Thomas is 12!!

Here is Thomas blowing out his candles. I'm not sure how the grass/straw bits got in his hair, but I am certain it had to do with various hijinks he and Sofi had been getting up to (including climbing onto the garage roof and rearranging heavy objects to create make-shifts ladders inside the garage). The cake, for those that want to know, is a triple-layer chocolate with chocolate glaze and strawberries, following a new recipe that uses coconut flour so that it is gluten-free (and therefore fit for Frederick's consumption). Frederick and I baked the cake while Thomas slumbered the morning away. (If Frederick had had HIS way, he would have eaten the cake long before Thomas rolled out of bed.) It was, everyone concurred, delicious.
Frederick always enjoys a rousing "Happy Birthday" song.

Here Thomas is opening one of his presents, a new laptop. The one he had been using (an old laptop we got through work many years ago) died some time ago and we found ourselves with a Thomas parasitically attached to one or the other of our laptops from that point on. The choice was clear: kill Thomas or get him his own laptop. Fortunately, we get good deals through work and his life was spared. Sofi looks on, seemingly as excited as Thomas.

Thomas also received generous monetary gifts from all grandparents. Now all he has to do is decide which of the many millions of games that exist he needs to acquire. Given how cautious he is spending HIS money (though never very cautious about spending OUR money) I suspect he will sit on his tidy nest egg for quite some time.

The vacation winds to an end...

This town doesn't have book stores or yarn stores--it doesn't even have a Game Stop--but it does have Miniature Golf. Thomas has had his eye on this place since we first pulled into town, and today was (finally) the day.
It was also a great site for the latest YoshiFilms 1337 piece.
I'm not sure what the point of this scene is, but I am sure it will all make sense after the final edits.
There were many water hazards here (described on the billboards as "hazzards") and, not too surprisingly, Thomas hit his ball right into one of the rivers and it flowed into the large lake. Given that this happened on hole 3, this was more than a bit disappointing. Not to be cheated from the remaining 15 holes of golf, Thomas took off, waded into the lake (an alarming blue--NOT like the waters of Lake Superior) and retrieved a ball--but not his--and we played on.
This was amazing. For this hole you had to tee off inside a drippy cave, have the ball avoid the rocks cemented onto the green, and pop it into the hole at the bottom of a hill. Thomas saw a great film shot and asked me to film while he putted from offscreen. Then, just because it was too unlikely to be possible, Thomas nailed the shot and got a hole in one. I would like to say that I got the whole thing on film but the viewfinder on his Flip is so damn small, I couldn't see where the ball was...but I did get MOST of it on film. (Based on Thomas's reaction to my filming, I think he well deserves the reputation of being a "difficult director.")
Of course after coming back to the hotel we swam once again. But now we are exhausted (I am) and are ready for bed. (I am more than a little anxious about the magic marker stains Frederick is leaving on the sheets he slept in. They claim to be "washable" so I hope I don't find surprising "additional fees" tacked onto my VISA bill.) Tomorrow all we have to do is pack up and drive home. [And for those that need to know, Thomas's double scoop in a waffle cone today was Moose Tracks and Yooper Island Fudge.]

More Morning Walking

Farther into the state park, we pulled over to walk the trail to Miner's Castle Overlook. The trail is just about right for Frederick, about 1/4 mile on boardwalks with signs every 200' telling us how much farther we have to go. Here we are, overlooking the overlook.
Frederick enjoys the breeze rustling through his hair. The weather was predicted to be rainy and overcast today--obviously it wasn't.
This is looking straight down from the overlook tower, across stunted trees (trees only about 8-10' high, barely managing an existence while clinging to the sandstone) into the water below. Yesterday, when it was overcast, the water was (just as it is always described in Swedish detective novels) "steel gray" but today it was a stunning turquoise--the absence of life forms in the water at work again. The thing about this view that most struck Thomas was that someone had managed to toss a dime just over the side of the railing and it landed on a 2" wide cliff shelf, just below our feet. What are the odds of it falling over, landing but not bouncing off into the water below? The mind boggles.
This is the same view I had in yesterday's post on the return trip on the boat tour.
Same place, slightly to the left.
Some people actually have little houses tucked into the woods, just next to the state park. I know it would be pretty ungodly in winter (we were informed that the ice covering these formations gets 3' thick) but it sure is idyllic now.

