Road trip to Alpena, MI - Day Five

July 30th 2012 -

Good Morning Alpena!

First stop  of the day...Northern Lights Arena for Planet Hockey Camp!

Orientation

After hockey camp we went exploring and ended up at the Lumberman's Memorial on the lower peninsula.  It is a memorial erected in 1931 to commemorate lumberman who harvested Michigan's giant white pine.

On the memorial grounds is a 280 step, 150 ft. vertical drop staircase.  Andy and I took on the challenge.  Here is a view of Au Sable River from about halfway down. 

And here is Andy. at the bottom.

On the river they had a replica of the floating kitchens that followed the lumbermen down the river. 

And of course, what goes down - must go up!

We decided to take the scenic route up the coast back to Alpena, along the way we saw several signs for snow mobile crossing.  I thought it was pretty cool so I snapped a picture. 

We ventured along the highway and came across a sign for a lighthouse so we stopped.   This is the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse. 

Andy took off for the beach and could have stayed and played forever. 

Road trip to Alpena, MI - Day Four

July 29th - 2012 - Travel Day to Alpena, MI

Road Trips are hard work...

Spent most of the day driving thru very flat Michigan :)  Made it to our home away form home for the next week, Thunder Bay Resort.   After we checked in we drove into Alpena where the boys will have camp this week.  The rink was closed, but looks like a very nice facility.  After dinner we explored Alpena and found a marina on Lake Huron that had a playground, we let Andy stretch his legs for a bit.

 The playground had one of the spinner things I remember from when I was a kid - Andy was more than happy to take me for a ride!

Finally ready for bed and discovered I was sleeping in closet!  Mom says its's called a Murphy bed and it was actually quite comfortable!

Up bright and early tomorrow morning for our first day of camp!

Road trip to Alpena, MI - Day Three

July 28th, 2012 - We started our day today with a visit to Santa Claus, Indiana.   Small town with a wonderful Christmas Store and other shops - appears the main attraction is Holiday Town an amusement and water park - there was traffic backed up for miles in every direction to get in the parking lot!

We stopped for lunch at Frisch's Big Boy!  Had to get a picture of Andy with Big Boy!!

Finally made to to Fort Wayne, IN.   My Grandpa Jack lived here from 1910 until 1935.  My mom took me  by the address of the home they lived in, it is now a liquor store, which is fitting.  We then went to Lindenwood Cemetery. Here my grandparents, Helen and Jack are buried as well as my Great Grandmother Florence Edythe, her parents, her uncle and her grand parents.  Below is a picture of the memorial for my grandparents.

Off to Alpena, MI tomorrow!

Road trip to Alpena, MI - Day Two

July 27th  2012- First stop Jungle Jim's International Market! (Jungle Jims Website) OMG! This place is crazy!  Here are a few pics of the entrance...

The store is HUGE!  Acres of produce, international sections from everywhere!  They have a fish hatchery - in the store!  Full size fire truck in the hot sauce dept., yes, dept., not aisle and full size fishing boat in the seafood dept!  If you are ever in Fairfield, Ohio - check it out!

After several HOURS strolling the aisles we hit the road for Evansville, Indiana - had to stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a new camera, mine kicked the bucket!  Then off to dinner at Zuki ((Zuki Website) with Matt and Alyssa!

Road trip to Alpena, MI - Day One

July 26th 2012 - The boys are going to Planet Hockey camp Alpena, Michigan this summer. So of course - we make a vacation of it!  Nana and Papa came up to the house on Monday, and we hit the road Thursday morning.  We took back roads and saw some beautiful country!  Coming into Ohio - we started to hit some weather!  It got to be so bad, some people pulled over on the side of the highway to let it pass.

We stopped at Werners Smokehouse BBQ for dinner (Werners BBQ)- they had an awesome mustard based sauce - it was yum-o!  Andy discovered he likes Chocolate Creme Pie!

Trip to The Reston Zoo

On Friday, July 13th Andy and I took an excursion to the Reston Zoo!  What an adventure we had!

We were the first ones at the zoo - so Andy had all the animals to himself.  He got to feed many, many goats!

One of the two highlights of the visit was the wagon ride - we got to feed lots of BIG animals that game right up to the wagon!

This guy stole Andy's feed cup - right out of his hand!

Last but not least we visited the Parakeet aviary - you can buy a popsicle stick covered with bird seed and the birds flock to you!

We had such a fun day and saw so many neat animals - especially this weird looking sheep...

Welcome!

Buckle Up- Here we go!  Welcome to Adventures in Lusterville!  This will be a spot where we can share all the fun and excitement of living in Lusterille - enjoy!