Fife Lake--The Best 4th In the North!

This 4th of July my son and I went to see the fireworks at Fife Lake, Michigan.  They did a great job as usual.  I think this is the 4th year in a row that we have attended the Independence Day celebration at Fife Lake.  The locals like it because they do not have to fight the traffic to Traverse City and the fireworks display is truly impressive.

Of course, my favorite place is the Fife Lake Dairy Bar.  That place has the BEST soft serve ice cream and they have a couple dozen great flavors. 

Fife Lake is an all-sports lake just off US-131 and about 30 minutes southeast of Traverse City.  It has a nice sandy beach and a public boat launch. 

I have a couple properties listed out in the Fife Lake area: www.realestateone.com/1709331  and also www.realestateone.com/1707985 .

Moody Blues Concert at Interlochen Center for the Arts

On 26 June 2010 I went to my first Moody Blues concert.  It was great.  I was shocked to realize that the drummer was 69 years old.  He joked that now when he says "Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll" the "Sex Drugs" now refers to Viagra.

They are a true classic band and I am glad to have finally been able to see them. 

The concert was at the Interlochen Center for the Arts which is an amazing place.  It has a great covered outdoor stage set in front beautiful Green Lake.

For those who are not familiar with the area the Interlochen Center for the Arts is home to the Interlochen Arts Academy which is one of the nation's top fine arts boarding school for High School students.  There is the Interlochen College of Creative Arts which has adult classes, there is the Interlochen Arts Camp where there is a great fine arts summer program for grades 3 to 12th.  The Center teaches art, dance, motion picture arts, music, theater, creative writing and so much more.  For more information on the center go to www.interlochen.org.

Log Lake in Kalkaska

If you are looking for a great beach in Kalkaska County can I suggest Log Lake.  It has a wonderful sandy beach perfect for skim boards...which my kids have not figured out how to ride yet.  But with those boards you cannot have the rocky beaches found so often in Northern Michigan.

Log Lake is a public no-wake lake that has a park and picnic area and there is also a camp ground right next to the beach if you are looking for a place to camp.  I was told there is great fishing there.  My son in this photo went snorkling and said he saw a huge school of fish.  I bought him a disposable underwater camera so maybe in the next blog I will have a photo of some of those fish.  For more information on what is going on in Kalkaska there is a great link I found: http://www.visitkalkaska.com/LogLake.htm

Cool Tech Camp

My son is in 6th grade and is now eligible to attend the TBAISD Career-Tech Center's Cool Tech Camp. This summer he is attending the TBA Drag Way class where the kids make wooden drag racers and then race them by a CO2 cartridge propelling them. My son thinks this is the "GREATEST CLASS EVER!" That is his quote.

Traverse City has tons of things for kids to do over the summer. There are courses run by the Career-Tech Center and also NMC's College for Kids. My younger child will be attending a course there this summer. For more information you can go to the Center's website at:  http://www.tbactc.org/student-services/summer-tech-camp.asp

My first attempt at oil painting

I took some oil painting lessons from the Art Center of Traverse City. I had never painted before with a real canvas and brushes. I did teach myself how to draw on the computer using Corel Painter and a Wacom Tablet, but I wanted to see how that compared to real life painting.

I must say Corel Painter mimics real world painting fairly well. I sort of like drawing on the computer better because the paint dries faster. :)

I would recommend the center for anybody wishing to learn how to paint or draw. You can find out more at the following link:

http://www.artcentertraversecity.com

June 26 is Kids' Free Fishing Day at NMC

A couple years ago I brought my children to Northwestern Michigan College's free fishing day. They loved it! My boys have absolutely zero patience when it comes to fishing and luckily you don't need any at this event. They threw in their line and a couple minutes later they caught a fish. The children were allowed to catch two fish from the stocked area where 1500 Rainbow Trout were packed into a fairly small area.

This year's NMC free fishing day is on 26 June from 10AM until 2PM. The following website has more information about this years event:

http://http//www.mynorth.com/My-North/June-2010/Kids-Free-Fishing-Day-at-Traverse-City-039s-NMC/

The last time I went with the kids they had people cleaning the fish and putting them in plastic bags packed in ice for the ride home. I am not sure if they are doing the same thing this year, but I hope so. It really is a great time for the kids.

Boy Scout Horsemanship Merit Badge Weekend

A couple weeks ago my scouts went to a wonderful horse farm in Interlochen to learn how to ride and care for horses in order to earn their Horsemanship Merit Badge. The scouts had a wonderful time. At the end of the weekend each scout was able to maneuver his horse and even back up a horse. They also learned how to care for a horse from grooming their hooves to mucking the stables. I was very impressed.