Excursion: Castle Rock Ponds

My family is bound to love  a place where ponds, frogs,

and fish can be found.

My husband especially loves Castle Rock Ponds because it is off the beaten path so we rarely if ever see other people while we're there. Plus it is so close to home it's perfect for an afternoon getaway.

Art Rocks the Boat

With so many public schools across the nation cutting art and music programs, I am so glad that the Mackinac Island Public School isn't one of them.  Sure, the budget has been reduced, but my children (soon to be second and third graders) both participate in art and music. Which, by the way, they love! Miss M, who teaches the art and music classes at our school, is amazing - both of my children regularly come home very excited to tell me about the current art project, or singing one of the songs from the upcoming music program. In fact, I had heard quite enough of "Polar Puppy living at the North Pole. Santa's best friend living at the North Pole." Over and over again last Christmas. My old college roommates are laughing at this point insisting that it's Karma for me torturing them by playing the same Barenaked Ladies songs over and over again, but I digress...

One of the great things about Mackinac Island is the Mackinac Arts Council. Not only do they offer weekly movies and live concerts throughout the summer, but they work to raise money to supplement the budget at our school to insure that art and music classes for island kids continue. This year, one of the fundraising events was Art Rocks the Boat.

Just imagine a floating cocktail party aboard an Arnold Line "traditional ferry". There was food, drinks, and lots of great conversation. Supporting the arts was never so much fun...

Maze of Mirrors: A Special Treat

The Maze of Mirrors is fairly new on Mackinac. I can't remember exactly when they opened, but ever since it opened the kids have really wanted to visit. Much to their dismay, I've not been willing to pay the entrance fee (which I thought was $8.00 each ) for just a few minutes of fun. It seemed a bit pricey to me - I mean I'd pay that much for a two hour movie. Well, yesterday, I caved...

The kids have been diligently working on GRASP all summer; GRASP is the summer school program offered by our school. As a parent I wanted to avoid the summer learning loss that I see in many of my students, so I've enrolled my two in  the program each year. Anyway, they both worked so hard this summer - mostly without complaint, so I wanted to do something special as a reward. (And as a motivator, since GRASP will be on the agenda again next summer.) I suggested going out for ice cream, but S and K had other plans. They both immediately asked, "Can we go to the Maze of Mirrors?  Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

How could I refuse?

When we got there I was pleasantly surprised; I expected to have to shell out twenty-four bucks for the three of us to get in, but they had reduced the price to $5.00 each.  S and K loved it! We had a great time - especially when they managed to discover "the fun room."

Nothing like crazy carnival mirrors give you a serious case of the giggles. We had a great time at the Maze of Mirrors. It really is quite well done. It truly is a maze - you've got to walk with your hands out in front of you to avoid walking head first into a mirrored wall. The kids really enjoyed the 20 minutes we spent inside. If you're on Mackinac Island with kids, you may want to take some time to get lost inside...

Mackinac Moment

Tonight we rode home in the rain after dinner with friends. If we're lucky, it will rain all night and then be beautiful again tomorrow. That would make my garden very happy...

Excursion: Geode Hunting

After the 102 degree heat (about 39 C) cooled a bit (into the 80s) we went down to the creek to go geode hunting. I've never found one in Michigan, but apparently down here in southern Indiana, they're very common.

After a quick lesson from grandma, their round shape and nubby texture made them easy to find. Do you see it? The bigger round bumpy rock in the lower right hand corner is a geode.

The kids and I managed to find quite a few.

The next morning we gathered our tools,

and worked out our aggression!

We quickly discovered that the bigger ones were a lot easier to crack than the little ones. For some reason (help me geologists out there,) the bigger ones tended to be hollow where the smaller ones were much more solid.

There's nothing like sparkly crystals to excite my little geologists. And bashing things with hammers, that's pretty fun, too...

A Cool Spot on a Hot Day

It's hot in southern Indiana. The kids and I are trying not to whine about it because 90 (about 32 C) really isn't that hot - it's just hot for us northerners who start to melt when the thermometer hits 80 (about 27 C.) Luckily, Grandma knew a perfect place to "chill out" on a hot afternoon: Bluespring Caverns.

We read the rules,

got our tickets, 

and walked down into the bottom of a large sinkhole. 

Once we were down in the lovely 52 degree (about 11 C) cave we got into a boat and were on our way.  Most of the tour of the cave is done by boat. In fact several sources list Bluespring Caverns, with its three miles of navigable river, as the longest known underground river in the United States. We spent about  an hour exploring it with Jacob, our guide. 

The kids really enjoyed the tour! In addition to seeing interesting formations (straws, flowstone, and stalactites,) we also saw lots of these and these. Sadly, my little camera just wasn't able to capture any decent photos of them in the low light.

We loved the tour of the cave, but the kids were more thrilled about what we discovered above ground.

In the gift shop each one of the kids chose a bag of sand, carried them outside and...

took them to the small sluice way where they could wash away the sand in search of treasures.

Oh my gosh did they ever have fun! Little by little they searched through the sand for rocks and gems.

