Day 6 - Lots of Museums

I had an early morning zoom call so I got up early and headed to the lobby to get my work done.  Once the Zoom call was finished, I went back to the room but ended up on our balcony to finish my quiet time.  It was a great view. 

We grabbed breakfast from the buffet in the hotel lobby and then headed out for the day.  We have selected three museums to visit.  The first, at Tyler's request, is a railroad museum.  The tour started in the lobby / gift shop, set up to look like an old time train depot with white statues on display wearing clothes from the 20s-30s. Then we headed into a building of train displays and models and watched a documentary on the Freedom Train that toured the US for the bicentennial.  Then it was outdoors to check out the real trains with various cars - sleeper, mail, kitchen, dining, etc.  Tyler was so excited!

 

Next, we headed to the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum.  When we arrived, they were closed for a private event, so we headed to lunch at Chick-Fil-A to kill some time.

When we returned, we toured three levels including the outdoor platform to learn more about the oil industry and drilling itself.  It was very interesting.

A funny note, on the final floor and end of the tour, is a safety zone and one exhibit highlights the different alarms and what they mean on an oil rig.  My sweet girl thought it hilarious to pretend to curse and then use the sirens to BLEEP out the words.  We could hear her all over the exhibit floor (luckily we were alone). She had such a good time at that one simple exhibit - literally made her day!

At this point, we decided to head back to the room for a quick rest.  The next museum is the Galveston Naval Museum, which includes touring a battleship and submarine.  Sammy decided she could sit this one out, so she and I stayed at the hotel while the guys headed out.

Sammy and I relaxed in our room a while.  She worked on a LEGO set while I finished my Bible study.  Then we put on our suits and headed out to by the ocean.  We walked the beach, and sat on the piers watching one particularly skilled bird dive for fish.  We had a great conversation and it was just what we needed to wrap up the day.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Naval Museum and appreciated the uncrowded access and lowkey atmosphere.

Speaking of battleships, one of our past times on this trip has been to play board games together on our phones, primarily Battleship.  Ironically, Sammy has honed in her skills and now consistantly spanks all the rest of us every time she plays.  Its equal parts infuriating and laughable to us 80s kids who grew up playing the game thinking we were pretty good.

On their way back to the hotel, they picked up Papa's Pizza, rated best pizza on the island for 8 years straight!  Tyler had to work at 6:00 pm tonight so the kids enjoyed a meal in the hotel while Scott and I headed out on a date night.  We ate at Landry's Steak and Seafood, just 0.3 miles down the road from the hotel.  It was a great meal.  Afterwards we took a drive to check out the southern end of the island and then grabbed a coffee on the way home.  

Sammy was awaiting our return and met us at the door with her swimsuit on!  We quick got changed and headed down to the hottub.  It was a great and relaxing end to the night.

After showers, Sammy joined us in our room to snuggle up and read me more of her latest novel.  By the time we finished, Scott was done in the shower and Tyler wrapped up work and came over as well.

Then we all hung out on our bed and talked, teased and laughed together.  It'll probably last as my best memory of the entire trip.  It was getting late and I was starting to drift off so we made a plan for morning and sent the kids back to their rooms.  Good night Galveston, its been fun!

Day 5 - Finishing Up Boston

We decided to sleep in this morning but were still up by 9:00am. We had missed the hotel breakfast so we walked to a little pastry cafe and enjoyed breakfast.

After, we decided to finish up the Freedom Trail.  The route today brought us to Old Ironsides and the Bunker Hill Monument.

Once we wrapped up at Bunker Hill, we called an Uber for a ride to the New England Aquarium.  It was a fabulous little aquarium - that we all would highly recommend.  There was a lot to see and the animals were active so it made for a fun visit.

We decided to mix it up a bit and took the subway back toward the hotel, stopping short to find lunch.  Living in West Michigan, we don't often get the chance, so we enjoy it.  Plus it was on time and only a short ride today so it was quite enjoyable for us all.

We found a little pizza shop that was JUST what I would have pictured for a Boston pizza place and we LOVED it. Unfortunately they didn't have the breakfast slice that Sammy was hoping for, but pepperoni was an excellent substitute.

After lunch, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  We crossed the locks and enjoyed seeing the mechanics behind the large gates.  Once we got back, we took a break before heading to supper at a lovely Italian restaurant just a block over.

We had an outdoor table and all ordered the filet.  We shared sides of fries, carrots and garlic bread.  It was another excellent meal and after we walked home full.

Once back in our room, we decided to make it a movie night and climbed into Sammy and my bed to watch TV together.

Tomorrow we will pack up and check out for our next stop NYC.  We are all looking forward to it!  Plus Scott is flying in Friday to join us.

Day 1 - Travel Day

We weren't quite ready to leave when we woke up this morning, so after saying goodbye to Scott we packed and prepped some snacks for the drive.  We finished our prayer and were pulling out of the driveway by 10:30am.  Tyler wanted to drive which worked out well as I finished up some projects for church.  He actually drove the entire way today!

We stopped around 11:30 for some lunch at Hardees and Subway and proceeded to Port Huron.  We stopped here to charge (only around 12 mins) as it looked like the border had a long line up.  It took about an hour to cross the Blue Water Bridge and clear customs.  The only other time we were near this bridge was about a year ago when we were cruising under it when we were bringing home our new boat.

