Friday, September 24, 2010
Windsday
One blustery, northern day we got to see a really neat old lighthouse. It was, of course, right by the water. It was too cold and windy to go walk on the beach, so we just enjoyed the view of the water from the lighthouse.
Being the history buff that I am, Mr. Penguin had to read the signs so he could learn about the lighthouse.
Near the lighthouse was a log cabin and more signs for me to read.
We decided to walk over the the log cabin to get a better look at it. I have never seen a log cabin before, so I peeked in the window to peep things out.
All of a sudden I heard happy shrieks behind me. There were some children around smiling and shouting, “El penguino!” Now I don’t know much about other languages but I assume they were talking about me; Mr. Penguin makes fans wherever he goes.
We walked back toward to lighthouse to pose for some pictures.
The wind was so strong and my lady friend was beginning to regret her choice of clothing that day.
Let me demonstrate for you just how gusty the wind was. Notice the arbor in the picture below.
Well, I went over to pose on it...
...before I knew what was happening a blast of wind came up and the next thing I know is that I'm hanging onto the lattice for dear life:
I decided right then and there that it was time for me to get out of there. I hurried back to the safety of the car. Mr. Penguin is too priceless to risk being blown away.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Anchors Away!
One of the cities we explored on the northern vacation was FishTown. Being a penguin, the name of this town obviously appealed to me. I pictured fish--glorious fish--everywhere; a buffet of all kinds of delectable fish for me to eat to my heart’s content. For me, we couldn’t get there fast enough; on the ride over I kept urging the driver and navigator to go faster. I couldn’t help it, I was hungry.
I soon discovered, however, that FishTown is just a town and, instead of fish everywhere, it was full of shops and art galleries. Initially, I was a bit disappointed, but the town is so charming I quickly got over any feeling of being mislead.
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We checked out a few of the art galleries. My favorite one had metal animal sculptures placed around the yard.
There were giraffes…
…an ostrich…
…a toad…
…a cougar…
…and a fericious looking creature called a tyrannosaurs rex. This last guy really scared me--he didn’t look very nice at all. *shiver*
Another thing FishTown has an abundance of is boats. Mr. Penguin has never been on a boat before and is anxious to try out his sea legs. We saw lots of fishing charter services but, much to my disappointment, we did not have time to go out on a boating excursion. I guess that will have to be an adventure for another (hopefully soon) day.
The buildings and general area around the water was so picturesque, I found lots of photo ops, as you can see:
Just look at the fun pirate flag...
I also really liked this cool weather vane...
We came across a big fish during our exploring of the town. My creative consultant suggested we get a picture of me kissing a fish. I was hesitant, but I closed my eyes and puckered up. Have you ever kissed a fish before? Yuck, I don’t recommend it unless you like wet, rubbery lips (which I now know I do not like).
While walking around we saw a gigantic tree. We puzzled over it, trying to determine what kind of tree it was. We decided on a cottonwood. I wonder if we were right.
We also found a serene park with a tree at the center.
The base of the tree was surrounded by hand-painted tiles of various animals. I looked and looked but, unfortunately, I found no penguin tiles.
By this point, posing for and taking pictures had left me pretty tired. Thank goodness there was a peaceful looking bench nearby where I could sit down and take a rest.
The man was pretty jealous of all the pictures I posed for during the day, so he insisted the woman take a photo of him. She obliged his request.
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See those flowers? The man was severely allergic to them. Almost instantly his eyes became red and watery, closely followed by the sneezes. He needed to get out of the park so there went the end of my restful break. I guess it didn't matter much; since we were all ready for lunch by this time, we decided to head back to the house.
I really enjoyed our little jaunt to FishTown and I'm glad I got to share it with all my friends.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Farmer's Market
Early on during the week of our vacation there was a local farmer’s market in town we decided to check out. I once had hopes and dreams that my garden would yield enough produce for me to have my own booth at a farmer’s market. Well, that is not going to happen this year but I still wanted to check it out and take notes for future reference in case I ever decide, one day, sell my produce at a farmer’s market. Also, the man wanted some blueberries.
Mr. Penguin is short and it was hard for him to see all the exciting things at each kiosk on his own. Luckily, there were quite a few volunteers who lifted me up and carried me so I could see all the wares.
We got to sample different things vendors were selling, like some tasty desserts (the kiosk sold baking mixes)…
..and local honey.
It wasn’t all just produce.
In addition to food there were also flowers...
…homemade aromatherapy soap, lotion and oil...
…hmmm, can’t remember what this one sold, but they were giving out free samples of whatever it was.
There was a kiosk that had some fun knitted/crocheted hats, and I have been wanting a hat for awhile, but they were all girlie hats, none of them suited for a sophisticated penguin such as me.
At the jewelry tent, I got to help pick out the perfect necklace for a my special lady friend (the man says I am too young to have a girlfriend, so, for now, she must remain my 'special lady friend'). Mr. Penguin has impeccable taste when it comes to fashion.
The stone is a Petoskey stone. What is a Petoskey stone you may ask (as I did upon first hearing of it)? It is the state stone, the fossilized remains of a coral bed that was located here 350 million years ago. Once polished these stones are worth (at least locally) a lot of money. A large stone, about the size of a cantaloupe will run about $400. You can learn more about the Petoskey stone and the history behind it here.
By this time we were pretty hungry. Luckily, there was a baker selling delectable pastries and baked goods.
I split one with my lady friend…
...it was the perfect accompaniment to my coffee.
Unfortunately, the market wasn’t very big, so it didn’t take us long to see everything. Gathering up our purchases we headed back to the house, with Mr. Pengin, of course, traveling in style.
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