WOW! It's September and we were gone from last Thursday until this past Tuesday evening so I'm finally getting to participate in the weekly FFF again! It's so hard to choose just five blessings each week that make my "fave list". But I guess I'll share FIVE of the best things about the past week and be prepared: there are a lot of photos! Probably 5 for each fave!
I'm joining in with other bloggers and we link up at Susanne's site. What tops your list of things to be thankful for?
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| LaFayette Square in downtown Buffalo, NY Thursday 31 August |
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| Where the train comes in (above ground subway) LaFayette Square/Walkway across from our hotel the colors of the mosaic looked better in person |
- BUFFALO BISONS! Dave and I left for western NY mid-morning on August 31st and drove for 4.5 hours to Buffalo after a quick stop for lunch in central NY. We had a downtown hotel and after dropping our car off at the lot, walked over to the stadium (just a 3 blocks walk) to buy dinner and get our seats for the Bisons Baseball game. The Bisons are a triple A team and Dave says AAA teams are just a step away from the pros. I loved the experience!! They had a vegan stand so I got a healthier version of a grilled chicken sandwich and oat milk ice cream. We were able to enjoy some local sights before the game began. It was so nice to be in Buffalo in the summer! I went to college in Rochester, about a little over an hour east of Buffalo. I had only ever been in downtown Buffalo once. (a different section than were we stayed). The winters in western New York are awful....tons of snow and cold due to the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie winds/lake effects. I was thankful we had a nice overnight stay, even though we had to evacuate the hotel at the early hour of 5:45 AM (false alarm!! thank the Lord). Dave was thankful I enjoyed the baseball game and now he can check this stadium off his list!
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| a bison in the heart of LaFayette Square |
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| Dave outside the stadium |
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| me outside the stadium this was a sculpture of a popular mayor apparently and tourists like to get their photos taken here |
- GOD'S GRACE! Getting into Canada was a piece of cake. Getting out and into the USA via the Blue Water Bridge/Michigan was supposed to be a 10 minute wait according to Maps program. TWO hours later we were finally across the border. The traffic going in was insane. We had no problem with customs as we only drove through Canada and stopped for a bathroom break and a Tim Horton's coffee on the way. But the 4 hours dragged out into 6.5 and it was the grace of God that we saw no accidents nor had any issues at the border. it was just slow!! Friday afternoon of Labor Day weekend is NOT the time to cross the border! I'm thankful all went well and in 20 minutes after crossing we were at our destination.
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| The Blue Water Bridge going from Canada to Michigan over the St Clair River which leads to Lake Huron |
- LAKE HURON RETREAT CENTER: My childhood friend from youth group days, Ann E, an ordained minister with the United Methodist Church, has been the retreat center director for the past 25 years. (we became friends around 1972!) My youngest was in the womb when she took the job in Michigan after leaving Ohio where she had been involved in a different ministry. Ann is not the kind of ordained minister who preaches in a church. We both grew up in the Free Methodist Church (similar to a Wesleyan church) but she took a job with the UMC and has loved it. She has always wanted us to go out to visit and finally, after 25 years, we had the time! She gave us a wonderful weekend. The center has a ranch style house for the Director to live in right on the grounds. It's just beautiful as it faces the great lake of Lake Huron! I have lots to say about this trip but I'm saving that for another post and more photos. Here is a glimpse of the retreat center.
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| This rock was engraved by an artist and has the retreat center mission statement which is Mark 6:31. You may have to zoom in on the photo to read it. This stands in the front between one of the Lodge's and the Dining Hall |
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| This is another Lodge...similar to a motel..... the grounds are beautiful! |
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| One part of the Retreat Center beach Lake Huron, MI |
For more photos, I'll be doing a post sometime this weekend with more details! I'm so thankful we had the time to really visit with Ann and see the surrounding area....it's called the thumb of Michigan (the region where she lives).
