Last week was our first week back and it went pretty well! I thought Wyatt was going to be all grouchy about it but he was pretty happy about resuming our normal school schedule. I am going to take that as a sign I am doing all right at this homeschool thing.
He cracked me up when we made his “Back to school” sign. When I asked him what he was excited to learn about, he said “Ghosts!”. Ummm… I don’t have that as part of the curriculum obviously. So I am going to have do some research. I did find a unit study about ghost animals, like the ghost moth, ghost crab, etc that we are going to do in October, but I will also try to find something that is more what he is expecting as well.
For our first week, I sort of tiptoed back into school. We didn’t go all out, and I think we both appreciated that. However, I feel like we did do quite a bit.
My plan for the week included (besides the basics of readin’ and ‘rithmetic) finishing up a few more states from our Social Studies curriculum from last year, introducing the art of Van Gogh, and science. I haven’t rolled music in yet, and I probably won’t until next week. Also, I’m not starting our main history curriculum until October. We are doing a whole thing with Paddle-to-the-Sea for Language Arts and wrapping state studies up in with it. We focused on Ohio, compared sunflower seeds to buckeyes (or in our case, a chestnut), read about Van Gogh, studied his painting Sunflowers, and then finally painted our own version. Our painting is a combo of Wyatt and I both – sometimes he paints on his own, sometimes I do hand over hand if there is a special reason. For this lesson, I wanted to make sure we were getting long, feathery strokes for the petals of the sunflowers, and fat dabs for the seeds, as we read that Van Gogh did when he painted his famous version. We also talked about how the painting had a life cycle sequence in it, which is pretty neat.
Add in three therapy sessions, bike riding, and time for just fun and play, and we had a very big week! This week is sort of jammed with appointments and a field trip, so it will be another slow week and that is ok.
What We Used:
This section contains Amazon Affiliate links. In addition to the curriculum I am creating for him, we also use curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, The Waldock Way, and Blossom and Root for phonics, reading, science, and social studies.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Last week was our first week back to (home)school and it was a really good, productive week. Wyatt enjoyed it, I enjoyed it – it was a nice ease back into the school year kind of week.
Read Last Week:
I had plans to read a different book this week, but I was still lingering in the world of Tom Lake and wasn’t ready for another big read. So I read this one, which is an old favorite. It’s a good time of year to revisit Barbara Michaels!
Reading This Week:
Ok, I said this last week but I mean it this week.
Well, you know what I am listening to – spooky podcasts! Also Lord Huron, I tend to listen to a lot of Lord Huron in the fall.
As for watching, Billy and I are sort of all over the place. We watched Hotel Portofino last week, Death in Paradise, Newhart in the early evenings with Wyatt, and I have also been watching Grimm. It’s been so long since I watched it. Monroe is still my favorite character.
Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I have started our fall movie watches too. We were hoping for cozy type movies, with some getting a little more scary as we get closer to Halloween. We started out with The Shop Around the Corner, and then this weekend we had a double feature – The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret World of Arrietty. Our posts on those two will be up this week!
And that is about it from around here today! How are you all doing?
Who else is ready for spooky season? This post has become one of my favorite yearly traditions on the blog! I listen to so many podcasts, and so many of them are on the spooky side! The podcasts I have listed in previous years have tended to be more true crime with some spooky – this year, maybe just one does both spooky and true crime?
I am all about the ghosts and cryptids this year. I find the lore of cryptids fascinating! My favorite cryptid to read about or listen to pods about is the Jersey Devil. I can just imagine the long dark nights when stories like this were born, can’t you? People huddled together inside around a fire, gossiping about the neighbors, telling some crazy tales.
These are my current listens – and since I like to set a mood, I like to have a warm beverage close at hand, maybe a soft blanket, and bonus points if it is stormy or rainy day, but that is not necessity. Be careful about turning the lights down too low though….you never know what is lurking in the shadows, as these tales might make you think!
