Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays vs Philadelphia Phillies

We attended a game of the Toronto Blue Jays vs Philadelphia Phillies, playing at the Blue Jay’s ballpark, Rogers Centre, the only MLB team in Canada.

Jenn’s game summary:

Our first domed stadium. They can open the roof, but it was closed due to drizzle and maybe wildfire smoke. A lovely park with excellent food and a vibrant atmosphere. The Blue Jays came out for four runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings each to make total cream cheese of the Phillies, who only scraped together one run. Bassitt recorded his 1100th career strikeout, and Bo Bichette hit his 8th home run of the year. It was a fun game with a bit of local color—they sang a song called “OK Blue Jays” before “Take Me Out To the Ballgame,” and everyone knew the words and gestures, creating a great community vibe.

An interactive map of the ballpark environs:

This ballpark was a little more difficult to get to, as we had to cross an international border into Canada:

Welcome to Canada

Toronto:

Toronto

CN Tower:

CN Tower

Toronto Blue Jays:

Toronto Blue Jays

Team store:

Team store

Mary Brown’s Chicken:

Mary Brown's Chicken

Poutine (of course) and chicken tenders:

Poutine and chicken tenders

Selfie from our seats in Section 119, Row 12, Seats 13 & 14:

Selfie from our seats

Closed dome:

Closed dome

Ace, the Blue Jays mascot:

Ace, the Blue Jays mascot

Cheerleaders:

Cheerleaders

Play ball:

Baseball

Hotel rooms overlooking the field:

Hotel rooms overlooking the field

A run scores:

Run scores

Two more runs:

Run scores

The mascot “helping” the grounds crew:

Mascot helping grounds crew

Exploring the ballpark:

Exploring the ballpark

Chungchun rice hot dogs:

Chungchun rice hot dogs

Gamsung hot dog covered in potato, and half mozzarella hot dog:

Chungchun rice hot dogs

Cheerleader:

Cheerleader

Blue Jays win:

Blue Jays win

Ballpark

Four Mile Creek State Park

We stayed at Four Mile Creek State Park in Youngstown, New York. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice lakefront state park.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-06-01
Check out: 2025-06-10
9 nights
We were only supposed to be here 7 nights, but were stuck when we couldn’t get our slides in!

Weather:

Partly sunny, some rain
High temps 55-73°F, lows 47-62°F
Some wind, gusts to 26 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise (kids and dogs)

Site:

#47, back-in, grass with embedded gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Somewhat level site; high in front; used hydraulic leveling
Grass site about 90 feet long by 50 feet wide
No neighbor on driver side
Just grass between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees on driver side
Clean site
Elevation 270 feet, front facing SE

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
No water or sewer
Water available a few sites down; dump station by entrance

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 105-242 Mbps down, 20-30 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
RoamLink: 6-9 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 130 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 6-14 Mbps down, 0.1 Mbps up, 70 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Gorgeous lakefront campground with stellar staff

All the sites are grassy back-ins. About half the park has no hookups, half has 30A, and one row has 50A. We managed to secure a 50A site with a view of Lake Ontario from our windows, which was a nice perk. The location is ideal for accessing Niagara Falls and Old Fort Niagara. It’s also convenient if you want to take a daytrip up to Toronto, with multiple border crossings to choose from.

The staff here were the best, however. Not only were they invaluable in pointing out things to do in the area, but we had a mechanical failure on the day of our departure, and it took a couple of days to get up and running again. The office staff were great to work with and very understanding of our situation. At one point, we needed some “muscle,” so several park employees and one or two locals joined in to help us out, and it helped restore some of my faith in humanity.

