L-o-n-g weekend

It was a l-o-n-g weekend.. and I think that is good.. did a lot of different things and most of them were good... a recap...
Friday went out to dinner at Bonnie's.. food was ok.. had an Oberon with a double cheesburger. Afterwards Amy took the kids to a movie and I went to ride my bike. I started at the powerplant and went West toward downtown.. rode to Tuner/Dodge house and then headed back.. I decided to keep going East and was going to go to the bridge at the Zoo.. well I kept going and before I knew it I was almost to EL.. so I rode to K'zoo street by campus before turning around.. I covered 13 mile by the time I got back.. and my ass was sore - lol.
Sat morning went to Dons for breakfast..went to the parade aferward then home to relax.. decided I would visit my mother for the day, and I would only take Morgan.. that way each kid got some alone time with a parent. Went to the Log Jam for dinner before going and had an Amber Bock with a club sandwich Trip to my moms was not the best.. she fell while I was there, and I am upset about that.
Got home on Sunday and we went to Old Chicago Pizza and caught the end of the Indy 500 and had a Blue Moon with a great thin crust pizza. That evening we were going to Green Door to see a woman Amy works with sing.. but they were the first act and we missed it... so we went to 621 instead.. I always say my wife knows everybody.. she mentioned that she went to school with the guy who owns it now.. and sure enough he was there and they chatted for a while. In the night Amy went to the casio and of course she won - lol
On Monday I got up and cut the lawn, then we packed up and headed for The Henry Ford.. we bought a Family membership, so we can go back anytime in the next year for free :) They have some really cool stuff there. On the way back we stopped at Big Boy for dinner.. the first day without a beer - lol
Now the holiday is over and back to reality!

A quiet week

It has been a quiet week. Only worked for 90 minutes on Monday, Wed shift was cancelled and I will be surprised if I have to work my scheduled shift tonight. Everybody is getting a jump on the holiday and leaving early... unfortunately my boss hasnt checked out.. he is busy working on spreadsheets.
It has been a nice week weather-wise. Got outside with the kids a lot this week. Took them out to the River Trail to ride bikes/scooters.. that ended poorly with Mitch going face first off the scooter. Did it last night with the larger bike which worked better for both kids. Tue we went geocaching at MSU. My first multiple stage cache. We went to 4 locations to get clues used to caculate the final coordinated of the cache.. which was hidden in the woods behind my old dorm. They had fun and it was a beautiful night to be out walking around campus.
The holiday weekend has caught me by surprise.. no real plans, do not want to travel north on any of the holiday weekend this year.. too much traffic, too much construction.. too much hassle for what you get out of it. I do plan on going to the cabin in a few weeks with the kids.. that will be nice, and I dont anticipate any traffic problems!

Detroit's skyline as seen from Comerica Park. Cadillac, Comerica, Guardian, Penobscott, 

Tigers, Sun and relaxation

Went to the Tigers game on Friday.. we were guests of a Vendor in their suite at Comerica. What a great way to see a game! Private viewing box along the 1st base line. Unlimited food and drink in the suite. TV monitors in case you missed something.. Had several people back out in the final hour before the game, so I took my 6 yr old son to the game.. He had a good time at his first MLB game.. I think I have probably ruined him for all other sporting events now - lol.. I did talk about how 'lucky' we were to be in the suite.. and I think he understood. I really like Comerica Park for the views of Detroit! Actually I always enjoy being in Detroit, and I love my GPS that gives me the freedom to move around the city without the fear of getting lost. Despite improvements, Detroit is still a rough town, and there are parts you dont want to be lost in.. With my GPS I can drive anywhere and have the confidence that I know where I am going.. The odd thing is I am starting to get much more familiar with at least the basic layout of the town. Enough to second guess the GPS - lol

On Saturday I did a LOT of yard work.. including trimming all the trees (sometimes with a chain saw). It looks really good. Saturday was beautiful and we grilled, and ate in the breezeway and enjoyed the day. In the evening we went to Sleepy Hollow State park and looked around.. the park is huge.. there is a fair sized lake in the park and an Island in the lake.. we walked over the bridge to the island and walked around the island.. really cool.. there was a foot path, but it is obvious not a lot of people go there.. the trees were largely grown over the path.. I had to duck to go everywhere, while my kids largely walked under the branches. We saw a rabbit and heard lots of birds on our trip around the island which I would guess is close to a mile around. We also checked out the camp grounds as I would like to go there for Fathers day this year and camp out for a night. I was impressed with the grounds and think we would have fun there!
Sunday it rained and was cooler and we generally relaxed. In late morning we went out and did some shopping and stopped at the Barrel for lunch, then a few more stores and headed home.
I have not been reading nearly as much lately, but I have not been working as much either.. I did go to the library yesterday and pick up a couple of books on logging, both first hand accounts.