Sinisterhood: I literally laugh out loud listening to this one. Christie and Heather are hysterical together! I love their vibe. I have only listened to their episodes that are about ghosts or haunting or cyptids, things like that, none of their true crime episodes, but I am sure they are just as well researched as the paranormal episodes, especially since Heather is a licensed attorney. My favorite episodes so far: The Nain Rouge (A Detroit Episode!!) and The Stanley Hotel (I will always love a good Stanley Hotel pod, and this one is awesome)
The Midnight Library: This podcast is a whole experience! I was listening the other night before bed and I didn’t want to stop. It is pure entertainment! From their website:
Proudly brought to you by the fine folks at the Astonishing Legends Podcast – Not just another show but a place you can go: The Midnight Library. You alone, can climb the stairs of the strange, old Victorian mansion and be somewhat welcomed by your Hosts, Miranda Merrick & Mr. Darling. Curl up in a window seat or beside the grand fireplace and hear a tale of times long ago. Be transported to forgotten lands, learn about ancient customs and mysterious happenings… all in the company of your unusual hosts in their unique setting. Just stay in the cordoned off areas, and you should be fine…
My favorite episode so far: Gargoyles (and now I want to take the Gargoyles tour of Pittsburgh!)
Old Gods of Appalachia: This is another podcast that is a immersive and dramatic. It draws on folk tales and tales of the supernatural for inspiration, and is all original fiction, which is brought to life by a spectacular cast. My cousin introduced me to this one and I am very thankful! My cousin actually had tickets to see them perform in person but they were flooded out. (I think that was the reason at least!) If you want to be swallowed up by a story, give this one a shot! Favorite episode so far: Hmm, too hard to choose!!!
The Night Owl: Ok, so I mentioned this one last year but I still love it to pieces and wait anxiously every month for a new episode. Yep, this podcast releases one episode a month – but the production quality and research that go into each episode are worth the wait. It is so well done! Each episode or haunt is treated so thoughtfully and carefully by Stephen and his team, and it is evident in every moment of the podcast. My favorite episodes so far: The Pioneer Farms episodes
Ghost Tales by the Fireside: Ooo this one is delightful and absolutely perfect on those rainy fall days. It is THE podcast to snuggle up under the covers, sip some tea, light a fire if that is something you can do, and just listen. It is exactly how you imagine a ghost tale should be told, hushed and quiet. My favorite episode so far: Ghosts of Ipsley
If you interested in my previous lists you can find them here: 2022, 2021, 2020
Yay! I am so excited for the fall edition of the buddy movie watching I do with my friend and fellow blogger, Lisa, over at Boondock Ramblings! We wanted to watch some fall movies together and really couldn’t pick one lane. Or maybe I couldn’t, because that sounds like me. So we have a list that we compiled that moves from feeling all cozy autumn that moves into sort of creepy, then boop! Back to cozy again! We wanted movies that made us feel all snuggly, that made us want to get under blankets and drink tea, and then we wanted a little extra thrill for around Halloween. And I think we were successful in our list making! Feel free to watch along with us!
Our very first movie that we watched is The Shop Around the Corner, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
This charming movie is based on a Hungarian play titled Parfumerie by Miklós László, and it has inspired three film adaptations, the most recent being the popular You’ve Got Mail, and one Broadway play. I felt like Mr. László deserved a bit of a shout out for writing such a delightful story!
James Stewart plays Albert Kralik, a loyal, hardworking clerk in a leather goods shop in Budapest. He is the most senior employee, the one who has been there the longest, and his boss, Mr. Matuschek has even had him over to his house. (This is important later) Margaret Sullavan plays Klara Novak, who comes into the store hoping for a job and does indeed leave with one. Both Albert and Klara have pen pals who they are in love with, who are their “dearest friend” that they have deep conversations with – and these pen pals are each other, although they do not know this.
In person however, not knowing the other is the dear friend behind their letters, they have a very antagonistic relationship and don’t like each other too much. Although they do. They apparently are mean to each other, because they actually do have an attraction. The audience doesn’t know that right away though. In fact we don’t learn that Klara was attracted until…well, I will tell you later.
