Return to Gray Island, Pt. II

 (contd.)

The next morning, we Houghs and Johnsons - who were on the schedule for the Friday morning Breakfast - awoke and got around before everyone else and got the coffee going for the day.  We always bring up two coffee makers (ours shown here) and multiple blends and creamers for all the adults on hand.

Matt Butterfield generally wakes up early, too - him and his wife (in the background) have very little kids, so they're kinda forced to start the days off way before anyone else.

Kris comforts Danielle, who was definitely not living her best life this morning (she was one of those moms who had stayed up until 2am the previous night, making poor decisions.)

Erik and I man the Blackstone, whipping our usual go-to Breakfast meal of pancakes and sausages.

Courtney continued to whip up pancake batter and Kris was in charge of carrying plates full of cooked food into the food tent to free up space on the grill for Erik and I. We have this shit down to a science these days.

Post- breakfast rush (an hour after we started cooking the meal, Alayna and Lexi finally managed to drag themselves out of their tent.)

With breakfast, coffee, and showers all taken care of, it was getting into the late morning. . . which is prime Bloody Mary time.  This is always something Yours Truly brings to the table - I like to 'mad scientist' this beverage, giving folks multiple options of mixes, sauces, and seasonings to custom-make their breakfast drinks.

Danielle and Kris offered to braid up some of the older girls' hair for the day, seeing how it was going to be hot and sunny and the kids didn't want to constantly mess with it as they got in and out of the pool.

Kris works on the Cannonball's locks.

Another day, another bout of Euchre with these fellas. . .

A new offering from the ever-expanding Ranger Station gift shop, these fart bombs were a HUGE hit with the kids, and the store ultimately ended up running out of them half-way through the weekend (thank God, they smelled horrible.)

As the day heated up, folks began congregating to the pool area to take advantage of the gorgeous weather. We easily spent more time there this year than in all the other years we've been coming here combined.

I was just hanging out by the pool, trying to get some bronzing in, when all the teens decided I was the cool adult to hang out around.  Like moths to a flame.

. . . then they began repeatedly jumping in all around where I had previously been enjoying the sun in peace.

Across the pool, Collier and Matt don't seem to be suffering the same fate.

The older five girls of our friend group.

Hough selfies.

The moms, dealing with kid nonsense.

I walked back to Gray Island at one point to grab something, and the usual suspects were bouncing on the giant, inflatable jumping pillow/pad/whatever right outside the pool area.  As I passed by they requested I take some pics of them. . . then Jackson decided to trip Abby.

(At least she didn't get pissed.)

Back at the pool, Buttefield and Collier grab some shade.

Kris and Danielle, who was starting to come around again.

The Cannonball and her mom.

Sunbathing

After and hour or two of pool and sun, it was time to herd all the kids back to Gray Island for lunch.

Danielle, Courtney, Stefanie, Kris and Deanna channel their inner- Reservoir Dogs as they set out of a walk around the campground.

In the afternoon, us dads were feeling a little adventurous, and so I proposed we swing out to check out the ol' ghost town of Pere Cheney, nearby to where we saw the old haunted cemetery on last year's Jellystone trip.  That time around, we just stopped off at the cemetery itself - where the townsfolk hung the poor woman as a witch - and neglected to drive further into the woods to check out the town.

Driving past the haunted cemetery, towards where Google Maps assured us the ghost town remains were located.

It came to no surprise that the original wooden structures had all rotted away over the last 150 years, but it was still evident where the buildings used to be due to the oddly-shaped clearings located deep in the woods.

A random open pit we found. No clue what it's purpose was. 

If there was anything in abundance at the site of the old ghost town, it was creepy-ass trees. . .

Wouldn't want to check this place out at night, that's for damn sure.

Site of the ghost town - you can almost picture the main drag with buildings on either side.

Meanwhile, back at Jellystone, about ten miles away, the girls get a hold of some water balloons. I'm sure with non-nefarious intentions.

We stumbled upon some giant, random boulder in the woods, which had no business being there (there are no other large rocks anywhere in the area, nor are there any cliff-faces or anything like that.)  Why it was dragged out here, who knows. 

On the way back out of the woods, we decided to once again check out the haunted cemetery - one of the most haunted sites in the state - where, years ago, the townsfolk of the aforementioned ghost town hung a woman for whichcraft, thinking that she (due to her living alone in the woods) was responsible for cursing their town.

This is the tree where the townsfolk hung her.

Local people in the area, for whatever reason, frequent this cemetery and leave behind trinkets, flowers, and offerings to the townsfolk buried here. . . and for the witch. I found this disturbing-looking toy and ring at the base of the hanging tree.

Erik checks out on of the graves, which, like the others, has been eerily maintained by God knows who. . .

Whenever you saw little kids' graves - and there were a ton of 'em around - you saw tons of toys left behind.

Nothing scary about this at all.

Strollin' around a haunted cemetery. Jellystone business as usual for this group.

Some headstones were completely destroyed, and all that remained of them were the stone markers that were placed about the overgrown field, marking where graves were.