The only downside of this campground was the lack of full hookups. Due to our unexpectedly longer stay, we did use the bathroom blocks for once, and the showers were hit and miss (one I tried had a very weak spray and no hot water, but the one I tried on a subsequent day was much better). All in all, I would stay here again. We camped at Four Mile Creek State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities… just electric:

Utilities

There were a number of water stations dotted around the campground (marked on the map):

Water station

I used the nearby one (you can see our coach in the background) to fill our water bladder:

Filling water bladder

Then pumped the water from the bladder to the coach:

Pumping from bladder to coach

Then filled the waste tote in the back of the truck via the macerator:

Filling tote via macerator

And dumped the tote at the dump station:

Dumping tote

My beard blowing in the wind while adding stickers to our coach:

David with beard blowing in wind

Added the New York state sticker:

Added New York state sticker

Just a few left:

Added New York state sticker

Watching the sunset over Lake Ontario:

Sunset

Very hazy due to wildfire smoke from Canada:

Sunset

Lake Ontario:

Lake Ontario

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

We actually used the bathrooms once or twice:

Bathroom

Including the shower, due to filling tanks after our slide issue:

Shower

The playground behind our site:

Playground behind our site

Other sites:

Other sites

A nice state park. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Travel from Newbury, Ohio to Youngstown, New York

We drove our coach 213 miles, about four hours of driving, from Newbury, Ohio to Youngstown, New York.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northeast:

Route

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Rain pouring off slide topper:

Rain pouring off slide topper

Needed to return the laminated parking pass:

Needed to return the parking pass

Road near Newbury, Ohio:

Road near Newbury, Ohio

I-90 East:

I-90 East

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

BK for lunch:

BK for lunch

Paladin on the dash when we returned to our coach:

Paladin on the dash when we return to our coach

Toe beans:

Toe beans

Paladin on the dash when underway:

Paladin on the dash when underway

Welcome to Pennsylvania:

Welcome to Pennsylvania

A truck took the curve too fast, and rolled over; that’s going to take a while to clean up:

Truck took the curve to fast

Welcome to New York:

Welcome to New York

New York Tollway:

New York Tollway

Service plaza parking:

Service plaza parking

Not something you see on a trailer every day:

Not something you see on a trailer every day

Text stop parking area; a good idea:

Text stop parking area; a good idea

Buffalo:

Buffalo

Tonawanda bridge:

Tonawanda bridge

Welcome to the City of Niagara Falls; we avoided the Niagara Scenic Parkway due to the 12’ 0” height restriction (we are 11’ 7”, rather close):

Welcome to City of Niagara Falls

And definitely avoided accidentally heading to Canada:

Exit

Arriving at Four Mile Creek State Park:

Arriving at Four Mile Creek State Park

Our site:

Our site

Our coach:

Our coach

Little did we know we’d be here a little longer than expected….

Punderson State Park Campground

We stayed at Punderson State Park Campground in Newbury, Ohio. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice state park.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-05-27
Check out: 2025-06-01
5 nights

Weather:

Mostly cloudy, some rain
High temps 57-67°F, lows 41-54°F
Some wind, gusts to 22 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
Construction noise; building new facilities right next to our site

Site:

#26, back-in, concrete
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Unlevel site; high in front; used hydraulic leveling
Concrete driveway about 40 feet long by 10 feet wide
About 75 feet to neighbor on driver side
No neighbor on passenger side
Trees between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Clean site
Elevation 1,140 feet, front facing NE

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
65 PSI water, very conveniently located
Unthreaded sewer connection (just a hole, without any room for the sewer pipe elbow), very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

RoamLink: 18-25 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 80 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 60-75 Mbps down, 0.5-1.5 Mbps up, 45 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Lovely park, working on expansion

Beautiful park with something for everyone. They’re currently working on expanding and improving the campsites, and we were located right next to the construction site, which wasn’t ideal during the day, but it was relatively quiet at night. Our back-in site was not very level, even if it was a new concrete pad. I don’t think the state of Ohio knows how to hire contractors who know how to use a level, because we had the same problem at West Branch State Park with a very sloped site. Otherwise, it was a nice site with good hookups and a lakefront setting. We camped at Punderson State Park in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Mangia! Mangia! Italian restaurant was excellent and very popular with the locals. It’s a good sign when it’s hard to get a parking spot.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Lakeside

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Sewer hole:

Sewer hole

Construction near our site:

Construction near our site

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other sites:

Other sites

Tent site up a hill:

Tent site up a hill

Cabin:

Cabin

Pool by manor house:

Pool by manor house

Historic manor house:

Historic manor house

A nice enough state park, other than the nearby construction, and not entirely level.

