Table with a View

One of the things on my daughter's "Must Do" list for our trip was eating dinner in the revolving restaurant atop the Skylon Tower. Since $50 - $60 entrees were in the budget, we opted for a non-rotating buffet lunch.

The food was good,

the company was delightful,

 

and the view from our table was exquisite.

We lucked out; we could see both the Canadian falls and the American falls from our table.

 

My daughter decided that the non-rotating option was best because we got to look at the falls for our entire meal. 

"The rotating restaurant  goes around once each hour mom, so we would have only been facing the falls for part of our lunch." 

I was glad she found a silver lining in not eating on the rotating level. I admire that about her - she is usually really good at finding a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

After dessert we headed up to the Observation Deck,  775 feet above the falls, to take in the spectacular view. It was a neat place to spend an afternoon...

When in Rome

Or should I say, "When in Canada..."

When we travel, we always try to avoid the food we can easily eat at home. So, of course, as soon as Allen discovered this place, we had to try it.

If you've never tried poutine, it's a dish that originated in Quebec in the 1950s. It's quite simple really - just french fries, brown gravy and cheese curds. But not at Smoke's Poutinery; they have an unending number of varieties. Allen got poutine topped with pulled pork and the kids and I all tried Mexican poutine - imagine nachos made with french fries instead of chips.

It may not look it, but it was delicious.

You Guessed It

We spent some time on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls! And of course, while we were there we had to be typical tourists.

One Guess

Any guesses on where we went exploring recently?

Parade Fun

This year S and I didn't just watch the Lilac Parade, we were in it. S was with the group from the Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House. He volunteered there last summer and loved it so much that he is working there this summer. He may not look 100% thrilled to be in that bee costume, but trust me he had a great time. It still hasn't really hit me yet that he is actually old enough to have a real summer job!

Photo courtesy of Straits Pride

I walked with Straits Pride - a new advocacy group for the LGBTQ community in the Straits area.  This was our first year in the parade and everyone was excited by how supportive the crowd was. As an ally, I'm thrilled to be on the board of directors of this nonprofit, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Busy

It may have taken me the better part of three weekends, but I finally have all the plants in the garden.

Some of them I didn't have to plant; they popped up on their own. Who am I to argue with Mother Nature? Now if I  could just convince her to send some lady slippers my way.

Summer

My classroom is all packed up and today summer officially began!

Not So Secret

After a wonderful tour of the hotel, my students and I set out to find Grand Hotel's Secret Garden. It was stunning. Though I am quite curious what will be there after the spring flowers fade. I guess I'll have to find my way back there later this summer to see...

Sweet

One of my former students snuck into the Teacher's Lounge during Teacher Appreciation Week and hung this up.

Such a sweet young man...

Just Another Day

Ever since we put the snowmobiles away, I've been walking to and from school. I started just because my bike needed to be tuned up, but when I noticed how good I felt I kept it up. Over the past couple of months I've averaged about 12,000 steps and a little over five miles each day. (Two of those are walking  to and from school.) Plus, I've lost six pounds - which is great encouragement to keep it up.

Lovely

I had a lovely walk to school this morning.

It had just starting raining and my walk was delightful. It may sound silly, but sometimes I find a lot of joy in the little things - things like that wonderful rainy-day smell and the sound of raindrops hitting my umbrella.  The gorgeous pink sky was just a bonus.

Family Affair

This April the Mackinac Island Community Theater, with the support of the Mackinac Arts Council, put on a production of Bye Bye Birdie. The kids and I had never heard of Bye Bye Birdie, but after a viewing of the 1963 Dick Van Dyke film, my son decided he wanted to audition. I wasn't surprised. He really enjoyed being in Our Town last winter, and I remember how much he loved being in High School Musical, Jr. back when he was in second or third grade. (He was the nerd who liked dance, and oh so adorable.)

In Bye Bye Birdie he played Randolph, the younger brother of the girl Birdie is supposed to kiss before going into the Army. S was thrilled to have gotten a role with spoke lines and singing solos.

My daughter wanted to participate, too, but there was no way she was getting up up on that stage in front of people. She found her niche in the back - painting sets and running the spotlight. The best part for her was, as a member of the stage crew, she got to wear a radio head set. And a shirt; she was really excited about her Crew shirt. (She's been planning the T-shirt quilt she wants me to make when she goes off to college.)

Allen ran the light board. He and several other people actually spent the winter completely rewiring the theater - installing the new light and sound system. It was hours and hours of work, but it made a huge difference in the quality of the show.

