Michigan City 2010

July 19, 2010

Our forth trip to Michigan City fully documented here for our family. The weather and water has been the warmest yet. The highs have stayed in the mid-upper 80’s with just the right mix of sun and clouds. 

The cottage is showing wear as other guest at the house hasn’t been treating it with total care.  We were greeted with a wiggling door knob, a play station not working, a missing coffee pot, electric sockets taped over and not working, and an empty propane tank on the grill. Since arriving the door knob has been fixed, the electric is supposed to be working right again (afraid to check), and the rental office has given us another coffee pot.  I haven’t told the office yet about needing a new propane tank for the grill. A grill is a must for a family on vacation!! Update: A new propane tank has arrived. 

This trip has brought out how much Hannah and Nick are growing up. At the park Nick is swinging across a kid-zip line that he was afraid to in the past and Hannah is flying across the monkey bars just like a monkey. The monkey bars took her all seven days on the last visit to master.  Both Hannah and Nick are riding their scooters to the beach verses us pulling them in a wagon.  This is a bitter-sweet milestone and indicator that my babies are growing up.  Nick says riding his scooter makes him think about food and makes him hungry. When we return from the beach it is usually dinner time and everyone is grilling out.  He loves the smell!

Jason has been getting much needed sleep and relaxation with the family that he hasn’t been able to get in the past weeks, with work and the remodeling project consuming most of his time and sleep. 

I have enjoyed eating all our meals together as we very seldom get to do, plus I have Jason helping with the food prep and cleanup, which is a welcoming break. I am looking forward to playing and spending time with Hannah and Nick on the rest of the vacation as school will start in a few weeks after we return. 

Monday With the threat of rain in the forecast for the entire day, we spent the early part of Monday afternoon at the outlet stores.  It ended up to be a beautiful sun shining day.  Jason bought some new clothes and sandals, Nick bought an Iron Man 2 wrist shooter toy, and Hannah picked out some sparkly new shades, some school clothes, and a new Webkinz (that was promised for her birthday). We grabbed lunch out and headed back to spend the remainder of the afternoon at the beach and dinner at the cottage, cranberry-apple chicken (a recipe Hannah stole from Aunt Jen’s recipe book). The day ended with a trip to the park, card game of Uno, a little wine, and Sammy the Seal shows. Yes, Sammy the Seals show. Jason taught Hannah new tricks to perform with her newly adopted Webkniz pet seal, who she named Sammy. Sammy the Seal was the first longer length book she had ever read and originally was Jason's as a boy. 

Tuesday Today I woke up to the sound of rain. Hoping it was something else. It isn’t supposed to get out of the high 70's today, but weatherchannel.com hasn’t been right yet.  I probably need to find out the weather in the local news.  Here’s to another great day at the beach and hoping the weather man has got the weather all wrong again.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a warm, sunny day in the 90’s.   I have been enjoying a cup of Jason’s gourmet coffee every morning and some time to myself at the computer.  I guess it has ended for me today as I hear the sound of little feet and Nick already playing with his new toy he got yesterday for a souvenir, now complete with lost pieces.  I guess the hunt begins!  All pieces found and look forward to another great day with my family!!!

The weather here has been rapidly changing.  Now, the high for today is in the mid 80’s and a chance of scattered thunderstorms.  Better, I think we will get ready for a day at the beach. 

Today turned into the best beach trip yet.  It was a nice sunny day in the 80’s.  The weather man predicted rain throughout the day.  Nick enjoyed tossing his water bomb ball back and forth he earned it at the library for participating in their reading program.  Jason, Nick, and Hannah built a small kingdom of sandcastles.  The stately sandcastles attracted some small pirates, who wanted to steal our buckets and stick decorations, and demolish the kingdom.  I was really amazed the parents let their children run free as I watched them do it.  I stopped the bucket thief in her (sand) tracks.  We have taken a mid-day break and Jason has gone to the outlet malls and grocery store.  He is on a hunt for a new bathing suit.  We are going to go to the park and swimming pool after dinner if it isn’t too late.  Update: Hannah and Jason went to the pool and Nick and I went to the park.  Hannah and Jason took an evening stroll through Waterfall Park.  We ended the day by watching Pete’s dragon and falling asleep.

