Recent Posts
Nashville Flea Market 2006
This is Marys favorite flea market in the whole world, we scheduled our trip to Nashville so that we would arrive in time for the Nashville Flea Market. My understanding is one of the driving forces behind the flea market was an ancestor of Mary’s. The Flea Market is huge and you have to walk up a big hill to get to it so if you decide you want to go, be sure to bring your hiking shoes.
Even though it was September it was still very hot. Some of the buildings are air conditioned while others are not but at least you could take a break from the heat if you wanted to. The only charge for the flea market was for parking so it was well worth the trip.
Dinosaur World Kentucky 2006
A couple great tourist stops in Kentucky, the Kentucky Cave and the Dinosaur Park are among about a dozen tourist traps in this area. Theres also a haunted house and quilt outlet so you know we had to stop. James is a big dinosaur fan (he pronounces it “dino-hore” which leads to humorous situations with clerks, asking for their dino-hore location).
We really enjoyed the Dinosaur Park, it had everything you could imagine as far as dinosaurs. We took a stroll through the park and their had to be at least a 100 (probably more) dinosaurs lurking there and some of them were huge. There was also a dinosaur theatre and a fossil dig along with a dinosaur play area which James took advantage of. About 2 hours north of Nashville, it makes a nice first rest stop for the trip home to Michigan.
James Birthday 2006
James 3rd birthday began with a trip to Applebee’s for the Applebee Birthday Treatment, then we surprised him by having his gifts in his parents room where he never dreamed of looking for them (however after this was over he decided to sleep in our room to make sure we weren’t up to anything).
Once again we would like to thank everyone who helped make this such a wonderful day for James. He had so many balloons, presents and gifts to open plus cake and ice cream. James was in his glory this day. Big thanks to Peg who really goes out of her way to make sure James has everything he needs at his party, including a whole bunch of helium balloons.
Happy Birthday Peg! Happy Birthday James
Mothman Prophecies Adventure 2006
Our journey took us to Charleston WV, Pomeroy OH, Marietta OH, and of course, Point Pleasant WV, the site of the Mothman legend
In Charleston, Mary visited where she lived during her college days. In Pomeroy we had a chance to cross the old bridge across the Ohio river and see the new bridge being built. Marietta is well known on the Ohio river as an up and coming resort town.
The main attraction was Point Pleasant and the TNT area (Mothman was first seen near abandoned ammo igloo’s on the outside of town, hence the name TNT area came into being). Their story was made into a movie called “The Mothman Prophecies” starring Richard Gere a few years back.
Although the movie was set in present time, the actual events happened in a span of 13 months, from Nov 1966 till the collapse of the bridge on Dec 15, 1967.
The most amazing thing that we noticed was the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone that we met at Point Pleasant. So if you are looking for a little mystery and adventure in your next vacation, check out Point Pleasant West Virginia!
Telegraph Dream Cruise 2006
This is a new dream cruise that is just getting started and hopefully will rival the Woodward one. We usually sit in front of the antique store and sometimes bring the Nash. Mary is from a car loving family and knows much more about cars than I do. She takes pictures of the cars, then prints the photos and makes an album out of them. She then sends the album to her Dad (Howard) who is in a nursing home down in Tennessee. Her dad enjoys the pictures and getting a chance to see all the classic cars that he drove in his youth.
James joined us in watching the festivities. He was at the event last year as well and enjoys seeing the cars drive by and waving at him. Of course he waves back which keeps him very busy.
Greenfield Village 2006
There is really nothing better on a warm day than going to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. This year there was a special baseball exhibit in the museum that we wanted to see. They also play old time baseball at the village using old time equipment and old time uniforms. We split time between the two, plus made our usually visits to the band stand, the covered bridge and such.
It is sometimes hard to believe this village is located in Dearborn and not out in the wilderness somewhere. When you drive the train around the park you can see the Ford proving grounds and other Ford property located right next door. We could, if we really wanted to, walk to this place from our home as its only about a mile and a half walk from our home.
Great time was had by all.
St Albert Festival 2006
The local Church festival came around again, and James was first in line for several rides this year. He is still too small for many of the rides but is quite content with the ones that he is allowed to ride. His favorite is the train ride, a nice relaxing stroll in front of St Albert the Great church.
We found out that St. Albert school will be closing, not enough kids to keep it open. What a shame, both myself and my sister Criss attended school here and it sure is a shame that it won’t be around when James goes to school in a few years. I do not know what will happen with the festival, but without the parents of students to help I don’t think the outlook is good.
Cousin Sandy in California Family Pics 2006
Sandy sent us these pictures of her family out in California. Sandy is the daughter of Joe and Teresa Graf, cousin to Peg, Mark, Criss, and Chuck, and 1st cousin once removed to James.
As a kid I remember going camping with Sandy and her family (Uncle Joe, Aunt Terese, Terry, Sandy, and Joey, aka little Joe). They had a big trailer that had all the comforts of home in it, including a TV (nowadays you have TV’s on your phone but in the 70’s it was pretty cool) which I remember watching Tiger baseball games. We camped at Silver Lake and Proud Lake if I remember correctly and my folks would come up for a day to check on me and spend some time with the family. Mark was usually up there as well and sometimes I camped with him. Usually the campsites (Marks and Uncle Joe’s) were right next to each other so it didn’t really matter who you stayed with.
Continue reading “Cousin Sandy in California Family Pics 2006”
Detroit Zoo 2006
James was a little taller and it was easier for him to see the animals this year. I think his favorites were the penguins and the monkeys. He also enjoyed the polar bear exhibit, being able to make a snowball in the summer was a big thrill for him.
Our first stop is the play area where James can climb, bounce, slide and swing on a variety of playground activities designed for young kids of his age. Also it doesn’t hurt to let him expend some of that pent of energy from the car trip which makes the day go easier for everyone.
Canterbury Village 2006
This is a popular stop for us on the way home from Mackinaw. Its only an hour away from our home so its well within striking distance anytime we want. This was fun for James because its almost all toys and Christmas at Canterbury, all throughout the year. Lots of craft shops as well but primarily the theme is Christmas. While not as big a Bronners, its a little more elegant and has an animated nursery tale that simply fascinated James to no end.
Plenty of Dept 56 houses here as well including a Halloween display which was sort of the inspiration for the one we made in the basement. If you have a chance be sure to visit Canterbury Village out near the Pontiac area, its great fun especially for the little ones.
Remember it is a Christmas village and it can get pretty crowded in December, but you can have the place pretty much to yourself in the summer.
