Wildlife of Michigan

During my weekend in the State of Michigan, here are the animals I saw alive and running around:

Black Squirrels!  I was so fortunate to see a few of these
since locals told me they are only found in the counties
around Marshall and Battle Creek

Beaver
Photo thanks to: answersingenesis.org

White tail deer with antlers!
Photo thanks to: statesymbolsusa.org

Woodchuck!
Not the best photo but it's just how I saw the little guy:
running across a footpath
Photo thanks to: juliesickefoose.blogspot.com

Finches!
I saw blue and green ones too,
but these were the  best photos I took

Sand crane!
Photo thanks to: fishandgame.idaho.gov 

I also saw plenty of raccoons, possums, skunks and a vulture; but as they were laying along the side of the roads (next to the wildflowers) I feel that they don't count!

Wild flowers of Michigan

Just after lunch on Friday, we left Indianapolis and drove to Brooklyn, Michigan.  Although it has been a very dry summer up here, the foliage seemed lush to me and all along the sides of the freeway I saw the brightest and most beautiful flowers.

Queen Anne's Lace - gets its own collage
because it's my favourite of all 

  

A night in a train station

With shifts covered and Baxter dropped off at Aunt Amy’s, last night Will and I arrived in Indianapolis, IN and had a great dinner with friends at a restaurant downtown called Palomino.  This is the first time I’ve gone anywhere without Baxter for a whole week so I was trying to enjoy my scallops and not look compulsively at my phone for updates or missed calls from Amy.  I was anxious about my boy not eating or sleeping and moping around looking for me; but once the text came through that he was having fun playing outside and has eaten well, I relaxed, had a mojito and became part of the lively conversation.

This morning my plan was to explore the city, but I only have two hours before Will gets back from his meeting and we need to drive on to the next place; so I’m staying put. Honestly, I am intrigued with our hotel and want to explore it more.

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza, an historic building transformed from a train station into a hotel that has retained its train station appearance and simply moulded rooms into the original design!  The platform is now carpeted and rooms are built around it, where the tracks should be; I’ve never seen anything like it!  To make it even better, part of the original train station remains next door to the hotel.  Downtown Indianapolis Union Station is literally separated from Crowne Plaza by a wall, so when a train goes by you can hear it and feel the ground rumble for an authentic I’m at a train station vibe.  Hopefully these pictures from the booked.net web page will describe things better than I can.  In the meantime, I’m off to take some of my own! 

Thursday night in Savannah

After getting changed, feeding and putting baby Baxter to bed; Will and I continued exploring down Savannah's Bay and River Streets well into the night.  Our first stop was the hotel right across the street from ours; the East Bay Inn,  where daily tours are conducted throughout.  We were greeted by the concierge and even though tour had concluded for the day, she showed us some local history in the welcome area, where we took some photos and continued on our way.

East Bay Inn, Bay Street

Next we visited Savannah's Candy Kitchen on River St, which has to be every child and sweet tooth's dream!  We witnessed the mixing and manufacturing of candy, sampled local delights and after almost an hour of me deliberating what sweets to buy and Will growing increasingly impatient; we left with only one caramel coated apple!

Savannah's Candy Kitchen

Afterward, we had dinner at the Oyster Bar and listened to a one-man show at the Cotton Exchange Tavern before wrapping up for the evening.

Weekend getaway to historic Savannah

Will's going to South Africa for two whole weeks; but not wanting to loose the title of best-hubbie-in-the-world, he has organised a weekend trip for the three of us to visit Savannah beforehand!  I'm so excited!  This trip will appease the restlessness within me caused by being in the same place for so long; and it will enable us to spend quality time together... ahh bliss!

We left Atlanta this morning and arrived in Savannah by 3pm: just in time for a horrendous storm that brought hail, a city-wide power outage and lightening that was striking down trees and power lines before our eyes!  Once it was safe to leave the car, Will checked us into an ancient and beautiful building on Bay St, which is now the Staybridge Hotel. 

Ordinarily, we would have been ecstatic to be upgraded to a suite on the top level, but with no electricity, Will lugged our entire car-trunk of luggage up five flights of stairs and this put a slight damp on his enthusiasm! I offered to help or course, but my Prince Charming insisted on doing it himself.  By 4 pm, we were walking down River St! Where the streets are paved with... oyster shells.

We walked all the way from one end of Bay St to the other and then back up Bay St to our hotel to get ready for the evening.

Road trip, day 10: Dallas, Texas

The city of Dallas is smaller than I expected it would be.  Especially seeing as it's sort of the shopping/ culture capital of North Western Texas and the place that folks from surrounding localities drive to for their major shopping needs. 

