Sanford Road Park

Last week we were helping a family in Milan pack up their kitchen.  Afterwards we promised the kids we would go to a park to play and letterbox.  Sanford Road Park was very close so we went there first.  As it turns out there are 3 parts to the park, a horse riding arena, soccer fields, and “Field of Dreams” which is an open area for flying remote control airplanes.

Many years ago, we visited this park (specifically the “Field of Dreams” area).  We wanted to check it out to see if it would be a suitable location for launching model rockets.  We also wanted to take Mysterina on a short fall color hike.

This time we had beautiful weather and not too many muggles.  Our first stop was checking out the horse arena.  Surprisingly, no one was in this part of the park.  The kids wanted to explore the entire fenced arena but I discouraged it since I knew they’d want to play elsewhere.  We quickly found the letterbox (very nice hand-carved stamp!).

Next we moved on to the Field of Dreams (there were soccer games being played in that part of the park).  No one else was here either so we were on our way to the letterbox.  On our previous visit (years ago) we had explored a different trail so it was nice to see more of the park this time.  Again, there was a beautifully hand-carved stamp waiting for us.  On our return hike we saw someone preparing to fly their model airplane.  This wasn’t a small plane, the wingspan was at least 36 inches across.  Wow!  It was great to see the plane take off and fly all around the open area.  When we reached the parking lot, there was another person getting their model plane out of their vehicle.  This would be a fun place to return to see more planes flying around.  Etiquette for flying your plane is described on this page.

Our last stop at Sanford Road Park was the soccer field area.  The games had finally finished.  Even the parking lots were empty.  On the way to the box Mysteryas fell down in the stony parking lot; luckily he had only a few scrapes.  The letterbox was pretty easy to find and again contained a beautifully hand-carved stamp.  The logbook had a fun cover.  After picking up a hitchhiker, we headed to a different part of Milan for one last letterbox before dinner.

Thank you SITE Sleuths! We had a great afternoon exploring Sanford Road Park!

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Greenfield Village

Almost two weekends ago, our family visited Greenfield Village (part of the Henry Ford) in Dearborn.  Check out their interactive map here.  We arrived around 10am with a packed lunch, snack and water bottles.  (Note: to keep this blog entry a bit shorter, I’ve omitted many of the houses and buildings we visited.)

Our first stop, just beyond the train tracks, was a 1914 Model T.  The kids climbed in and checked it out.  You can pay $4 per person to ride in a Model T around the village but we opted to walk.

After the Model T inspection, we headed toward Henry Ford’s birth home.  We learned a little bit about how rugs were made with scrap items in the early 1900s.  This was a craft activity in which men, women and children participated.

Nearby, a staff member played a young Henry Ford telling visitors about his beloved Model T.  Since we arrived in the middle of his talk, we went inside a nearby building and watched a video about the origin of Greenfield Village.

We next moved to the home of Orville and Wilbur Wright (it includes their bicycle shop).  We didn’t stay inside for long because there was a 20 minute play starting outside of the house.  The play was called “Home from Kitty Hawk.”  One of the staff members played the role of Orville and Wilbur’s sister (Katharine); she was waiting for her brothers to arrive home after their successful flights at Kitty Hawk.  The brothers arrive home and talk to their sister on the porch.  Through the play we learn about the brothers’ interests, strengths, dislikes and their technology.  This play was one of the highlights of my family’s visit.

After the play we continued on to the Menlo Park (New Jersey) complex.  We saw the power station and a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s tinfoil phonograph.  There are only 8 original phonograph’s left in the world; the Henry Ford has 4 of them, the Smithsonian has 1 and a private collector owns 1.  I forget where the other two are.

After the phonograph demonstration, we went to see a short play outside.  This play, “Edison’s Light Fantastic,” featured a young Thomas Edison talking to the audience (aka the “media”) on the day after his successful lighting of the streets at his Menlo Park complex on December 31, 1879.  This was a fun, interactive play.  We learned about Thomas Edison’s drive and the challenges he faced.  One of his favorite quotes was that invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

For lunch, we found a shady bench and ate the sandwiches and other food we brought with us.  In the distance we could hear a group (probably the Greenfield Quartet) playing popular songs from the early 1900s.  After lunch we followed the Baseball Parade and the Dodworth Saxhorn Band to Walnut Grove to see old-fashioned baseball.  This was fun to watch.  Next time I plan to bring a blanket to sit on.

The players did not use gloves and played by the 1867 rules (over 140 years ago).  I was impressed how good the players were.  The hitting and catching were very exciting.  I can’t imagine catching a ball that was hit so hard with my bare hands.  Strikes and balls are not called unless the umpire thinks the pitcher or batter are not trying hard enough (to hit the ball or to pitch the ball).  There’s a lot more to tell about the game but I think I’ll leave it for a comment or another post.  Here‘s a page with more info.  We left the game at the top of the 4th inning with the home team, the Lah-De-Dahs, leading the Nationals 11 to 6.