Sometimes all that were left behind were a pile of rocks, littered with cheap, crappy trinkets.

Yours Truly, pointing out. . . something.

Collier attempts to test fate for the second year in a row, pissing in the cemetery (I was having none of it this year.)

Heading back towards the car after an hour or so of exploring some of Michigan's haunted history.

Coming back down the path that leads out to a normal, dirt road.

This year we stopped at the mysterious, overgrown playground that randomly stands in the center of a clearing in the woods (about halfway down the dirt road to the ghost town and cemetery.)

We couldn't tell if this building was occupied, but we figured it was at least part of the time - like maybe it's somebody's hunting cabin or something, because it was half-way kept up judging by outside appearances.

There's a solid chance this is a murder shack of some kind. Like filled with chains and handcuffs and animal bones and shit.

A trash heap stands in the center of the clearing, surrounded by rusted playground equipment swallowed in tall grass and weeds.

Arguably the shittiest basketball hoop in the world.

When we finally returned to Gray Island, Omkar broke out this bottle of Scotch for everyone to try (it was decent, but Scotch isn't my favorite by any means - I'm more of an Irish Whiskey or Bourbon guy.)

Moms, back at the pool for more sun and swimming.

Someone - I forget who - brought along this pre-made jug of sangria, which was awesome.

Morgan gets assaulted in the deep end. . .

Kris loves my feet. You can tell.

The Hough Girls

Adults took turns group-cannonballing into the pool like we were little kids or something. When in Rome. . .

The wives' turn. Somehow not as cool.

Hanging out in a pool is way more fun when you don't have kids hanging all over you. . .

Jackson pulls out his best Ella impression.

Dads in the deep end.

Why is Tom swimming in a frickin' shirt?

Ella and Abby

Time for refills, back at Gray Island.

Erik, Matt, and Omkar

Lonnie, Ryan, and Tom

The kids didn't get as much use this year out of the pedal cars, because the asshole management that now runs the campground doubled the rental cost. Thanks but no thanks, jerks.

Awaiting craft time with the park rangers. . .

(Other side of the table.)

Heading back to Gray Island, all funned out with the pool.

Hot dogs and hamburgers were on the menu this evening, and all the swimming throughout the day worked up folks' appetites like crazy.

Hungry moms.

Mees and Danielle get down with some post-dinner cornhole.

The kids congregate - randomly - in someone's trailer. No idea why this is there go-to.

After dinner, the dads felt the adventuring itch again, and decided we'd take a walkabout the campground with some drinks. As we started off, Collier announced he had to stop off at the men's room in order to take a dump. . . 

. . . so we decided to keep him company while he attempted to do his business.

The permanent RV set-ups at this campground - which you can purchase every year, I'm told - are pretty fancy. This weekend was 'Pirate Weekend' (hence the decor shown here), which, honestly, was pretty fitting for this group.

Another attempt of a group picture, this time with Collier since he missed the last one in the bathroom.

As we passed by one RV, some old guy came out and randomly decided to show off his dirt bike, going so far as to demonstrate how you're supposed to ride it. We were polite and let him finish his presentation.

One of the year-round RVs at Jellystone is occupied by none other than Erik's own brother, Ryan, who none of us realized was staying up at the campground this weekend. We stopped off at his place and hung out for like a half an hour so, hanging out with him, his fam, and his dog.

Ryan shows off. . . something. . . on his phone (I forget.)

He's got a fancy sign for his RV, that's for sure.

Back at camp, relaxing around the tables during that weird post-dinner/pre-campfire period of the evening.

A handsome man, looking pensive as he stares off into the distance.

Us and the Johnsons decided to walk up to the Ranger Station at one point in order to check out the available merch in the souvenir store, and randomly ran into Susan up there, who was taking a bike ride around the campground (we neglected to bring our own bikes up with us this year because they never, ever get used and it's a pain in the ass to rely on others to transport them for us.)

This used to be the arcade section of the Ranger Station, but, due to new management, that has been, for the most part, gutted and converted to more souvenir space.

Everything here was waaaay over-priced (like, $60 for a hoodie.)

It's been awhile since I've seen boxes of these (I've never been able to try them myself, which is kinda weird seeing how I use to eat 'em in Ghana.) Last time I saw a variety of these was in the gift shop for The Mummy ride at Universal Studios back in 2019.

Pirate music blasting through the PA was a common occurence throughout the weekend.

Some kids and adults got into a heated basketball match at one point, but I'm not sure where/when that took place because I wasn't around for it.

Settling back in around the campfire at the end of Day Two.

Erik's brother Ryan swung by on his way through the campground and dropped off a few of those chemical packets that change the color of flames, which is always a big hit with kids (and some of us easier-entertained adults.)

Alayna took this pic of the moon with her phone. Not bad for a smartphone.

Someone started The Telephone Game at one point, and for like the next hour folks were doing that. Kinda got old after awhile but whatever.  Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion, folks. . .

- Brian