Enjoying a little downtime at home

Fall really is a beautiful time to be in Michigan.  We had a few cool nights in the 40s followed by several 90 degree days, but the rest of the time the weather has been great --  high 70s/low 80s during the day, high 50s at night, and abundant sunshine!

 

One of my favorite fruits is in season . . . and it’s just about time for apple-picking!

Too bad Nicolas isn’t here with us – he loves this time of year – but he’s finally enjoying some nicer temperatures in South Carolina, too!  We’ll save him some apples, and I’ll make him a pie when we’re there for a visit!

I started back to work on September 1st (temporarily, at least) and Bryce got started with his online classes.  We’re getting our doctor, dentist, eye doctor, financial planner, hairdresser and vet appointments all taken care of . . . and Bryce has a new look!

 

He didn’t get to any MSU football games this year, but he did get to one high school game and he’s got a couple more that he wants to go to.

He took the ACT again, and he has one more college visit and application to do, and then we just wait & see.

He’s back into his workout schedule, and happy to have a basketball hoop in the campground . . . and even other guys around to challenge him once in a while!

 

 

 

We’ve had lots of family get-togethers, and are helping my Mom and Tom’s Dad get some work done around their houses.  Tom is also doing some work around the campground to pay for our site, so that’s a bonus – and it keeps him out of trouble!!

 

This is our third year here at Camp Lord Willing, and we’ve settled in pretty comfortably!

There’s a really nice group of seasonal campers here that we’ve gotten to know pretty well, so we’ve been enjoying quite a few social gatherings – steak roasts, group dinners, campfires, and yesterday we all went to a local bar for their weekday special – half-pound burger, fries and a beer for $5.  Quite a good deal, and it tasted good, too!

It just so happened that Wednesday is classic car night at the North Side Bar & Grill, so we were able to walk around and admire the cars after dinner.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of nice cars,

and the cars guys definitely enjoyed themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful night . . . and I didn’t have to come home from work and cook!  We may have to do that again!

We’re enjoying our time here in Michigan, and getting lots of things done, but our time is quickly winding down and it will be time to head south again!

A beautiful day for boating!

We didn’t make any special plans for Labor Day weekend, but on Friday night I got a facebook message from our friends Nancy and Andy, inviting us to go boating with them on Sunday.  It promised to be a beautiful day, and we had been wanting to catch up with them while we were in town, so of course we said yes.  Nancy runs a daycare in her home, and provided the best care I could ever have found for my two boys, and her husband, Andy, is a retired “Ford guy” – even after the boys left Nancy’s daycare to go to school, we remained friends and have kept in touch over the years. 

We made plans to meet at the marina in Detroit where they keep their boat, at 11am on Sunday.  Their boat had been taken out of indoor storage and placed in the water before we got there.

 

We loaded up and headed out into the Detroit River.  Andy started out by taking us on the tour of the Detroit riverfront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We passed under the bridge to Belle Isle State Park, an island in the middle of the river.  When I was in college, we used to come to Belle Isle to ride bikes and have picnics.  In our last summer of classes, a bunch of us engineering students took a photography class, and we all came to Belle Isle to photograph some of the great old architecture!  It’s a beautiful park, especially now that the state has taken it over and it maintaining it.

 

 

As we made our way south on the river, we passed by the Manoogian Mansion – home of the Mayor of Detroit,

 

and other stately homes along the river.

This one is rumored to belong to Kid Rock.

 

As we got closer to downtown, we could see the Detroit skyline.

 

It looks pretty impressive from the water!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the river is Windsor, Ontario,

 

and the bridge across the river is the Ambassador Bridge.

 

We turned around and started heading north towards Lake St. Clair, leaving Detroit and Windsor behind us.

 

We passed the Coast Guard Station, and entered the lake.

 

There are lots of beautiful estates on the lake,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

including the Edsel & Eleanor Ford Estate.

 

There were a lot of really nice boats out on the lake, too.

 

We floated around for awhile while we ate our lunches and enjoyed the warm summer sun.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we took a cruise through Jefferson Beach Marina,

 

where there was a wedding going on in the gazebo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their reception venue was parked alongside the dock, and we could see the guests lining up to pick up a glass of champagne as they entered the boat.

 

There were lots of beautiful boats in the marina, including this original cigarette boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the marina, we made our way back down the river.

