An Afternoon at the River Walk

We are blessed to live in such an interesting area.  There are so many places within 20 or 30 minutes of our home for us to visit, and they're all free.  Can't shake a stick at that!

This past weekend another one of our daughters tied that knot.  Unfortunately I have no pictures to show you, but rest assured my hubby looked quite dashing in his tuxedo.  The bride wasn't too shabby herself.  (wink-wink)

Even though I left the wedding without one picture in tow, I did take several pictures when the kids and I took Andrew, our Navy son, and his new girlfriend, Vaedin, to explore the new River Walk in Port Huron.  It's a fun place to go when you've never been to Michigan.  Black River meets the St. Clair River which opens up into Lake Huron after traveling under the Blue Water Bridges, and you can see Canada right across the blue.

We walked and talked and visited Vantage Point for a snack.  We all had a great time.  Then, we drove up the coast enjoying the rest of the boardwalk and up under the bridges.  It was a nice time.  Here is some of what we saw:

Vaedin, Harmony, Andrew, Avery, and Bella.

Exploring along the way.

Never been this close to a Great Blue Heron before!

One of the cool sculptures along the way.

Lots of fun watching these goslings.

Lots of new life on the river.

More goslings.

Parent and children.

Mom and dad, a few babies, and some ducks.

Lots of Mallards in the Port Huron Area.

The kids love this sculpture.

Another water bird.

The ships are always exciting.

Andrew clowning.

Avery had to give it a try.

The kids love to sit and read with this little girl.

If you've never taken the time to explore the area where you live you just might be surprised what you find.  I highly recommend visiting your local visitor center if you have one.  If not, request information from you local chamber of commerce.  You never know what you might discover.  We're working on becoming experts on staycations and touring our home state.  There's no place like home!

Winter Beach Play

Pat and I and the kids had a fun day of exploring this past weekend.  We live near Lake Huron, and we just love the water.  Bella had asked a few times over the winter to go to the beach.  I thought it sounded fun to explore the beach in the winter.  She's been itching for over a month or so to go to the park as well.  All of the beaches we frequent have a park.  Win, win!  Here are some pictures from our adventure.  Maybe you'll be inspired to visit a park in the winter, too.  If you happen to have a beach, bonus!  I can tell you that we had the park to ourselves, and even though it was cold the kids weren't ready to leave when we were.  I was surprised about that, but they really were having a lot of fun!  Now, for our adventure:

We love the playscape at Ft. Gratiot Township Park.
Avery enjoys everything to do with music!

Annabella loves to swing, and Harmony always loves these big swings.
A few of the parks near us have them.

Avery exploring the awesome playscape.

Annabella coming down the spiral slide.
One thing to note is that slides aren't as slippery when it's cold.

They didn't know where I was.
I kept whistling, and then they found me!

Harmony standing on one of the huge snow piles!

Is Lake Huron gorgeous, or what?

Interesting bits about Lake Huron.
(Avery insisted on the green frame.)

Burtchville Township Park has been a special spot for our family for years.

Lake Huron at Burtchville Township Park.

Picnic Table waiting for picnickers at Burtchville Township Park.

Harmony, Annabella, and Avery on the small playscape
on the beach at Burtchville Township Park.

Avery and Annabella having loads of fun!

Lexington Harbor takes on different form in the winter.

Docks at Lexington Harbor.

Dedicated ice fisherman at Lexington Harbor.

The boardwalk at Tierney Park in Lexington.

No amount of snow can stop Annabella from swinging!

This kid!

Harmony trying to maintain her footing
while pushing Avery on the swing.

Daddy's always good for a few good pushes!

Harmony looking introspective on the
playscape at Tierney Park in Lexington.

Even if you don't have amazing bodies of water near your home, parks can be a lot of fun in the winter.  We spent SO MUCH time cooped up last winter and this winter with sub-zero temperatures that it was a very refreshing change of pace to get outside, explore, and play once the temperatures reached into the 30's.  It was plenty warm, and the wind was mild, so the kids never complained of being cold.  Traveling from beach to beach allowed them time to warm up and relax between destinations, and they really enjoyed watching the water line as we traveled.  We would have driven even further up the coast, but the kids were getting hungry.  Since it was a spur of the moment activity, we hadn't planned ahead.  In the future I would most certainly pack a picnic lunch and make a full day of it.  It was a very enjoyable way to spend time together on the weekend.