Kayaking the great Huron river Proud Lake to Kent Lake

Today some friends and I kayaked the Huron River near Kensington. It was about a 5.5 hour trip. The river was slow and we had to paddle a lot especially when we got to the lake.

We all enjoyed the trip. When we had to portage around a dam we were helped by some very nice young men so we graciously offered them some of our lunch. To make our trip extra special and adventurous we had a downpour of rain along with thunder and lightning. That did not deter us. It was a warm shower and we watched closely to see if the lightning was getting any nearer. By the end of our journey the skies were blue and sunny again.

As you can see everyone was quite comfortable in their kayaks and enjoyed the peace of the river.

Well this has been quite the week for Liesl. Monday I took her to the Farm Center and Tuesday we fed the goats at Frontier Town in Romeo and today we went to the Nature Center at Stony Creek. Of course Liesl had to wear her ranger outfit I bought in North Carolina. She looked so cute and loved trying the binoculars and wearing the sun glasses. She does take after her mother. Grandad thought she was so cute that he had to come along. We saw the usual turtles and snakes. But we also got to see a ground hog up close through glass eating the seeds which fell from the bird feeder just outside the nature center building. On our walk in the nature center we saw lots of butterflies and grasshoppers.

Wolcott Mill and Farm Center

On Monday Liesl and I went to the farm center and then to the mill. The mill was not open at the time so we just walked. Liesl loved the Farm Center in that there were lots of animals there. We arrived in the milking barn just after they were milked but were still all lined up in a row and Liesl was able to get a close up view within 10 ft of them. There are two calves in the milking barn also and we went to see them several times. We went through the Farm center at least three times. As we would finish a round, Liesl would say "again" and of course Oma obliged. The pigs were one of her favorite as were all the animals. The pigs, sheep and goats were housed in one building with an exit to the yard. When we first went around we were fortunate enough to see the horses up close. Later in the day they were further in yard and we could not see them very well. As a matter of fact we had to walk down a hill and out of our way and still could not get a good look. Two donkey were in their penned area and one was near the fence most of the time. One of her other favorites and mine were the chickens. They had chickens there from all over the world and they looked quite strange to me. It was worth the trip just to see these chickens. Some were quite pretty. I guess they are a bird after all.

Xenia Greene Trails Classic

We just arrived home after a weekend in Xenia for four days of bike riding. Sister Barb and cousin Kaethe also joined us for the weekend. Barrb was able to try out her new bike. Kaethe used mine. they both did very well considering they don't ride. We also spent Friday afternoon rafting on the Little Miami river just floating. It was a very pleasurable float. I wass not able to ride much. The doctor had said I should not ride, but I did ride 20 miles on the weekend. The cast was taken off my foot and we are transitioning slowly. She did suggest that I walk. Barb and Kaethe also went on a nature walk to the Clifton Hill gorge nearby and enjoyed that. The heat was unbearable all weekend. We spent a lot of time in the Assembly hall and in the air conditioning. We played lots of games. The ride is very organized and we appreciated all the attention to details that the staff puts into the planning.

Bayfield Rendezvous

Scott and Bob sailed from Port Sanilac to Port Austin July 6th and from Port Austin to Tawas on the 7th. The sailing was excellent on the first leg of their journey. The second day however was a motoring day. I met the guys in Tawas and sailed with Bob to Bayfield. Scott drove the car home making a stop to visit his Ota. Bob and I motored through the night to Bayfield. There was no wind and we had a long way to go. We wanted to arrive around dawn at the harbor so we timed our progress as not to arrive in the dark. Friday we arrived about 5:30 AM. We caught a few winks before Clara, Gary and Michael arrived. Clara, Gary, Bob and I went to a matinee in Stratford. We saw Evita. Unfortunately Clara and Gary could not stay overnight but we did have a nice visit at the boat after the play. On Saturday we had breakfast in town and went to the Vettefest. Bob and Michael spent much time inspecting the cars and their engines. Later in the evening we went to the Potluck with our sail club, BSSC. It was a very pleasant evening. Sunday we are sailed back to Port Sanilac. We did over 5 knots while sailing. We took sails down when we went through the thunderstorm and motored the rest of the way which was about half way. It was a lovely day most of the day. The sun is bright and the seas calm until we hit the thunderstorm. We arrived home about 7 and then went to dinner at Uri’s with Gail and Michael.

Greenfield Village with Liesl

Wednesday we went to the Village with Aunt Gloria. Liesl loved it. We rode on the train, Model T cars and Carousel. Liesl got to ride on a pig which moved up and down during the Carousel ride. You could just see the smile creeping up on her face as the ride began to move up and down and the music played. She recognized that the train and that it toots as it came. She kept saying Train toot toot. She enjoyed watching all the activity around including the horses. To end our visit we had tea at Cotswold cottage. It was a little dissapointing but made for some lovely pictures. They had a wonderful garden. We even bought a children's tea for Liesl which included pbj sandwhich and cheese sandwhich. Liesl was more interested in our tea choices. Liesl fell asleep on the way home and woke when we got to Aunt Gloria's. We watched Horton Hears a Who until her mother came to pick her up.