The Tin in Mackinaw, Pt. II

(Contd.)

We arrived to colonial Fort Michilimackinac about five minutes before Fort Fright started.  Since we had already purchased our tickets ahead of time (while we taking pictures of the lighthouse and bridge - and questing for my poster - earlier), we got to jump into the shorter, pre-paid line.  After a few minutes of waiting, they started letting people in, so our timing was just about perfect.

Unfortunately, the weather was not.  It was super windy, so despite the fact that it wasn't necessarily cold out, the wind cut through your outer layers like nobody's business.  It was a very, very unpleasant trek from the visitor's center to the fort. . .

Our regiment of elderly tourists marches on Michilimackinac

Don't feed the Hessians.

Some French Fur Trader (personally, I found it far too cold out for a history lesson. . . and I'm a frickin' history teacher.)

Approaching the outer palisade 

Zombies and Regulars at the front gate

Anybody lose a canoe ? (You have NO idea how badly I wanted to crawl under this thing for warmth. . .)

Opening the gate for our horde of tourists (we were among the first ones into the fort.)

Hey, cool name, Peyster.

Okay, so I don't really know what any of this buildings are off the top of my head, so you're not going to get a lot of historical description throughout this particular blog post, you have my apologies (again, history teacher.)  I mean, they did give us a map with all the building names on it, but I don't have it in front of me at the moment.

This lady just walked continual laps along the parapet of the wall.  I think she was supposed to be a ghost bride or something.  As cold as it felt, and as crazy as the wind was, there was no way in hell you could have paid me enough money to do this.

Some pretty high-tech scaring going on in Colonial Michilimackinac. . .

Okay, so I do remember this one - it's a church.  Built on top of the original.  Bunch of dead bodies found buried underneath it. . . or something.  I don't know, we walked in because it was warm and we needed a break from the wind.

They fly the Union Jack over the fort, as it was primarily under British control for most of its existence (or so I'm led to believe.)

This dude in the red hat was spinning tales about French werewolves in the fur trade.  Seriously.

You guys ever see that hood movies from the '90s, Dead Presidents?

There aren't any bathrooms in the fort (not a lot of indoor plumbing in the 1700s, people), so at one point in time Kris and I walked back towards the Visitor's Center to use los servicos.  The clouds had cleared up just enough to give us some pretty bad-ass photo ops. . .

Restrooms

This is actually Kris' real resting face.

Back in the Fort

Captain of the 8th Regulars - and his creepy zombie homeboy - still manning the front gates

Inside one of the officer's quarters

How creepy would this be if these ladies were ghosts?

Checking out the map/itinerary of the fort's attractions, trying to stay warm

There was a long line outside this random building, so being sheep Kris and I decided 'it was legit,' and hopped on in.  It ended up being a not-at-all scary 'haunted house,' but at least it was warm inside.

Heading back to the van, after a cold and windy evening in Fort Michilimackinac

A second attempt with my phone instead of the SLR (taking night shots without a tripod frickin' sucks. . .)

Back in the hotel, with the Great Prize of the weekend.  We ended up picking up a few souvenirs in Mackinaw City, but this one was, by far, my favorite. 

The next morning, one last look out at Lake Michigan and/or Huron before packing up for our indirect drive south back to Midland

Kris and I detoured slightly on our way back south, taking the famous Tunnel of Trees (along M-119, shown here), which is considered one of the most scenic drives in all of Michigan.  Unfortunately, while it was still a very beautiful drive through the country, it was still a little too early in the fall for my liking:  I could have done with less green and more fall-ish colors in the foliage.  Two more weeks and it would have been about perfect.

- Brian

'Murica!

FREEDOM, motherf***ers!!!

Seriously.

Everyone gets a little more patriotic on the Fourth of July (though technically that dates holds little historical significance, believe it or not - go ahead and look it up.)  What's not to like?  Fireworks, good weather, an abundance of non-subtle conservative overtones?

Hanging out with Bailey at Nana and Papa's (sans Papa)

Occasionally, you're forced to throw on your red, white and blue warm-up pants a day or two early, due to city planning and scheduling convenience.  That was the case this year in Clare.  We opted to check out Clare's firework extravaganza opposed to Midland's this time around, even though Midland's was bound to be bigger and significantly more 'Murica' (seeing how it's a bigger city and all); with all the people crowded into the downtown park area, checking out Midland's display was bound to cause some congestion-related headaches.

So. . . here's how the Houghs celebrated the not-quite-anniversary of our nation's meek tantrum against the British Crown:

Like every other time we stay the night at my parents' house in Clare, we took full advantage of this pool.

Cousin Blake.  Bein' Blake.

Our kids LOVE swimming.  Despite the fact they can't swim.

Super shades.

Kris

Leap of Faith

Watson barks at anything that splashes.  He's an asshole like that.

Once the kids got cold swimming outside (what can I say, they're Florida babies), Cindy opened up the hot tub for 'em. . .

Dad and Cindy's basement

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

The girls like to pretend they're in the 'Moon Pool' from Mako Mermaids, one of their current favorite shows.

Despite the fact that Dad and Cindy have prime seating for viewing Clare's fireworks from their back, second-floor balcony (the city shoots them off over nearby Shamrock Lake, some 200 feet away, thereabouts), my nephew and I decided to blow some of our own shit up this year. . .

As a treat for the kids, Cindy opened up a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice. . . only, right off the bat, it was clear that something wasn't right with it.  No carbonation, a funky smell, etc.  Curious, I looked at the bottle, and, sure enough, the bottle was expired.  As of 2004.  So, more or less, I'm pretty sure we fed a bunch of kids bathtub merlot.

Snacks and fancy cocktails Sprite.

Explosives never go out of style.

Bailey makes his move

Hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob = one hell of a patriotic kids meal.

After dinner, while Blake and I amassed our explosives for the evening, Kris took the girls over to Grandma Jordan's place to decorate Murica cookies (I can't go over to that place, as she has cats in an apartment, and I'm deathly allergic to the little S.O.B.s)

Combining craft time with sugar?  Hands down Abby's favorite past time activity.

Trying out Grandma Jordan's Inverter. . . 

Some coloring on the porch

Bunny ears.  Again.

Once it got dark out, Kris brought the girls back over to Dad and Cindy's so they could light up sparklers while Blake and I continued to shoot off rockets in the lead-up to Clare's firework show.

As previously mentioned, we had prime seats for the evening's firework show - they shot them off right on the other side of that tree line you see here

Not pictured - Watson and Bailey.  They both disappeared for the duration of the show/

Happy Birthday, Murica.

- Brian