Wednesday The start of the last two full days here.  I woke up to sunny skies, better start than yesterday.  I am going to try not to check the weather today, since it hasn’t been correct so far.  The highs are supposed to be in the 90’s.  I am looking forward to another full day at the beach, this time with sunscreen for me.  Yesterday, I came back roasted.  I am putting a roast in the Crockpot for dinner tonight.  We should leave the cottage smelling good with all the cooking that has been going on in the kitchen.  I brought Hannah and Nick to the park this morning after breakfast while Jason drank coffee and woke up some more.  It warmed up pretty fast this morning, so we didn’t stay at the park long.  We went back and prepared to go the pool only to get detoured because there was “an accident” in the pool.  We came back to the cottage for lunch and are now heading out to the beach, wishing we brought our umbrella on vacation today.  It is going to be a hot one.  Nick would like a ride in the wagon today to the beach instead of his scooter.  Update: Nick rode his scooter to the beach and back.  I helped with little push breaks here and there.  It was hot at the beach, but as always we had a great time playing in the sand and water.  We spent some time relaxing back at the cottage, and Jason made us some banana/ strawberry daiquiris.  We played game of shoots and ladder and went to the park while Jason finished up dinner.  Nick made friends with a friendly 9 year old girl at the park.  Hannah joined in on playing.  I could stay on vacation forever, but Jason is ready to get back home soon. 

Thursday The heat index could reach up to 105 degrees today.  Instead of walking to the beach, I think we will stay closer and go to the pool.  Packing and getting ready to head home.  Planning trip to the beach after dinner… Update:  We went to the beach after dinner to see it one more time and to watch the sunset.  The sunset was beautiful and we stayed and played and built sandcastles on the beach till 10pm.  The water was warm and the temperature wasn’t as hot.  We should have spent more of the hot days there in the evening.  We packed up when we arrived back at the cottage and headed home to make the drive during the night to avoid traffic and making stops with the kids. Can’t wait to do it again next year!

Tags: vacation , family

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Michigan City July 2009

July 09, 2009

We took another trip up to Lake Michigan to refuel for 2009. It feels like we gained a week back in our life after this trip. We love the lake because it's not salt water, and the "community" where we stay is awesome. It's perfect for kids and just a short scenic walk to the lake. It feels just like the beach to us. Most of our friends have already heard us ramble about this place last year. We took two trips last year and just did our first one this year. We're already thinking about a possible weekend trip back up later this summer.

Brian Hensley and Jeremy Ostrow rode their bikes up for the day on Sunday to check it out. Since it's only about a 4.5 hour ride up, it was a good trip for them. We fed them dinner and sent them on their way. We're told it was a worthy trip for them.

The rest of the week was good to us. There was plenty of sun and a slightly overcasted day right in the middle of the week so we could take a break from the sun and hit the local scene to check out the outlets.

We really can't wait to go back soon. Since it's relatively close and totally cost-efficient, we echo again that the lakes are to the midwest like the Rockies are to the west.

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Michigan City, Our new Beach Vacation Spot!

July 02, 2008

Our family vacation is going wonderfully. We spent our first night exploring the beach resort. Our house is situated across from "waterfall park," and overlooking Lake Kai, one of the man-made lakes. So that is where we went first. It is a pond surrounded by tall grasses and has a waterfall in the middle and a dock that extends out in the water. While we were there, we spotted a beaver at work, he was pulling sticks across the pond and took them under with him. Then we went to go find Sheridan beach, since we planned to go there in the morning. Along the way, we toured the streets and admired all the beautiful houses. The community is perfect, from the houses to its people. Everybody is very friendly. The community is very diversed and everyone seems to get along well. Nothing like you find in the city. When we arrived at the beach we went across a long board walk that is surrounded by an aray of plant life, trees, and birds chirping. The sounds the birds make are very relaxing and beautiful and is only a prelude to what it is like at the beach. I would never have imagined these freshwater lakes would be like the ocean, and even more breath-taking. We played on the beach some, and then headed back to out house, when it started to get dark.

