“At Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender,” are the opening lyrics of ABBA’s hit single “Waterloo”, so that even listeners who slept through History class will understand what the central metaphor of the song is.
Waterloo is also the name of a state recreation area northeast of Jackson, Michigan. It is where I am camping tonight, in the Portage Lake unit. Like Fort Custer last night, it’s far from capacity, which I suppose is to be expected on a weekday. It’s a shame, because even with abysmal fuel economy of these apartments on wheels that most “campers” use, it’s a pretty inexpensive vacation, especially this close to…pretty much every major city in the state. Their loss. I reserved a site far from the beach, figuring it would be quieter; the sites near the beach are mostly taken, however.
The detour thru Irish Hills was pleasant enough. Not exactly “scenic” but enough trees and turns to make it more enjoyable than straightlining between cornfields and the occasional crowd of beef. The lakes I saw were mostly of the surrounded-by-cottages/homes variety: more likely to be appreciated by tourists staying at lakeside hotels to go boating than by me.
