Day 13
Today was a painting day at Jake's house. Then we drove Ben and Jake to the Ore Dock and Presque Island Park where there is a concrete walkway to a lighthouse.
Uncle Ben helps with the painting of the freshly pressure washed and primed front porch and stair railings.
The finished painting project and uncovering of the nice brick walkway to the front steps. Big improvement!
Vernon mixes the mortar cement to put in the cracks in the foundation walls. He mixed 5 batches for patching.
Matthan and River looking around for the curious little chipmunk that was coming out from under the shed.
Finishing up painting the outside basement door.
The boys find things to do in the back yard while the men are working
Northern Michigan University Superior Dome - the largest wooden dome in the world covers an area of 5 acres! They use it for sporting events.
We got to see an ore boat being loaded this time!
A couple of the chutes being lowered to the boat to dump the ore from the "pockets" in the dock.
These bumps in the water next to the ore dock are the remains of the original all wood ore dock built in 1896.
The description and history of the ore docks
Two of my sons - one smiling and the other with a mouth full of sunflower seeds!
Ben and Jake wanted to scramble over the rocks to go the rest of the way to the lighthouse. We said, "Have fun!" We walked back and enjoyed the view of the cliffs and trees at Presque Isle.
Beautiful cliffs and trees of Presque Isle
Nana and John Jacob having a nice moment.
Day 14
Last day in Ishpeming! More painting got done -- the railing to the side entrance to the house. Then we took Ben to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum. Then a nap after lunch. We're invited for supper at the Fuller's:
We're hanging out at the house while Emerson and Matthan are out picking up our supper. Samantha is knitting!
Outdoor fun in the Fullers' backyard. Volleyball skills are still there!
And Jake and Ben showed Joshua some basic skills.
River throwing the football with Uncle Ben
Sweet boy River walks over and hands me a basketball (and sometimes a football) to play catch.
Playing keep away with Uncle Ben
After supper we go to the nearby playground then over to the campground where there was a whole lot of Bouncer pad bouncing going on.
Matthan and River take a break from bouncing to get a drink of water and some grapes (River dropped his grapes in his water cup - naturally!) at the camper.
Samantha was curious about Grandpa Vernon's "Words with Friends" game on his tablet. Grandpa Vernon was very generous with his time and skills and labor and these last 11 days! He was very happy to do it too! -- a cheerful giver if I ever saw one. Many thanks to Grandpa Vernon!
Goodbyes were said. How good it was to spend time with and build relationships with the grands! I love them all so much!
Day 15
We packed up Ben's tent, mat and sleeping bag early in the morning and drove Ben to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin airport to catch a flight back to PA.
Then we drove a couple of hours southwest into Illinois to the town of Elgin just west of Chicago to the Paul Wolff Campground in the Kane County Forest Preserve. Beautiful place. We look forward to going out to dinner tomorrow night with our friend, Jul Radke and Thomas who live in Elgin.
Lovely campground (Paul Wolff) where we stayed for 2 nights. Listening to the hundreds of frogs chirping in the evening.
Day 16
This was a day to get errands done: Laundry, grocery and the Xfinity store to get a new SIM card for Vernon's phone. Then dinner out with Jul and Thomas and dessert at the camper.
Thomas and Jul were about to leave after having dessert in the camper and I exclaimed "I didn't get any pictures of you two! Hence the selfie! We had a lovely visit with them lots of stories and laughter.
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