This is our second year participating in Great Lakes Letterboxing BINGO (hosted by SpringChick). Last year Mysterina decorated the card she helped with by making little drawings in each square. The tradition continues with both cards being decorated this year (click to see larger images).
MichKathy & Mysteryas' 2010 Letterboxing BINGO Card
TrailMark & Mysterina's 2010 Letterboxing BINGO Card
This past weekend we had lunch at the Port Hope Hotel (4405 Main St, Port Hope, MI). It doesn’t look like much on the outside or even on the inside but at least they root for the right team. 🙂
We enjoyed the Single cheeseburgers (rather than the Leroy burger which is even larger). The Single cheeseburger was HUGE. It came with lettuce, several tomato slices, onions, 6-8 pickle slices, and American or Swiss cheese. All toppings including mayo and bacon are optional.
Alternatives to burgers included the large Chicken Grilla. It had a huge grilled chicken breast on the bun with lots of choices for toppings (bacon, cheese, etc.). We also got an order of french fries to share. For less than $10 per person we departed very full and ready to hit the trail for an afternoon of letterboxing.
Last summer, as part of a day camp, the children went to Ford Field in Detroit. They toured the facility. Here are some of their recollections of what they saw and learned about Ford Field:
The tour guide told us that it was almost impossible to kick a football up to the ceiling. You’d have to double the world record for highest kick to get close to the ceiling.
Ford wanted to have a ceiling that could be opened and closed. He wasn’t allowed to do that so he put in a see-through ceiling instead.
The turf of the field is grass mixed with artificial turf.
He wanted to maintain the historical aspects of the neighborhood so some of the original buildings are built into and around the stadium. He also wanted the stadium to have the effect of being outdoors so that is why there are so many windows in different parts of the stadium. Some of the original roads are inside the stadium.
The elevators have some glass sides and it was neat to see the machinery that makes the elevators move.
The press area level had bamboo flooring. The press area had lots of computers and chairs. There was an area to get food and an area that had cupboards for supplies. Off of the main area, there were rooms for the press people: one set for Lions’ announcers and one set for the visitors’ announcers.
We got to go into the Lions’ locker room and the visitor’s locker room. The Lions’ locker room was spacious and had all of the lockers against the walls with a big open area in the middle. The lockers were organized based on what position the player played; everyone who played the same position had lockers next to each other. The visitor’s lockers room had lockers in the middle so they couldn’t communicate as easily.
We also saw the loading dock area where all of the football gear is brought into the stadium. At the end of the tour we saw an area that overlooked the lobby.
The Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum is a family favorite.
Mysteryas’ classmate had a birthday party there a couple Saturdays ago. The birthday party attendees received a tour of the museum. They spent 60-90 minutes exploring all four floors of the museum. They returned to the party room and made slime under the guidance of the AAHOM birthday party assistant. Mysteryas chose to make his slime green; other children chose blue. Of course at the end of the party everyone enjoyed cake, ice cream, and sherbet.
AAHOM Birthday Party
On the first floor, Mysteryas finds the house exhibit interesting. I think he could spend hours building structures out of the wood blocks or designing a house layout with the clear plastic magnetic pieces. Mysteryas’ favorite area on the second floor is the Lyons’ General Store. He enjoys being the storekeeper and playing checkers. The third floor has a small room for making shadows on the wall. He and his sister make lots of crazy poses to see how those are pictured on the wall.
Near the elevator on the fourth floor is a ball run exhibit. This vertical exhibit lets you make ramps by pushing flat boards into the wall at various angles. Then you place one or more balls on the built ramps and watch the ball roll down.
While Mysteryas celebrated with his friends, the rest of us explored the museum. Below is a picture of Mysterina on the 2nd floor:
AAHOM Rock Climbing Wall
One of my favorite parts of the museum are the eight entrance steps. As you climb up the steps, each plays a different musical note (together the steps make up a musical scale). Of course if the museum is busy you’ll hear lots of notes playing as people move up and down the steps. If you are lucky enough to have this area to yourself you can try to play a short song.
New on the first floor are some space exhibits. One has to do with gravity pull differences on the planets.
AAHOM Please Touch sign
On the second floor, I enjoy playing with bubbles. It’s interesting to see how the special wire frames come out after dipping them in bubbles. There is also a walking piano which you can play with your feet. This is a good alternative if the entrance steps are busy. Plus, it’s easier to transition from one note to the next.
The musical harp with invisible strings on the third floor is one of my favorites. It is part of the light and reflection exhibits. I’d love to have one of these for my home. The shadow room nearby is pretty fun too.
On the fourth floor is a room Mysterina calls the “dancing room.” It is similar to the shadow room on the third floor but rather than taking snapshots of your shadow, the exhibit captures motion and uses a computer to animate it with different colors and patterns.
If you visit Ann Arbor — or if you need another reason to visit — be sure to make time for the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.
We returned to Turkey Run State Park after dinner. We got in one last (short) hike that evening. Our destination was the Col. Lieber Memorial on Trail 11.
This picture overlooks Turkey Run Hollow (Trail 6) where we had hiked earlier in the afternoon.
From Trail 11, overlooking Trail 6
It’s only a short hike to the memorial and the Lieber Memorial Church. This small log-constructed church was relocated to the park at Lieber’s request.
Lieber Memorial Church
Plaque honoring Richard Lieber
Information Display about Richard Lieber
Richard Lieber Memorial Statue
On the way back to the Inn, I decided that my favorite view from the bridge (overlooking Trail 6) is this one:
Another view from the bridge
