Garden Sunflowers...

We have lots of beautiful sunflowers this summer. The birds and neighbourhood squirrels are so thankful! :)

World Cup Action at Peace Park...

I joined my friend Rashad in watching the USA face Belgium in the World Cup's Round of 16 back on July 6th. We met at the fan zone at the Peace Park in West Dearborn, where every World Cup match was being shown on the big screen there. Even though the USA lost this game, it was still a great atmosphere!

Early stages of the match - before Belgium took control. The final score was 4-1 to Belgium.

4th of July Fireworks...

We watched the traditional 4th of July fireworks from the Amtrak station in Dearborn, where you get a nice view of the impressive display from Greenfield Village. We all enjoyed it. :) Happy 250th birthday, America!

A great way to end the 4th of July.

Detroit Riverfront on Independence Day...

We took our friends to the Detroit Riverfront on Independence Day (Saturday, 4th July), where we saw the cruise ship Victory I moored further down the river walk. We also saw the Detroit Princess out on the river while a former Royal Canadian Air Force Harvard/T-6 Texan trainer, based out of the Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor, Ontario, flew overhead. :)

A closer view of the stern of Victory I.

Detroit Princess on the river.

Canadian Harvard flying overhead.

The pretty lighthouse at William G. Milliken State Park.

Storm Damage...

Just a few hours after we had been relaxing on Port Huron's Lighthouse Beach, a major severe storm rolled across the state of Michigan. The wind gusted to over 60 mph (almost 100 km/h) and knocked many tree branches down, including right behind our property - where the power lines were affected. There was also torrential rain, but thankfully no major flooding in our area. 

Our power was off for just over three days, and we were so thankful when the tree trimmers and linesmen worked their way over to the downed power lines behind our property. It made me so thankful that we have a reliable supply of electricity.

Lots of tree damage in the neighbourhood.

A mess of wires and branches behind our back garden.

Tree trimmers work to clear the storm damage...

So that the power lines could be repaired.

Marine Traffic at Port Huron...

We visited Lighthouse Beach at Port Huron with good friends from Indiana on the 4th of July weekend. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then spent time relaxing on the beach. The children loved the calm waters of Lake Huron, and I certainly enjoyed watching all the marine traffic sailing along to destinations both north and south.  

It was a lovely day at the beach.

The pusher tug Sharon M I with its barge Huron Spirit.

It was loaded up with sand heading towards the St. Clair River.

Sailing vessels were enjoying the day...

As was this sightseeing boat and fishing trawler.

Great Lakes freighter American Mariner heads out onto Lake Huron...

Followed closely by Algoma Innovator...

With her large self-unloading boom.

Herbert C. Jackson was the third large ship to head out onto Lake Huron.

An older vessel, she was built in 1959.

The Herbert C. Jackson sails past motorboats and yachts on the lake. 

Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

Blue Water Bridge, connecting the United States (left) with Canada.

We walked along to see the famous Huron lightship.

The water was so blue and so clear!

Chemical tanker Algoterra moored alongside in Canada.

The brand-new general cargo vessel BBC Kolding sails along the St. Clair River.

Flying Chicago Visit...

After spending the night in Michigan City, Indiana, we caught the South Shore Line train to the Millennium Station in Chicago. We were scheduled to arrive at 10h00, but due to a recent derailment on the line, we had to disembark the train and catch a bus for part of the journey. We rejoined the train further down the line and closer to Chicago. Unfortunately, this added about an hour onto our travel time, and so we were a bit late for Riaan's SA passport appointment. As it turned out, we had to wait a while to be seen and so being late didn't really matter.

The passport application went smoothly (once we were seen) and we then walked back through the city, grabbing a late lunch at Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken. We detoured to show the children Chicago's famous Cloud Gate sculpture (AKA The Bean), before catching the train/bus back to Michigan City.

We arrived back to our car (parked at the Michigan City train station) after 19h30, and then drove the three hours back to Detroit. It was a very long day, but we were exceptionally pleased to see the "Welcome to Pure Michigan" sign above the Interstate. It was another fun adventure for all of us!

Walking quickly to the passport appointment.

More time to enjoy the views on the walk back.

Nando's is a South African restaurant chain.

Selfie at The Bean.

It really is an amazing work of art.

Spot our reflections!