The next day we went to Beachwalk's community park for children. Hannah wanted to go the night before, but it got too dark. The park has lots of tires, slides, a treehouse, and is equipped with a zip line just for small children. Nicholas likes playing on the tires and Hannah likes the zip line. After the park, we went to the beach. The kids have really got into playing in the sand and water. We have fallen in love with the community and could even imagine living here.

Sunday we woke up and got ready to play on the beach. After the beach we retreated back to our house and ate dinner. We went to the park and headed back home when the bugs started biting. We have played in the houses back yard with their yard toys and of course the red wine has been flowing. We ended the night playing boards games with Nicholas and Hannah.

Monday was pretty much like Sunday, more relaxing times on playing on the beach and at the park. Jason played in the sand with the kids and sculpted a crocodile. The kids loved it. We also brought the ipod for tunes at the beach. The weather and everything couldn't be more perfect.

Tuesday was Hannah's birthday. I woke up and baked a cake for her 6th birthday. I can't believe it has been six years already. We first spent the day playing on the beach. Jason made another crocodile for the kids. I don't know who is enjoying the sand the most. We also brought the ipod back again, so we could enjoy the tunes while we were relaxing on the beach. Then we came back and ate lunch. Hannah wanted to go to the park and Nicholas wanted to go to the swimming pool. So that is what we did. Jason took Hannah to the park, and I took Nicolas to the swimming pool. Jason played hide and seek with Hannah in the park, and Nicholas and I played "going on a shark hunt" in the pool. Nicholas loves the water and can't get enough of it. That night we ate a crock pot dinner along with birthday cake and played in the backyard with their yard games and bubble guns, I packed. After the bugs started to get thick we headed indoors where they all enjoyed playing on the playstation.

Wednesday we went to the beach, it was a little breezy, so we didn't stay as long as the other days. We went out into the water mostly since the sand was really blowing on the beach. Hannah and Nicholas wanted to come back home to the "purple" house, so we headed back and stopped at the heated swimming pool on the way.

There are people across the street who live in Moores Hill, IN. They came over and said hi and they knew a friend of Jason's. They also gave us access to their wireless network, so Jason doesn't have to go into town to check his email. We've used all the amenities of the house fully. Jason sits out on the top deck with his guitar (or laptop) and we've been through the yard toys and games inside. We're only half way through the vacation. We have a lot of pictures and video that we'll get up when we get back.

More in day or two, Susan.

Tags: family , vacation

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Gatlinburg, TN 2006

May 08, 2006

Nothing complex.

This year, we wanted to do a vacation that was different from the rest... you know, one of those vacations where upon return, it's not like you slump down on the couch and say "Scccchhheeewwww... it feels good to be home!"

Well, don't get me wrong... we have kids... and it feels good to be home. But this trip rocked. It was just what we set out for. Easy booking... no check-in... impressive accomodations! ...at a great price too, nature so accessible, you jump off the porch into it.

I got to try out the new camera in many of the environments I have been wanted to try. I took the video camera... but it made it as far as a walk-through of the accomodations. I'll probably put that up later for family.

My brother-in-law and I fished the lake just outside. We caught us 7-8 blue-gill and decide to eat them. Alas, I need to refer to my local country einstein for the refresher on cleaning blue-gill. While we managed to get a few slabs and some pop-corn sized bites, still delish, I thought there was a better way to go at it. Scott?

There's something about nature that everyone can relate to... and you've maybe felt that feeling before when you're leaving the forest without having found what you went for in the first place.

Well, that was not me this weekend. A strong chord was struck that the whole family danced... no, not danced... aggressivley "jigged" to.

My little girl was so receptive to the nature around her, it brought a tear to my eye. We did two nice hikes and saw two great water falls. We made it to the aquarium... another thing we meant to do. And despite the Gatlinburg traffic (that we expected :) we still got to and fro.

For future trips to Gatlinburg... the "Gatlinburg By-pass" is a must to remember.

Last but not least... it was Susan's 30th birthday. We had a little party out on the spacious deck with hammock and citronella candle.

Anyway... I could really go on, but I hope these pictures will say it all.

Tags: vacation , family

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