I was especially excited when I saw a deer in the middle of the sand in front of the sunset. The only problem was the deer also saw me so I would have to be quick to pull the camera out and capture him with the sunrise. As I quickly pulled my camera out, the deer perked up and started slowly stepping in the direction of the woods. At that same time I heard something fall from my bag, "Crack!" hit the boardwalk and "Sploosh!" into the lagoon water below. "Oh no." was all I could think. Dave's head shaking back and forth was all I could picture in my sleepy brain. I'd just dropped the camera charger into the lagoon water.
I ran over to the canoes at the end of the boardwalk and grabbed a paddle to see if I could coax it to the edge. By the time I got back, the charger had given up all hope and decided to sink to the bottom. Ugh. And the whole reason I'd brought the charger was to plug it in as my camera battery was low. We'll I guess now it would be dead soon. And possibly me as well. Whatcha think Dave?
I did end up getting some nice pictures. This one was my favorite.
Once I got back to the campsite I sorted all yesterday's laundry, edited pictures, and wrote about the day before. Just as I was finishing, droplets of rain started appearing on my computer so I quickly packed everything away and hopped in the tent. Two of the three kids were up so we snuggled until laughter woke up a grumpy Laney. It was a steady sprinkle so we closed the windows on the tent and read a few more chapters of the book. It's getting good!
Once the rain let up, we headed to the office for wifi to check what the weather would be like for the day. It looked like there was a huge band of rain coming just under us but we were to miss the worst of all of it yet again. We'd be dry and able to get on with our day in about an hour so we got dressed and headed to the bakery for a snack. We were lucky we walked in early as a lot of other people had the exact same idea!
Next we stopped by the old Ojebwe Indian Cemetery the information guide had suggested. The gate was locked but when Laney saw all the rocks along the fence she wanted to leave one too.
On the way back to the campsite I had to stop and take a picture of this barn we'd been passing every day. Laney and I love these flowers so much! We see them along the roadside everywhere but I'm guessing they aren't flowers that would grow in hot and humid Florida.
When I got in the car and started heading back to the campsite I could barely drive as something was tickling my foot. Screaming and laughing, I stopped the car only to discover there was a little hungry caterpillar walking between my toes. Oh my, he is lucky he is still alive. Tickling and anything related to my feet means war.
We made it back to the campsite and geared up for the long hike to the state park on the other side of the island. The hike was mostly boardwalk on a beautiful tree-lined trail between the lagoon and Lake Superior. We chatted, snacked, and learned about how all the trees and vegetation survive the harsh winters off the lake.
Once we made it to the park we met some people we'd talked to earlier at the bakery who were very impressed with the distance the kids had hiked so far. After a quick bathroom break and a little exploring of the park, we headed back along the beach watching for birds and tracks along the way. Brayden and Ryan picked up sticks of course and Laney and I named some new animals from the tracks they were making. Rectango was the bird with rectangular footprints and there was also the hopping water slug which appeared very busy!
After we got back we checked the weather one more time and made the decision to go into town to eat lunch at a cafe someone recommended, stop by the post office, and hit the library. Our lunch was delicious and we caught up with a pile of postcards - we mailed 21! The post office desk was closed - seems I can't figure out the hours of the places here - so we headed to the library for some books and wifi time. Ryan fell in love with this giant bear and wanted to take it home. The library staff kept peeking at her and loved she was enjoying him so much.
Just as we were packing up to leave the library staff started talking about the record high temperatures. While we do have to fight the rain a lot it seems, I am loving this 50s at night and 60s and 70s during the day weather! I think I am slowly being converted to a snow bird!
After dinner we headed to the beach to play and say goodbye. The tide was going out so the kids enjoyed sorting through all the rocks. Laney even found a new island!
