What We Did on Our Summer Vacation, part 2

The next part of summer break took us from the New Mexico high desert to green grass, warm lakes, and balmy summer sunsets in Michigan:

As far as I can tell, Brennan & Lucie spent their week with Gangi & Grandpa Marshall in Silver Lake, with breaks for meals and episodes of "The Big Bang Theory".  Hard to believe that last summer, Lucie called it "dirty water" and always wanted a float or a life jacket.

By the time we made it to Michigan, they had perfected their launch off the end of the dock.  And wanted it filmed.  In slow motion.  Naturally.

We were lucky to overlap with Uncle Gavin and Aunt Amy for two days, so they got to spend time with Essie and Fred, and corrupt them with candy topped Uncle Ray's ice cream desserts.

Then we were off to Wisconsin, to visit Grambo and Grandpa Üwe.  It got pretty hot while we were there, so we went looking for more lakes.  Luckily, there's a big one all along one side of Milwaukee.

Reviews of Lake Michigan and Atwater Beach were mixed:  they liked the huge stairway down, and the playground, but the little dead fish sprinkled along the shore were kind of off-putting.  

I made a short side trip to Chicago, which turned out to be a surprisingly easy, pleasant, and cheap train ride away.  Not only did I get to catch up with a good friend and check out her just-about-to-open animal hospital, I got to go back to a favorite spot from teen years:  the Union Station stairs.  For reasons that I no longer recall, the rag-tag band of high school nerds I belonged to LOVED the 1987 gangster film The Untouchables.  And would re-enact the Eliot Ness shoot-out scene on trips to Chicago, although without with critical dramatic addition of a runaway baby carriage. 

Traveling around the country and spending time with family was lots of fun, but after a few weeks the kids do start to get a little homesick and miss their friends.  Also, Daddy had a big appointment to get his cutting edge knee repair surgery that we couldn't miss.

They are getting big enough that I don't have to schedule camp for every day I'm at work - in fact, they actively complain about most of the SF Rec & Parks and YMCA offerings - but if it's something are interested in (soccer, sewing, archery, animals) they will happily go.  And if it's something extra-cool - like the Daddy Daycare 5 day camping trip to Fort Bragg with their buddies, they charge off without a backward glance.  They were screen-free and mostly off the grid (we got one phone call on the day they went to the big community pool in town), came home covered in bug bites with duffels full of filthy clothes, and can't wait to go again next summer.

I didn't go, but Mr. Daddy Daycare himself shared some photos of the campground -

- grill your own pizza night -

- riding the Skunk Train -

- and exploring the Mendocino coast & tide pools.

We also got to take a little weekend getaway to Marin - our friends invited us to their new house in Nicasio, which not only has a pool and some awesome 1960's design, but also provides some prime viewing of the fog rolling over Skywalker Ranch.

We had a fun morning horseback ride in the hills above Tomales Bay, and then headed down to Marshall for some tasty fish & oysters, and Point Reyes Station for supplies and ice cream.

Summer break is in the homestretch, but we have one more adventure before school starts - our annual Tahoe week and horse camp!  Here's Lucie, taking a lesson to get tuned up ahead of time: