Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp - Final Concert

We picked Alex up from Blue Lake this morning at got to attend the Camp Bernstein Band and Orchestra Final Concert. It was so impressive. The band played 10 songs that they learned in 10 days! After the concert, we went into the shop, walked through the student art show, and got ice cream before heading home. Alex said he had a lot of fun and learned a lot. He made a lot of friends in his cabin. They all played different instruments which was kind of neat: euphonium, trumpet, trombone, bass, violin, bassoon, and alto sax to name a few. It is nice to have him home!

Summer 2025 - Week 5

This week, we actually had Will home, but we dropped Alex off at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for 10 days. Will was able to attend Muskies summer hockey and played in two games on Wednesday night. He was also able to play in the Rebel's baseball tournament on Friday and Saturday. He missed the game on Sunday morning in Grand Rapids because he went back to Wakeshma. Phil and I left for Traverse City for two nights on Sunday as well. We stayed at the Grand Traverse Resort. On Sunday, we walked around Boardman Lake (4-mile trail) and then had lunch at Little Fleet. Then we did some shopping in Traverse before walking to the Commons. Then we checked into the hotel and relaxed for a bit before going to Boathouse for dinner. We got the best seat in the house (in our opinion) for the second year in a row. We had surf and turf for two and then enjoyed a somewhat smokey sunset.

 

Blue Lake Music Camp

We dropped Alex off at Blue Lake Music Camp in Muskegon today. One of his good friends is in his cabin and they are going to have a great ten days! The grounds are beautiful, and it is fun to see all the kids in their uniforms.

 

Summer 2025 - Week 4

On Tuesday, we drove to Detroit to pick up Will from the airport. He arrived at DTW at 8pm on Tuesday and we flew out of DTW at 9am on Wednesday for Detroit. We spent the night at Grann's house and were able to do Will's laundry before we left. While we were in New York, Winger had a vacation at Grann's. He wore himself out playing with Cole!

 

Citizens Bank Field - Stadium #17

We took the train to Citizens Bank Field for the 4pm game against the Cincinnati Reds. Fortunately, our seats were in the shade because it was really hot! We walked around the stadium and got the boys their "first game" certificates. Unfortunately, they were out of mini bats in the stadium so we will need to order them online when they are back in stock.  The Phillies won 5-1.  We took the train back to the hotel and picked up a pizza to eat in the room since we had to leave for the airport at 6am.

 

Philly - Day 4

On Saturday morning, we took the Amtrak from Penn Station to Philadelphia. It was an easy ride. We walked from the train station to our hotel and dropped our luggage. Then we walked to Independence Hall and waited in line to see the Liberty Bell. Then we had lunch at the Reading Market which had so many amazing food options. We were able to check into the hotel before heading to the baseball game.

 

NYC - Day 3

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday to Phil! We started the day at Liberty Bagels again. We got them to go and ate in Bryant Park. Then we walked down 5th Avenue to Central Park. We went into a few shops before walking all around the park which took several hours. We left the park briefly to get lunch at a deli and also stopped for ice cream. We walked back to the hotel from the park and Phil opened his birthday gifts. Then we walked along the high line and found a good spot to watch the fireworks over the Hudson River (Jersey City fireworks).