Now I know why Bob retired...No way, Jose.

More Fun Times!

Natalie's parents came for a visit last week...we had the fun times.

We went to the southernmost inhabited point in Canada, Pelee Island. It is 10,000 acres of vineyards, farms, beaches, parks, and forest. Over half of the 50 American states are north of Pelee Island, including Northern California. It was an hour and a half trip on the ferry. It was very cool!
We went to Pelee Island Vineyards. It was a really nice spot.
They had a beautiful area to have lunch and dinner. The really cool part was that you buy your meat and barbeque it yourself. We went to Detroit to celebrate July 4th with our neighbours - what more American way to spend the 4th of July than in a baseball park eating peanuts, drinking beer, and watching ball? We saw the Tigers play the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers won! It was a great game!
This is by far the best sign I have ever seen at a sporting event. The child made a picture of a tiger frightening an Indian (I am not sure if that is politically correct, I am just going by the team name).They finished the evening with some fireworks. They were not as impressive as those at the Freedom Festival, but they were still enjoyable. It is going to be hard to leave this place!

Freedom Festival

Each year Detroit and Windsor celebrate the Freedom Festival. People line up along the river and watch an incredible display of fireworks. I have not verified it, but the people here tell me that it is the largest fireworks display in North America and has a price tag of around $300k (sponsored by Target). A member has a condo overlooking the Detroit river, so we got to enjoy them from this incredible vantage point. Very cool!

Just before the fireworks started, helicopters flew by with the Canadian and American flags.

Random Things

Perhaps this may not be exciting for most of you, but it was for us. During sunset, Windsor lights up with fireflies. Natalie noticed them as we were driving home one evening. We initially thought she was losing her mind and seeing things, but we stopped at a park and watched the little buggers light up. Above is a picture of one, but it doesn't capture how bright they get - they are surreal when you are close to them.



Our cat.

Our church.

That is all.

Tough Stuff!

I saw this originally on Jason Shultz's blog. He suggests that this provides a good case against home schooling. I disagree. I think this kid would have the hard times socializing with others his age (well with the wedgies, purple nurples, etc.). CNN should have known better.

Amish you Pennsylvania!

In stark contrast to our visits to Toronto and New York was our visit to Amish country around Lancaster, PA.


The farms and countryside were beautiful!



Some Amish kids up to no good.


Mr Plow.

An Amish man took us on a horse-drawn buggy ride of the area and provided us with some interesting information on the Amish people. I must say that their laid-back, simple lifestyle is very appealing to me. But, I do likes my internet and electric toothbrush!

T.O.

Natalie and I had the opportunity to go visit some friends in Toronto.

Dan and Dustin on Dustin's patio. We went for some Chinese food in China Town. Daina ordered a rum and coke. The waiter brought her a glass of coke filled with lemon wedges. When the mistake was pointed out, the waiter responded "remon coke" you ordered "remon coke". Good times.
This genlemen banged away at his drum to entice people to enter his store and purchase quality items from China. Daina assisted him with this task.
Obviously his plan worked, because we not only entered his store, but we also bought these sweet "2pac" gloves at a great price.

It was a great weekend!

I Heart NY!

This past week we went for a little holiday to Toronto, ON, Lancaster, PA, and New York, NY. These are a few photos from our trip (pictures from the other places will follow).

One of the first things we did was go to Hello Deli so I could meet Rupert Jee - it was quite a moment.

We were on standby to get into a Letterman taping, but they only let in 7 and I was 10th. I experienced some sadness, but I quickly got over it.

Very few people obeyed this sign in New York.


We went for a carriage ride in Central Park. It was an incredible way to see it and our driver pointed out where all of the famous people live and some of the historical buildings.




Our next stop was the Empire State Building.

The lobby was really cool...Art Deco style.

The views were amazing...it really helped me to put how massive New York is into perspective.

Trump Tower.

He has too much money.

A picture from inside St. Patrick's Cathedral across from Rockefeller Center.

This is the Rockefeller Center...we went for a tour of NBC and saw the SNL studio. They didn't allow us to take any photos inside - jerks.

Statue of Liberty.

Ground Zero.

A building beside Ground Zero.

The Naked Cowboy on Times Square. I will leave it to your discretion to follow the link.

Then came New York's night life. So much fun!

It was fleet week in New York. The streets (and bars!) were filled with men and women in uniform.


A picture I took from our cab.

This is a man we ran into on Times Square. His sign says, "Need money for beer, drugs, hooker (hey, at least I'm not bullshittin' you)."

The next morning, Natalie and I woke up early to try and get in standby for a Martha Stewart taping (she is Natalie's hero).

Not only did we get into the show, but we were seated in the vip section front row! We were so close to Martha that I could have tackled her if she added an ingredient that I disagreed with!

Our trip to New York was fantastic!