Mackinac Bridge at night 

Upper Tahquamenon Falls. I think this is my favorite picture.. I used a slower shutter speed so you can see the motion of the water. 

Upper Tahquamenon Falls... Water pours over the 50 foot drop. 

Lower Tahquamenon Falls. The amber color of the water is not rust nor is it muddiness. It is caused by tannin leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the extensive amounts of foam which has been the trademark of theTahquamenon since the days of the voyageurs. 

From the shore of Lake Superior looking back at the Whitefish Point Lighthouse. This is the oldest active lighthouse on Lake Superior, and the bay that the Edmund Fitzgerald was trying to get to when it went down in 1975. 

Nearing the Southern pier and you can barely makes out Northern pier in mist 

Tahquamenon

Ok, I am way behind on posting.. Tahquamenon was very cool. I am so glad that we did that. The weather was bad for most of the weekend... rain on an off.. and cooler... But really not that bad.. it sprinkled on us a few times but never really got caught out in a downpour...
Went up to Mackinaw on Friday night.. Crossed the Bridge on Saturday morning.. the fog was thick and you could barely see from one pier to the next.. stopped in St Ignace to geocache and you could hear the fog horns.
Drove up to Whitefish bay on the shore of Lake Huron.. then back to Paradise for lunch and then to the Falls. Took the 'long' way back through Newberry and down to the Northern shore of Lake Michigan. Nice drive.. and overall a good weekend.
Enough of me babbling.. I will post some pics

COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP

I hear the sirens in the background.. but that is not unusual in our neighborhood.. only a few blocks off the main road. My wife asks if I heard that.. I mumble.. I didnt I am asleep... then I hear the bullhorn 'weknowyouareintherecometothedoor'
Now I am awake! WTF is going on
It is the police yelling at someone.. Find my wife.. it is the house across the street and up 2. So this goes on for about 90 minutes.. asking her to come out.. cop running around the yard... trying (poorly) to negoiate with someone to come out and talk to him. Then there is yelling and crying and a hysterical woman.. all very bizarre... by this time they have cops blocking off the street.. several units at the house.. no street lights so it is hard to see.. but there are a number of cops moving around.
Things seem to settle down and we go back to bed
COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP
hmm.. guess they didnt leave.. it is now about 3 am
LAURA COME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH YOUR HANDS UP
It becomes obvious they have 1 plan.. ask her to come out.. and if she doesnt...
LAURA THIS IS THE EATON COUNTRY SHERIFF, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP
keep repeating it until she does
after an hour or so it changes...
PICK UP THE PHONE THE NEGOIATER WANTS TO TALK TO YOU...
guess she did becuase it gets quiet.. and I fall back to sleep
**BANG**
ok.. awake again... 5 am... then must have knocked the door down... security alarm going off in the background.. lots of yelling.. screaming.. profanity... a sheriff car pulls in the driveway.... 4 or 6 cops pick something up and put it in the car
then all is quiet.. they must have hog tied her... the car leaves
there are about a dozen or so cops walking about look.. talking about knives...
still not sure what happened... maybe she was trying to kill herself?
Found out more this morning.. 'Laura' is the daughter.. I am guessing she is 30ish? About 15 years ago there was another altercation at this house and the cops killed the son after he attacked the police in the basement...
All very odd...
and today I am tired....

