movie day followed by late-night planetarium show!

Yesterday was such a weird day. We woke up and the wind was just rocking us back and forth violently. We knew from the moment we opened our eyes that it was going to be hard to get any boat projects done. So, we decided to stay in bed, something we had not done in approximately 2 years. We watched movies, read and relaxed for the whole day.

At around 5pm, our friend Rob came to see if wanted to do something. Having had rested our fair share, we accepted his offer to go explore town. We started by stopping at “Patti’s 1880′s Settlement” which is the main tourist attraction in Grand Rivers. It is hard to describe the place, for it consists of a restaurant, mini golf park, petting zoo, huge gardens, lots of stores, a climbing wall and more. Although the theme is suppose to be the 1800′s, the inside is more like a bunch of random modern attractions put together very well for everyone’s enjoyment. We were not there to do any of the activities they had to offer, but rather to observe the 880,000 Christmas lights that decorate the place, which mark the beginning of their Christmas celebrations. The place was out of this world, everything was lit up, even little bushes! I can not say I liked the place, however it was a pretty mind-blowing scene.

After Patti’s, we went to the “Woodlands Nature Station” to see a herd of deer, followed by a trip to the Planetarium, where Rob works. After touring the facility some, Rob gifted us a private 1 hour plus planetarium life show. He showed us different constellations, helped us figure out how to do celestial navigation, told us fun stories behind well-known and not so common constellations and taught us how to find the Andromeda galaxy, which is the only other galaxy we can see with our naked-eye. It was a very fun evening! We got to ask so many questions about astronomy and Rob, who is very knowledgeable, answered all of them. At around 11:00pm, we were back and ready to hit the sack – again.

Today, the wind is blowing hard again (30+mph), so we’ll attempt to finish our boat projects and we hope we can step the mast tomorrow and be gone by Wednesday.