Friday in T.C.

We gave Chip three tickets to the movies for his birthday, and this morning they all went to see "Shorts for Kids" at the State Theater. I guess it was really fun - I know Dylan liked it - he had fun describing some of the shorts for me. Then they met Dick at the visitor center, and Dylan came home with Dick while L&C stayed in town and walked around and did some minor shopping.

Tonight we all went to Friday Night Live downtown and walked around and enjoyed the street performers. Dick ran into Chris and Shelly - I didn't see them. We left fairly early, and the Gillespies stayed around for the evening and went to the movie in the Open Space. It was "Goonies" - and Laurie was the only one who really liked it. By sheer coincidence, Chris and Shelly sat right next to our guys - what are the odds? Everybody saw them but me! This was a nice day.

The Answer Man

Today is Chip's birthday - Happy Birthday, Chip! We had dinner at Outback, and an ice cream cake from Oleson's.

Laurie and I went to see the Answer Man this afternoon. It was at the Lars Hockstad Auditorium as part of the Film Festival. This always brings back memories - it's the same auditorium Dick and I sat in as teen-agers at Central High in the fifties. Laurie and I were really lucky and got a good parking spot right in front of the school.

This screening was not sold out, but I must say that the auditorium was very crowded. It's fun to go to a movie where there are more than a half dozen other people in the theater!

The movie was really enjoyable, I thought. Jeff Daniels did a great portrayal of a reclusive author who is supposed to have all of the answers to life's most difficult questions. The supporting actors were all good too, especially Lauren Graham (I love her anyway from The Gilmore Girls). Chris the bookseller was well played also - I didn't quite get him at the beginning, but he became an important part of the story. The ending was a little slick - a really "happy ending" kind of a movie. I suppose it's a chick flick, but there's also quite a bit of bad language, so...not sure about that.

Yay Film Festival!

Junior Birdman

The whole Gillespie family went up in the air this time. For Dylan's bonus flight, the instructor asked C&L if they would like to go too, so off all three of them went.

Dylan flew up to Power Island, turned left over Leelanau - they could see the Manitous...and then came back across the peninsula and over to Torch Lake and back. They all had a splendid time, as you can tell by the pictures!


Dylan and his instructor Nick


Chip in the backseat



Dylan at the controls


Pilot Dylan


View of the Peninsula


Go to Power Island and turn left.


Coming in for the landing.

TCFF

Laurie, Chip and Dylan went downtown tonight for the opening street party of the Traverse City Film Festival. Not only did they have a chance to see Michael Moore speak, but they were in crowd scenes for a new documentary that is being made this year. I hear that the balloon sculpture thingy was a little bit lame, but they enjoyed it anyway.

Flight School Picnic and Tour

We were all invited to join the class for the final day picnic. It was definitely aimed at the students - hot dogs and ice cream! Then we had a guided tour of the Cessna that Dylan flew, two hangars, and the simulator. The tour was interesting and we felt very privileged to be there! It was a most congenial group.

Taxi and Take Off !

This was a beautiful day, and thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow, so the instructors at College for Kids took the students up in the airplane today!

Before they flew, the instructor took them around the plane for the pre-flight check, and showed them everything that has to be done. And then it was time to take off.

Dylan was first - he taxied down the runway and assisted on take off. He sat in the captain's seat, and handled the controls. He flew the plane from TVC to the Sugar Loaf landing strip. Then the students traded places and he sat in back for the rest of the ride. It was very exciting - he was nervous at first, but he really loved it. On a scale of 1-10 he gave it a 9, which is pretty darn good.












After that historic flight, we all went to see Harry Potter. It got mixed review from us - I loved it, Dick not so much. Dylan thought it was the worst of the series, Laurie was disapppointed, and Chip thought it was too long. Oh well - at least the popcorn is cheap on Tuesdays!

Dinner at Bubba's and home after a very big day.

Take Flight!

Dylan is going to flight school at NMC's College For Kids. Today was the first day, so all of us went along to drop him off with his backpack and his sack lunch.

He seems to have really enjoyed his first day. He actually got to sit in a flight simulator and try landing a plane! (He crashed on the runway, because he wasn't tall enough to see over the control panel, and couldn't even see the runway!) He was really disappointed about that, but I think we all talked him out of it.