3B's Puffer Travel Bug, which I found in an East Lansing, MI geocache 

Geocaching

Been doing some geocaching.. I am really getting into this.. it is a lot of fun! Went out on Monday night and did a couple.. one was a nice walk in the woods, the second one was a quick find by the river.
I am getting excited about the trip this weekend, and plan on doing some geocaching while we are up north. There is a travel bug cache that interests me. A travel bug is a numbered tag that someone buys and drops in a cache. People pick up the tag and move it from cache to cache and log the travels on the website. At this cache they request that you leave a TB to take one... So I got looking at local caches, and found one in East Lansing where someone had dropped off a TB, but did not look like anybody had visited the cache since then (about 1 month ago). The cache was in a part just a few miles from the office.. so after work I went over there and found it with out problems.. AND.. the TB was still there. I am so excited, it is my first TB.. It is a beany baby of a puffer (a water bird) with the TB tag around his neck. The goal of the TB is to see the Great Lakes, which makes me even more excited.. since we are going to the Straits this weekend, I hope to place him in a TB Hotel cache in St Ignace. Then bring another TB back home with me.

I uploaded a pic I took with my phone of the cache and the puffer, you cant see the actual TB tag in this pic, but i will upload others later. This TB started in Ohio, and has been to Indy. Looks like it has been to Grand Haven (Lake Michigan) and it has visited Lake Huron north of Bay City. I will get him to the Straits.. and maybe even to Lake Superior depending on my travels over the weekend.
If the rain passes I will do some more caching tonight, as I do not have to work.

Recap

The weekend went good. Graduation was cool, the kids were good, dinner was better than expected and everybody got along... my other brother-in-law even showed up unexpectedly.
Saturday we went out for breakfast and just relaxed, I had to work baseball in the evening. On Sunday (Mother's Day) I got up with the kids and went out to get some flowers. When wife got up we had everything ready, including the cards/gifts the kids had made. I made breakfast and we took the kids to a movie. In the evening we went out for dinner at Log Jam and on Monday she told me she had a good Mothers Day which makes me happy :)
This week is sprialing out of control.. it is Wed already - lol. Need to start getting ready for the trip up north this weekend.. Good news, Amy is coming with us.. so it will be a real family vacation!
Odds & Ends... On Saturday I re-routed the washer discharge to go into the kitchen drain.. that worked great.. what a difference.. laundry goes so much faster now! On Monday I mowed the lawn, go the tractor jumped, but think I need to charge the battery...

Mood B
Morning Music Ace Frehley

Michigan Memories

Last night I finished Michigan Memories by Larry B Massie, which is book 23 for the year (I checked my numbers last night). I have been ripping through the books this week.. and this one I actually started this week, others I had started earlier and just completed this week.
This was a collection of stories about Michigan in the 1800's. Stove factories in Detroit, Celerey in Kalamazoo, Lumber in the UP. It was an interesting book, and well researched. A few things I had read before, particually about the UP lumbering.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Campground, Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Campground, Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Here is a great page about Tahquamenon. Look for great pictures coming in the middle of the month :)

Here is one of my pictures from Charlevoix. This was taken last fall from Avalanche hill over Boyne City. The book had several pictures from the same location. 

Charlevoix (21)

Last night I finished Charlevoix. I think it was the 21st book I read this year, but I need to check that.. I think I am off on my count..
It is basically a coffee table book, with lots of pictures of the Charlevoix area. The pictures are very professional, and artsy. They were good, but sometimes I thought he was going more for the perfect picture, rather than trying to show the area... The text of the book was by Dianne Foster, and that is where the real joy of the book came. Wonderful history and information on common, and uncommon things in the area. Many of the items I was familiar with, Earl Young homes, Castle, Horton Bay General Store. Some I knew, but did not know the story behind, like the flowers on M-66, and the Coast Guard presence. Others I did not know anything about, like the Indian mission, the Sequota club etc.
I really enjoyed this book... mostly because it is about the area that I love so much!

Busy week, and upcoming trip

I have been thinking about this since the end of April.. but have not said anything yet... guess it is part of my personality.. sometimes I dont talk of things that I want, just incase they don't happen. Next weekend I am going to Tahquamenon Falls in Upper Michigan. I have never been there, actually I have never really explored the UP, so this is my first adventure off the I-75 corridor.
The Falls are the second largest east of the Mississippi, and are about 55 miles north of Mackinaw.
Orignally I wanted this to be a family vacation, but my wife was not interested.. I decided that I wanted to do this and would go regardless. Now she is talking about having a home party on that weekend, so this will work out good. I can leave early Saturday with the kids and she can have the day for fun.
She is done with exams, and will walk on Friday. Looks like her brother will join us for dinner, and I know that makes her happy. Need to get somethings ready for that today.. and of course mothers day is also coming up.. need to find something for that as well.
Last night I got out of working basball.. and I am SO glad.. temp was 40, but felt like 34 with wind and a hint of rain. I got someone else to cover my shift and went in at 6 to work the booth. Feel a bit better today, but just slept in this morning, did not get up early and exercise.

