Dinosaur park.......................

This past weekend Tristen came home for the weekend. Laura H dropped him off Saturday morning and we were to take him home Sunday afternoon. Well it rained all day Saturday, so what to do? We had taken out his piggy bank. I had needed change for my yard sale. So We emptied out his piggy and what we did was give him the amount to spend at Toys R US. Actually we gave him a bit more so the day was saved. He chose his toys and was happy for the rest of the day.



Sunday turned out to be a lovely day and so I called ahead to be sure the Dinosaur park was open, it was and the weather was great. So I called Laura to have Reina ready and off we went. It is a 3 hour drive over to Alpena. Wow, it sure does not seem so far when I go with Edna. Edna says that's because we are yapping all the way. Gerry is not a talker. The kids dozed off so it was a nice quiet trip out. We got lost a couple of times, well not exactly lost, we just had to turn around a few times.
When we arrived they hit the floor running.



This one got the boy

But he got away

I personally though the models were rather cheesy but the kids loved it.

They were so wound up they made it around in record time I think

They were just so excited.

I also bought a pass so they could do the mini golf. They whizzed around that too they were eager to get to the shop.

They didn't slow down even at the golf.

They just wanted to get to the shop. Posing here with Paul Bunyon and they have their chosen stuffie.

We stopped at KFC and bought something to eat before heading home. Tristen wanted to go back to our house. He said my house is home not Laura's house, but that will pass soon enough as he settles in. I am not sure when he will come again. Time will tell. It's his birthday next week and I am sure they will have a party for him. I have had a party every year so far, so this is sad too. I won't be going this year and neither will Laura. We will just have cake and ice cream next time we see him and get him a gift then.

A day without kids.........................

First day of school and Laura and I were out and about relishing our freedom. It was a beautiful morning and we went to our usual beach to look for Blue Stones. We knew that a storm was coming in the afternoon but were willing to risk it. They said it would be in the 90s later in the afternoon.

We were about ready to quit, aching backs and all that. The sun hot on shoulder and so on. Then we began to hear thunder. I was hoping for some good pictures but we didn't see the lightening. We carried along the beach for a time watching the clouds. Some beautiful dogs on the beach this day.

The wise ones lowered their sails and came in.

This lady took her drink and got in the tube to weather the storm, crazy? Yes I think so.

We decided to have some fun and head into the storm. The next picture is not black and white

It was bad further north but we just got a lot of rain. Still we went to Port Oneida and by then the rain had stopped so I got some pretty shots of the mist in the forests that reminds me of the Smokey Mountains. The old farms looked so pretty



We headed up through the woods on the dirt roads, everything smelled so fresh and lucky for us no wash outs. Hehe dare not loose the muffler again. That would be hard to explain.


we stopped at a couple of farms we had not gone to before. We must go back when it's drier. I did get to take off my swim suit bottom. Wearing jeans and no undies is not comfortable but beat the sand and wetness.


We saw this guy drying off on branch he must have got caught in the rain. He didn't mind us talking to him and taking some pictures.


We went up on a couple of different roads that wind through the forest.


We actually saw someone going the other way. These roads go nowhere, just to abandoned farms and views of the surrounding countryside. We love them.




The deer were out in one of the fields. A doe and two fawns who are growing up. Wish them a good life and successfully getting through hunting season and winter.
We came out of the woods again and saw some Sandhill Cranes. They were grooming themselves, also caught in the rain no doubt


Some more farms. We think about what these places were like when they were bustling with life.
This one had a sort of German look about it with the carvings. There are Bohemian settlements around among others.




We saw some Monarchs. They are getting rare. We used to see fields of them, now its amazing to see two


Well we didn't do so well as storm chasers but we did get to see how pretty it was after the storm

I must say Laura may not be cut out for storm chasing. SHe was eating a muffin and the rain was sheeting down, she freaked when the lightening was close by, but never let loose of her muffin. I forgot she didn't like lightening but we stayed on the road and made it home in sunshine.

A day without kids.........................

First day of school and Laura and I were out and about relishing our freedom. It was a beautiful morning and we went to our usual beach to look for Blue Stones. We knew that a storm was coming in the afternoon but were willing to risk it. They said it would be in the 90s later in the afternoon.

We were about ready to quit, aching backs and all that. The sun hot on shoulder and so on. Then we began to hear thunder. I was hoping for some good pictures but we didn't see the lightening. We carried along the beach for a time watching the clouds. Some beautiful dogs on the beach this day.


The wise ones lowered their sails and came in.

This lady took her drink and got in the tube to weather the storm, crazy? Yes I think so.

We decided to have some fun and head into the storm. The next picture is not black and white

It was bad further north but we just got a lot of rain. Still we went to Port Oneida and by then the rain had stopped so I got some pretty shots of the mist in the forests that reminds me of the Smokey Mountains. The old farms looked so pretty



We headed up through the woods on the dirt roads, everything smelled so fresh and lucky for us no wash outs. Hehe dare not loose the muffler again. That would be hard to explain.


we stopped at a couple of farms we had not gone to before. We must go back when it's drier. I did get to take off my swim suit bottom. Wearing jeans and no undies is not comfortable but beat the sand and wetness.


We saw this guy drying off on branch he must have got caught in the rain. He didn't mind us talking to him and taking some pictures.


We went up on a couple of different roads that wind through the forest.


We actually saw someone going the other way. These roads go nowhere, just to abandoned farms and views of the surrounding countryside. We love them.




The deer were out in one of the fields. A doe and two fawns who are growing up. Wish them a good life and successfully getting through hunting season and winter.
We came out of the woods again and saw some Sandhill Cranes. They were grooming themselves, also caught in the rain no doubt


Some more farms. We think about what these places were like when they were bustling with life.

This one had a sort of German look about it with the carvings. There are Bohemian settlements around among others.




We saw some Monarchs. They are getting rare. We used to see fields of them, now its amazing to see two


Well we didn't do so well as storm chasers but we did get to see how pretty it was after the storm

I must say Laura may not be cut out for storm chasing. SHe was eating a muffin and the rain was sheeting down, she freaked when the lightening was close by, but never let loose of her muffin. I forgot she didn't like lightening but we stayed on the road and made it home in sunshine.