My Kind of Shopping

This week we were lucky enough to find the Iceland Red Cross Second Hand Shop. It was a lovely little shop complete with a rack of second hand, hand-knit Icelandic sweaters.

The prices were significantly higher than second hand stores in the US, but the used sweaters were much less expensive than the new ones. 

Today 8,000 Icelandic Króna (ISK) was equal to $65.64. A new sweater, of the same style at the Handknitting Association of Iceland's shop was about 28,500 ISK (about $233.00.) The new sweaters were gorgeous, but we wanted to check out the used ones before we bought something new.

I'm glad we checked out the Red Cross shop. My mom found two sweaters, I found a shawl and I enjoyed getting a peek at just how creative Icelandic knitters can be.

Land of the Midnight Sun

It's true, Iceland is the "Land of the Midnight Sun." I took this picture through my bedroom window last night, a little before midnight. It wasn't as bright as it is at midday, but it certainly wasn't what I would call dark either. I'd describe it as more like twilight - like it is on Mackinac at about 8:30 or 9:00 this time of year. This morning the sun was up again before 5:00, though I wasn't...

Getting There is Half the Fun, Right?

We're in Iceland! (Well, the kids, my parents and I are - my poor husband had to stay home.) I'm still pinching myself - we're really here!  All went well with the beginning of our journey to Iceland. The horse-drawn taxi was on time, we crossed into Canada at the Soo easily, and our flight to Toronto was early. And then we saw this in the Toronto airport:

Ugh! Cancelled... really?

So we walked up to the counter to investigate our options. While checking her computer the lovely Air Canada Lady looked quite perplexed.

"Hmmmmmmmmm. It's not cancelled," she said, "You're just going to stop in Newfoundland to refuel." She assured us the board was wrong and told where to find our gate. A while later an announcement came over the loud speaker:

"Due to the weather conditions in Iceland, there is a possibility the plane will be diverted. If that happens, the closest airport is in Scotland. The additional fuel we are picking up at Deer Lake is  to get the plane to Scotland, if necessary. We will keep you apprised of the situation throughout your flight."

So, we waited and listened for announcements. The Toronto airport is quite nice, so the wait wasn't bad at all. The airplane was another story. We flew on an Airbus 319M, which was the most uncomfortable plane I've ever flown on. My poor dad spent the entire flight with his knees wedged into the seat in front of him because there just wasn't room for his legs.  My dad is six feet tall, so I have no idea how they seat people who are over six feet tall on the plane. Luckily, my daughter and I had an empty seat in our row so we got to spread out a little. 

We made it; safe and sound, and after a little sleep we get to start exploring this amazing country.

Impressed

My daughter loves to draw. She often does it after dinner, when the screens have been shut off and everyone is settling down for the evening. She also loves to read. Recently she has started free-hand drawing some of her favorite book covers. I may be a little bit biased, but I think she's pretty darn good...

Bliss

My husband took the kids camping, near Cheboygan MI., this weekend. They had a blast fishing and paddling in the inflatable kayak. My daughter had such a zen moment out on the lake, she remained completely unaware of the nuclear devastation happening in Detroit...

Home

Both kids got home from camp yesterday. Yeah! 

One guess what I'll be doing today. Yup, about six loads of laundry. After hearing about the great week they both had though, it's 100% worth it.

Bird Kingdom Niagara

Bird Kingdom was on my son and daughter's "must do" list for Niagara Falls, and we were not disappointed. It was a splendid place to spend the afternoon. There were delightful displays of birds in their natural habitats as well as birds you could handle. The best part was, there was no additional charge to hold the birds. The kids were thrilled!

 

My favorite part was feeding the lorikeets. As soon as we were given the little had the cups of nectar, we were swarmed. It was great fun.

I Think We're Gonna Get Wet

As we got ready to board the Hornblower (the Canadian version of the Maid of the Mist) they gave everyone red poncho raincoats. They were going to help a little, but it didn't matter because we came prepared with full rain gear, including boots.

Heading down into the mist seemed like the perfect thing to do on a dreary rainy day at the falls. (Our only rainy day.)

The power of the water coming over the falls was even more evident when we viewed them from below.

 

It amazed me just how much wind the falling water created. I was very glad we packed our rain gear. If we hadn't, we would have been completely soaked. The mist combined with the wind, made it seem like an October storm. A wonderfully fun storm. Most of the other people were drenched from the knee down.

The Hornblower was a great experience. It made me think back to when I rode the Maid of the Mist when I was about 10. Good memories...

And actually, except for our hair, we stayed dry.

Watch Out

Beware of the wild dinosaurs roaming around Niagara Falls. The T-Rex especially; he tends to get quite testy if you refuse to share your Beaver Tail with him.

Delicious

If you visit the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and have a sweet tooth, be sure to stop at Beaver Tails. They make delicious pastries shaped like, what else, a beaver tail.

We had hoped to enjoy one for breakfast, but since they don't open until noon we had to settle for a mid-afternoon snack instead.

It was so big, the kids and I split one. It was delicious and well worth the wait.

Poetic Visions 2019

A month or so ago the Mackinac Island Public School students got a chance to exhibit their poetry, art and photography at the Poetic Visions of Mackinac exhibit. Both of my kiddos were happy to participate. Each piece of art and the corresponding poem revolved around the this year's theme - "The Seasons of Mackinac."

Both S and K chose winter as their favorite season; and they both won awards. S for his photograph and K for her poem. I was so impressed with all the work entered in the exhibit. The students' writing abilities have really grown over the past three years.

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...