In the meantime, while these two are bickering, Mr. Matuschek is having his own issues. He owns this wonderful shop that bears his name, is elegant and well to do, and loves his wife. He even tells Kralik this, that Kralik made Mrs. Matuschek happy when he visited which in turn made Mr. Matuschek happy. However, tensions begin to rise between Matuschek and Kralik. Kralik now can do nothing right, and it comes out that Matuschek suspects his wife of having an affair with Kralik. He hires a PI who confirms that yes Mrs. Matuschek is having an affair with an employee, and Matuschek mistakenly assumes it is Kralik as he has believed for a while, simply because Kralik is the only employee who has been to his house. He subsequently immediately fires Kralik, on the very night that Kralik and Novak were to “meet” their pen pals (each other remember).
After being fired, Kralik is not as enthused about the meeting, and brings along friend and former fellow employee Pirovitch (who I really liked even though his part is very small) as moral support. He has Pirovitch peek in the window to find his date, who should be carrying a copy of Anna Karenina with a carnation in it. Pirovitch takes a peek through the windows, and spots the woman – and learns it is Klara. He tells Kralik who it is, and he is even less enthused it seems, and was not going to go in. But curiosity gets the best of him and he goes in and speaks to Klara, although does not reveal himself as her special friend. She is pretty mean to him, and insulting and he ends up leaving without ever telling her.
While all this is happening, Mr. Matuschek is back at the store, and attempts suicide. The delivery boy Pepi interrupts his attempt, saves his life, and takes him to the hospital. Mr. Matuschek will be in the hospital for a while so he hires good old Kralik back, as manager even. So promotion! They clear the air and Kralik is very happy to be working as manager – but Klara is not too thrilled at seeing him the next day. She is not doing well, after having been stood up and then having a dramatically empty mailbox (this was very dramatic but also so very well done) and takes some time off after passing out at work (after learning that Kralik is indeed her boss for a while).
Kralik being a good sort goes to visit her. Now we the audience know that he knows the situation, although Klara is still in the dark. He sort of teases her some, and then.. she gets a letter. The letter she has been waiting for, and there Kralik is to witness the joy that spreads across her face as she reads it, joy that he put there although she is unaware. I kind of loved that part. He has such a little smile on his own face there, that is just so.. earnest and sweet.
Well anyway. Christmas Eve comes and Kralik wants to make it special for Matuschek who is still healing, and urges everyone to sell, sell, sell their little hearts out, believing that his will make Matuschek happy. And it does, but even more so is the revelation by Matuschek that this little shop and its employees are his home and family. He is out of the hospital and stops by the shop to see what is going on, and it hits him. They are his family and he appreciates them and he has his own little heartwarming moment in the snow that made me say, “Awww I love that” out loud while watching.
Everyone leaves and goes about their Christmas Eve plans, except Kralik and Klara. Now, the two are scheduled to “meet” but Kralik stops her and tells her some story, that her pen pal has stopped by the store and he is an unappealing man who wants to just live off of her. Then as they talk a bit more, she says that she was mean to him before because she was attracted to him and he reveals who he is and they both live happily ever after, complete with a kiss.
It was so cute and charming and I loved it. It was definitely a heartwarming, cozy, cuddly film and made me love James Stewart even more! It seemed so very simple, yet, wasn’t. There was so much to it, loneliness and hope, love and dreaming of love and lost love and found family, that I absolutely adored it.
Next week is double feature week! The Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret World of Arrietty!
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.
My Thoughts:
I started reading this book while on a family trip in Northern Michigan, a short jump from the cherry orchards that dot the northern half of my state, in the bedroom of a cabin while my son napped next to me, and there couldn’t have been a more perfect time to start reading it. However, I was on a family trip and there wasn’t much time for reading, so I set it aside to continue reading when we were home again. When we got home, I also decided to add in the audiobook, read by Meryl Streep, and began reading and listening both. Eventually though, the audiobook version took over as Meryl Streep just added another dimension to an already beautiful story.
At first though, I wasn’t as enamored with this story as I became. I wasn’t quite getting the magic that everyone else seemed to be finding in the pages. It took me a bit to get there, but once I was there, I didn’t want to stop listening.
