Our Last Day in Michigan

Thursday was to be our last day in Charlevoix. We went to lunch at a place overlooking the drawbridge.

Afterward we went to the beach to look for Petoskey stones one last time. On our way back to the cabin, there was something in the road. From a distance we couldn't tell what it was. I stopped my car and got out to get a better look.

I'd say it's a turtle, but you could probably talk me out of that. If you'd asked me a day ago if turtles ever have tails that long with big spikes on them, I'd have said NO.

Here's a photo with my kids, showing the scale of this turtle-like thing.  They're keeping their distance.

Biking on Mackinac Island

Early on Wednesday, we set our sights even further north and left Charlevoix for Mackinaw City. There, we caught a ferry to Mackinac Island. Don't let the spelling confuse you. They're both pronounced with the "w" ending.

Here we all are at the dock.

There aren't any cars on the island, which is accessible by private boat or chartered plane, ferries, or you can wait for winter temperatures to freeze the lake and then you can drive over on a snowmobile. We opted for the ferry.

The ride took about 20 minutes. The boats move pretty fast, creating that jet of water off the back as they go.

Once on land, we rented some bikes and took off on a tour of the island. The two older girls had two wheelers, and my youngest rode on a trail-behind attached to my bike.

I was unprepared for the difficulty of this arrangement. I could barely keep balanced in the beginning and thankfully other riders chose to cut a wide berth around us. After the first mile (it was 8 miles to go all the way around) it got easier, and I decided to try taking a photo of the older girls while I rode behind them . . .

That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done, and though I didn't crash while trying I decided it was best not to try it again.

Shortly after taking the picture of the kids we had a few really near misses, brief moments of terror followed by frank amazement that nobody broke and arm or got mangled by oncoming bikers. Every few minutes I'd shout ahead to remind the girls to slow down, stay to the right, get away from the center, use their brakes (rather than their feet on the pavement).  Nerve wracking.

We biked around the eastern side of the island and returned down the center, a path the British took during the war of 1812.

This route took us past the airport, a golf course, a battled field and two cemeteries, and the old fort. The whole trip took us three hours.  In the end, I was proud of how well the kids did and delighted to have avoided serious injury.

We celebrated with ice cream. I decided to have some too, settling on the cherry moose tracks which did not disappoint.

Travers City National Cherry Festival

Festivals. They're mixed bag aren't they? They're crowded and hot and everything costs more than it should. And yet it's an experience and it's fun and it's about being there at a limited-time-only event.

The Travers City Cherry Festival had two sections; a cherry half and a carnival half. The kids couldn't resist the carnival.

Here's my youngest, just before her first ever attempt to pop a balloon with a dart. She got three tries and popped a balloon on her last try. She won a small stuffed whale and could not have been happier about it.

Her sister and cousin had a blast on the rides:

But they decided against the Starship 3000 once they saw how fast it went and how long it would keep them spinning.

Our endurance and our money seemed to run out at about the same time, so we returned to the cherry part of the festival where the kids each chose a cherry treat.

We tried the chocolate covered cherries, cherry jelly beans, and here, the kids are sharing a cherry slushy.  There was so much there--cherry flavored beef jerky, salsas and BBQ sauces, pastries, pies, tarts, licorice ropes and cotton candy.  Cherry everything.

Tiny Tots Beauty Shop

On the morning of the 4th of July, the little kids decided they wanted to play beauty shop. They found many obliging adults to act as canvases for their make-up artwork.

It was fun to look so colorful.

Later, we had to wipe it off before going into Charlevoix's cute little downtown.

First and Second

I neglected to bring my camera to the actual wedding and I regret it. I've grown accustomed to the camera. If it's in my hands I always have something to do, and if I see something I like I can share the memory of it with others.

Katie and Brian's wedding was lovely. There were a handful of children at the reception and they immediately gravitated toward an enormous chess board at the site. I spent a few happy minutes helping some of them play the game. I had to ask a few other adults about some of the rules of chess that I'd forgotten.

