The first stop after we crossed the bridge was the Deer Ranch in St Ignace. They just had a few new fawns and you can see some of them in the pics. James got both carrots and crackers for the deers this year and made some of the deers a cracker sandwich with a carrot in the middle. This year none of the albino deers came up for food, only the brown normal colored deers did, which was just fine with James.

While Dad and James were out feeding the deers, Mom was shopping for souvenir shirts for everyone. James got a Deer Ranch sweater which he wore on the Soo Lock boat tour. James enjoyed running around outside and the deers would run along side with him. He said that was his favorite part of the Deer Ranch this year, even more so than feeding the deers.

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James has been going to Sea Shell City for years now, he loves playing in the pirate boat outside and enjoys the shopping inside. He usually always walks out with something, maybe a hat or maybe a shirt, ironically never a sea shell (they have thousands from all over the world here).

The story of Sea Shell city is an interesting one. We always lump it in with Mackinaw since its only a few miles from the bridge, but it actually is in Cheboygan. It is right off interstate 75 at exit 326 and is quite visible from the road. Its been here sine 1963, but its the story before 1963 that is interesting.

Sea Shell City originally opened for business on Old 27 in Gaylord, MI. Since Interstate 75 did not come this far north, It was an excellent location as everyone had to use Old 27 to continue north to Mackinac City, Mackinac Island or to take the ferry across the Straits of Mackinac to get to the Upper Peninsula. When Interstate 75 was completed in 1957, the business decreased severely as there was no need to travel Old 27 to go farther north.

So you could say the Mackinaw Bridge being built which forced 75 North was almost the undoing of Sea Shell City. Now its probably the main source of visitors for them.

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James picked up a few Mario brother characters, a hard hat with a light in it that says Frankenmuth on the side, and an Easter bunny from Bronners (yes, he went to the Christmas shop and bought something for Easter). James had lots of fun and the place was strangely quiet for such a pretty day. We had most of the place to ourselves and had no problems getting seated for a chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn.

Highlights include James feeding a horse named Gus, flinging about 100 pennies into various fountains, and the many photo ops where you stick your head through a hole (in one James could not reach the boy fairy hole with his head so he stuck his head through the next hole which was the girl fairy). The picture is very funny looking and we all had a little laugh at the fairy pic. You can see that pic and a whole bunch more by clicking the button below.

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I asked James what to write for these pictures and he told me “Jump Rope At Recess”. The pictures were taken at his school’s field day by a school secretary and sent to us by his teacher. Jame’s teacher also wrote the following “James did so well at everything. He really practiced jump rope; it’s a hard skill to teach someone but he was game.”

Good for James. I have never been able to master the jump rope.

James did such a good job helping out at the Flea Market we figured he could take a nice long break and play at the parks in Colon Michigan, which is exactly what he did. He really loved the new slides and went up and down each one multiple times, but he still likes the original park which is made of wood and is quite old, or at least it appears to be old, that might be the design.

After James had his fill of parks, and after the flea market was over, the entire family went about exploring the Magic Capitol locations including the library and the flower sale that was going on outside the school (It was the day before mothers day so I bet they made a good profit).

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The family went up to Colon Michigan to participate in a Magic Flea Market and Auction. We go to this almost every year primarily to look for Halloween stuff which shows up from time to time. This year was different because Mary had a Flea Market table. Mary sold some used magic, posters, and books that were supplied to her from the magic shop hosting the event and she had a great time selling and interacting with the visitors, some who came as far away as St Louis to attend this. James and I did manage to find a couple things to buy for Halloween but mostly spent our time outside at the playgrounds. They also had a flower sale going on that day so it was a very busy day in the Magic Capital Colon Michigan.

After the Flea Market we ate a buffet in Coldwater then went to the antique shops in Allen MI (From the Magic Capital to the Antique Capital). Ironically Mary found a Phantom of the Opera poster framed which we will show you once Halloween rolls around. A fun day for everyone.

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When it comes right down to it, Oakwood Commons has to be about the prettiest rehabilitation center I have ever visited. There are nature trails, playgrounds, rivers with wild life, and rolling hills. Since Aunt Peg has been in the place it has been too cold to take advantage of these things on our visits but the last couple times the temperature has been mild (and dry) enough so that James can play outside there.

James always visits Aunt Peg first before playing, unfortunately Aunt Peg cannot see him from her window. Whenever James visits Aunt Peg she always has a goody for him (Aunt Peg plays Bingo at Oakwood Commons and sometimes wins prizes for kids)

Aunt Peg hopes to be out of Oakwood Commons between the middle of May and the 1st of June.

If you look closely at the picture of the river you will see a goose swimming in it.

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Both James and his Mom were a little under the weather today, but besides that it was a great day. James had a great variety in his baskets this year including three books to read along with the standard candy and toys. I went and visited Peg and she had a small basket with candy for James, unfortunately James had to stay home with a slight cough, however You can see a picture of James holding the basket in the gallery. While visiting Peg she made a short video wishing everyone a Happy Easter (which I uploaded to Facebook).

Both James and Mary felt better as the day progressed.

What a weekend for the Tigers who won their first 3 games of the 2012 season. The first game was a 3-2 thriller with a walk off hit, the second a 10-0 victory, and the third featured 2 comebacks in their last at bats to win, a 3 run homer by Miguel Cabrera to tie it in the 9th and a 2 run homer by Alex Avila to win it in the 11th. After Avila’s walk off home run to win it the announcer said “Happy Easter Detroit”.

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Titanic has come to Dearborn MI. James got to see the new Titanic exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum and enjoyed it immensely. Pictures were not allowed inside the exhibit but there were a couple photo opportunities where you could buy pictures they took of you (ala Cedar Point roller coasters). James is shown here in one of those pictures. There were many artifacts that had been brought up from the sunken ocean liner including equipment, jewelry, money, and personals of people who were on the ship. They also had a real iceberg (similar to what they have at the polar bear exhibit at the Detroit zoo) so that people could feel just how cold the water was that fateful April night 100 years ago. The final part was (of course) the souvenir store where James could hardly control his glee at all the great Titanic gifts. James got a postcard book, reprints from 1912 newspapers, “polar ice”, and a titanic coloring book.

After Titanic we took a quick trip around the museum, James got some pictures taken in the Rosa Parks bus, in front of the JFK assassination car, in front of the worlds largest locomotive, and a few other places before we left.

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James had a fun time at the Hoover Elementary Reading night. First he met up with a couple of his class mates then got to be entertained with “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis. After that James went to his first reading destination which was Ms. Frizzle’s Castle which was read by Mrs Jent, his regular teacher. After reading a story the kids got to make tiaras, wands, and shields. James made a shield and you can see it as the last picture in the gallery. The S in the upper left hand represents what James wants to be in life…a School teacher. The K in the upper right represent his family K=Kleiber. The lower left H represents Espirit Decorp, mainly Hoover elementary, and the J represents James. The Kleiber Crest looked great on his practice sheet, however when he went to put it on his Shield he put the crest on the Titanic! A thousand years from now when they discover the Kleiber crest they will see the Titanic on it.

James second destination was Dinosaurs and Reptiles, and had several living creatures including salamanders, lizards, and turtles. The instructor talked about extinction and the idea that dinosaurs are not really extinct but live on in birds. He showed several dinosaur skulls then the kids got to pet the lizards and the animated triceratops.

Afterwards all the kids got ice cream sundaes. What a way to spend an evening!

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