Ships Ho!

Ahoy, Internet.  Welcome back.

Kris has been itching to do something 'touristy' this weekend, citing the fact that we're half-way through the summer and we haven't done anything yet.  Granted, all of our big plans this summer - our extended family vacation at the Eight Point Lake cottage, our camping trip in Traverse City, visiting the Voigts in Frankenmuth, etc. - are happening in the latter half of the summer.  Up 'til this point, we've both been working all the time: if you'll recall, I've been teaching summer workshops at Delta College just about every week (Illustration, STEM exploration, Animation, etc.)  The money's great, but it's eating up our summer with the kids.

So, taking that into consideration, Kris really wanted to get out of the house for the day today and do something.  She had initially proposed driving up to Alpena to check out the glass-bottom tours of shipwrecks in the area (and, probably more of a motivation for her, to visit with one of her good friends from college, Alicia, who also lives up there.)  Ultimately, though, we came up with something else:  Tall Ships Celebration in Bay City.

For those of you out there who don't know what Tall Ships is, it's more or less ten or twelve sailing vessels sitting in the harbor along the Saginaw River in Bay City.  Once every three or four years, they come from all over the world and hang out in Bay City for a few weeks, then sail back from whence they came.  Schooners, brigs, sloops, and even a Viking longboat, an authentic frigate from the war of 1812, and the only Spanish Galleon (think Pirates of the Caribbean, folks) still sailing in the world.  Admission is $10 per person to see them from the shore, or $20 per person to actually get to walk around deck and check them out up close and personal.

Considering my penchant for all things pirate-ish, this was a no-brainer.

Check it out. . .

Scenic Bay City.  We got kind of a late start this morning, only arriving a half hour early.  In hindsight, we should have arrived an hour early, at least, in order to beat the lines.  At least we found parking, though, so we weren't totally screwed.

Good thing you're taking a picture of this, Random Guy.  Good thing I'm taking a picture of Random Guy taking a picture of this.

The admission lines were long, but moved fast.  The lady at the 'register' asked how tall Abby was when we were buying our wristbands for the ship tours (because you had to be a certain height in order to board the ships.)  I'm not sure what happened exactly, but we ended up only paying $60 instead of $80 for our wristbands. . . so maybe she gave the kids free ship tours, I don't know.  Not that we're complaining.

The wristbands also got you some cool little red books (like the one in Kris' hand) that had information about all of the different ships on hand, as well as spots where you could have the books stamped.  A lot like a passport, which, in hindsight, may have been what they were calling those things.  I don't know, I should probably pay attention more. 

The first line we waited in lasted only twenty minutes or so, this sign didn't really apply to us that much.  We made the mistake of immediately jumping in to the first line we came across, which was for a medium-sized schooner, right on the other side of the entrance to the attraction. . .

Kris and the girls, waiting in line for the first ship (shown in the background.)

When your roommates are girls, you tend to take frequent bathrooms breaks.

The Denis Sullivan.  Like I said before, this ship was the first one you came across upon entering the park where the ships were anchored.  Had we been smarter, we would have bypassed these smaller ships entirely and immediately gotten in line to see the larger ships (with the much longer lines.)  We'd be paying for this mistake later.

Nearly aboard the Denis Sullivan.  Kind of excited.

Then there's this boat.  Kind of not as cool-looking.

All aboard the Denis Sullivan. . .

This old dude wanted to charge my kids $1 (apiece) to ring the bell one time.  You can imagine how well this went over with Yours Truly.

This schooner is an educational ship, used by college faculty and students throughout the state studying marine life, natural conservation, weather patterns, and all other things maritime.

Cooperative children, posing for a picture.

The ship anchored behind the Denis Sullivan was the famous warship (a Brig) , the USS Niagara, made famous by its status as the second flagship of Commodore Perry during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.  This was the ship I wanted to see the second-most (the first being the Spanish Galleon on hand), and unfortunately, due to time constrains (i.e. long lines) we didn't have time to check it out.  I guess we'll have to see it when Tall Ships returns to Bay City in 2019. . .

The only ship worth checking out on the other side of the river was this viking longboat.  All the other boats were schooners (like the Denis Sullivan), or smaller.  Not surprisingly, we stayed on our side of the river, with all the larger, more impressive vessels.

Heading down into the galley of the schooner. . .

A room full of nautical what-not.

The biggest attraction (and ship) at Tall Ships was the Spanish Galleon, the Andalucia - the last Spanish Galleon sailing in the world today.

How happy do you think the old guy in the blue shirt was to be tea-bagged by this juggler on stilts?  I imagine not very much.

After hitting up the Denis Sullivan, we made a beeline for the Andalucia, which, not surprisingly, had a line with a 3 or 4 hour wait time.  Resolved to see this once-in-a-lifetime ship, I volunteered to stand in line while Kris and the girls went elsewhere to do some arts and crafts to see what else was around.

Shipbuilding

(I don't think they're sea-worthy.)

Following their boat-buildin', Kris took the kids over to do some face-painting. . . which bought us some more time.

This looks insane.

I don't think the person who did this went to art college. . .

