Day 29 - ending at Berrien Springs, MI - Metamora, USA

September 1, 2022

Day 29 - ending at Berrien Springs, MI

Day 29 - South Haven, MI to Berrien Springs, MI

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I slept so very well last night, not waking up until 6:15am. Posted report, packed up, and left campsite at 9:09am. Stopped at camp office/store for free coffee, and to charge my phone a little more. Had a pleasant conservation with the owner while I was there. After I asked about a place to eat breakfast, she gave me details on each restaurant in South Haven and showed me their locations on a map, which she then gave me. I happened to see for sale in the store the one item I'd wished I'd brought along - a USB-A to USB-C cable. If I had that, I could charge my phone from the battery blocks I have with me. So I made that purchase, along with a Gatorade. With best wishes, I was on my way to the trail, which runs right along the campground.

My goals for today are to finish up the section of the Kal-Haven Trail between here and South Haven, see Lake Michigan, and arrive this evening at Shamrock Park in Berrien Springs.

Arrived in South Haven at 10:19am. Now, make it to one of the breakfast restaurants. I ended up at Six Chicks Scratch Kitchen at 10:37am. Very good with a cinnamon roll for dessert.

Next, get to the lakefront. I was there at 11:46am. I walked down the 62 steps of the stairway to get an up-close view of the water.

Back up on the road, I noted noon mileage: 6.7 miles.

I called Shamrock Park to see about camping there tonight, but had to leave a message. Left the lakefront at 12:10pm, heading south toward Van Buren Trail. I mainly wanted to use this trail to get on the other side of I-196. The trail isn't improved south of I-196. I stayed on it for a while, then moved over to 75th Street at 1:18pm. Roads mostly south would get me to the campground.

At 2:20pm I was in Coloma, and stopped at Eddie's Drive-In West for a root beer float. Just as I was leaving, I received a call from my wife. Our air conditioner had quit working. I told her what I would try - reset the pressure switch inside the compressor unit. She turned the breaker off, removed the cover on the outside unit, reset the switch, and reported back that that fixed it. Way to go, Wife! Maybe it'll keep running until I get back and can work on the fan motor.

Back riding at 2:56pm. Roads were not as flat south of Coloma, but only one hill near town was walking-grade. I was seeing a lot of blueberry bushes, apple trees, grapevines, and vegetable type crops today.

I stopped at Main Street Burgers in Eau Claire at 5:25pm for supper - a bacon cheeseburger and root beer float.

Arrived soon in close-by Berrien Springs, and was at Shamrock Park at 6:33pm. No one was at the office, and their phone number just goes to their answering machine. But they do have prices listed for their primitive sites. No pay envelopes for camping, but they have envelopes for those wanting to boat, so I turned one into a campground payment envelope.

There's no one camping at any of the primitive sites, at least the south side ones, so I set up there at site #79 - right by the St. Joseph River.

I had the bike's bottle generator engaged all day today, which brought the bike's battery voltage up from 12.1 volts (discharged) to 12.4 volts (half-charged), which is acceptable for charging accessories at night. There's a nearby pavilion with outlets, so I thought, "Why don't I just take the bike up there and charge the battery all the way to 12.9 volts?" So that's what I did, along with sitting there charging the phone while working on picture selection, until the mosquitoes started biting too much.

In the tent now wrapping up another good day. Maybe I'll get a shower first before going to bed. Done. It's 12:51am - good night.

Jeff

Spent: $2.75 (Gatorade) + $4 (USB cable) + $21.94 plus $7 (breakfast) + $3.18 plus $2 (root beer float) + $7.93 plus $5 (supper) + $30 (campsite) = $83.80.