20110630 - Work, Flip, Baseball

20110630 - Up an working. D gone to friends, J had a friend over. I ran out to the flip house during lunch, met ed. Back finished my day. LD&J to VBS this evening and I took G to baseball, he got a little rough with a boy :-o and I had to give him a talking to... DQ for dinner for G&I. Home he took a bath, everyone else home, cleaned up and all boys to bed. I'm up late working at desk

20110629 - Lists to do

20110629 - Up slow, G feeling a bit better.  L&J to the Dr. first thing this am, all ok.  D to a baseball game with his friends. and I worked...  After work LD&J headed to VBS.  G&I played catch, went to DQ for dinner, went to the house we are flipping to make a list, then to Lowe's to get a hose repair piece and more 16d nails for Jack's building project, and then back home for some more catch then kickball.  Everyone home for a snack and some Mythbusters before bed.  L&I up watching a movie.

20110628 + Back to work :-(

20110628 + Up and crank started the PCs this morning. Hundreds of emails poured in, calls were scheduled and 5:00 pm came around awful slow... LD&J went and got Lilly this afternoon and then to VBS again tonight. G&I to Subway on our bike and we stopped at the baseball field to eat, but G's throat hurt too bad to watch baseball :-o Everyone home and off to bed.



20110627 - Fever -Pitch

20110627 - G was up throughout the night with a fever... All up, bfast and loaded. We made our first stop at a geocache to drop off a couple travel bugs.


We then went straight East to Lake Erie. We took our shoes off and walked on the water. This makes 4 of the Great Lakes in this one trip!


On the road and back in O-H ! We stopped in Bowling Green for lunch and to see the World's Largest bronze falcon.


Back on the road and I had several more stops planned, but with little G feverish and asleep we finished the trip home straight through. We got home, unpacked and settled in. LD&J back out to Vacation Bible School. G&I went to the Dr for his throat and the DQ for dinner. I got him all med'd up and we went back to the ball fields to watch some of the playoffs. All back home and Doc and I out to meet with the Bible Bangers.

20110626 - Rival Ground

20110626 - Up early and bfast for all. Then the boys and I went swimming in the pool one last time, plus hot tub, plus sauna. We packed up, said goodbye to the freezing waters of lake Michigan and hit the road.
Our first stop of the day was roadside in Kalkaska MI where we found a very rare tree, a shoe tree. Be sure to look close at this photo it is really awesome. We took a couple pictures and I flung my old worn out 'Cons' to the limbs of the mighty hardwood for future generations to enjoy :-)

On down the road a piece a we crossed paths with a giant lumberjack on the way to McD's for lunch on the go.











Not long after lunch we found the World's Largest mouse!

Close to this we found the cow that makes the cheese for the mouse...

After a serious long spell in the car we arrived in Frankenmuth. Here we walked around a bit and found a WWII German car, a huge flower chicken, World's Largest Santa, World's Largest Frosty, World's Largest ornaments and the World's Largest Christmas store.






Back on the road and into Ann Arbor, proudly displaying our OSU magnet on the hood of the car drawing some attention... We first stopped at the U of M Engineering school to see the Sine Wave Field.

Then through the nice downtown to the 'Big House'. Pretty impressive.

The last segment of the day to go and we pull in to Cabela's to see the World's Largest bronze wildlife sculpture.

We went inside too to check out this amazing store. The boys did some shopping and we stayed until the store closed.

The lady that checked us out recommended the River's Edge Pizza for dinner so we tried it. It was probably the best pizza any of us has ever had, AMAZING!!! To the hotel and off to the pool for a swim; we had a good time. We picked up some hot cocoa on the way back to the room and had time for a baseball game before bed.

20110625 - Wrap Up

20110625 - Everyone up and outside in the SUN!!! What a perfectly beautiful morning. The boys ran out to the beach and started building castles.


It didn't take them long to find some fiends and they had a gang of kids playing 'pickle'.


In for lunch and then out for some new experiences and everyone's favorite. But first J&I hit the bar for a couple drinks at our own bar :-)


On to the public harbor where there is a real steam powered train we got to ride.


We made a trip to the shopping strip where L got a thingy for her bracelet. We then loaded up and headed out of town to find the source of 'Moomers' ice-cream. We found it and everyone had a great treat!