Meanwhile, back in the line.  At this point I had been waiting about 40 minutes in line.  You can see the Andalucia in the background, beyond this mass of people, snaking their way across the field in a long, LOOOOONNNG line.

Lunch time.  Kris bought them all pizza and waters, and they ate next to this fountain, which surely must have been enjoyable.  I wouldn't know, because I was still standing in line.

After two hours of walking the girls around the park, hitting up arts and crafts, having lunch, and once-and-awhile checking in with me in the depths of the Galleon line, Kris decided to switch places with me.  She took my spot in line and I took the girls over to check out some of the smaller ships, which had much shorter lines (coincidentally, the size of the ship directly corresponded with the length of its line. . . which makes a lot of sense.)

The largest of these smaller ships on our side of the river was the Mist of Avalon, a Nova Scotian fishing schooner, slightly smaller than the Denis Sullivan.  Very similar in build and rigging, though.

Boarding the Avalon. ..

You see how the platform here falls directly into the harbor water, with no rail or rope to speak of?  Considering I had two accident-prone kids with me, neither of whom can frickin' swim, I was thrilled about this.

Two smaller ships, from the stern of the Avalon.

At the helm

A better picture of this ship's life-preserver ring.  Or whatever it's called.

The Cannonball on the bow, with the hulking Andalucia in the background. . .

Meanwhile, back in the line:  a light at the end of the tunnel.  From this point, where Kris was standing, there was only about an hour in line remaining.  In total, we'd end up standing in line for about three and a half hours. . . but, as you'll shortly see, it was totally worth it.

After checking in with Kris, I took the girls back out to check out more of the park.  Right across from the galleon was another craft tent. . .

A mural station.  Kids were given pre-designed squares to color (they were number-coded), that were later arranged into giant murals depicting the Tall Ships Celebration.

Abby holds up here finished square

The work in progress.  Looking at it now, I worry about that dude in the wheelchair rolling alongside the harbor.  Shouldn't he have someone with him, in case he rolls over a wet spot and falls into the water?  Doesn't anyone care about this guy's safety?

Alayna and her square

The End is NIGH

Approaching the Andalucia. . . almost there. . .

This tree was about six-feet tall.  More of a bush, really.  Didn't stop our kids from climbing it while we were waiting in line.

Queued to board. This ship was HUGE.

The Houghs, courtesy of small random people who were standing in line behind us.

Explaining the Captain's Quarters - purpose and location - to Abby.  The kids were pretty excited to board this ship. . . but probably not as excited as I.

Bunny ears.  Always hilarious. . . for kids.

(They wanted a picture with one of the cannons.)

. . . and Alayna wanted an extra one with just her and the cannons, since her "nickname is Cannonball."  Whatever you say, kid.

Boarding the Andalucia.  FINALLY.

On deck

Taken from the forecastle, near the bow of the ship.

Some super-huge anchors. . .

Still on the forecastle. We took our time on this ship, considering we had waited in line for nearly four hours.  Some people were shuffling through in a line, but we had no intention of rushing through.

Rope.  Always popular.

No old guy was charging $1 to ring the Andalucia's bell.  Get with the program, Denis Sullivan.

Leaving the forecastle, heading back down to the main deck of the galleon. . .

The forecastle

The hold

I forget what I was lecturing on here.  Probably something to do with the guns.

Props.  We decided to spend the $5 to get a souvenir picture of our family with the ship's helm.  The costume accessories were a nice - albeit kinda corny - touch.

For $5, I was hoping for a better quality picture (the dude had an SLR, they take nice pictures even if you don't know what you're doing.)  Oh well.  Here you go anyway.

Arrgh. . .

Abby wanted a picture of her holding this bag.  Not sure what's in it.

Somehow, the Cannonball got hold of a sword.  We're not great parents.

The kids and yet another cannon pic.

Had we any grapeshot, we could have made short work of these ridiculous crowds. . .

Touring the Captain's Quarters. . .

Captain's Quarters

Back on deck

Going below deck

Down in the gundeck

The ship's gundeck has been converted into a museum, which is kinda cool. . .

They even had a few tablets serving as interactive learning centers, which the girls enjoyed.. .

This was roped off, but down there one would fine the hold, crew quarters, etc. - there's two or three more levels to this ship that weren't open to the public.

Video room

I ended up taking a few pics like this. 

Still more cannon pictures. . .

Leaving the gundeck

Back on land, an hour or so later

Bidding farewell to the Andalucia.

We bought some overpriced water bottles for the girls - it had been a hot, exhausting day, and we hadn't really planned accordingly for it.  The girls were beat, and we only had an hour or so before the park closed.  We briefly contemplated heading over to the other side of the river, but eventually opted against it - we didn't want to push our luck with the girls.

Besides, there was this huge hill they could climb on.  Whatever makes 'em happy.

See all those people walking across the bridge?  They're heading across the river to the other park on the far side, probably trying to squeeze in a few more ships before close.  We wanted no part of more lines.

Rolling down hills, grass stains, sweaty kids.

'Til 2019, Tall Ships.

- Brian