I developed such a love for them. Eventually, I overcame the sleep-driving but it took awhile. I spent many months exploring Michigan, going from lake to lake, reading about shipwrecks, exploring weird places in Michigan but mostly I enveloped myself the sheer beauty of Michigan. Until my Dad got sick and I had to go back to North Carolina. I made it back to Michigan and now I try to go at least every two years. I haven’t been able to go in about three years though and the only time I’ll go is July-August. After that it is just too cold for me. I’m not a big fan of the cold. I’ve spent the winter in Wyoming and Utah and didn’t care much for it. It toughened me up to the cold, I believe.
I’ve explored every part of Michigan and one reason I haven’t went back in awhile. There’s very little of Michigan I haven’t explored. My favorite place and where this photo was taken, is Mackinaw City. I love the bridge that goes across the Mackinac, the Mighty Mack as people call it. Some people are afraid of that bridge but I loved driving across it and I especially love the Upper Peninsula where I went to the Bear Ranch and so many other interesting places. It’s driving right next to the water all the way to Duluth, Minnesota on US Highway 2 West. I drove US Highway 2 East from New York-Vermont state line to Bar Harbor Maine and I liked it too but not as much as Michigan and the Great Lakes. I like reading about the lakes of Michigan too and really love photographing them. I visited the big lakes of Michigan like Lake Michigan, Lake Huron on US Highway 23 going north towards Cheboygan and Mackinaw City, Lake Superior going west towards Wisconsin, Houghton Lake, Manistique Lake, Lake Charlevoix, Lake Erie, Torch Lake, Drummond Island, Lake Cadillac and many more. My love for the Michigan lakes extends to just about every area that has a lake.
This is one of those things I thought I’d share and sharing at Nine O’Clock at night is not the best time to start a new blog post. Not now that I’m in my car full time and have to be out of the coffee shop/store at closing.
Back then I would sleep in my car but I only did it because I wouldn’t stop until 2 AM sometimes and hated motels and especially wasn’t going to pay a motel fee for four hours of sleep and Michigan has extremely high hotel rates during the summer and one reason so many people travel Michigan in RV’s and Campers. Some do it in vans and others like me just did it in a car and I didn’t mind.
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Until next time……..My story-page……..UPDATE: I’m moving to a marina on Lake Keowee in Oconee County, only in a smaller boat, a 1981 Yukon Delta 28 that needs a ton of work (I’m doing it)…………….I’m Rachel Xie Qi Holbert-Jones BlackHeart and this is my story/page: living in Iva, South Carolina (Anderson County), part time in Hartwell, Georgia on my boyfriend’s boat, a 1986 Chris-Craft Catalina 381. I was at the Hartwell Marina which doesn’t allow liveaboards so I left. He purchased a 1996 Holiday Mansion 39 Barracuda, 1977 CHB Trawler 34 (I’m remodeling), 1986 Marine Trader 54 Sunliner that I’m updating, 2018 Sunseeker Manhattan 52, 2001 Nordic Tug 37 and a 1983 Fishcraft 28 (similar to the AdventureCraft 28 I lived on and still call home). I’m also camping at various places, mostly lake campgrounds.****************I still care for my aunt in West Virginia sometimes and hoping not to have to return to Memphis, Tennessee. We are scheduled to move my aunt to Dead Women Crossing, Oklahoma but first it’s to Georgia for the winter & Michigan in the summer. I’m still traveling for work and have been to my Uncle’s ranch in Alpine, Texas to oversee it and the cattle he retitled in both of our names, Texas Longhorns, Scottish Highlands, Brangus and show horses. He’s also added Bison and Beefalo to his ranch. **************************** For my work travels my uncle purchased a 1995 Ford E-150 Econoline GT Starquest Campervan. I wasn’t sure about an older van like this but the man that owned it had completely converted it with solar power and electrical, it was a good deal. It only has 112k miles. It only has a sealed portable toilet but it is okay because I prefer a public toilet and only use a camper toilet if I’m dispersed camping, at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel. I prefer rest areas and truck stops. For short trips, I drive a car or SUV. *************************** I have an avid love for photography and capturing the essence of old, abandoned houses, allegedly haunted places, classic, antique vehicles, lakes, rivers, nature, museums, art galleries, antique shops, car shows and historical places. I’m not a ghosthunter or paranormal investigator although I’ve had people request me to lead their groups, I’m a legend hunter. I love scary podcasts and spend more time on YouTube or Audible than Peacock or Tubi. I used to watch TV or movies when I stopped for the night but now I usually go right to sleep when I stop and prefer the podcasts of Darkness Prevails, What Lurks Beneath, Swamp Dweller or Red Owl. I like to listen to scary trucker stories too, occasionally grizzly/polar bear attacks, audiobooks & Dateline Podcasts. I like google scholar, casetext, medium, wordpress, livejournal, blogger, unsplash, pexels, pixabay, pinterest, instagram, facebook, X, tumblr, amazon, eBay, shadowlands (for places that are haunted), reading, greek mythology, animal shows, National Geographic, the metaphysical, food, camping, fitness, weightlifting, nutrition, health, gua sha, face rollers, beauty, fashion, tai chi, yoga, YouTube (listening to van lifers and people living in their vehicles), road tripping, computers, internet and creating videos. I also like long drives & deserted back roads. Work consists of scouting for investment properties and rehabbing/remodeling those properties for my employer. We also remodel old boats and restore classic cars. ******Visit my blogs at https://rachelholbertjonespage.com (Diverse & Wickedly Crazed Diary) that I’m changing to revolve around mostly haunted, abandoned places and occasionally focus on personal posts having to do with my homeless situation; https://xie-qi.blogspot.com (Rachel X’s Secret Diary) focused on my homeless situation; https://sassygrrl32x.blogspot.com is social media type posts in a blog format; https://medium.com/@sassygrrl32a is mostly reviews; https://sassygrrl32.livejournal.com is a social media type blog; https://rachelholbertjones10.blogspot.com has some links to YT videos and personal posts; https://rachelholbertjones.wordpress.com is my business blog, https://rachelholbertjones.weebly.com is my crazy and contentious blog and https://youtube.com/sassygrrl32 ……………..By Rachel Xie Qi Holbert-Jones BlackHeart AKA sassygrrl32 & Haunted Legendhunter & Bourbon Street Blogger **********************************************Alot of people have asked me the story of my homeless situation and I’ve removed it for now and will discuss it in my blog posts. ***********************************#rachelxieqiholbertjonespage #sassygrrl32 #Iva #Keowee #SouthCarolina #Hartwell #Georgia #andersoncounty #Michigan #livinginacar #vanlife #nomadlifestyle #carcamping #roadtripping #boondocking #carlife #livingoffgrid #vandwelling #vanliving #legendhunter #haunted #abandoned #xieqi #sassyaftersixty #deadwomencrossing #oklahoma #westvirginia #memphis #tennessee #bourbonstreetblogger #bepositive #prayer #GodBless #rebranding #westernzhoudynasty #daxie #nanyang #mandarin #xiemei #lowbow #vitallifeforce #flowingvitalenergy #unseenenergy #taichi #davisislandersllc #rizzoreipartners #crazyandcontentious #blackheart #rachelxieqiholbertjonesblackheartpage #rachelxieqiholbertjonespageblackheart #rachelxieqiholbertjonesblackheart