This is the first book I have read that takes place during the Covid pandemic lockdowns of early 2020, and I love the way that Patchett framed this. It was not front and center; it was actually barely there, just the reason that Lara’s three girls were all together with their parents again at home on the farm. I would forget that there was a pandemic happening in the book for long stretches, and then something small would pop up and remind me, that oh yeah, the lockdown. I loved that it was the impetus but by far was not the star.
It’s cherry picking season, it’s lockdown, everyone is home on the farm, and Lara’s daughters – Emily, Maisie, and Nell, all who have their own lives in more normal times – want to hear the story of their mother’s time as an actress and her romance with the famous actor Peter Duke. I mean of course they did, because the young adulthood of your parents is something you always wonder about as a kid, even if your parent has just a typical life, but if your mom had been in a movie and in plays and dated an actor, of course you would want to know more. And what better time than while you are all locked down together?
So Lara starts telling her tale, of becoming Emily in Our Town, and her time spent in summer theater in Tom Lake, Michigan, which is where she met and fell in love with Peter Duke. These reminiscences are punctuated by their real time as well – with picking cherries and a picnic on their beach and a movie night with neighbors, held outside. Dogs wander through the story as well, Hazel and Duchess and some goats too. Real life concerns and problems, but they always return to the story of their mother and Duke. Which was quite a story!
I loved listening to this all unfold, finding out what happens that summer, where Lara was young and shining, performing as Emily in Our Town and later Mae in Fool for Love. Her friendships, the swims in the lake, her romance. Figuring out life, growing up maybe just a little. There were surprises too, things I didn’t expect and they all fit so perfectly to come to the final ending. I don’t want to say too much, I want you to read it or listen to it too, and enjoy the story as it unravels.
This book is a book for when you feel like lazing about, soaking up words and a story. Meryl Streep as the reader of the audiobook just elevated the whole experience for me. She wasn’t just reading a story, she was Lara, telling the story of her youth to her children in the cherry orchards. This book was absolutely beautiful, and is definitely on my favorites of the year list.
Good morning all! It is super early for us over here. Well, early for Billy and me. Wyatt is an early early bird and gets us up when it is still dark out, which it is now. Thank goodness I have coffee to sustain me, because today is also the first day of school for Wyatt!
I spent all last week getting caught up from vacation – laundry, groceries, cleaning, scheduling vaccines and appointments – and preparing for this morning, the first day! I am super excited to start learning with Wyatt again. We are going to ease on in sort of gently, with the basics, with art, and by finishing up a few states from last year. The state study ties in with our language arts. We are reading Paddle-to-the-Sea as soon as my hold comes in.
We did do some relaxing over the weekend!
Thursday I took Wyatt to Greenfield Village to ride the train a million times. It was a gorgeous day, a proper fall day, not this heat wave nonsense we have going on right now. He loves riding the train and I find it super relaxing as well, honestly. So that was a nice start to our weekend.
We didn’t do anything huge or amazing. We stuck pretty close to home, but took things slow, which was much needed as I am always rushing, rushing, rushing around. Friday we got pizza from our favorite pizza place, and walked around the city a bit while we waited for it to be done (we were getting it to take home).
Saturday was more of the same, just hanging around the house, a few excursions out to a few shops, a bike ride for Wyatt – and cheeseburgers and Jimmy Buffett music in honor of the musician’s passing.
Sunday we had a big day – we drove to my dad’s house for a visit. He lives about an hour or so away but the drive isn’t bad and the sun was shining. My stepmom had cold foods ready since the day was already melting hot, cool drinks in the fridge, and we just hung out for hours talking and the kids were playing and it was just a very relaxing day. My stepmom hadn’t been able to make our trip up north so it was nice to see her and catch up.
She had totes of books she told me I could look through, and I jumped on it. I love to look through boxes of books! I actually only took one home with me although there were so many good ones. I borrowed I Wish I Could Give My Son a Wild Raccoon; I had never heard of it and flipping through it, it looked so interesting! This is the synopsis:
One of the Foxfire books, this volume has a collection of narrative interviews done as part of a national student project on the occasion of the US Bicentennial. Here are stories of a Cajun trapper from Louisiana, and Eskimo teacher from Alaska, a banjo maker from North Carolina, a fireman from Illinois, and those of over 35 others. Their lives reflect the diversity of the American experience as well as shared American values.