Travel from Shipshewana, Indiana to Newbury, Ohio

We drove our coach 238 miles, about five hours of driving, from Shipshewana, Indiana to Newbury, Ohio.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Departing; we cut through the empty site in front of us for an easier exit:

Departing; we cut through the empty site in front of us for an easier exit

Amish rush hour:

Amish rush hour

Amish

Angola roundabout column:

Angola roundabout column

“Welcome to Ohio, the heart of it all”:

Welcome to Ohio, the heart of it all

Ohio Turnpike:

Ohio Turnpike

The Ohio Turnpike service plazas have RV hookups, with 20, 30, and 50 amp electricity, and nearby potable water and dump station, for only $20. Though limited to 40 feet; we could only fit if we disconnected our truck and parked it elsewhere:

RV hookups in rest area, but too short for us

Huge truck parking area:

Rest area

Tiffin River Service Plaza — notable for us as we have a Tiffin motorhome:

Tiffin River Service Plaza

BK for lunch:

BK for lunch

Plus Starbucks coffee:

Starbucks coffee

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

Back on the Ohio Turnpike, aka I-80 and I-90:

Back on the Ohio Turnpike, aka I-80 and i-90

Covered pile in a maintenance area, I guess sand or salt for snow:

Covered pile in maintenance area, I guess sand for snow

Another Ohio Turnpike toll plaza:

Another Ohio Turnpike toll plaza

Another large service plaza:

Another large rest area

Rough road:

Rough road

They weren’t kidding:

They weren't kidding

Yet another large service plaza:

Another large rest area

Exiting the turnpike:

Exiting the turnpike

I-480 East:

I-480 East

Big geodesic dome over the world HQ of ASM International:

Big geodesic dome over the HQ of ASM International

Punderson State Park:

Punderson State Park

Camping check-in station:

Punderson State Park

Our site… once again, not entirely level:

Our site

Shipshewana Campground – South Park

We stayed at Shipshewana Campground – South Park in Shipshewana, Indiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

An overnight stop.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-05-26
Check out: 2025-05-27
1 night

Weather:

Partly cloudy
High temp 71°F, low 52°F
A little wind, gusts to 19 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise

Site:

#105, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
Seemed like a level site; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 75 feet long by 10 feet wide
15 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Fire pit
Small tree
Clean site
Elevation 910 feet, front facing North

Utilities:

50 amp power, very conveniently located
DIdn’t use water or sewer, since only one night

Internet (in usage priority order):

RoamLink: 43-52 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 118 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 17-38 Mbps down, 0.4 Mbps up, 100 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Fairly basic campground

We stayed here for one night on our way through Indiana. Easy in/out access, and the interior roads were easy to navigate. The sites were a bit narrow, but sufficient for a short stop. Our pull-through site was just long enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle without having to disconnect. We camped at Shipshewana Campground – South Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Indoor pavilion and bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Office:

Office

Just an overnight stop, but seemed a decent enough campground, though the sites were a little tight.

Travel from Buckley, Michigan to Shipshewana, Indiana

We drove our coach 220 miles, about four hours of driving, from Buckley, Michigan to Shipshewana, Indiana.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading south:

Map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Detour due to a parade:

Detour due to parade

Downhill:

Downhill

US-131 South:

Route 131 South

Rest area:

Rest area

Nice sploot:

Nice sploot

Heavy traffic:

Heavy traffic

Grand Rapids:

Grand Rapids

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

“The Kalamazoo Promise”:

The Kalamazoo Promise

US-131 South:

US-131 South

“More to Discover in Indiana”, but where’s the pride in the sign?