 

Andy pulled the boat up alongside the dock, and got it ready to go back into storage until the next time he takes it out.  That’s a pretty good way to go – the boat stays nice and clean, stored inside out of the elements, and all he has to do is call ahead and they put in in the water for him!

We visited for a little while longer in the “Tiki Bar” before we all headed for home.  It was a beautiful day on the water, and we’re glad that Andy and Nancy invited us to spend the day with them!  Thanks guys!!

Atlanta -- Georgia Aquarium & Centennial Olympic Park

In our determination to find more to do in Atlanta, we decided to check out the Georgia Aquarium.  Our friends, Tim & Denise, and Denise’s Mom and Step-Dad went with us.  The Georgia Aquarium is advertised as being the largest indoor aquarium in the US, and it certainly appeared large and overwhelming as we walked through the entrance.

The large central area is home to the Gift Shop (a.k.a. the Exit, in Disney-style) and the Food Court/Restaurant area, as well as several Customer Service Counters . . . where you can get a map and figure out how to tackle all of the exhibits. 

We decided to start in the Cold Water Quest, home to the Beluga Whales, Penguins and other cold water creatures.

The Beluga Whales were so cute, and probably my favorite of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one really liked the little kids, and kept coming right up to the glass to look at them!

We dragged ourselves away from the belugas and continued on to the penguins, who were also very cute,

and then the seahorses and giant crabs.

Tom was wondering how many crabcakes he could get out of that guy!!

 

By the time we exited the Cold Water Quest, it was almost noon and our plan was to get our packed lunch out of the car and go over to Centennial Olympic Park to watch the Fountain of Rings Show at 12:30 and eat our lunch, and then be back in time for the Dolphin Tales Show at 1:30pm.  The others didn’t want to make the walk over to the park, so it was just the 3 of us.

We walked past the World of Coke, heading towards Olympic Centennial Park.

It’s a beautiful park,

 

with lawns and gardens, sculptures,

and the remnants of the 1996 Olympics at the far end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 5 Olympic Torches encircled the Fountain of Rings, along with the flags of all the countries that participated in the 1996 Olympics.

There are benches all around the Fountains, so we sat and ate our lunch while we waited for the 12:30 show. 

The fountains run all the time, and kids run around in the water, but several times each day, the area is closed and the fountains are choreographed to music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water show was really good, and only 15 minutes long so we easily made it back to the Aquarium in time for the Dolphin Show at 1:30.

We found the others when we got back inside, and managed to get seats together in the auditorium.  We had to sit pretty high up, but we were right in the center, so the view was pretty good.

 

The “storyline” was a little hokey, but the dolphin performers were really amazing!  We weren’t allowed to use a flash, and with the low lighting and quick movements of the dolphins, it was difficult to catch many good pictures.  I got a couple marginal ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all really enjoyed the show, and it’s definitely not to be missed . . . and they only offer it once per day.

After the show, we walked through the other exhibits.  First was the River Exploration, with lots of colorful fresh and saltwater fish from around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were also otters,

alligators (which we couldn’t see very well through the crowd, but we’ve seen enough of them in Florida!), and the ever-popular Piranha.

They really look harmless!

Next up was the Tropical Reef, where we saw more colorful fish,

and even more colorful coral.

Our last stop was the Ocean Voyager Exhibit, which is the largest tank in the world.  It’s 3 football fields long, and I can’t remember how many gallons of water it holds, but it’s a LOT.

They have 4 whale sharks in this tank, which are the largest fish in the ocean.  These guys are still juveniles, too – they are not anywhere near full grown yet!

There are also several giant manta rays, and they were really interesting to watch – so graceful as they just glide along in the water.

There was one that kept doing somersaults in front of the glass – it was pretty cool!

The other fish in the tank just follow along behind the big whale sharks . . . apparently they are not threatened at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have sat and watched these guys all afternoon. 

 

We were just in time to watch the whale sharks get fed, and if they hadn’t had somebody there talking about it, we almost wouldn’t have noticed.  There were people in rafts on the surface dropping scoops of food into the water for each of the 4 whale sharks.  They swam along behind the raft with their mouth open, sucking in the food and water.  They are called filter feeders, because the filter the food out of the water and then blow the water back out through their gills.  It was pretty cool to watch!

 

 

Bryce was getting hungry then, too, so we decided to get an early dinner of burgers and shakes at Johnny Rockets across the street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a pretty good day spent playing tourist in Atlanta!