Shellie received this book as a gift in 1978 from her mother. I love books like that, that were gifts and that were cherished and held on to through the decades.
On the way home, we made sure to stop for flowers, one of my favorite things to do!
I have so many cut flowers in the house right now – it makes going back to school a little easier.
And then yesterday, we just took a long drive. It was too darn hot to do anything outdoors, so we took a drive. We did make a stop at the nursery and fruit market, where I bought the sunflowers that are shown in the first picture as well as some produce.
And that was that! Our very simple but fun weekend!
And now I need to get moving! I have a new schedule to adjust to and I need to add some more coffee to this mug! I hope you all have a wonderful day!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I am so happy that it is September, because that means hopefully autumn weather will be here to stay eventually. We just had a week of beautiful weather, and now are heading into that heat wave that much of the US is supposed to get. I am going to forge ahead with autumn vibes despite the weather, because who knows when we will get for real cool weather. I think Wyatt and I are going to decorate for fall this upcoming week – after school of course, because we start back on Tuesday! I have Billy hard at work hanging a few new things I got for school, and I have been organizing and straightening and gathering supplies for weeks now. I am pretty sure we are just about ready!
Reading:
I started this when we were on vacation in Northern Michigan, and while I was only able to read a tiny bit while vacationing, once we got back home I have been reading and listening to it every chance I get it. I am almost done, and will more than likely finish up today. I am reading it a bit, but once I started the audio version read by Meryl Streep I couldn’t stop with the audio. This book is beautiful and nostalgic and Streep just adds another layer of beauty with her skills as an actress. I started off not being super excited about this book, but as the story really started to get moving, I am obsessed.
Reading Next:
I absolutely loved The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Boulley, and I am looking forward to this one as well.
We spent yesterday listening to some Jimmy Buffett, in honor of his passing. We also ate cheeseburgers as a cheeseburgers in Paradise tribute. I love Jimmy Buffett, and I have so many happy memories of his concerts. My dad and I went to one together, then Billy and my dad and I a few times. Just pure happiness, those concerts. We ate at Margaritaville in both the Keys and New Orleans, after driving alllll the way down there for vacations, more than likely singing along to Buffett at times during the drive. I shed a few tears for his passing yesterday, while we were eating our burgers and listening to his music. The song “He Went to Paris” always gets me a little teary, but even more so last night.
Wyatt and I have been listening to the new Okee Dokee Brothers album, Brambletown. It is super cute and Wyatt loves all music, and has loved the Okee Dokee Brothers for years and years. And I have to say, I have too.
As for watching, Billy and I have been finishing up the newest season of Murdoch Mysteries, which ended on quite the finale! We also are watching the newest season of When Calls the Heart, and started Over the Garden Wall, which is perfectly autumnal and I love it. It is super quirky and weird and sort of creepy. I love the music and the whole look of it and am really enjoying it. Oh, and we started season 2 of Hotel Portofino, which I love, it is so visually beautiful. We are also watching Newhart with Wyatt before bed. It is so cute, he asks to watch it every night. Lol.
Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are also starting one of our movie watches again this week! We are starting with The Shop Around the Corner, which I believe Billy and I are watching tonight. I am looking forward to our fall picks!
And that is it from my corner of Michigan this morning! I hope all is well in your neighborhood.
Our last full day, Friday, we split up. My little family went one way, and my brother and his family went another. They headed to the beach and rockhounding, we headed to the woods. I had done some googling and was curious about this place called Raven Hill Discovery Center, which was about 45 minutes from our cabin. It is a place of learning that combines art, history, and science, and best of all, the website said it was accessible! I spent some time inspecting the website and images online, and saw that at the very least there was an accessible treehouse in the woods. We weren’t sure what to expect honestly, but we were so pleasantly surprised by what we found!