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| downtown Lexington MI 2 September 2023 a folk music festival...totally free! |
- MUSIC FEST! On Saturday, a perfect summer day, Ann suggested we check out the "Thumbfest" a folk music type music festival going on in the closest town to where she lives. Lexington is a charming tourist village with beautiful houses, camps, her church among other churches, and amazing food places. Various parks and homes had tents set up and various local musicians and groups had music, food, a farmers market going on. We chose to go to bands that were tributes to Peter, Paul, and Mary; Simon and Garfunkel, and a solo guitarist. We ended the afternoon with a jazz group that Dave particularly enjoyed. I think my fave was the Peter, Paul, and Mary group with the solo guitarist being a close second. All the groups we saw were amazing. I grew up on those songs so it was so fun. They even encouraged the audiences to sing along. Which of course we did! In harmony! I'm thankful we had the afternoon together. More on that, with photos, in the weekend post.
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| Historic area of Port Huron |
- LIGHTHOUSE TOUR! Ann treated us to the lighthouse tour in town on Sunday after church and a quick lunch. The Ft Gratiot lighthouse (It's a French pronunciation but Americans in Michigan say it Gra-shut) is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan. The St Clair River and St Lawrence Seaway that spills into it is one of the busiest sea channels in the world! (yes we saw many freighters last weekend!) There are so many amazing photos we took that I'll only show 2 here and save the rest for the weekend post. It was an awesome tour!! It's on the National Historic Register of course and there is also a walkway along the St Clair river that we did for about 1.5 miles. It was starting to get hot and a little humid so we turned around and drove down to the downtown section of Port Huron hoping to get a trolley tour but they were closed. I'm thankful we saw so much more of the "thumb" region.
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| There was a guided tour for the lighthouse keepers home as well as the walk up the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse. I loved every minute. There were 10 people on the tour including us. |
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| Ann, Dave, and I on the grounds of the Lighthouse 3 September 2023 |
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| the town beach on Lake Huron from the top of the lighthouse |
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| downtown Port Huron.....i loved this mural on the side of the lock bridge and yes, we got to see the lock/road rise as a large boat came through while we were there |
Again, I have stunning pics from this event that I will post and explain in a weekend post.
- RELAXING! I'm also thankful we had times to just relax. Saturday evening we had a game night; Monday afternoon was so hot and humid that we stayed in the AC and played another game and just read books, chatted, drank some good wine, etc. We went out for frozen custard (what western NY and Michigan calls "soft serve ice cream") and then went swimming around 5 pm from the retreat center beach. that was a wonderful hour! We ended Monday with a light dinner of grilled Greek Burgers and salad and then just walked the grounds and went to bed early as we were leaving at 6:30 AM for NYS the next morning.
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| Lake Huron and the beach at the Retreat Center this is where we hung out for an hour to swim on Monday late afternoon |
BONUS FAVE: I had a spontaneous road trip with my oldest daughter yesterday (Thursday) to the western part of the Adirondacks. That will also be a whole other post with many photos!! She was on vacation all week so wanted to spend one day with me. I've been so busy that I haven't really sat to think about not being in the classroom for the first time in 7 years this week!! I must say I am thoroughly enjoying being retired!!
That wraps up my week!
6 comments:
Hi Faithe, I enjoyed reading your post today! You sure did a lot of fun things. I grew up in the Methodist church. I enjoyed the music of Peter, Paul and Mary and Simon and Garfunkel too. I live about 35 miles from the Pacific ocean. It is hard to picture lakes that look like the ocean. But beautiful. I like lighthouses and was at one in Oregon last month. Enjoy your weekend!
Oh wow you have had a great trip away. You've definitely made a good start to your retirement. Have a good weekend.
Hi Faith. It looks like a really wonderful trip. So glad you could go. Will look forward to more pictures next time. See you again soon! (Sorry I didn't respond to your text this afternoon, but I will tomorrow morning - Saturday).
Sounds like a great trip all around! Except for the one delay, but glad you were safe all along. We say soft serve ice cream here, too. In fact, a new restaurant advertised custard as a dessert, and I was thinking the firm stuff that's almost like a crustless pie filling--but it looked more like a milkshake.
That looks and sounds like a lovely trip away. What a beautiful area and wonderful that you were finally able to go and visit your friend.
What a wonderful road trip that was! I feel like I was watching over your shoulder.
And yay for the day trip with your daughter--both for the trip and the time with her.
(yes I am super late reading all the FFFs)
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