Going Back To Central (20)

Last night I finished Going Back To Central by Lon Emerick. It is about the authors trip to the ghost town of Central, MI in the UP where his grandparents lived. The author is a retired University professor who is proud of his Cornish miner hertiage. The story is a journey among many small towns where he drives through.. cursing commerical development and meeting people he knows along the way. It has bits of history of the area, bits of personal insterest stories, bits of his personal philosophy and love of nature, bits of stories from his days as a professor.. Lots of bits.. but none of it is tied together very well.. it sort of rambles.. like a, well, University professor - lol. The book does talk about some neat stuff in the UP that is gone, or going, talks to some interesting people, but the authors thick flowerly language and frequent literay side trips made it difficult for me to enjoy.

Spring?

Yesterday evening wasn't the best. Worked the baseball game and it was cold... windy... dark... Just not feeling 100%... then went and worked the ramp, and did not get home until nearly 11.. everybody was asleep when I got home...
Today I feel ok.. just a bit slow.. I think I have a touch of the flu.. yuck.. and it is overcast and 40degrees outside.. think I am going to try to get out of my baseball shift tonight.
A. decided on Claras for dinner on Friday, and I think that is a great idea. Need to work on number of people and reservations now.

Mood C
Morning Music.. none today.. set the alarm late.. I knew last night I didnt feel well.

Looking down river toward Secord Lake 

Saturday/Sunday outside and GeoCaching

Arrived in Gladwin and the kids wanted to play at Grandmas house, so I went out to the river walk, and walked from North Park to City park downtown... Really nice river walk, reminds me a lot of the River Trail in Lansing. Saw several people out enjoying it. On the way back to the car I looked for, and found the geo cache hidden there. On the way out I saw some other geo-cachers.. talked to them for a minute. They were from Grand Rapids, and seeking their 26th geo cache of the *day* and had 1 more to go. wow.
In the evening got some food and just relaxed. Got up about 9 on Sunday and talked to my mom in the morning about the business. We had lunch then headed east of town to the Secord Lake area and another geo-cache hidden there. This was really cool.. drove to a public access (ramp) site on the river.. it was above Secord Lake, but I think that is still the Tittabawassee River? We looked at the river, and the kids threw rocks into the water.. Some people from the nearby marina came by to launch a pontoon boat.. we watched than for a minute and headed into the wood.. there is a foot trail that goes along the river.. away from everything.. just out in the woods :) MA is still a bit uncomfortable, but Mi seems to be dowing much better in the woods. He was in a mood when we started.. but once we got on the trail he started looking at things.. then he wanted to walk in the woods (not on the trail) and that hooked him.. had a big smile, and not another complaint the whole time :) They are city kids, but I want them to understand what it is like to be out in the woods... I want them to be able to appreciate being on a trail in the woods in the middle of nowhere... but also to be comfortable in downtown Chicago catching a train... They have the Chicago part down.. I am working on the outdoors thing... and it is going much better! After than we went to Secord Lake and Dam.. not much to see there.. did one more cache.. just in a field in a subdivision.. theme was bells.. so did not take anything. We headed home.. wf was in much better mood, getting excited about commencement on Friday. We arrived around 6 and the pizza arrived shortly after. Had a nice evening, and the kids were good.. Overall a really, really good weekend
Mood B+
Morning Music Sass Jordan

Friday/Saturday in Lansing

Went for my bike ride on Friday, and reall enjoyed it.. did nearly 10 miles. Trained at work that evening, and staying awake was an effort. Things on the home front continue to be bad..
On Saturday took Mi to soccer game, wf left for appt, so I took the kids home afterward and started getting thing ready for the weekend trip. Wf picked up the babysitter and took them all out to lunch, I had a sandwich and got ready for work.
When I got to work there were only a handful of cars there, and I hear on the radio 'sorry Rob, everybody have a good weekend' she decided to send everybody home. So I headed home we took the babysitter home and hit the highway 4 hours earlier than anticipated.