Heading backing town I surprised the fam with a stop at Walgreens to get passport photos taken. That made L especially pleasant :-o Then it was time for everyone's choice... First up was J's favorite the zip line. J&D took took off and had a blast.


D was next and we found him some go-carts and everyone had a blast. It was L's first time driving a go-cart. G's turn and of course he picked put put golf. It was a funny round, one hole I hit the ball like 6 times and it kept bouncing back, then it popped across a stream and down into some soft mud ker-plop. I started to retrieve it and D thought he would help. He launched himself across the creek and landed in the same muck as the ball with a much louder Ker-Flump and came to a dead stop buried up to his knees in the muck. Then J jumped into action, thinking D was in quicksand and got stuck in the muck trying to rescue him.


Oh we all laughed so hard our sides hurt. Back to the resort to cook some brats on the grill with a Michigan fan, deep in enemy territory... While the boys shot eachother.


After dinner we went down to the beach and then hit the pool. We swam and had fun, then to the room for clean up, packing and dessert.

20110624 - Rainy Day

20110624 - Everyone up, latest wakeup day so far, maybe because it is freezing cold and raining AGAIN!!! }:-|. We made the best of it and went to a children's museum where the boys had a really good time. Here is J on the water table making a lock and he moved ships up and down.


We then stopped by a local micro-brewery so I could check it out. We then went to the highly recommended 'Don's Drive-in' and had a sub-satisfactory meal :-( Back to the resort for some rest and some laundry. We then jumped back in the car and headed to the movies through the rain and saw 'Special 8'. It was a great movie and the boys really liked it. Back home for dinner and the first glimpse in days of the sun.


We suited up and headed to the pool and swam until 11:00pm.


Back to the room, cleaned up, had a fudge sampling and then all boys to bed.

20110623 + Dune Pirates

20110623 + Up and more rain... So we headed East to Sleeping Bear Dunes, where we made some friends as we posed for a picture :-P


The dune behind us is about 300 feet high, and we all climbed it. Once at the top there were spectacular views... OF FOG!!!! The boys did have fun going down, they made the trip up three times :-o

YouTube Video

We stopped at a couple museums in the park before heading to lunch.


After lunch we walked to a couple stores before heading back. Once back in Traverse City we went to Pirate put-put for a round of golf, G was in heaven.


After 18 holes DJ&I went up in the ropes course and the zip line.


J&G had a race before our fun was done.


Home for dinner and more swimming :-)

20110622 - 3 in 1, Road 2 Long

20110622 - Up and bfast done so it must be time for a flying experiment!

YouTube Video


After several launches me mounted up in the car and headed north. Our first stop was one of the World's Smallest churches.





Further north and we stopped in Petoskey to look along the shore for some Petoskey stones, but it was a bit too chilly and no luck :-( Back on the road and up and in to the clouds on the Mackinac Bridge that is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world.





Now over the bridge we have another hour to go... Finally after 3.5 hours in the car we arrive in Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks.





It was really cool and I loved it, but not sure the boys got the whole concept, and the next boat was not due until 7pm; we weren't hanging around that long... Across the street and into an ice cream shop for huge cones (my version of diner :-)





Down the block and the smell and sight of the people in the store pouring out a kettle of boiling fudge caught our attention. In we went and bought close to 300 pounds of fudge (second course of dinner ;-)





Up the road to a lakeside park where the boys got to play





and we all put our feet in Lake Superior.





Back on the road on the return trip we made a stop to visit Paul Bunyan and Babe at Castle Rock. If you look close in top right you can see the top of Castle Rock.





We then all climb to the top of Castle Rock. What a climb! L was a bit shaky and had to get down, G stayed with her and helped her by holding her hand. In true Winger Family vs Spectacular Views, the fog wins AGAIN!!! :-(





Across the road and to a small park on the shore of Lake Huron. DJ&I went into the water.





Back over the Mackinac Bridge where we found a lighthouse.


Further south through Petoskey and finally to the resort where DJ&I went and put our feet in Lake Michigan.



That is 3 Great Lakes in 1 day, a bit too long in the car though...
A quick dinner and down to the pool for our nightly swim. I read to the boys about Paul Bunyan and Babe and off to sleep.