Rebecca had her detailed ultrasound last week at the 20 week mark of pregnancy. We were able to see an incredible amount of detail including the heart, legs, cerebellum, feet, ribs, stomach and much more. Also, we were able to find out our baby will be a girl and are thrilled.
We have decided to name her Katherine Elizabeth Jacobs and look forward to her arrival.
Oden State Fish Hatchery
While in the Petoskey area, we got a tip to check out the Oden State Fish Hatchery.
This old railcar is now used to give some information about the hatchery. Back in the day, the trains used to be used to transport the fish from the hatchery to various lakes and streams.
Also, there are free guided tours available throughout the day as well as self-guided trails that take you past some of the ponds and streams containing various broodstock.
Rebecca and I returned from roughly a week in northern Michigan. We rented a cottage on Crooked Lake near Petoskey and had access to a fire pit, canoes and swimming if we wanted. An advantage to staying just a bit outside of Petoskey apart from having more reasonable rent was that it was very quiet and very relaxing. It was a perfect spot for our ‘babymoon’.
Simple Serenity - Our cottage view of Crooked Lake
We originally planned that the Petoskey area would be our base of operations for our various sightseeing adventures. It turned out that Petoskey was probably our favorite area apart from our time at Sleeping Bear Dunes Park. There is a lot more to see in the area that we didn’t have time to experience, but I think this is one area we’ll go back to with some regularity.
Below are some highlights.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park – This park offers many beaches and scenic views.
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive seemed well worth the 10 dollar admission to us.
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive - Glen Lake Overlook
Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive - Lake Michigan Overlook
Glen Haven Beach – This beach is in Sleeping Bear Dunes and at first glance gives you the impression that it isn’t a public beach at all. The beach is very secluded, but there is a bath house to change in. When we were there, the water was very, very cold yet exhilarating. It was colder than the pacific for sure but it felt great.
Glen Haven Canning Company
Glen Haven is a restored historical logging village located in the Leelanau Peninsula. This building used to be a Cherry cannery, but is now a boathouse museum.
Petoskey State Park – This park had an entrance fee of 8 dollars. A bit steep, but as far as beaches go, this was a really, really nice one. The beach was on Little Traverse Bay and so the water was a bit warmer. Also, when we were there, the waves were incredibly high and ocean like. I forgot how fun it is to play in the waves.
Downtown Petoskey – There are a lot of high quality establishments in a downtown area that could otherwise just take advantage of being located in a touristy area. Here were the ones we were impressed with.
House of Pies – Located in Oden, MI is this wonderful pie shop. Holy moly were they good. Indeed , their website is awful, but the pies are great. A place serving pies this good shouldn’t have been as empty as it was. I have no idea why they mess around with gourmet hot dogs and antiques. I think they’d do far better to partner with a good local coffee roaster.
Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co. – Located in Glen Arbor, I noticed this establishment while driving through the little town and smelling the familar aroma of roasting coffee. Judging from the outside, I did not have good vibes about the quality of the product and was concerned that even if it were good quality, that it would be served by summer help. I was mistaken. The espresso I was served was probably the best I have purchased in the last 5 years. Kudos.
The Little Traverse History Museum – There was a 2 dollar admission fee for this museum in Petoskey, which seemed reasonable, but in retrospect should have clued me in that they couldn’t command a higher entrance fee. There just wasn’t much to look at and quite honestly, I was already tired of hearing about Hemingway hanging out in the area, so it didn’t do much to read about it yet again.
St. Ignace – This town just across the Mackinac Bridge seems to have pretty much everything going for it. Great views, great location, but it is just a run down town with run down stores. In a weird way, this is kind of a good thing since it isn’t congested, which makes their rundown boardwalk kind of fun to walk around. However, it seemed clear that the town is just content with being a stop to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island. Very strange.
Stalled Wind Turbines – Driving across the Mackinac Bridge, we noticed two of those enormous wind turbines that produce electricity. It was a pretty windy day, which should have been good for producing energy, however, we noticed they were stalled. We found out, ironically, that it because it was too windy to run. Hmmmm.
Roadside Table Litter Barrel – I don’t recall seeing signs like this in Ohio, but we saw several signs on 31, that said ‘Roadside Tabel Litter Barrel’, which seemed a bit odd until we realized it was quite literally a small stop consisting of a picnic table and a trash can alongside the road.
Baby Jacobs circa 13 weeks in utero.
Some folks know this, some don’t, but Rebecca and I are expecting our first child in December of this year. I too have seen many of these sonograms and quite frankly, I know they may not look like much, but it is true — when it is yours it means everything.
