We were so excited that we didn't have to get up and go anywhere that we actually made a nice breakfast- sausages and hash browns. (This is the only thing I can eat on my diet!) I was getting tired of cereal anyway!
Then Matt and I debated and debated about what to do today. We threw around the idea of going to Chicago, which is only an hour away, but everything we would do there was pretty expensive. I want to save the expensive tourist destinations for the east coast. We also knew that it was supposed to be about 100 degrees and I didn't want to spend all afternoon at the beach getting burned. We needed something inside, but yet fun.
We decided to stay around the campgrounds and explore some things in the morning and then take it from there. There is a nature center here at the state park and we went over there. Our intentions were to walk through the nature center and then go on a short hike before lunch and before the heat hit.
Life is sure funny sometimes because this is not what happened!
When we got out of car at the nature center, another mom was there with her two kids and she asked us, " Are you with the homeschooling group?" I kind of had to think twice. :) I said, "no" and proceeded inside. Soon, more families and kids were showing up, something was definitely going on!
We were getting ready to head out the door when a mom kind of eyed me and asked me again if I was with the homeschooling group. Again I responded "no," but then she proceeded to tell me that there was a group meeting there and they were having a nature presentation and going for a hike to look for animals. She then invited us along! She also told us it was $1 per person. This definitely peeked my interested!
Matt was in the bathroom with Christian, so when he was done, I asked him if he wanted to join the group and he said sure, so we did!
We went into a little classroom and the nature guide did a short presentation and the kids got to pet a turtle and learn about water, drylands, and marshlands. Towards the end, she really focused on marshlands and discussed what kind of animals (invertebrates) were in the marshlands at the state park. It was really interesting!
(Side Note: The best part of this short presentation was at the beginning when the leader said, "So, I see that everybody is from the Chicago area. Is everybody here from Chicago?? Anybody here from anywhere else?" We raised our hands and said we were from Nebraska and everybody laughed. I said, "And we also homeschool!' They were probably wondering where we came from!)
The leader then proceeded to tell us about the hike that we were going to go on. We were going to go on a short hike and then end up in marshy area. She was going to give kids nets and they were to get down on their bellies and scoop up some water from the bridge we were going to be on. They were then supposed to go through the weeds and mud and see what animals they could find. Once they found an animals, they could get the leaders and they would help identify it and put it in a container for everybody to see.
Here we are on our small hike with the homeschooling group, Matt is on the left hand side with Christian on his shoulders.
At the bridge. Megan is in the pink shirt and Courtney is in the blue shirt on the left side. Megan and Courtney were getting on their bellies to reach down into the water with their net.
After they pulled their net up, they had to throw the vegetation back in and look for invertebrates.
Wow, what a great experience! My girls pulled up tadpoles, right-handed snails, a mussel, and Matt even caught a frog! It was super-fun! Some other kids pulled up fish, leeches, stick bugs, beetles, another right handed snail, etc.. The leaders had magnifying glasses there so you could see the animals better.
Once it started to get hot, we packed everything up and headed back to the nature center. After we were done there, we headed back to the camper to get some lunch and wash our hands! It was almost 1 pm!
We didn't do much the rest of the day. We cooled off in the camper until about 3 and then headed to the visitor's center and a local town for groceries. By the time we got back, it was supper time and the sun started going down. The girls and Matt then decided to have a campfire, so they are outside making smores, Christian is in bed, and I am enjoying time to myself!
We are definitely going swimming tomorrow morning in Lake Michigan before we leave for Goshen. On Thursday we have a tour set up to go through the Forest River Recreational Plant in Goshen, Indiana. Our camper was made in that plant, so I am anxious to go on the tour. We are going to be there for two nights before heading to Sandusky by Lake Erie for the Labor Day Weekend.
These are the kind of unpredicted days that make the best memories! God's timing is perfect all the time! Sounds like you are having lots of fun!
ReplyDeleteLove, Grandpa and Grandma Lu