It wasn't even a week past William's tooth extraction surgery, when he (and Grace and Juliet) had a scheduled cleaning, back in Ann Arbor. Well, the stress of it being a Tuesday, the final school day before Thanksgiving break, another trip to the dentist, and it being 6am, had William "hootin' and hollerin' "* about how much he disliked State Parks and didn't want to go to anymore, ever again!
Thankfully, once the appointment had concluded, special drinks were acquired, and fluoride ban had run it's duration, William seemed like a happy, willing participant in our State Park visit.
This round was Maybury state park, which is in metro Detroit, but had previously been closed for updates, so we had skipped over it. This cover picture was actually at the end, but I'll come back to that.
This state park used to be in a very isolated area, but the amount of new construction and volume of traffic indicates that it is currently in an area rife with growing pains. We did manage to turn into the park, and got our pictures.
This park is number 67 (six-seven) on our map, so the kids are all making the 6-7 hand sign.
This park was very equestrian centric, but the kids found fun things none-the-less. Stairs to nowhere!
It was wet and dreary, but close to 50F, which is not miserable when you are wearing winter garb.
Youngest at the top, oldest at the bottom. William is an entire step taller than Grace!
Um, I cannot wait to recreate this when they are adults!
William was the 'horse,' and was an excellent sport about it!
Juliet the conductor.
William helping Juliet get onto the swings.
Once we'd had our fill of the tiny play area, we loaded back up into the car for a quick visit to the thrift shop. As we were leaving the area, we found another, main, entrance. We didn't have the time** to further explore, but we did stop to take the 'official' picture, thanks to Avia's encouragement.
I was glad the day ended better for William than it began. We had a bit of success at the Salvation Army, with two pair of pants for Emily and a jacket for Leon, despite the 15-minute timer I set!
There are still two more Metro Detroit parks on our list, but those will have to wait until spring.
later days
A list of our previous visits:
Tahquamenon Falls #15
Keith J Charters #33
Sleeper State Park #46
Port Crescent State Park #47
Silver Lake State Park #49
Muskegon State Park #50*
Newaygo State Park #51
PJ Hoffmaster State Park #52
Grand Haven State Park #53
Ionia State Park #54
Sleepy Hollow State Park #55
Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area #56
Lake Port State Park #57
Seven Lakes State Park #58
Holly Recreation Area #59
Algonac #60
Holland State Park #61
Island Park State Recreation Area #63b
Highland Recreation Area #64b
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area #65
Dodge #4 State Park #66a
Bald Moutain State Recreation Area #66b
Saugatuck Dunes State Park #68
Fort Custer Recreation Area #69
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Pickney State Recreation Area #70b
WJ Hays State Park #71
Belle Isle Park #72
Van Buren State Park #73
Grand Mere State Park #74
Fort Custer Recreation Area #69
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Pickney State Recreation Area #70b
WJ Hays State Park #71
Belle Isle Park #72
Van Buren State Park #73
Grand Mere State Park #74
Warren Dunes State Park #75a
Warren Woods State Park #75b
Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77
Sterling State Park #78
Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1
Kal-Haven State Park #Bonus 2
Warren Woods State Park #75b
Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77
Sterling State Park #78
Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1
Kal-Haven State Park #Bonus 2
*Everyone asked what was wrong as they trickled out of their bedrooms, and "What was all the hootin and hollerin'" was a direct Alice quote!
**Enisi and Edudi were due to arrive at 5pm, so we were trying to fit in a little fun post-dentist and pre-grandparents!