I was impressed at the number of "treasures" hidden in each bag. Both S and K had considered spending their money on tiny little bags of polished rocks in the gift shop. For the same price as the little bag ($4.95) they ended up with many more rocks, an identification card, and about 30 minutes of fun. The didn't want to leave - they wanted to scoop up the sand from the bottom of the sluice to see if anyone had missed anything.

As you can see, they got quite a few treasures. And that was in only about one fourth of the sand in the bag. They're already asking if we can go back the next time we visit so we can buy the big bags.

*Blogger is giving me fits today. For some unknown reason it is refusing to justify text the way I want it to!. So if this post looks a little wonky, I apologize.

Warning!

For the past several days when we've arrived home late in the afternoon we've found this large fellow diligently guarding our front porch from intruders. Today he actually had an assistant, but his little friend scurried away before my husband could get out his phone to snap a few pictures.

Who needs a neighborhood watch when you've got an attack snake on patrol!

An Island Fourth

After a pretty sunset over the Straits (and in spite of the wind) Mackinac Island celebrated our nation's birthday with a great fireworks display! I had hoped to post these pictures last night, but it was after midnight before I got the kids in bed and I just didn't have the energy.

I love fireworks even more now than I did when I was little. I remember getting on the bus with my mom and riding into downtown Detroit to see the big display in the city. Seems like so long ago...

These days part of the fun for me is watching my kids and listening to their comments. My son was in complete awe last night. 

He must have yelled, "Awesome!" 50 times last night. I must say, I have to agree. I'm just always sad when they're over - I could sit and watch for hours... Couldn't you?

Excursion: Engineer's Day

 

Engineer's Day, the last Friday in June, is the only day each year the locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, are open to the public. Now that the kids are seven and eight, we thought they might be old enough to appreciate a visit up there.

Our timing was perfect! Just as we walked up to the locks the John D. Leitch (a 600 footer {about 182 M} out of Toronto) pulled in. The lock closed behind her and the water was slowly pumped out. Ships passing through from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, or vice versa, must pass through the locks because of the falls on the St. Mary's River. In the river there's a drop of 21 feet (about 6.4 M).  When we got home I started reading up on the locks and I was surprised to see that they are the busiest lock system in the world. Even though they're closed during the winter, over 10,000 ships pass through the Soo Locks each year. And, they're free! I thought for sure there would have been a toll; I mean they can't have been cheap to build.

You can see the difference between the high water of Lake Superior and the low water of Lake Huron below. The photo on the left is at the level of Superior while the photo on the right shows the water level of Lake Huron. The kids thought it was pretty cool that when the lock doors are closed they could walk right over them. K noticed that right in the middle she needed to step from on door to the other and there was a small gap between the two. She didn't like it, but as long as I took that step first she was OK. 

 

We waited patiently until the lower door opened and the freighter passed through into Lake Huron. The kids couldn't believe how close we were to that gigantic ship! They don't look quite so massive when they are out in the freighter channel.

After she cleared the lock she was on her merry way to places unknown...

 For us it was time to head over to the second open house of the day over at the Hydroelectric Plant.

It just amazes me that those generators, installed in 1902, are still running. They even had one shut down with all the parts labeled so the kids could see how it worked. Housed within the plant is Lake Superior State University's Aquatic Research Lab, so the kids could see where LSSU students raise and then release Atlantic Salmon into the St. Mary's river. We even got to watch for fish on their  "fishcam." You can check it out here.

Despite the clouds and spotty rain, we enjoyed Engineer's Day - especially our lunch at Zorba's Greek / American restaurant. (I'd link back to their website, but they don't have one.) It was the best meal we've had in a long time! I doubt we'll do this every year, but I'm sure we'll go back again when the kids are a little older. To me, this has "science fair project" written all over it.

Proud Mama

The other day as I was working in my sewing room I heard, "Mama, can I sew with you today?"

"Of course you can," I answered, "what would you like to make?"

"Can I make a horse?"

I found some leftover material and a quilting hoop, she drew a picture of a horse on the fabric, and I showed her how to stitch around her drawing. (She didn't notice that the horse has six legs until after she was done.) I threw her finished piece into a Dollar Store frame I had laying around and we had a masterpiece. Mama wanted to keep it - after all it was her first sewing project, but she was adamant about giving it away.

She insisted, "I want to give it to Lorma."

"OK, but I'm curious - why Lorma?" I really was curious. There are lots of adults she adores and I wondered why Lorma got to be the lucky one.

"Because Mama," she said, "Lorma knows how to sew. She'll know how hard I worked to make this for her." How could I argue with that?

So a few days later we went over to Lorma's house to give her the horse. Our timing was perfect - when we walked into the house we found her sitting at her sewing table; the prefect place to get her gift. It now hangs in her entry way.

At first I was disappointed that K wanted to give her creation away, but now I am thrilled. Sure, she could have kept it and hung it in her bedroom, where she (and I) would have enjoyed it. But giving it away made Lorma feel loved and helped K learn how wonderful it feels to give of one's self. Not to mention that wonky, lime green, six-legged horse puts a smile on everyone's face who walks in and gives it that "why-is-that-hung there" look, because they get to hear the story of why K wanted Lorma to have it.