More to Discover in Indiana

An Amish buggy with a trailer:

Amish buggy with a trailer

Amish buggy

Amish kids buggy

Amish buggy parking:

Amish buggy parking

Our destination:

Our destination

Pull forward to register:

Pull forward to register

Our site for one night:

Our site

Traverse City KOA Holiday

We stayed at Traverse City KOA Holiday in Buckley, Michigan. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A fairly standard KOA, undergoing a major expansion.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-05-18
Check out: 2025-05-26
8 nights

Weather:

Cloudy with a little rain
High temps 47-62°F, lows 38-46°F
Some wind, gusts to 26 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
No train horn noise
Little neighbor noise
For part of the week, noise from earthworks on new campsites
Plus compost smells from the topsoil when the wind came from that direction

Site:

#140, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Mostly level site; a little high on driver side and front; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 100 feet long by 10 feet wide
25 feet to neighbor on passenger side
No neighbor on driver side; about 15 feed to road
Just grass between sites
Patio table and chairs on concrete patio
Fire pit
Young trees
Clean site
Elevation 1030 feet, front facing NW

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
55 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 218-260 Mbps down, 15-20 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
T-Mobile: 500-560 Mbps down, 13-16 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: 30 Mbps down, 3-6 Mbps up, 10 ms ping
AT&T: 33-77 Mbps down, 0.5-1.5 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up, 35 ms ping

Amenities:

Garbage pickup from site
Pool
Pizza, firewood, ice delivery to site
Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Decent KOA undergoing expansion

While we were in the park, they were in the process of doing earthmoving and site preparation for an additional 60 or so 50A full-hookup sites, some of which will be seasonal. As a result, we had to deal with construction noise and smell for a few days, which detracted from the experience. But the campground is nice, with some extra amenities and touches that made it stand out a bit from a typical KOA (pizza, wood, and ice delivery to your site, for instance). We had a deluxe patio site, which was about 100 feet long, so plenty long enough for our motorhome and tow vehicle (with room for another if we’d needed it). The patio had a table and chairs, as well as another seating area, even though it was too cold and rainy during our stay to want to sit outside much. We camped at Traverse City KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Venture into Traverse City: Rare Bird Brewery offers excellent food and beverages (the Schmackintosh cider is a favorite). The Omelette Shoppe offered delicious breakfast and brunch options.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

A nice patio, that we didn’t use as the temperature was unseasonably cold during our stay:

Patio

Earthworks for new sites in front of our site:

Earthworks for new sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Playground:

Playground

Jump pads:

Jump pads

Dog park:

Dog park

Shade garden (which I added as a PokéStop for you Pokémon Go players out there!):

Shade garden

The construction noise and smells were a little annoying, but other than those, this was a nice enough campground; we’d be happy to stay here again in the future.

Travel from St Clair to Buckley, Michigan

We drove our coach 323 miles, about five hours of driving, from St Clair to Buckley, Michigan.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:

Map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

I-69 West:

I-69 West

Rest area:

Rest area

Flint Strong water:

Flint Strong

North towards Saginaw:

North towards Saginaw

I-75 North:

I-75 North

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin on the dash:

Paladin on the dash

Route 10 West:

Route 10 West

Speed Limit 75, Truck Speed 65, Minimum Speed 55:

Speed Limit 75, Truck Speed 65, Minimum Speed 55

Rest area:

Rest area

I like this style of passing lane, where the dotted line strongly suggests moving right:

Passing lane

Arriving at KOA:

Arriving at KOA

Baseball: Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox

We attended a game of the Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox, playing at the Tigers ballpark, Comerica Park.

Jenn’s game summary:

The Tigers completed a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox on a pleasant evening in Detroit. Nice stadium with a couple of fun things (carousel with tigers instead of horses and a baseball-themed Ferris wheel). Tarik Skubal pitched very well and efficiently—11 strikeouts and only one walk. Amazing homerun robbery with assist (scoring: F9-8) by the Red Sox to steal a run from Kerry Carpenter that will be in the highlight reels for years. Exciting steal and advance on a throwing error for some 9th inning heroics by the Tigers and a walk-off single to end it—a fun game.

An interactive map of the ballpark:

Entrance, with lots of tigers:

Entrance with lots of tigers