Jody Goes Camping!!

I'm sure most of you never thought you'd see those words on our family blog, but it's true!! Well.....mostly true anyway. In July of '06 we travelled to Grand Bend, Ontario to meet some college friends at The Pinery, which is a beautiful provincial park located about an hour north of Sarnia. We spent our first day there visiting the beach at Grand Bend and then the next day we drove 15 miles to go hiking in Arkona. Rock Glen Conservation Area is jam packed with fossils and we spent a couple of hours hiking along the river bed and climbing the steep banks in search of fossils. On the way back Stefan found a small garter snake and couldn't resist posing for the camera.

Later on Friday we headed to the Pinery to visit with Jarvis and Jeanine Tersteege. I went to college with Jarvis and he's been a great friend ever since. They came up with their 3 kids and we met up with Ferlin and Beth and 4 of their kids. We had a fun time swimming at the beach, hanging out, and cooking smores. We also saw a bald eagle hanging out by the river, but it was a bit too far away to photograph.

On our last day in Grand Bend we went back to the big beach where they were having a volleyball tournament and giant party. Elan and Stefan both entered and won a kid's Hula-Hoop contest. Stefan, Elan, and I also entered a Tropican Twister chugging contest and ended up winning t-shirts, frisbees, and 3 cases of Tropicana Twister. Stefan also helped land a nice Northern Pike. Jody got a bit spooked when the fish decided to show her how much fight he still had in him.

Trip to Marquette, MI ( in da' UP)

In July of 2006 I had an appraisal that needed to be done in Iron Mountain, MI. I took the opportunity to do a bit of hiking during the few hours of free time before my flight back home. What a beautiful area! I hiked for a bit around Presque Isle and then took off on my own to try and locate some waterfalls that I'd read about. There is a website run by a guy named Steve called UPwaterfalls.com and he posts photos and directions on how to get to a bunch of waterfalls in the UP. While hiking I managed to slip off a few rocks and go in the water up to my shorts. Fortunately my camera stayed dry. (It was a bit embarassing having to go through the security checkpoint at the airport with wet shoes.)

Florida March '06

We started our Florida vacation in Orlando with the Hite family (AJ, Amanda, Aimee, and Allison). We decided to not go to Disney this year and give Universal a try. We had a great time. The Jurassic Park ride was fun as was the Jaws ride. Our favorite ride was the Revenge of the Mummy. While we were walking through the park one of the Mummy characters followed us around. He was pretty freaky looking. Ellen Degeneres was filming her show at Universal the day that we were there and we all got see my wife on tv for a brief moment in the background. Shakira was the musical guest that day and she sang Hips Don't Lie. Smokin' Hot!!

St. John Virgin Islands '06

In February of 2006 we took a vacation with my parents down to the island of St. John, in the US Virgin Islands. What a great trip! Jody is the queen of vacation deals, so she hooked us up with cheap airfare and rented an awesome 4 bedroom house overlooking Rendevous Bay and Fish Bay. The view from our deck was incredible. In the evening we'd kick back with a cocktail and watch the sea turtles swim below in the bay. Every day we would try out a different beach and we were never disappointed. While snorkeling we say sea turtles, nurse sharks, barracuda, sting rays, parrot fish, star fish, and much more. As you can see from the pictures we did some hiking, sightseeing, tennis, and a lot of hanging around at the beaches. If you ever get a chance to go to St. John you won't regret it.

St. John Virgin Islands '06

St. John Virgin Islands '06

St. John Virgin Islands '06