The car converted to kilometers per hour and the kids got a kick out of seeing the spedometer read triple digits.  Tyler did a great job at customs and driving internationally!  A big first for him today!!

We stopped to charge again around 2:45 and then proceeded to Niagara Falls.  We are staying in the Sheraton Hotel on the Ontario side and have a great view from our room.

Once we were settled, the kids decided to stay in for dinner so we had a pizza delivered and then just took it easy.  It was fun to see the falls change color after dark and then a short fireworks show at 10:00 pm.

I spent some time planning more of the details of our trip.  We watched the National Treasure movies on cable and took the opportunity to talk through some of the places we will visit on this trip.  After that it was getting hard to stay awake...

Day 1 - Across Lake Erie

We started out early to get on the road for our 4 hour drive to Port Clinton.  We needed to stop for groceries and wanted to get on board and somewhat settled before noon when Kyle planned to arrive.  Kyle was the captain for the previous owner and agreed to take this first leg with us as we get used to the controls of the new boat.  

It took a little longer to unload the car and get aboard but we were ready to go around 12:30pm.  We untied the lines and fenders and Scott took us out to Lake Erie.

After we cleared the marina and got out in the lake, Scott brought her up to cruising speed and we were off.  It took about 45 minutes to cross the lake and enter the Detroit River.  

The lake was so calm.  It was a beautiful trip across with the Ohio shore barely out of sight before Canada came into view.  The Detroit River is nothing like I expected but so cool.  There are man-made berms on either side making a fairly narrow channel most of the way up to Lake St Claire.  This allows boats to travel at full speed without damaging the beautiful homes along the shores.  Its like a highway through the river.

 

While passing through Detroit, the kids and I sat on the bow.  This is new for us as our previous boats didn't offer safe seating up front while at cruising speeds.  It was lots of fun as we saw the buildings and crossed under many bridges including the new international bridge that's currently being built.  

At one point, a couple jet-skiers followed along to jump in our wake.  It was very entertaining to watch them do tricks.

It was 4:30 pm when we finally pulled into the marina in St Claire Shores.  As soon as we were tied off and connected power, Captain Kyle headed out to find his wife to begin the drive home.

The boys got started setting up our Starlink internet and Jen immediately made a plan for food.  We had missed lunch and it was nearing suppertime.  I ordered pizza from Buddy's but because we were on a dock wasn't sure where to have it delivered.  So I decided to grab a scooter and find a better place to meet the driver.  

First I had to figure out how to use the new scooter.  Then had to figure out how to get out of the marina... it's a big one.  Then needed to drop off some outgoing mail.  After finding a post box, I circled back and found a bench that I could wait for the pizza delivery.  As I chatted with some lovely ladies taking a smoke break from a nearby restaurant, I realized I would struggle to carry our large order home.  If I held the pizza box, I'd have to choose between having gas or the break.  Neither seemed wise, so I set the boxes on the 'floor' of the scooter, balanced on just one foot while using the other to keep the food from falling.  And off I went.  Scott spotted me coming down the dock and snapped a pic. 

After dinner, Scott and Jen worked on projects around the boat.  Jen got all of the food and dishes organized and changed the linens on all the beds while Scott unpacked some of things and addressed a sensor alarm that had gone off while underway.

Both kids love having a space to themselves.  Sammy calls her room "spacious" and has already found a place for all of her things.

It's almost 9:00 pm now and we are all pretty tired.  I think we are all ready to climb in bed and rest a bit.  But first, a few moments with a cup of coffee on the bow to enjoy the beautiful sunset.

 

Day 13 - Not Off To A Good Start

The day started off pretty normally.  I had the kids get their own breakfast and took advantage of the extra time for devotions.  Around 10:00 am, we took a walk on the beach.  Its another cloudy, gray day so we were ever-watching the skies to avoid getting caught in a rain shower, but otherwise it was a fabulous walk!

Once we got home, we decided to make pizzas for lunch.  I love that my recipe has a breakdown for individual crusts, we each of us made our own... start to finish.

After lunch we planned to start school but I wasn’t feeling well so I decided to lie down for just a quick break... would you believe I actually fell asleep?  When I woke up, I was feeling better except now I had a headache so I got up for a snack but decided I needed to lie back down.  The kids made their own supper and gave me some more quiet time.  (I’m so thankful they are pretty independent these days!)

It was just after 8:00 pm, when Tyler pointed out that we were completely out of milk and offered to walk down to the Embassy to buy some for us... in the dark... alone.  He was so sweet to offer, and obviously REALLY wanted the milk so I got up, got dressed so we could go to WalMart.  Sammy was just finishing in the bathtub so I sat down to wait.  Tyler came over and asked if he could pray for me... of course!  

We were in and out of the store in no time flat.  After stopping for some ice cream, we headed right home.  We sat in the living room just a short time until the kids headed to bed to watch a movie.  Tyler popped out one more time and asked if he could pray for me again... so sweet!  Thanking God that I was feeling better, asking for a good night’s sleep, and praying away any illness / headache for tomorrow.  

I was back in bed by 10:00 pm and fell asleep almost immediately.  In some ways it felt like a wasted day... but obviously I needed some extra rest.  Besides, I always cherish the sweet moments when my kiddos care for me.