Here's my daughter (in the back) with her first cousin on the left and her second cousin on the right.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Terra for taking pictures. I swiped this one from her facebook page.

An Evening at the Botanical Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden has a summer concert series. After 5 pm admission is free and folks begin to arrive with picnic dinners. A few hours later the music starts.

We spent the evening checking out a new exhibit of "tree houses".  There were quite a few neat designs, and all included lots of wood scraps, bark, etc.

The kids liked this one. Here they are on the inside:

Here's another one, a freestanding play house with tree-bark siding.

Soon, we were off to the Children's Garden.

It's one of the kids' favorite parts of the Botanical Garden; full of hands-on, climb-upon exhibits for kids.

This little watercourse illustrates how locks and dams work. In the past, there were boats there too. The boats were gone this time, though.

Then we were off to explore the caves.

Last stop of the day? Snowcones.

Ah, summer.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

One of the highlights of the summer will be my sister's wedding. On Sunday, she stopped by with her fiance, who happens to be extremely good with children. That's fortunate since there are so many in our extended family.

He explained the rules of monopoly to my kids and their cousins and kept the peace during the game that followed.

His overview of the rules included several reminders that you have to pay the price listed on the card, and you have to pay it immediately rather than installments made over time. Apparently there's a new version of monopoly where you can negotiate and pay little by little. I'll have to play that kind of monopoly some time--maybe one of my nieces or nephews will teach me.

Dollywood!

We left Cincinnati and headed further south. On the drive from Detroit, I had the impression that it was basically downhill all the way to Cincinnati. I had the opposite impression on the road into Tennessee. It seemed like Kentucky rolled uphill all they way into the Appalachians.

We got there. The kids swam happily in the pool, just as they had at the past two hotels. Things got even better when grandma and grandpa arrived with the girls' cousin. After the pool, there were snacks and movies and playing and fun and bed.

Because in the morning, there was Dollywood.

There's a lot to tell, but for now these highlight photos will have to do.

Over the River

Monday evening, we left our hotel and crossed the river. Lots of other people were crossing too. There was a Reds game.

On the other side of the river the bridge ends right at the stadium, so it works out for the fans really well.

We had only a few more blocks to go to get to our destination: The Contemporary Arts Center.

This Zaha Hadid structure is home to the UnMuseum, a hands on environment where all the artworks can be handled, interacted with, explored. Monday nights, it's free.

This elephant was made for the blind. The bottom picture on the right shows Stella's reaction to a drawer that roared when she opened it. Below, Danielle running through the exhibit, which thankfully was 100% allowed.

After the museum we went to this lovely garden a few blocks away.

Danielle fell in just after I took this picture. So we walked home with wet, quishy shoes.

The game was still on as we crossed back to our hotel on the other side of the river.

Why Cincinnati?

Why did I go to Cincinnati? I don't have family there. I'd never been there before. I didn't know much about the city. In fact, the only thing I knew about Cincinnati was that their baseball team is called "the reds".

But I'm not much for baseball.

I went to Cincinnati because it was a convenient stopping point on our road trip. I did a little research and found this place:

The Duke Energy Children's Museum.

I was impressed by the art-deco architecture. It was a train station back when Americans used trains, back when we (as a nation) made huge mosaics depicting our own progress and greatness. I'm not sure why I'm sure, but I AM sure we don't do this anymore.

But understandably, the kids were more interested in the exhibit. Here are some highlights:

At this station kids moved rubble (soft foam "rocks") with shovels and bags hung from pulleys and other workers' tools.

Then they pretended to be vets.

That was fun for a long time.

And then, we played at the water tables.

It was a good thing there were water proof jackets to keep the kids dry.

When we were there, they had a special activity; Independence Day hat-decorating.

Turned out well, I think.


If you want to visit the museum in Cincinnati, you can visit their web site for more information.