Morning Walk

This morning, since we have done all the boat tours that we intend to do (There is one remaining to do, which is called The Riptide Tour; you ride a retired Navy Seal boat the flies over the waves at 40-odd miles per hour (compared to the 13 miles per hour we managed on the other boats) and completely circle Grand Island. It didn't really appeal to us.) we set off to tour around the waterfalls inside the Painted Cliffs State Park. Here is Thomas overlooking the Munising River.
It was really dark in here, which is why my flash kept going off.
And here we are at Munising Falls. Apparently once upon a time there was a sandstone archway at the top of the falls over which the water fell, which you could walk underneath and be behind the falls. But, as with all the arches around here, it eventually corroded and fell down, so that source of pleasure is no longer available.
Another view.
Here we are, up at the top, overlooking the whole thing.

Various Things

Frederick passed the time this morning while we were getting ready to head out by reading Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 to the boy in the mirror--the only person in this family who isn't completely sick of this book.
We dared the gift shop after the boat ride yesterday and of all the things they had in the store, Frederick had to have 5 squishy frogs. Since then, they have gone everywhere with him--though he does call the one brown one "Toad;" I assume he is named after Toad of the Frog and Toad books.
Here it is, proof that Thomas completed the Mile Slide Challenge.

A Tour of the Painted Cliffs

This day was predicted to be hot like yesterday, but overcast. We still stocked up on sunscreen because I didn't want to take any chances. Here we are, just settling onto the boat, when everything is looking fine and dandy.
This took a grim turn about 2 minutes into the trip (which was predicted to last 2 hours and 40 minutes) when Thomas's Yoshi figurine fell off his seat and onto the toe of the woman sitting directly behind him. I took and instant dislike to her when she shrieked in pain, shouting, "Oh my GOD! My TOE! Oh, GOD!!!" Her mother-in-law (sitting behind me), joined in, "What's the MATTER?!?!" Her son (the husband), shushed her and said, "Nothing is the matter." (What the hell? Is he familiar with her dramatics?) But the old bag wouldn't drop it, insisting, "But SOMETHING must be wrong! She's yelling in AGONY!?!" Thomas looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. He apologized but she didn't seem to notice, just going on and ON about her damn toe.
Then about 15 minutes later the air pressure dropped, the wind dropped and it felt like we were in a steamer/pressure cooker. Frederick turned bright red, said, "Sick." and clutched his head. I wasn't actually trying to take a picture of the moment but was trying to get a pic of the coastline but it all hit suddenly. He laid down on the seat, resting his head on my lap (and kicking Thomas with his feet which, of course, prompted Thomas to shove back). Then, thank GOD, the air pressure changed, it started to rain just a spritz and Frederick perked right up. Thomas, having decided to risk bringing Yoshi back out of his bag, set to filming and soon cheered up, too.
And here are some of the cliffs we actually came to see.
And some more.

The 3 Hour Tour continues...

By now we were heading back at full speed. A 2 hour 40 minute tour is just about 2 hours too long for Frederick, but we managed--just about. I remember this from last time we were here; the tree is stationed on the pillar or sandstone, but has a trail of roots going back to the mainland from which it gets the nutrients it needs to survive. Apparently once upon a time a stone archway ran under the roots but that has long since collapsed.
More cool colors and shapes.
Thomas is filming the sites though I noticed that Yoshi's head slips into his viewfinder every few minutes.
Another view.
And another.
That's the Painted Rocks coastline on the right and, somewhere off to the left is Canada (about 170 miles away).
Thomas has better things to do than look at the scenery. Though he did say, once he was stuffed with ice cream and drifting about in the hotel hot tub that he enjoyed both tours and is glad we went. I'm not sure Frederick would agree but, perhaps just as well, he is keeping his opinion to himself. (That's the mother-in-law on the left edge of the photo--we now refer to that family as the "Tender Toe Trio".)

The Day Begins...

First things first, I must make beans for Frederick, which isn't easy in a hotel room with just a microwave. For future reference, I put a plastic steamer in a pyrex bowl, add an inch of water and a packete of beans and cover it with saran wrap.
It worked a treat.
Here we are, about to set out to the grocery store in search of writing pads (for Frederick to make notes on throughout the day), strawberries and sunscreen. The first place we went, Glen's Market was a dismal place with no window in the building--very dreary--and they had no sunscreen. Apparently they don't often need it up here and sold out a few weeks ago. Just how far north did we drive, anyway? Here you can see how my car measures up--or fails to--the more typical vehicle driven by Michiganders.
Here Thomas is sitting in one of the giant lawn chairs parked in front of out hotel. WHY they are there, we don't know.

