Day One
After extensive and detailed research, followed by weeks of committee discussions, along with a really close ballot, it was determined that the 2025 Paddle Pedal and Coffee Tour would be in Michigan.
That’s not really quite true. I found two kayak events in Michigan spaced a week apart in mid-July so we figured, what the heck. Let’s give it a try.
Our tentative plans would be to stay in the southern/central area of the “Lower Peninsula”. We would visit well-known locations such as Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Detroit.
It wasn’t going to be a terribly long drive so we left the house around 8:30 on Friday and soon made our first coffee stop in Lexington IL, just 30 minutes into the trip. Essential Coffee is located downtown Lexington, just five minutes off the interstate.
SIP Coffee House was our next stop in Highland IN. We got some cookies and carrot cake to-go. Eating Carrot cake while driving takes some practice–and some assistance!After checking into our hotel in Grand Rapids, we took the short drive to Lowell MI to check out the festival and get an idea on where our paddle race would take place the next morning.
We walked around the River Walk Festival. There were quite a few booths and tents either selling or promoting their products.
We dined at Flat River Grill in Lowell. The food was good but the service was slow. It was very busy due to the festival. I suspect that the wait for food isn’t normally that delayed.
We scoped out the boat ramp and start area where the paddle race would be the next morning and then made the 20 drive minute drive back to our hotel in Grand Rapids.
It was at this point that we realized the van had a more serious problem than we first thought. Let me provide some context.
Our 2019 Dodge Caravan has 140,000 miles. It runs and drives great and provides stable transportation for the boats strapped on top as well as the bikes hanging on the back. Other than routine maintenance and normal wear items, the van has had no problems or issues. It’s a good reliable vehicle. EXCEPT on Paddle Pedal and Coffee Tours. Then it decides to act up.
Nothing catastrophic. Just unwelcome surprises. In South Dakota, it was a road hazard in a construction zone that caused a flat tire on a Saturday evening in 100 degree heat.
It was also a flat tire in Kentucky that put us in a Walmart Auto on a Sunday morning.
This time, it was the brakes. We had noticed as we left our home at the start that the rear brakes were a little squeaky. This is normal for us-the rain causes rust to form on the rotors but is quickly worn off once the van is in motion. We thought the ‘grinding’ we heard as we started the trip was just the rust and would go away.
It did not. The grinding persisted each time we stopped. It wasn’t that bad, the brakes were working just fine so we pushed on. But each time we stopped it was getting louder.
Leaving Lowell that night they got even louder. So much so that people were looking at us as we left. We were being ‘that van’.
We started getting a little nervous on the drive back to Lowell.
Cliff hanger!