The next stop was the Village Green to enjoy some old fashioned outdoor games.  Some kids and adults were playing baseball with the Massachusetts rules from 100 years ago.  This was an interesting setup with 4 bases in addition to home plate.  Rather than joining their game in progress, we tried the hoop rolling and ring toss games.

Across the street, we went to the musical show “Simply Gershwin” which celebrated the music of George Gershwin.  This was a fun, high-energy show that lasted about 30 minutes.  I recommend it for anyone who enjoys musicals.

We ended the day with visits to the Glass workshop, the Tin workshop and the train roundhouse.  There was much more to see but I don’t think it’s possible to see it all in one or even two days.  I hope we have an opportunity to return to Greenfield Village again soon.

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Michigan International Speedway tour

Earlier this week the kids went on a tour of MIS (Michigan International Speedway).  Both kids had been to the race track last fall for another event.  This week they got a behind-the-scenes tour.

Mysteryas says:

We got to see a whole building just for tires.  We got to walk on the track, up to the top where the track is slanted.  We got to ride in a car on the track.  We only went about 25 miles per hour though.  We learned that the track was two miles long.  Over 100,000 people can watch a race.  There is a ‘rabbit hole’ to get under the track during the race.  In the middle of the track, there is a play structure for kids to play on.  The next race will be in August.”

Mysterina says:

We went on a fascinating tour of the whole place in a special van.  The only time we got out was to walk up the track and to check out the party / fan club building.  We even rode around the track.  On the outer edge of the track they have a shorter wall (2 1/2 to 3 feet high) so drivers don’t hit the cement wall if they are thrown out of their car during an accident.  The track is slanted at the curves to help the drivers stay on the track.

We drove by the building where all of the race tires are stored.  It is full of tires.  For each race, drivers have 15 extra sets of tires.  The tires are special tires that don’t have treads.

The party / fan club building has an area where you can get food and another area where you can sit, eat and watch the race.  The two elevators have names (one is Otis) and can talk.  They say things like “First floor.”

We found out that the track is 2 miles long and that the bleachers are colored so it looks like they are full when they are empty.

They have large campgrounds which are used during race weekends. There are two race weekends each year and a total of six races.

Read more at http://www.mispeedway.com/track_info/about_mis/

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SplashUniverse in Dundee, MI

This past weekend the kids were invited to a birthday party at SplashUniverse in Dundee (across the road from Cabela’s).  We arrived at noon.  The kids and I got dressed, ate pizza and then hit the indoor water park for about 3 hours.  We concluded with giant cupcakes and opening of presents in the purple room and then visited the arcade until it was time to go home.  It was a nice afternoon; we all really enjoyed the water park.

The water park has two large slides.  The green slide is completely enclosed and is a favorite.  The yellow slide is open except for a second or two at the end.  Both slides are popular and when we were there the lines were the length of the stairs at times.  Single and double inner-tubes are available.

In addition to the large slides, there is a lazy river with a family spa in the middle.  The lazy river was quite relaxing until I spun around and glided under the waterfall.  After that I made sure I was on the inside of the river so as to miss the waterfall and it was much more enjoyable.  Nearby was an area with floating disks (“logs”) and ropes above for the kids to try to climb across the water without falling in.  This was a challenging task but still enjoyable and very popular.

There is an adult-only hot tub in one corner and a toddler pool area in another corner.  In between is a large “tree house” which has lots of sprinklers and a huge pail of water which regular tips over and drenches everyone in its way.  The tree house has three smaller water slides which the kids enjoyed (no inner tubes required).  You can see a map of the water park here.

Probably the worst thing about our visit to the park was how loud it was.  You couldn’t get someone’s attention by yelling at them unless they were within 8 feet or so.  The park was busy the entire time we were there.  I’m not sure if every day is this busy.  I didn’t notice any lulls.   However, it wasn’t so crowded that we couldn’t enjoy ourselves.

Unless you are staying at the resort (Holiday Inn), everyone who enters needs to pay admission (spectator pass is $7; full day admission which provides access to the entire park is $32).  There are coupons available to save on admission ($25 for July 2008).

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Letterboxing in Sanilac County, MI

A couple of weeks ago we were visiting Michigan’s Thumb area.  One afternoon, 54 weeks after we began letterboxing, we visited the Sanilac Petroglyphs.  Unfortunately the petroglyph area was not open.  I think the kids would have enjoyed seeing the carvings up close.

Fortunately, the hiking trails were open and the letterbox we were seeking was placed along the trails.  The trails were pretty muddy.  One of the bridges we crossed dipped into the river below as we crossed but luckily our feet didn’t get too wet.

The letterbox was well-hidden and in good condition.  It had a nice hand-carved stamp.  This was our 100th find!  Woohoo!

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