I also worked backstage - on the costume crew. I did what I could to make costumes and be on hand for repairs. It made for a few exhausting weeks for us, but as a family, we thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm quite certain we will reprise our roles in the Arts Council's next production.

Surprised

The last time I was shopping on the mainland, the kids and I were excited to discover these cookies. When the kids looked closer and noticed they were oatmeal cookies, their excitement significantly diminished and the bag went back on the shelf.

Apparently, it is the  opinion of my children that no cookies are better than oatmeal cookies. How is that possible? I would think that some cookies beat no cookies every single time!

Cookies for my Nerdlet

My daughter needed a D&D worthy treat to take to school for her birthday.*  Of course, I didn't have a 20 sided die cookie cutter in my collection, but Thingiverse came to my rescue. I just downloaded the cookie cutter file and printed it with my 3D printer. (Thingiverse is an online repository for 3D printable things.)

Didn't know I had a 3D printer? Read more here. 

*We may be one of the last schools left that allow homemade birthday treats. Living in a community of only about 500 year-round residents, where everyone knows everyone else, can have its advantages!

Dungeons & Dragons Birthday

It's hard for me to believe my daughter is now a teenager! Thirteen...

This year she asked for a Dungeons & Dragons themed party. This winter her dad started running a game for the kids and a couple of their friends, so she's been all about D&D lately.

 

For this dinner, I tried to make the dining room look like a dungeon, complete with chains and lurking baby dragons. Each guest got a character and had to roll the dice several times during the meal. (The kids loved watching Grandma roll for initiative.)

This birthday makes me think back to the first birthday K had after I started blogging - her third. 

Back then I wrote, "K is such a little person now - full of personality and confidence. Despite my best efforts, she is not an adventurous eater and bread in its many forms is her favorite food. She loves baby dolls, being read to, her new little princesses, pretending to be a puppy, her umbrella and her pillow. And I love her with all my heart and soul. Despite all her faults (that all came from her father - not me!) - her temper, the battles over cleaning up the toys, and her heavy handedness when she deals with her brother, I adore her. She is my little bug, and she's three."

As much as things have changed, others have stayed the same. She still loves books, walking in the rain and she still fights cleaning up. She's a wonderful artist, hasn't met a stuffed animal she doesn't love and is usually able to find the silver lining when she has a bad day. I'm regularly impressed with her vocabulary, her quick wit and her good grades. I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming.

Happy birthday, K. I love you!

Another Sign of Spring

Just a little peek at the view outside my classroom window this afternoon. 

I never tire of watching the freighters pass through the Straits. The snow, on the other hand, I am totally done with!

Out with the Old

Somewhere around northern Michigan I lost a four. I knew the State of Michigan would not appreciate my horrible lapse in license plate etiquette, so I popped into the Secretary of State last time I was on the mainland. The lovely woman at the counter was quite surprised at how badly the plate was peeling. Surprised until she checked the computer system and saw that we'd had that plate on our van for ten years. Apparently license plates are supposed to be replaced every ten years anyway, so the S. O. S. replaced it for free. I inquired about getting the car replaced instead, but the lady at the counter was not amused. Undoubtedly it was the 150th time she'd heard that same joke..

Good News

When I checked my phone at lunch today I noticed this wonderful text. The Huron is up and running and will start passenger service tomorrow! It is officially spring on Mackinac...

Halloween 2018, Late as Usual...

Why is it that I never seem to be able to post about Halloween near Halloween? It always seems to take me months and I'm not sure why. Anyway...

Last year the kid's decided they both wanted to be characters from the Five Nights at Freddy's video game.  K found this "tutorial" for a Freddy Fazbear mask on line and she and Allen built her mask out of a flower pot, PVC pipe hangers, sponges and felt. As tutorials go, it was seriously lacking. Luckily it was enough to get them started and they managed to muddle through the missing parts of the directions. S wanted to be a marionette character from the game and had an absolute riot creeping people while he trick-or-treated.

I'm glad Halloween is still alive and well in our house. Now that the kids are in seventh and eighth grade, I know it is only a matter of time before the decide to opt out of trick-or-treating. Although, it may be hard for my sugar-loving kiddos to turn down the candy haul, which for 2018 was 9.6 pounds each. (The weighing of the candy is a family tradition.)

 

Cookie Time

I bet Mackinac Island is one of only a couple of places where Girl Scouts deliver their cookies by snowmobile! 

We want to send a big "Thank you!" to Fresh Air Aviation for donating the freight cost to fly the cookies to the island. The Mackinac Island Girl Scouts appreciate your support!