The Clark cousins had a wonderful day on the river. It was totally easy for us because Chris took charge of all of the details - spotting the cars, carrying canoes and kayaks, etc. He took care of all the pick up and delivery, so to speak - plus he was a hero and saved Loretta, who was stuck under a tree. It's a good feeling to have those watercraft used and in the river for a change. Chris and Shelly. Aunt Molly and Uncle Dino, Katie, Becky, Betsy and Loretta - we loved having them here.

Drew Baby

Doug and Odette came for breakfast - Dick made banana/pecan pancakes! Plus chocolate chip pancakes for Dylan. We had a lovely, leisurely Sunday morning breakfast and a great visit before D&O left for home.

This has been a beautiful and fun day. We all went cruising around downtown, and the Bay was so gorgeous - deep blue and dotted with white sails.

Then we just stayed around home and enjoyed the river and each other. Shelly, Chris and Drew stopped in to return the utility trailer. Drew is such a darling, active little 18 month old baby - it's a real treat to watch him! We turned over some of Dylan's old toys which are now just right for Drew! Laurie brought Dylan's outgrown winter jackets and other gear for Drew - it's great looking stuff and I hope Drew can get a lot of use out of it.

It seemed like a great time to have a pizza party - which is something we've been wanting to do all summer. Laurie and I got the low-fat low-calorie veggie pizza! Mancino's is the best! We had a really nice time.

The Gillespies

Doug and Odette are in town - it's a big weekend for them. Last night was Doug's class reunion. This morning they went to a memorial service for an old friend in Manistee, and this afternoon was the Van Pelt Family Reunion in Manton. We went to the reunion to get a chance to talk to them. The weather was miserable - cold and damp - and I'm guessing there were less than thirty people there. We had a good chance to catch up on all of their news and adventures.

Laurie, Chip and Dylan and the guinea pigs arrived from Niagara Falls around 6 p.m., just in time for burgers on the grill. It's so good to have them here - they'll stay for 3 or 4 weeks.

Folks and People

This summer has been wonderful so far. The weather has been perfect - not too hot, not too cold - this has been the ideal place to be!

We've had lots of visitors.

June 28th Tim and Susie were over in our area to do some caching, and we invited them to stop in for supper. I made Steiger Grundy because it can sit and wait to be served, but I didn't make any dessert. I think this is cosmic...half an hour before we expect T & S, Chris and Drew arrive with a cherry pie from the GT Pie Co.! Did you ever hear of such perfect timing? The pie was a thank you for the loan of our trailer. I think it worked out perfectly!

Then on the 4th of July Gary, Donna, Dan and Laura stopped by - I already blogged their visit
(see "Y'all Come!")

July 7th Sniders came to stay for a couple of days -it was so nice to have them here - and have somebody to play with!



We didn't really do much - talked about the kids, read books, got Gibby's French fries at the Cherry Festival. Really, we just hung out and had a good time.

Last Monday Capt. Bud and Halanski Expeditions dropped in for a brew after completing the TTT caches. It was a gorgeous day to sit out on the deck and trade some "cache talk".

Yesterday I got a call from June, a friend from the Class of '53 at Central High. She and her husband Jerry were in town and wanted to see us, so I said we're going to be here all day - come on out! We had a very pleasant visit - It was interesting to hear about their kids and their travels.

Now we have so much to look forward to...Doug and Odette will be in town this weekend, and Laurie, Chip and Dylan will arrive either Saturday night or Sunday for their annual month of living with us! So here we go - the rest of the summer should be a blast!

The Outback Adventure

Professional tandem racers in ultra light carbon fiber canoes start on Brown Bridge pond at 10 a.m. Paddlers will do a 10 minute loop on the pond, then portage Brown Bridge Dam and head downstream, portaging Cass and Sabin dams and finishing the 22-mile course at Hull Park.

And they went right past our house! At least two canoes had both women paddlers - You go, girls! (Women? Ladies?)













After the canoe race, we washed the winter grime off the golf car. With a bright and shiny golf car I couldn't resist taking neighbor Mary for a tour of the property. We went all the way down to Woodhenge, and used most of the paths - have to save something for next time.



Dropped a unique travel bug at Dennis' house, and then went to take in the sights at the Cherry Festival - mobs and mobs of people everywhere. Kathee said they had 3,000visitors at the Visitor Center yesterday...the usual daily count in the summertime is around 250!

The Unique travel bug is named PeeWee and he originated in Minnesota.