We drove to Bay City last Friday for the Tall Ship Festival. Some of these ships sail all over the world. This one came from Sweden.

Jason was wishing he could see them with the sails out, but even when they came into port Thursday they just motored in. I guess you have to join a crew to see the sails out up close. I hope I’m not giving him any ideas- he might just do that to escape the pressure of this dissertation.

We parked for free and took a shuttle to the entrance. Jas took charge of pulling BOB (stroller) onto the bus. People’s eye’s got wide when they saw us get on and one gentleman from Thailand asked me if I was Catholic. I said I was Mormon and we talked a second. It doesn’t bother me at all to be mistaken for a Catholic (might have saved me on the metro that one day with the Puerto Rican gangsters), but since when did three children mean a huge family? Maybe we just look a lot younger than we are? (I hope!) Maybe it looks like seven when Oliver and Nabby are jumping around so fast they blur. Anyway, it was nice to talk and make a friend and not just be stared at again. This cool orange/red building was in front of the bus stop.

Swords and whips and wannabe pirates. There were loads of crafts for the kids and singing groups too. AND SUN! There was sunshine in Michigan!! I could hardly contain myself. It felt SOOOOO good. And I burned my nose and forehead a little. And I didn’t even care. Apparently all that solar energy made my fingers fidgety because I have a ton of photos.

Honest truth, Oliver gave this guy a high five.

He had to jump.

This guy works with Ring of Steel in Ann Arbor. He lit one of his whips on fire and threw it around a ton without burning anything. He showed us how he whips a sword out of an actor’s hand for a movie or play.

I think these guys were teaching kids how to talk like a pirate. My kids didn’t want to go anywhere near them.

Smee teaching Nabby how to make a hat. I named him Smee in my head. She liked drawing a pirate map too. Oliver made an eye patch.

I answered Buttercup’s riddle and won a couple of pixy sticks. One was iocan powder and the other was it’s antidote. I wish the antidote had been chocolate covered, but that probably would have melted and been messy. It was hot.

Then we ate ice cream and went home.