RoadNotes: They're paying us to stay here!

5 miles east of Marquette, MI - July 9 to 12, 2012 Our Current Location

Upon leaving Copper Harbor our goal was to get as far as Marquette because it has one of the two Honda dealers in the U.P. The Element brakes have been getting real noisy again and the emergency brake decided to take a holiday.

The noisy brakes were a real disappointment because we had new pads and new front rotors installed before we left Orange Park. The missing emergency brake was also adjusted at the same time, but more on these items later.

We arrived at the Ojibwa Casino outside of Marquette late Monday afternoon and checked in at the front desk. They gave us each $5 cash for staying there and also gave us vouchers for 2 free drinks at the bar. Then they said, come sign in tomorrow and we'll do it all over again. This is great, they are actually paying us to stay here. Of course they expected us to “play” it all back and then some, but what’s not to like? Plus we have 50 amp electric hookups for free and can stay as long as we like. There were 7 RV spaces and before the evening is over 6 of them are filled.

Tuesday morning I get up early to be at the Honda dealer by 7AM to see if they can work on the Element without an appointment. I get to talk to a service writer who tells me that they are booked solid for the next 4 days, but if I wanted to make an appointment they could work on it next Tuesday. So I gave him the story of how we're traveling and it is really unsafe to drive the car the way it is and could he please see if he could somehow work me in. He didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling but he said he'd try. By 9AM he finds me in the customer lounge and says they found the problem and should have me back on the road before lunch. Wow!

It turns out that all along the problem has been a sticking piston in the brake caliper. It wasn't retracting and was causing the pad to rub against the new rotor causing it to warp. So, one new caliper, two resurfaced rotors and an emergency brake adjustment later and we were ready to roll. And as a side benefit, the Element no longer pulls to the left, a problem that two 4 wheel alignments couldn't fix. That sticking caliper was causing just enough friction to cause the pull to the left.

And now for the back story. Before we left, I was attempting to save some money by avoiding the high priced Honda dealer service. So I asked around for recommendations for a place to get a good brake job. The company I picked I have done business with before and was happy with the results. However, in this case they were obviously in way over their heads highlighted by the fact that I had to take the car back twice and still wasn't happy with the results. I should have just gone to the Honda dealer in the first place instead of paying for two brake jobs. It would have probably cost about the same overall and would have saved me a ton of time and aggravation. The moral is “Find the most qualified business to deal with and just pay the price.” You’ll be happier because you can forget about it once it’s done.

Wednesday we spent most of the morning finding a local veterinarian and convincing our Orange Park vet to fax a prescription for arthritis medicine for Taz. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is nearby so we called and made reservations for a cruise Thursday evening. We also had to shop for a replacement Toaster Oven which involved multiple trips between Walmart and Target. Several good movies were showing at the local theater, but we just ran out of time and could not catch one of the matinees.

We backtracked to Ishpeming to see "Da Yooper". It's a tourist trap and they're proud of it. It has all the tackiness and kitsch you could expect. World's largest rifle, worlds largest chainsaw, worlds only Oldsmobile snowplow and more. Their ads claim all this stuff works, but you get up close you can tell they haven't been operated in years. Still was a fun time and a few good laughs.

On the way back to Marquette we stopped by an arts and crafts show in Negaunee. EJ couldn't find anything she just had to have. Or maybe it was the fact that she couldn't find anything that would fit in the RV.

After a fairly full day it was time to head back to Big Guy to get our free cash and free drinks from the casino.

Thursday we hiked a trail in a bog, saw a wetlands mitigation project, a lighthouse and hiked another trail that led to Lake Superior were we had to check out the water and watch some crazy people jump off a cliff into the Lake.

We got to watch as an ore ship finished loading at one of the few active ore docks we’ve been by. It takes several hours to load as they deploy and retract each chute to fill the bays. Also saw the Superior Dome stadium located on Northern Michigan University campus. It is the world’s largest wooden dome also known as the Yooper Dome!

Then it was time to drive over to Munising to catch the boat for the evening cruise to Pictured Rocks. Remembering about a week ago when we visited Sand Bay,WI and the temperature was pretty cool with the wind blowing off the lake , we decided that for the cruise we better wear long pants and take our jackets.

After we picked up our tickets we had a late lunch at a restaurant where we could watch the temperature on a bank sign across the street. It was fluctuating between 95 and 96. We were beginning to seriously reconsider our clothing choices, but neither off us had brought anything cooler to wear. But not to worry, the sights were awesome and out on the water it was marginally cooler.

While we waited to board, we watched the students of this tall ship Niagra going through some climbing exercises. And saw a guy and his dog out for and evening paddle.

We boarded at 6pm and began our three hour tour. Of course our guide had some really corny jokes, but great information, too. The rocks, cliffs, formations and water color were spectacular.