This place was like a hidden gem, tucked away in the quiet northern woods, away from the tourist crowds and tourist attractions. From the initial grounds, it is not overly impressive. Just a few low buildings, a parking lot, and you can sort of see some of the stuff from the car, but not really. But we were willing to see what it was all about, and headed on in! And boy, was there so much to discover!!
We got there just in time for the reptile talk, which you know our family enjoyed. If we hadn’t just sprayed ourselves all over with bug spray we could have draped the corn snake over our necks, but we had so we just admired her beauty. We did get to meet the bearded dragon though, and the sulcata turtles, of which they had four. All of their reptiles are rescues from the area – one reason they have so many sulcatas. They start off so small, but then get gigantic. They also had two tarantulas. I had been considering getting one but now, no. I am uncomfortable with their urticating hairs that fill the air like fiberglass if they decide to shoot them out. I noped out of that decision after learning that.
After the reptile talk, we explored the rest of the building, which had so very much to look at! There was a big magnet table in the middle that had a very powerful magnet, with signs saying to stay three feet away if you had something in you that would react to the magnet, like a pacemaker. Wyatt’s shunt is now magnetic, and although I know that he can go in an MRI machine, it still freaked me out so we stayed away from that part of the room. However, it didn’t matter since there was a lot of other hands on things to play with and explore.
I talked to Cheri the owner while the guys played a bit, getting the lay of the land and learning the map and which areas were the most accessible, then we headed outside.
Our first stop was the Earth Tones Music Garden, which reminded Billy and I of the Blue Man Group. Wyatt of course loved playing all of the giant instruments, and once he got tired of it, we headed through the Exploring Beyond Jurassic Park trail, which is a short trail that details the geologic history of the earth, complete with “fossils” for kids to touch, and from there, we walked over to the schoolhouse and played around in there a bit. Wyatt really loved ringing the school bell, and Billy and I posed for silly pictures.
After we finished fooling around at the schoolhouse, we decided it was time for the woods and the treehouse!
We played around here a bit, then walked over to the Ancient World. It was much, much larger than we anticipated, and would be such a great field trip for a school group or a homeschool family, especially if you were learning about a particular time in history. Wyatt loved “Ancient Egypt” and the Easter Island head was amazing, especially when you learn that it was built by middle schoolers!
(Easter Island Head photo credit goes to Raven Hill Discovery Center website)
Can you believe we still weren’t done? We completely missed a few trails, including the Connections Trail that was built during Covid. We did see part of it though.
Before we had left the facility itself, Cheri had asked us if we would check the accessibility for a new feature they are building, a boardwalk for the pond. After doing the Ancient World, we were ready to see the pond and headed over to the building, where Cheri joined us. She told us that it had originally all been swamp, and now it is a beautiful pond for visitors to enjoy. I believe she said it is part of a Boy Scout’s project, and is designed for all to view how the pond goes from shallow to deep, and to get closer to the water and see down to the bottom. We saw some turtles swimming about while we were there!
Cheri had one more “job” for us – previewing the loan they have from the Smithsonian, called the Musuem on Main Street! She wanted us to wheel through and see if the wheelchair could fit, and it did! She explained to us that this exhibit is only on display in rural areas, and designed to bring the museum to areas that may not have many museums, which I think is awesome. The exhibit itself was really neat from what we could see, but by this point Wyatt was done and rushing us through.
Overall, we had a blast at Raven Hill. At just $10 per person, it was a very affordable day as well! I highly recommend this place to any family visiting the area, for those looking for accessible options to explore outdoors in Northern Michigan, for local schools in that area, and of course, for homeschool families! What a fantastic resource this place is! It looks like they do a whole heck of a lot more too! For more info check their website, it looks like there are classes and workshops and all sorts of different creative outlets as well.
This was an awesome way to spend the last day! After exploring we met back up with my brother, and all of us went out to dinner before heading back to the cabin to clean up and pack for leaving the next morning.
We had such a fantastic trip, so many memories were made, so much relaxing and shopping and exploring was done. I am so glad that we had this time together!
