Mountain biking

Wow, there is a lot to catch up on! The evening of the 4th was extra special as Joe bought a JUMBO package of fireworks! The kids ran up aqnd down the hill lighting fireworks named Mad Dog, Red Devil and Yellow Jacket (FYI they TOTALLY lived up to their names). Vinny tagged it as the "best ever"...
The next day Joe bravely (?) forged ahead and took all of the children except Quinn on a canoe/kayak excursion. The children spent the evening swimming in Lake Michigan.
The "anything goes" (haphazard??) spirit of our road trip provided us an opportunity to spend a few days with our good friends in Michigan and for that, we are grateful.
We left the McKenna's this morning at 6 and headed an hour north to catch the car ferry to Wisconsin...
The car ferry across Lake Michigan was really confusing and FILLED with action. Having long term experience with the car ferry to Nantucket provided no experience of familiarity. I drove up to the Badger was told to leave the car (running) anywhere near the entrance to the boat at which point a rotating group of running teenagers drove the cars on.
The boat ride itself was packed with activities. There were two breakfast buffets, an ongoing bingo game, a massage space, face painting, an American Idol contest, a movie theater and a cruise director running around sticking boat stickers on bald men's heads! Twenty minutes before docking there was an announcement that all snack bar food had been reduced to $1 which incited a group run down the starboard side. Everyone (including my kids seemed to be having a FANTASTIC time). I was very, very tired. It was clear within seconds that there would be NO napping. After the boat docked, getting the car back was equally random. About 200 people just stood around in a large parking lot as the running teens drove cars into the lot and just left them there idling.
Once in Wisconsin it was clear that my mapquest directions had n0t accounted for a major construction detour. I stopped and asked a very nice man at a garage for help. He gave me maps and went over the new directions a couple of times with me (I am always amazed at the extreme kindness of some strangers). I thanked him repeatedly and we hit the road, unfortunately our new route was all local roads and ended up taking us six hours instead of three. On the other hand, we did see a LOT of Wisconsin...