Christmas Decorations

When I went to Mike's (in Columbus, OH) for Thanksgiving, I brought Christmas decorations with me. Since we're spending Christmas at his house, I wanted to make sure that we had a pretty tree. So, here we are, decorating.

Here's the tree fully decorated but without any presents underneath. Now there are many! I'll be sure to post more photos of us opening all those presents!

Mike has a window opening between the kitchen and the family room, and we thought it was a good place to display the mustached men. Mike's dad bought the middle one, which is a candy jar. I had the nutcracker one and the one on the horse-rocker. Now that these three are together, I thought names were appropriate: Francois (the nutcracker), Luigi (middle), and Hans-Peter (German rocking horse one).

Hans-Peter looks a little mad. Is it because he's on a rocking horse or because he's the smallest of the mustached men?! :-)

Thanksgiving at Mike's

Thanksgiving this year was at Mike's new house, and we celebrated the first big meal with a nice bottle of champagne (or sparkling wine, I didn't check the label). So, here's everyone raising their glasses for a toast. Mike's mom and dad are on the left, and his brother Steven and Steven's girlfriend, Alison, are on the right.

Now isn't this a nice photo -- men in the kitchen getting the coffee and dessert ready? I thought it was cool, because we women were talking at the table, and the Reale men were in the kitchen.

Survey: Americans Fail Civic Test

I came across this site (see link below) from one of my Facebook friends. I took the test and scored a 94% (I missed two). I thought it was an interesting test; it's too bad that most people fail it. I actually teach some of the concepts in this test in my comparative politics courses, so I hope that some of my students would have learned some recently. Anyway, I just thought I'd post this for those who are interested.

Oh, and you don't have to tell me your score. :-)

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Park of Roses

Last Saturday, Mike and I took a walk in the Park of Roses. It was a gorgeously sunny, fall day, and I was surprised that the roses were still in bloom.

Now, lookie here who I caught on my flower. :-)

Here's a little splash of fall color for you. Mike spotted this as a potentially great photo, and he was right!

Mike's House

Mike closed on his house this past week, which is so exciting! He won't be moving in until next weekend. It's a large house, built in the 1930s and enlarged in the early 1990s. It's in the Clintonville neighborhood, which is one of the most sought after in Columbus.

The previous owners had some nice landscaping. There are even basil and some tomatoes out front (behind the shrubs).

He'd like to spruce up some of the rooms with more updated colors, so I took a bunch of "before" photos so we can later compare them with the "after" photos. The kitchen will also have to be updated, which is one of his remodeling priorities.

Aunt Claudia & Uncle Bud Visit Grand Rapids!

Early in September, my aunt and uncle came to visit me in Florida and were my first relatives to visit me since I moved into the house. We had a great visit. I'm posting here a couple of photos and am waiting for Aunt Claudia to send me the rest. I'm hoping that this post might serve as a little reminder for her. :-) Her son (my cousin) just got married recently, so she's been busy with guests and all.

Mike was able to meet them, as he came to Grand Rapids briefly after visiting his parents in Arizona.

Aunt Claudia sent me the teapot for my birthday, not knowing that I already had the butterfly in a similar style.

Jason's Visit from Australia

My friend, Jason, whom I know from graduate school, came to visit me early in September for a weekend. He was in the middle of trips, and Grand Rapids was on the way. Unfortunately, it rained all weekend long, so I wasn't very keen to drag my camera out. We had some nice food at a restaurant called Naya, where fusion food and tapas are a hit. It was a great weekend to visit with Jason. Plus, he got to see my housie and my kitties!

Ontario Sunset

I'm a sucker for sunset photos.

Agawa Canyon & Waterfalls

The best time to take the Algoma Railways is during the fall, as the tree colors are supposed to be spectacular. We went during the Labor Day weekend, so we only saw small splashes of fall color here and there (and I wasn't able to capture that with my camera). The train trip itself was about 4 hours each way, and then we stopped in the canyon for a couple of hours. There were some pretty easy trails, with signs everywhere. Very touristy and fun. There was a restaurant car on the train, which is where Mike and I ate lunch. It wasn't exactly the Orient Express, but it was still cool!

Each waterfall has a different name, but I can't remember what they are. They were all really pretty, though!

This is one of the last photos that we took before my batteries died. My camera eats batteries, and I should have brought an extra set of rechargeable batteries with me. At least we got this one!

Agawa Canyon Train Trip

Now, I'm finally posting photos of the last part of our trip. After seeing the Pictured Rocks, we then drove to Sault Sainte Marie and stayed on the Canadian side in Ontario. We had reservations to take the train to the Agawa Canyon. The scenery of Ontario's wilderness was really beautiful.

I love my camera, as it takes good photos from moving vehicles.

Even the quasi-industrial scenes are beautiful.

Lake Superior

So, now I've actually waded in two of the five Great Lakes. Having grown up in Florida, they're just too cold for me. Cold or not, though, they're still spectacular! See for yourself!

Here's a church-looking lighthouse on Lake Superior, just outside Munising.

Here are the Pictured Rocks from a distance. Just look at how blue the water is! Gorgeous!

After our cruise, Mike and I drove into the park to see Lake Superior from a different perspective. Here is Mike, with Lake Superior in the background, from a point very close to the Miner's Castle rock formation.

I'm having a good hair day, but man, that sun is so bright, I can hardly see!

Proof that we did indeed step into Lake Superior. BRRRR!!!!

"Awwww, honey, I'm so glad you suggested this UP trip!" :-)

The world's tiniest pine cones, found on Lake Superior's shore.

Pictured Rocks Formations

So, now, let's check out why these are called the Pictured Rocks.
Here is what is known as the Castle Rock, called as such due to the fact that it resembles a castle.

This rock formation is known as the Indian Head. Look at the profile and see whether you think it is aptly named.

I was amazed by every rock formation that we saw. In fact, during the entire 5-day trip, I took almost 400 photos (382, to be exact). Images such as this were just breathtaking.

Our tour guide gave us good explanations as to why the rocks have these various colors. Yeah....I can't remember those explanations off the top of my head. I guess that's what I get for waiting for so long to post these photos. All I kept thinking was ... PRETTY!

Pretty, no?

I have tons more photos, but I'll end it here. I definitely recommend seeing the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and I hope to get back there to spend a bit more time. If you want to find out more info, here's the National Park Service website: http://www.nps.gov/piro/index.htm.

Cruise to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

After going to the Keweenaw Peninsula, Mike and I then headed toward Munising to take a boat cruise to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, on Lake Superior. Here's a map of Michigan's Upper Peninsula so you can follow along.

Here we are, all slathered up with sunscreen, eager and ready to embark on our 2-1/2 hour cruise. During our entire trip, the weather was great -- sunny and in the 80s, which is unusual for the UP over the Labor Day weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

Here I am, on the dock where we set off for our cruise.

And here's Mike at the same spot.