What's Downtown Munising Like?

Someone requested a pic of the pastie shop (I had to explain to Thomas Captain Joe's "joke" about tourists mispronouncing "pastie"--thanks a lot, Joe).
And here is the pastie, note the V for vegetarian.
Here is the office and gift shop for the glass bottom boat tours.
And here is the Frozen Flamingo's ice cream/gift shop that we visited after the painted rocks tour today (more about that in a separate post). We could have gone to the local DQ (think Jack and Diane) but wanted to avoid chains and hit only the local spots.
The gift stores are looking a bit thin--I hope that is because the season is winding down and they got cleaned out and not because they couldn't afford to stock the shelves. For the record, Thomas got a double-scoop in a waffle cone, the ice creams being apple pie and Mackinaw Island fudge. After telling me all day that he "just isn't hungry," he ate the whole thing. He wants veggie pizza tomorrow, apparently.

Back To the Hotel...

After the boat tour ended, we stopped by the nearest pastie shop, Muldoon's. Captain Joe strongly recommended it (it, along with everything else in town is Award Winning), even praising the vegetarian model, which piqued Thomas's curiosity. I couldn't imagine anything less appetizing than a pile of hot veggies baked in a pastry after being cooked on a boat but Thomas was interested and he isn't interested in food often so I didn't want to pass that opportunity by. Unlike the deli in Portland OR that he and I visited, Muldoon's didn't supply pasties quite as large as one's head, but they were damn big. Thomas managed about 3/4 of his, and the rest (along with a second) are now in storage in our hotel room fridge for his dinner later on. We got to the hotel room about 3:30 and it was all I could do to force some food into Frederick before he took off for the pool. Frederick busied himself with the frog slide and the hot tub while Thomas eyed the 100' slide. After 5 or so minutes of hemming and hawing he made up his mind: he was going to do the challenge.
55 minutes, 1204 steps and 5,200 feet of sliding later, Thomas (here) finishes his 52nd trip down. The attendant (a 20-something, bored dude who was working his way through Atlas Shrugged when he wasn't telling kids to walk and wait their turn) took down Thomas' name and snapped his pic. We'll be expecting to see his certificate on the Wall of Fame sometime soon.
Frederick takes his final lap around the pool before we head up to the room for more food and relaxation...
...and a dip in the in-room whirl pool.
I told Thomas that this was like a bathtub and that he could go in naked, but that idea shocked and appalled him. Frederick has no such issues and is enjoying the tub very much.

Touring the Shipwrecks of Lake Superior

Ok, I always thought that Lake Superior was notorious for being cold. But today we were blessed with record high temps and, after standing almost an hour on the docks waiting to board the boat, we were three hot tamales. Frederick was stoical but Thomas was...not.
Here we are, just heading out. You'd think with all that cloud cover that it would be cool and breezy, but you'd be wrong.
All right, now we are on the move and feeling some breeze in our hairs. Life just got a little bit better.
The coastline along Munising (where we are, for those that do not know) is really magnificent. This is one of the minor "painted cliffs" around here. Tomorrow we are taking the boat tour of the more famous cliffs which, we were told today, reach up to 200'. Today we were touring shipwreck sites of Lake Superior. There are three nearby that we visited, each with a fairly intact ship from 1830-1860s sunk just off the coastline. Most were on sandbars and so were only 5 or so feet from the bottom of our boat which was, by an amazing coincidence, plexi-glass so we could view the wreckage. This tour was really hyped all over town so I was expecting to be let down but it was, I was surprised to find, actually kind of cool and Thomas and Frederick both really enjoyed it. Despite the warm temps (the water temp was 72 degrees F which is simply unheard of), the water was still clear as no algae or other small organisms live here--which is why, apparently, there are so many shipwrecks still in great condition. I expected to see a few loose boards but all three sites had most the hulls and, in one case, debris spread about a square mile--including the captain's bathtub and commode. One ship was hauling 300 tons of iron ore which we could see scattered about in piles all over the lake floor. Diving is very popular here (there are dive shops--and pastie shops, interestingly, all over the place) as there are aver 2,500 known wreck sites within just a few miles of the coastline. We only saw three but that was, I think, enough for one day.
Frederick LOVES boats. I strongly suspect Simon and I will be visiting him on his houseboat in 20 or so years. (Note rat clutched tightly in his hand. I try to get it loose so I can wash or, at least, rinse it but no way--he even clutches it in his sleep.)