Friday, July 16, 2010

Cereal City




We left St Clair and headed to Battle Creek, MI, the home of Kellogg's and its founders. Battle Creek was also the home of Charles Post, founder of Post cereals. While Mom and Dad were taking grave site pictures of Kellogg and Post, they came up on Sojourner Truth's grave. Truth, a former slave who championed women's rights and anti slavery. Battle Creek was a stop on the underground railroad for fleeing slaves during the civil war. From Battle Creek we went to Batesville, IN but had to change our plans so that we could return to South Carolina to help with the care of a family member. More later.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Winding Down St Clair Visit






We are winding down our visit to the St Clair, MI area. Monday morning we head out for a two day stay in the Battle Creek area before heading to Batesville, IN. Lenny and I haven't been real busy while we were here but Mom and Dad have been on the go. One day they went to lunch in the Bay City area with Dad's cousin Carolyn and her husband Charlie. After lunch they stopped in Frankenmuth at the world famous Bronner's Christmas Wonderland store to pick up some Christmas items. Dad says the store is so big and spread out, they give you a map when you go in so you won't get lost. Mom and Dad really enjoyed spending time and visiting with Carolyn and Charlie.


On another day, Mom and Dad went to Henry Ford's Greenfield Village with Dad's cousin Sandra. Dad hadn't seen Sandra in over 28 years. Dad had been to Greenfield Village when he was a young boy and he always wanted to go back. Now that he has done it, he can scratch that off his "bucket list". Greenfield Village is a wonderful historical park set up by Henry Ford. He brought historical buildings to Greenfield Village so they could be preserved and enjoyed by future generations. Some of the sights included one of Thomas Edison's labs, the Wright Brothers' boyhood home and one of their bicycle shops, Noah Webster's home, poet Robert Frost's home and the Heinz House where HJ Heinz made his first product, which wasn't pickles or ketchup but horseradish. There were also old trains and Model T's throughout the park. Henry Ford also built a chapel in the park to honor his mother and mother-in-law. The bell in the chapel's belfry was cast by Paul Revere. After visiting the park, they went into Detroit to Henry Ford's grave to get a picture for their album.


One evening, Mom and Dad went to Sandra's for a wonderful dinner. Another one of Dad's cousins, Mary, was also there. Sandra's son Mike and two of her grandchildren were also there. Dad enjoyed reliving old times with Sandra and Mary.


Lenny and I did see the vet while we were here. Both of us got good reports and Lenny's diet has paid off as he has lost 14 pounds since last December. Since we had a good vet report, Mom and Dad took us into Canada one day. It was Lenny's first trip out of the US. We did some sightseeing and then we had a nice hamburger lunch at A&W.


Lastly, Dad wants to thank the dumpster truck traveling South on I-75 in Pontiac, Friday, for kicking up the rock and providing us with the opportunity to buy a new windshield for our truck.


Take care everyone.