On this trip I am staying in and just relaxing; spending some much needed time with Baxter while he gets some exercise, plus recharging my batteries for this upcoming weekend of fun (in Arkansas).  I'm OK with missing out on a few days of tourism since last time I visited Dallas, I explored the city and visited one of its most famous landmarks: the 6th Floor Museum - which is the actual preserved building and room from whence President JFK was infamously assassinated in the street inside of his escort vehicle.  It's eerie to look out of that window on the 6th floor, down to the street where a white X still marks the exact spot that the President happened to be, when he met his fate.  Today, there is a monument to him down on that street, as well as a cafe/ gift shop that sells all sorts of memorabilia in his honor.

Another destination from my last trip was the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science; which is aimed toward children; but I did enjoy its IMAX theatre, where I watched a documentary on ancient Egypt, and its "Hall of Texas Mammals" - which perplexingly contained birds and reptiles as well?!  (Just a suggestion, but maybe they should rename it: Hall of Texas' Native Animals.)  Photos coming soon!

Although it was incredible to be up-close and personal with real animals, to see just how HUGE some of them really are and to be able to touch some of their fur - it did make me a little sad that they were all killed and stuffed just for this reason.

Road trip, day 9: Abilene Texas

Will and I left Synder on Monday, almost as soon as I'd finished my blog entry about it, and drove to Abilene where we spent the night.  We set off again (for Dallas) shortly after breakfast on Tuesday morning; but not before I'd convinced Will to stop at Frontier Texas: an incredibly high-tech exhibit depicting the early history of Texas.

I learnt a lot of valuable information, but more importantly I left truly wowed by this one-of-a-kind virtual tour; where surround-sound and motion-activated plasma screen tour guides followed me from room to room and told me "their stories" from the past.  It was neat to be able to touch genuine Indian artifacts, buffalo furs and skins, ancient leather and other relics; and so easy to retain information through this new form of exhibition.     

Every side is represented; from Texas's native Indian colonies and early European settlement to the devastating conflicts and consequences this merged lifestyle caused both sides to incur.  Another group to suffer almost to the brink of extinction was the buffalo; upon whom the Indians almost solely relied upon for their longevity.  Once the buffalo were eradicated - it wasn't long before the Indian way of life tragically followed suit.

I recommend this Frontier experience in Abilene to anyone wishing to visit Texas.  It's a key step in understanding the state's pride and culture - which is often perceived as boastful by the other states.



The "tour guide" (projection) beckons
to be followed upon arrival



An Indian chief tells of his
people and customs



Road trip, day 7: Snyder, Texas

After we left Fort Worth yesterday we drove to Snyder which is not much more than a mining town – without the mine! On our way here we were surrounded by thousands upon thousands of wind turbines – the government’s answer to environmentally friendly power generation. 


Photo credit: wind-power-turbines.info



Although quite a sight to behold, these turbines seem to do little for the economy of the towns they surround.  Being self sufficient, they don’t generate any new employment and being so large, they take up A LOT of space; meaning the opportunity of utilizing the land in other ways (such as farming or town development) vanishes. They also affect wildlife since so much space is cleared away to make room for them and all of this in turn impacts tourism.  I guess they are a cleaner option, but I wonder if the steel turbines really are a greener option - when so many thousands are needed to produce the same energy as one power plant?... Moving on!  



I'm having a quiet day today, just working and catching up on some much needed laundry and rest at the hotel.  It's nice to have a down day and unscramble myself and my to-do list! 

Weekend highlights in Fort Worth, Texas



(cranky look due to being bitten by a fire ant!
Now I know why they are called that: IT BURNS!
ouch!!)



The only way our weekend in Fort Worth could have been any better is if time had stopped for us and enabled a longer stay! We spent the greatest portion of Saturday in Downtown, were I got completely caught up in the beauty of the autumn decorations all around the city and jumped on the band wagon to find myself the perfect harvest decoration: a pumpkin!

After a short drive to the city of Arlington, Will and I found a pumpkin patch to select our perfect pumpkin from, and once our mission was complete, we came across an Eastern European restaurant/ gift shop, where we had a very surprising, very pleasant Russian lunch and perused souvenirs and icons.

Back in Fort Worth, the evening went by in a daze as we once again headed Downtown to enjoy the music, atmosphere and fine dining. Sunday was greeted bright and early by another visit to the Stockyards District where we witnessed a cattle drive (these days more a tourist attraction than a real cattle sale) and wandered around Stockyards Station until lunch time. This concluded our wonderful and jam-packed stay in Fort Worth.

Our perfect pumpkin was left sitting in our hotel room adorning a written message to the staff thanking them for our lovely stay and Fort Worth left a resounding message within Will and I to come back again soon!