Bragg Family South summer 2015 VACATION (part 1)
Notice how I put "vacation" in all caps in the title--unlike so many of our previous "vacations" that also include a substantial work component, this trip involved actual vacation (almost exclusively). We first headed up to visit Hope's family in Michigan, meeting up with her parents near Toledo, Ohio, to visit a national battlefield known as Fallen Timbers (http://www.nps.gov/fati/index.htm). The picture below is of the main monument at this site (getting refurbished), which notes a major battle between the US government and Native Americans in 1794:
We also went to a local park, which has part of an old limestone quarry open for fossil collecting:
Most of the week we spent with Hope's parents consisted of enjoying the balmy weather, including some "cucumber" baseball:
We also visited a park in Ann Arbor, and the kids enjoyed the wildlife-themed play equipment:
Another highlight was a visit to Greenfield Village (http://www.thehenryford.org/village/index.aspx), part of the Henry Ford museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan. The car magnate Henry Ford was big into buying up historical facilities and structures and moving them to Michigan, where many are now a part of the museum that bears his name. Below, Kenny watches a glass-blowing effort:
The chair in the middle of this picture is one Thomas Edison sat in early in the 20th Century when he visited the opening of this museum to see the exhibit of his Menlo Park lab; Ford decided to preserve it right where it was:
Ford also preserved a bed that George Washington Carver slept in:
I know my mom and sisters would think the Carver bed was cool because of the quilt top; I loved the birdseye maple drawers underneath the bed. We also had the kids take a Model T ride around parts of Greenfield Village: the boys and I rode in this surprisingly comfortable 1923 touring sedan:
We also drove to western Michigan, and stopped at a peach orchard to pick some peaches:
But our main destination was the shores of Lake Michigan; the kids spent a lot of time in the water and playing along the beaches:
Somehow, Stephen and Beth lost their bodies:
Stephen also celebrated his 8th birthday (a few days early) with some of his cousins (Beth helped make and decorate his cake):
All too soon, our week with the Prudens was over, and we started the next phase of this vacation: our trip to the east coast. En route to the coast, we passed through parts of Ohio we had never driven through before, and stopped off at a neat shrine in central Ohio called "The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation". Below is a nearby park operated by the local Catholic Church with a large outdoor facility:
Here is the outside of the basilica:
And here is the inside:
After attending mass, we continued on to northern Kentucky, and paid a quick visit to my niece, Susan Johnston, her husband Jay, and their adorable 7-month-old son Oliver:
We also enjoyed an additional surprise: Susan's younger brother David was there, too--he was getting ready to start his studies at a nearby university, and was staying with Susan and Jay. We had a nice spaghetti supper prepared by Jay before rolling on into West Virginia to stay the night.
I will have much more on the rest of this vacation to come--stay tuned!
We also went to a local park, which has part of an old limestone quarry open for fossil collecting:
Most of the week we spent with Hope's parents consisted of enjoying the balmy weather, including some "cucumber" baseball:
We also visited a park in Ann Arbor, and the kids enjoyed the wildlife-themed play equipment:
Another highlight was a visit to Greenfield Village (http://www.thehenryford.org/village/index.aspx), part of the Henry Ford museum complex in Dearborn, Michigan. The car magnate Henry Ford was big into buying up historical facilities and structures and moving them to Michigan, where many are now a part of the museum that bears his name. Below, Kenny watches a glass-blowing effort:
The chair in the middle of this picture is one Thomas Edison sat in early in the 20th Century when he visited the opening of this museum to see the exhibit of his Menlo Park lab; Ford decided to preserve it right where it was:
Ford also preserved a bed that George Washington Carver slept in:
I know my mom and sisters would think the Carver bed was cool because of the quilt top; I loved the birdseye maple drawers underneath the bed. We also had the kids take a Model T ride around parts of Greenfield Village: the boys and I rode in this surprisingly comfortable 1923 touring sedan:
We also drove to western Michigan, and stopped at a peach orchard to pick some peaches:
But our main destination was the shores of Lake Michigan; the kids spent a lot of time in the water and playing along the beaches:
Somehow, Stephen and Beth lost their bodies:
Stephen also celebrated his 8th birthday (a few days early) with some of his cousins (Beth helped make and decorate his cake):
All too soon, our week with the Prudens was over, and we started the next phase of this vacation: our trip to the east coast. En route to the coast, we passed through parts of Ohio we had never driven through before, and stopped off at a neat shrine in central Ohio called "The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation". Below is a nearby park operated by the local Catholic Church with a large outdoor facility:
Here is the outside of the basilica:
And here is the inside:
After attending mass, we continued on to northern Kentucky, and paid a quick visit to my niece, Susan Johnston, her husband Jay, and their adorable 7-month-old son Oliver:
We also enjoyed an additional surprise: Susan's younger brother David was there, too--he was getting ready to start his studies at a nearby university, and was staying with Susan and Jay. We had a nice spaghetti supper prepared by Jay before rolling on into West Virginia to stay the night.
I will have much more on the rest of this vacation to come--stay tuned!
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