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| We built this Model T (with a little help!) |
(click here for video of kids working an assembly line)
Another night of resting well in our huge hotel room. Campbell and Anderson slept in Grannymom's room and had already eaten before we really started stirring this morning. I didn't fold any of our laundry last night since we laid a few things out to dry overnight so this morning, my first task was folding lots and lots of laundry. Basically, it was like I was having to repack all of our clothes this morning and Robby was on the other side of the room repacking all of our ice chests since the fridge was left open yesterday and then didn't work well after that. We managed to get everything done and to have time to eat breakfast (I opted for the bagel topper and the turkey sausage links since I knew we would be close to a bathroom-I know it is too early in our day to be giving out all of that information.)
The Henry Ford Museum is huge-12 acres! The museum began as Henry Ford's personal collection of history objects that he began collecting as far back as 1906. We all loaded up into the van again and were there before 9:30. Once the gates opened we walked right in and headed to the Model T area.
They have a section where you can come and help assemble a model T. We missed this last year because a group had come through before us. But today, we were some of the first ones in line. Of course everyone in the group wanted to help assemble the car. Anderson and Graham assembled part of the engine, Grannymom and Grandpa worked on the muffler, Reagan and Campbell screwed something in and even Keaton had job dropping some bolts in.
The next stop was tons of fun too. The kids had to work on a miniature assembly line to put together some tiny model Ts. Keaton and Whitman laid down the base, Campbell put down the wheel shaft, Layne and Brett put the wheels on, Graham put the seats in, Reagan put the engine on, Anderson added the top and Grannymom turned the assembly line. We completed 10 cars but it was tough-the kids had a blast and that is the part of the day that they will remember forever!
When we left the Model T area we walked past the line of presidential limos-Kennedys, Reagans, Eisenhowers and a few more. Then we came to the model trains and this of course was Whitman's favorite part. He could have stayed there all day long and we probably should have let him-we could have just come and picked him up at the end of the day.
We were able to pull him away from the trains by telling him that we would be able to go into a train and we went inside the Allegheny Steam Locomotive which was so huge that Whitman probably couldn't even tell that it was a train. Then we walked by train after train followed by car after car. This place is impressive and my mom could spend days in here reading every sign. How I wished that this was a thousand miles closer to my house.
We toured the area on airplanes and of course the kids loved making their own paper airplanes to see how far and how accurate they flew. Then it was on to lunch near the Weinermobile - hot dogs no less! We took pictures with all of the kids laying on the bun covered up with relish, mustard, ketchup and mayo (who eats mayo on a hot dog anyway?)
For lunch, we all had hot dogs-Robby did have a sausage one and I had one with pineapple salsa and bbq sauce. The toppings and all were great but the bun was a little dry. What else was good was the package of hobo bread that Robby bought for me. I wanted to buy some last year but never did so this year we tried some out. It was pretty good-baked in a can and full of walnuts and raisins. I should have pulled some out for supper tonight but forgot about it.
Of course the Model T is a big hit here so at one place we were able to take pictures inside it. We then toured the Dymaxion house-a round house kit that was to be produced after WWII which was very modern for the time but only 2 were ever actually built. The house was different but full of windows and maybe the simpler life style (including air conditioner and high speed internet) would be perfect for us.
Spending the entire day in a museum is probably not the most exciting thing for the kids to do today but I do think they enjoyed it. Some of the exhibits were just really cool to actually see in real life. The Rosa Parks bus was found and restored and now you can sit in it. And seeing the actual chair that Lincoln was shot in is amazing.
During the day, Graham and Anderson would take every chance they got to go back to the Model T that was being put together by museum guests. They wanted to go and take a look to see how far they had come. We all went back right before we left to take a look and that thing was almost completed. Robby took a turn and before too many more steps, they were letting you sit in the car that you made. That is just one of those things that the kids will never forget.
Again today the weather was perfect but we didn't even need good weather because this day was spent all inside. Well, most of it was inside. We did venture about 30 minutes away for ice cream. Yes, you read that right-we drove that far for a scoop of ice cream. (First ice cream stop choice was an actual dairy farm but it was an hour there and an hour back so we had to skip it.)
Les had suggested Ray's Ice Cream and it was worth the drive. The kiddie scoops were huge (and expensive). We thought about buying a half gallon or two to save a few bucks but the kids couldn't understand that so we just went with cups and cones for everyone. The Wilsons did buy a large bucket of ice cream and we used it for Whitman's picture since I thought he was going to sleep through ice cream. But as we were leaving, he woke up and they just let him finish their ice cream-he ate a few bites and then stumbled on a piece of cookie dough and then he was done.
Keaton had peppermint, Campbell ate mint chocolate chip, Graham had vanilla, Anderson had rainbow sherbet and Reagan's was orange sherbet. In protest, I ate Mackinaw Island. (In protest because this is our second year in a row to come to Michigan (and at least my 4th visit to this state) and Robby has still not gotten me to Mackinaw Island) And I ate Mackinaw Island because it was vanilla ice cream filled with chocolate syrup and fudge (real fudge!). Robby had blueberry pie ice cream-he must have liked it because he ate it all (this is the first time that I ever remember him getting a fruity flavored ice cream.)
After our ride back into town, we had a few minutes of down time before supper. You can't just have supper right after eating a gallon of ice cream. So we all went to our room and the kids played on their kindles and colored. Robby ran to vacuum out the car and when he returned, it was picnic time. We had sandwiches, grapes, tortillas, pepper jack cheese, bologna sausage, crackers, fudge, chips, brownies and man, if I didn't forget the cheese dip and salsa. Oh, well there will be a picnic tomorrow and we can dig into those things. My salsa came with my aunt from Arizona to Arkansas and now has traveled to Michigan-it has been more places than many people!
While we cleaned up the picnic and then Robby and I reloaded the initial load of stuff into the car, Tony played football with the kids. Then it was pool time-oh, you should have seen people rolling their eyes and hurring out of the pool area when we arrived with all of our kiddos. The kids swam for about 30 minutes and this gave them enough pool time and still gave us enough time tonight to repack and get to bed at a decent time.
We are on day 6 of our trip and not yet halfway finished so the kids definitely need all of the sleep that they can get. Tomorrow is the factory tour which should be interesting, a picnic at Henry Fords house and then a drive through Canada with the final destination of Niagara Falls. Tomorrow is a big day so I better get some extra sleep tonight! (currently we will be in bed 2 hours earlier than the previous night!)
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