I Made It!

Here's the Philadelphia that we see on the news. Just to prove I made it.


And, of course, all the row houses. This one is just off the street David lives on.


There were three observers as we walked down the street. They were very quiet. I was the only one of us who saw them. Shhhh.

Nothing special here- I just liked the yellow bicycle, looking very urban.

We are all going to bed early. We are very tired. Tomorrow I'll have people pictures. I know they are more interesting to most of you than buildings.

Ester- on the Way!

I didn't want to say anything until I was really on my way, but, yes, I'm on my way to Philadelphia for this year's flower show. First stop, Ester's sister's house near Ann Arbor. That's actually more on the way than Ester's, so that was nifty.



You've seen the posed pictures, so who needs more of that. I was feeling crabby and feisty, so went for a wrestling match.



Just one little trip away from a 2 point takedown (yes, I was a wrestling mom in a past lifetime). We are just fooling of course, but it was great to see her. Next stop NY, then Philly. See you there!

See Ester, the Shark, and the Zoo

Top Commenters, and an Answer

Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment in February! There were 43 different people who left messages, and a total of 206 separate comments (not counting my own responses to them).

Since there was no contest winner for the month, and a 3-way tie for 10th place, I'll feature 12 top commenters.

The top 12 for this past month are:
Ann's Snap & Edit (Ann- 28 comments)- Ann keeps me company, no matter what.
The Best Parts (Ferd- 20 comments)- a new commenter- and eclectic blogger too
My Journey (rainfield61- 18 comments)- rainfield's bugs are looking for their spots this week
Carmen's Chronicles (Carmen- 10 comments)- a jazz fan, tied with
Duck and Wheel with String (Lin- 10 comments)- owner of the beloved Hobbes, tied with
Duxbury Ramblers (Carol- 10 comments)- it's spring in the UK already!, tied with
Secondary Roads (Chuck- 10 comments)- another Michigan buddy, tied with
Be a Lifesaver of Goodness (Borris aka Sir Rob- 10 comments) ask him about life with a new baby
Wiseacre Gardens (John- 5 comments)- Whatever's cool in the northwoods of NY, tied with
Together with Dogs (Stew and Martine - 5 comments)- life with two energetic boxers, tied with
String Too Short to Tie (David (vanilla)- 5 comments)- Life in Indiana and Florida- always something good, tied with
The Everyday Adventurer (Ratty- 5 comments)- finding outdoor adventures everywhere.

Thanks to all of you for your friendship as expressed in your comments! And you get a small banner in the sidebar for the next month.


Those images from Where are We Today, are just a plain old snowbank! Beauty in the most common.

Twin Queens of the Lakes

I was in Ludington a couple of days ago, and visited the Twin Queens of the Lakes, the S.S. Badger, and S.S. Spartan.



Here's the S.S. Spartan, one of the queens. She's not a very happy queen, but because she's not operational, it's possible to get a nice clear picture.



This one is the S.S.Badger. From May to October, she is one of the two ferries on which you can cross Lake Michigan. There's a high-speed ferry that goes from Muskegon to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Badger crosses from Ludington to Manitowac.

The Badger and the Spartan were built in 1952, and at 410 feet are the largest ferries ever built on the Great Lakes. They were part of the fleet of rail car ferries in the C&O Line, but also carried autos and passengers. When the railroad shut down in 1990, everyone thought it was the end of the ferry era.



But the ferries are a much-loved part of Ludington history, and offer a valuable service. A series of local businessmen have invested huge sums of money to keep them operational. The Badger still survives and runs twice daily from May through October. That makes it harder to get a good picture, she's snuggled up to a loading ramp.



And since that puts us on a state border, Ludington gets a "Welcome to Michigan" sign. I've included a link below to more car ferry history.

Oh, you want to know about yesterday's pictures? I'll tell you tomorrow.

See Lake Michigan Carferry History

Where are We Today?

First of all... Everyone liked the visit to the crystal cave. It was deep and dark. It was...



... in a pan on my stove! I had burned some milk, and so I boiled some baking soda in it to clean it. Then, I didn't get around to washing it out, and the soda dried slowly, forming crystals. Pretty cool, huh?

I have yet another journey in perception for today. What do you think? Is it a map of a river, with small islands?



Maybe it's a closeup of an oil painting?



How about a tangle of some wonderful yarn?



Or something else?

See Enter the Crystal Cave