Days 2 and 3 were filled with perfect weather. Sunny, warm but not too warm, the kind of weather you want on your vacation, you know? I loved sitting outside in the morning, drinking my coffee and listening to the birds. I have another app – the Merlin app. My little family of three gets up hours before every else, so the first two days we would get our breakfast and head outside. I would put on the Merlin app and watch it light up with all the bird names that were in the area. It picks up and identifies the bird calls and if you pay attention, it helps you learn the different calls yourself. It is really neat. I think we wound up with 19 different species of bird?
Being early birds worked out well! By the time we had our breakfast and had hung out, everyone else was tumbling out of bed and getting their coffee and food. So of course to be helpful, Billy and I volunteered to hold the Peanut so that her parents could eat more easily. Such a hardship I know, right? She is the happiest little morning baby! All smiles and giggles. We also had a morning of painting in pajamas, which was super fun too. I had Peanut “hold” a crayon and scribble so her art could be displayed as well.
Once we were all ready, we would head out for our daily excursions! The first full day we opted for nearby Petosky, which was a lot of fun, and the second day we explored Indian River itself (that was painting day, so we had less time).
However, Indian River has another attraction I have always seen advertised, but never actually had visited, called The Cross in the Woods. We spent a lot of time wandering the grounds, which were beautiful. I can’t imagine attending church there, it would be amazing honestly, out in the woods like that. Very different from the small Chapel in the Pines, but just as lovely. The Peanut slept very peacefully while we were there.
While we were there we saw this statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American from the Algonquin-Mohawk nation, who was known as the Lily of the Mohawks. She became a Catholic saint. I am not Catholic but I did find her story very interesting. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Her statue was lovely and the base was covered in turtles, which I found to be such a wonderful recognition of her native heritage of Haudenosaunee.
After visiting The Cross in the Woods, we just putzed around some more in town and at the cabin. I always liked winding down in the evening too, with this crew. We actually didn’t get to have many fires, thanks to the weather that developed, but we did have one, and it was pretty awesome.
The next three days though all, were cold and rainy. It did interrupt some of our plans but we let those plans go and just had fun together however we could. We explored nearby small towns, Wyatt got his beautiful hair cut because no one liked not being able to see his eyes (which I will admit, his bangs were way too long) by a barber in Cheboygan. This barber was so nice guys, his name is Brad and his shop is right there on the main street. He cut Wyatt’s hair for free because we didn’t have cash, and he knew that up front. We did discover my brother had cash though and ran it in after, so we did pay him. We visited Mackinaw City, which to my dismay is very different than I remember. A lot of the stores, like the Island Bookstore which I loved, are gone, replaced by souvenir t-shirt shops. Like most of Mackinaw City is t-shirt shops. I am guessing the economy and the pandemic hit the area hard, or maybe just tourism sunk its teeth in years ago. It’s been a long time since I was up there so I am not sure. I was also disappointed to read that the Forts in both the City and on the Island were not super accessible for wheelchairs. I mean, I understand on some level as they are historical buildings, but the one in town is not super accessible because you have to cross 500 feet of sand to get to it – that can be changed somehow, I would think. Wheelchairs and sand just doesn’t happen. It was pretty cold and foggy and we opted to skip the island, at least during those days. My brother was considering it for Friday, when we were all sort of splitting up for the day. The kids did go to the local Build Your Bear (like Build a Bear) and each got a stuffie. Wyatt got a wolf, and Mermaid Girl picked a cat. They were both enamored with their choices. We also spent a quick chilly hour at the beach gathering rocks, and stopped in at Chillermania where the kids got tons of books and met the author Jonathan Rand, who signed their books. So the days were not a total loss. We also had our best meal during those days, at the Noggin Room in Petosky. Delicious!
And while we had some gray skies and rainy days, our friends and family back home were going through the worst weather – those tornadoes that hit. Five of seven of the tornadoes were within 10-20 miles of our home. My brother and I were watching the weather and texting friends to see if we needed to alert our mother. No tornadoes hit our actual city, but everyone says it was the scariest round of storms they have ever been through, even family and friends who are not normally afraid of storms.
