In mid-July, we took our family vacation to Michigan. Fantastic time! We enjoyed everywhere we visited. We were inspired by our neighbor who grew up in Michigan and happily visits with her family more than once a year. It was nice to have a "local" give us vacation tips.
Our first stop was Warren Dunes State Park.
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This is before we climbed the huge sand dune behind the boys. We made the mistake of following the boys. Naturally, they picked the steepest part of the dune to climb. It is NOT easy to climb sand! |
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At the top |
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We made it back down the hill without rolling. |
After our stop at Warren Dunes, we traveled to Kalamazoo, which was just an overnight pit stop on the way to Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit. Dearborn is about 6 1/2 hours from Springfield, so we wanted to break up the travel time. Curt is a big fan of Bell's beer, so we ate dinner at Bell's Eccentric Cafe.
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Caden is not usually the one sitting on Curt's shoulders anymore. Ha! |
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On our walk back to the hotel after dinner, we spotted this very unique car. It's license plate said Split.
Walking off dinner
The next day, we drove to Dearborn to spend a couple days exploring Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Musuem.
Greenfield Village is part of The Henry Ford. It is a very large outdoor museum honoring over 300 years of American life. Henry Ford was a collector to the extreme. He once said, "We ought to know more about the families who founded this nation, and how they lived. One way to do that is to reconstruct as nearly as possible the conditions under which they lived."
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19th-century Firestone Farm--Home of the parents of Harvey Firestone (tire maker), originally located in Ohio |
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Checking out the Firestone chicken shed |
We watched a glass blowing demonstration in The Glass Shop. We were amazed and could not walk away! It was a fascinating process to watch. The Glass Shop artisans create over 10,000 pieces annually.
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Finished product...Seeing the final handle placement was pretty cool. |
1884 DT&M Roundhouse and railroad turntable
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Looks just like a Thomas the Train toy we used to have. |
Model T's drove around Greenfield Village
Here are only some of the historic buildings we visited. There was so much to see at Greenfield Village.
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Wilbur and Orville Wright grew up in this house, where they did much of the design work for the airplane. Built in 1871 in Dayton, OH. |
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The Wright brothers sold and fixed bikes here to fund their aviation research. |
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Thomas Edison's Menlo Park Complex--Built in 1929 in Greenfield Village with some structural elements from the original complex in NJ. Home of the first electric light bulb, the first phonograph, and many other inventions. We learned that Edison set a goal to have one major invention every six months and one minor invention every ten days in 1876, and he came very close to achieving that goal. |
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Farris Windmill--The oldest windmill in the United States, built in the mid-1600's and operated in three locations in Cape Cod, MA |
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We found Q*bert in a farmhouse from the 1700's. |
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Cotswold Cottage--Built in the early 1600's in Gloucestershire, England |
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Noah Webster Home--This home was built for Webster's retirement in 1823 in New Haven, CT, but he never really retired. He wrote many publications in this home, including his famous American Dictionary of the English Language. |
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Ford Home--Built in 1861 in Springwells Township, MI. Henry Ford was born and grew up here with his five brothers and sisters until he left home for Detroit at 16. When restoring this house, Ford made sure everything was exactly as he remembered. |
We took a ride in a Model T.
We stayed at the Dearborn Inn while visiting The Henry Ford.
On day two in Dearborn, we visited the indoor part of The Henry Ford. The Henry Ford is described as "one of the greatest gatherings of everyday genius ever assembled." Ford saw the importance of showcasing both big and small breakthroughs in our world.
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Thomas Edison was a friend and lifelong hero of Henry Ford. Edison attended the museum dedication ceremony in 1929. |
Several presidential vehicles are on display in the museum.
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1972 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine used by President Reagan--Reagan was getting into this car when he was shot by John Hinckley in 1981. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and George H. W. Bush also used this car. |
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1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine used by President John F. Kennedy--JFK was assassinated in this car. After modifications to make the limo safer, it retuned to the White House and remained in service until 1977. |
Driving America exhibit
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Checking out some of the classic cars and signs...It was a huge collection. |
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Kieran driving a Model T |
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Seems like we always find Cole's name somewhere on vacations. |
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1965 Goldenrod Land Speed Race Car--Held the world speed record for wheel-driven cars with a speed of 409 mph until it was broken in 1991. |
With Liberty and Justice For All exhibit
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Rocking chair used by President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on the night of his assassination |
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The Rosa Parks bus |
We were lucky to visit the museum while they hosted a Beatles exhibit. Lots of cool memorabilia...instruments, equipment, personal belongings, rare photographs, the official "break-up" letter typed by John to Paul's lawyer and signed by John, George, and Ringo, and the album signed by John and given to Mark David Chapman just hours before John was killed by Chapman.
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A replication of the stage at Liverpool's Cavern Club using actual bricks from the building |
Heroes of the Sky exhibit
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Watching a video about stunt planes...At this time, Curt was on a search for Caden's lost phone. Caden set his phone down to make a paper airplane and forgot to pick it up. Thankfully, an honest person took it to lost and found, and Caden was reunited with his phone. It was a very tense several minutes! |
Your Place in Time exhibit
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In a 1950's classroom |
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Curt and Kelly |
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Having fun with the green screen |
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Cole and Kieran in an MTV music video |
Made in America: Manufacturing exhibit
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Exploded Ford Model T, originally manufactured in 1924 |
The boys were able to help build an authentic Model T. Every day, this Model T is assembled fully and then disassembled again to prepare for the next day's assembly.
After checking out every bit of The Henry Ford Museum, we went back to Greenfield Village to ride the train around the village.
After dinner elsewhere, we enjoyed delicious speciality milkshakes at Brome Burgers & Shakes. We agreed that we will eat a meal here if we ever return to Dearborn.
Our next stop on our Michigan tour was St. Joseph for some relaxing beach time. We hit the busy, touristy Silver Beach on the first day.
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I LOVE watching my boys work and play in the sand so nicely together. The sand and water always seem to bring out the best of brotherhood in them. |
All the boys had a turn being buried in the sand.
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Caden |
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Cole |
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Kieran |
After playing in the sand and water, the boys rinsed off in the water fountains conveniently located right before you reach the sand.
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Being silly! We had the best time together in St. Joseph. |
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Yummy pizza! |
After dinner, we rode the carousel by the beach...
...played some chess...
Kieran had a chat with these statues...
...and then we had ice cream at Kilwin's! YUM!
The next day, we took our neighbors' advice and went to Tiscornia Beach. It is a much quieter beach just down from Silver Beach that many tourists do not know about. Tiscornia does not have the rentals, snack stand, lifeguards, water fountain play area, or playground like Silver Beach, but it is beautiful and nearly deserted. We really enjoyed the peacefulness!
We walked down the pier to the lighthouse for some pictures when we arrived. You can see this lighthouse from Silver Beach, but the beaches are not connected by a walkway. You have to drive a very short distance.
Hours of fun in the sand and water!
Per my neighbors' recommendation, we enjoyed Clementine's for lunch, including THE BEST onion rings and Bronco Billy drinks for the boys.
We visited the touristy shops around St. Joseph.
Every night, we played our new favorite card game, Exploding Kittens. So much fun!
Some photos of Jovie and Rey from our neighbor/cat sitter, Sophia who took great care of and spoiled them while we were gone
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We have THE BEST neighbors! |
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