Camping in Michigan - The Town

One afternoon, while Syl, Stephen and Julia napped in the tent, Jon, Syndi and Junior made a little trek into the town of Harrisville.
We followed a trail through the woods and into town.
We walked a few miles.

We stopped to take pictures along the way.

You can see Lake Huron at the back edge of the property.

Syndi and Junior had a lot of fun.

It was a quaint little town.

We stopped at a playground along the way.

Every once in a while, I get reminded that I need to get me a shotgun.

We walked to the harbor, which was a really cool place.

We walked the boardwalk...

...posed for some pictures...

...checked out some boats...

...walked the boardwalk...

...and posed for more pictures.

Then the kids convinced me that we had to go into town for ice cream.

We had some difficulty finding the ice cream shop and were about to give up and head back to the campground, and then we spotted it at the last second.

We really enjoyed our huge scoops of ice cream.

Little did we know, Syl had intended to head into town for ice cream, so we later made a return trip to town, and Syl, Stephen and Julia got their cones.

It was a fun journey!

Camping in Michigan - The Tent

On Thursday night, July 2nd, Jon flew up to Michigan.

On Friday, July 3rd, Jon, Justin Pouch and Tony Nagle loaded an ABF freight truck with lots of stuff from Dad's house. Jon still can't believe that piano didn't roll back and crush him.

On Saturday morning, July 4th, the Caruvana clan packed the minivan and drove north to Harrisville State Park, where we set up camp.

Syndi had spent the week at camp Barakel, and we would need to pick her up on Tuesday. The rest of us tented for a few days on the shores of Lake Huron. Saturday night we went down to the shore of the lake and watched the fireworks displays. The closest fireworks were from the Harrisville celebration, which we watched as we stood a few feet from the lapping waves and looked to the north. Two other displays could be seen to the south, probably the Oscada/Au Sable and the Tawas Point fireworks. It was pretty cool.
We had fun in the tent.
As you can see, we had a nice view of the neighbor's campground. We could hear the waves lapping on the shores of Lake Huron throughout the night. It was a soothing sound.

After we picked Syndi up on Tuesday, Junior, Stephen and Syndi sqeezed into their sleeping bags on one side of the tent. Julia slept nearby in her pack-n-play. Syl and I slept in our sleeping bags on the other side of the tent.

Next we'll post some pictures of our visits to the beach.

Marshall Forest

Last week our family went over to Marshall Forest on Horseleg Creek.

We walked on the trail and had a lot of fun on a gorgeous spring day.

There was a bridge over a dry creek bed.

There were fallen trees to stand on.

There were trails to follow...

...and lots of plants to see.

It was warm and sunny.

Where last season's life ended...

...this season's new life began.

There were even cool bugs to see.
Here Julia points at a caterpillar.

It was a fun afternoon jaunt for the family.

And even Daddy got to strike a pose,

The Brighter Side

The kids had a lot of fun in Grandma & Grandpa's back yard.
("The kids" includes Jon, of course!)
Now that's what I call an underdog.
Getting some air.
Note to self: Get a shotgun.
Slide collision!
I love this picture.
Framed by the tunnel, tree shadows stretching in the distance, the sunlight bouncing around the tunnel, the reflection on the slide. If Junior's whole face reflection had been in the picture, I might submit it to a contest.
Gotta get that shotgun!

Daddy's turn.
I don't know why, but every time Daddy gets involved, the boys start taking greater risks.

Hmmm...

Traffic jam on the slide!
And now for the greater risk.

Note the open mouth. Junior is making a swoosh sound effect.

He is just like his father, who likes to make sound effect noises with every special thing he does. Of course, the kids love it. I never really realized I did it until Junior came along.

The long climb.
Sliding through the Golden Daddy Bridge.
Or maybe the Jean Leg Daddy Bridge is more appropriate.

And now for the head-first ride down the slide with Junior on my back.

LOL - I guess I'm making sound effects in this picture, huh?

I think mine was not a "swoosh", but a "whooooaaaa!"

On Grandma's sacred glider.
We stopped at a park on the ride home, so Syl could feed Jules.
Stephen was asleep.
More swing time.
Always posing.
Okay...who's gonna win?
Precious.
Thankfully, there were many brighter moments on the trip.