The most important thing was that we were together, just hanging out with no agenda or schedule or somewhere we needed to rush off too. We made memories that these kids will remember forever, being with family, especially grandpa.
I have one more day to cover guys, and that is it. I promise! But it was a really good one, so it gets its own post.
Day one of course, was our journey to the cabin we rented in Indian River. A four hour drive sure feels like forever when you are in a hurry to get somewhere! We opted to stop in Hartwick Pines for a break, which is no hardship for us because it is one of our favorite places. The beauty of the Old Growth Forest is majestic, with trees soaring high above, so high you have to lean your head all the way back to get a glimpse of the tops. And the smell! So fresh and evergreen.
Before we stopped here though, we saw a sign for the CCC Museum, and decided to pull in and see what that was all about. We were glad that we did, it was a neat little quick stop, and we learned quite a bit!
This is a self-guided tour of the grounds and buildings, and it was really neat (and wheelchair accessible). This site depicted the work done by the CCC to regrow the forests that were lost due to forest fires. The interior pictures above are from inside the cone building, referring to pinecone, of course! They would roll the seeds out of the pinecones, overwinter them in mold and damp proof containers that looked like those giant milk canisters you see on dairy farms, and then start the seedlings off and turn them into “Happy Little Trees”. Wyatt was excited about the Bob Ross sign, as you can see.
It was a neat little stop before we got to our next one, Hartwick Pines.
When we got there, we headed straight for the visitor’s center first. We weren’t sure where exactly we were going, but I had found a wheelchair accessible trail on my AllTrails app, so I did know I wanted to do that with Wyatt. First though, we poked around the visitor’s center, and even picked up a few souvenirs. T-shirts for Billy and I, and a book for Wyatt – they didn’t have shirts in his size (or any kids size), which was a bummer. The book we got was really cool though, and since he loves books it was fine that he didn’t get a t-shirt. Then we walked back outside onto the boardwalk to look at the big map, and met the cutest little Llewellin Setter! She was so darn sweet! Some of you may have been around long enough that you remember my Penny, an English Setter and this little girl reminded me so much of my Penny, even though Penny was copper colored.
We opted to start out at the lumberjack camp, which was smart since that is where the trail was that we wanted. We were having a tough time with the map for some reason and were pleased to find the trail right where we ended up. LOL.
There was a little chapel tucked back, high on a hill among the trees, that was so serene and peaceful, and so just beautiful in its simplicity. There is a prayer inside that is so perfect for the surroundings, and for the people that visit, called Nature’s Prayer.
Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all that is nature, We humbly come to you in the midst of nature’s splendor, To thank you that as Americans we are free To worship as we please, work as we please, And move about as we please to enjoy all that is nature: Its mountains, its hills, its valleys, its lakes, Its streams, and the living things that dwell therein; We pray unto You that someday the world may be at peace And all men be free to enjoy nature’s abundance. We ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ That we be guided to protect this priceless heritage Which we, in America, are privileged to enjoy. Amen
It was a wonderful walk through the woods and Wyatt was SO happy to be back outside under a canopy of trees. We have been having a hard time lately finding a place to go with him in his chair! The AllTrails app I used is perfect though, you can use a filter for wheelchair friendly trails which is awesome.
After exploring we knew we had to get back in the car. We were so close to the cabin and had one stop left – a store for food supplies for the cabin. We were all bringing stuff and just sort of sharing food around, as we were sharing the cabin with my dad, my brother Devin, SIL Chrissy, and my nieces Mermaid Girl and Tiny Peanut. My stepmom was supposed to be there too but actually had some medical issues of the non-contagious sort and had to stay home, which was a bummer – and we really missed her!
Anyway, we finally got to the cabin. My brother was already there, and my dad got in just behind us. We spent the rest of the evening figuring out who was sleeping where, unloading the cars, and just settling in. Billy worked as a short order cook in the kitchen making either eggs and toast or grilled cheese for dinner since it was late, and a pizza order was going to take 90 minutes! We all hit the hay pretty early that night.
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 