The picture above was taken just after the first trimester — Rebecca took a spill at a Dayton courthouse and out of precaution had an exam to confirm everything was alright.
There have been a few reasons why we haven’t mentioned it publicly until now:
Below are a few questions we get asked frequently.
Q: Have we picked out any names?
A: We have a few ideas depending on if it is a boy or a girl, but we are keeping it close to the vest.
Q: What about the adoption?
A: Our agency, Adoption Circle, is putting us on hold, but we get to keep our paperwork on file for a time with them. We had mostly completed our home study already. This is a great thing because adoption may yet be a part of our lives. It is definitely a great option and we really have loved working with Adoption Circle. They have been absolutely fantastic to work with.
Q: Will you find out what you are having ahead of time?
A: Yes. We should know by the end of July. Our expectation = human 🙂
Today, I went with some friends to do the Hocking Hills Canopy Tour, which is a zipline course. There were 10 ziplines on the tour, which gives a great view of the Hocking River and many natural rock formations.
Our tour guides Joey and Shamrock were great and well trained. I highly recommend the tour if you get the chance.
I took this video using my Mino video camera strapped on to my harness. It gives some sense of the velocity of the experience, but since I couldn’t aim the camera, there is little context for it.
This video is of Mike doing the Eagle Scream zip. During this one, we were encouraged to attempt to scream the whole way across in one breath. I believe Mike was channeling Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.
I heard a new weather term this evening : Red Flag Warning. My first thought was of the type of flag flown on beaches during a pending hurricane.
However, it is actually used to describe conditions that are dry and windy.
Wikipedia on Red Flag Warning:
A Red Flag Warning is a forecast warning issued by the United States National Weather Service to inform area firefighting and land management agencies that conditions are ideal for wildland fire ignition and propagation
Interestingly enough, many news outlets take this opportunity to make a rather odd warning. In a nutshell, the warning may be summarized as follows:
During Red Flag Warning, be careful with fire and don’t toss your lit cigarettes or matches into the grass. Oh, and if you do controlled burns, be careful too.
Indeed, it is good advice in general to be careful with fire, I am not disputing that.
However, the manner in which the advice is dispensed makes it sound like outside of Red Flag Warnings, the act of flinging a flinging a lit match or cigarette into the grass is perfectly safe and acceptable. And then, in an effort to point out that the story isn’t targeting smokers, it will point out how those conducting controlled burns should also be careful.
I am not sure what to make of it, but find it a bit peculiar.
Rebecca and I are getting the house ready for a series of safety inspections for our home study. We’ll need to come up with evacuation routes for a fire, and will need to cover our unused outlets among other things.
Here are two ideas from “The Simpson’s” that I am guessing wouldn’t pass muster even though they are funny and have at least a kernel of truth in them:
Fire Evacuation
I think this poster is the situation that most people experience in a real fire. No, not grilling ribs over an open flame indoors, but panic. Not good.
Escape Route
This poster actually isn’t that bad. We have found we’ll need to have fire escape ladders on our second floor because the best route might be out the window. However, tied blankets aren’t likely that reliable.
While this may seem comical, it really is a good idea to have a solid plan in place for an emergency with or without children in the house.
In my 30 minute Lynchburg photo-shoot, I also learned that John Lynch founded the city in 1786. I have the picture to prove it. I am assuming that it would be far too an elaborate prank to pull of deceit in such a public setting.
John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg in 1786
I recently caught a glimpse of Billy Mays pitching for Mighty Putty. Several things struck me that I had never considered before:
I had no idea how many problems faced me without the aid of this product. In fact, I was completely unaware of this blind spot of adhesive unpreparedness.
After thinking a bit further, I decided I didn’t honestly have a looming need to stick something to the wall and couldn’t recall the last time I needed to repair a hole in a drinking glass. It turned out that I didn’t need to order now.
Nevertheless, Billy taught me something valuable — often we are not equipped to realize our own problems or weaknesses. Many times it takes an independent observer to point them out. All too often, we dismiss that person as just another know-it-all, which they usually are. Instead, we fancy ourselves as figurative master craftsmen able to easily navigate drilling through our bathroom tile or mix a mean epoxy.
Most of us are delusional. Billy knows better. He knows our problems and just wants to help.
Flowers at Prairie Oaks
Spring is a long way off yet here in Ohio. I was reviewing some pictures I took in 2008 while in Prairie Oaks metro park and am looking forward to seeing some greenery and life soon in 2009.
For now, I’ll try to enjoy the winter walks.