Go Back  Quiltingboard Forums > General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
How I spent last Thursday and Friday! >

How I spent last Thursday and Friday!

How I spent last Thursday and Friday!

Old 11-14-2010, 07:23 PM
  #1  
Super Member
Thread Starter
 
pab58's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: near Tucson, Arizona
Posts: 5,841
Default

I took my 20 7th and 8th grade students to Port Huron for two days! On Thursday they stopped by the Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse (it's presently closed for restorations), made vegetable soup over an open fire, dipped candles, wrote with a quill pen and made a punched tin sign at the log cabin at the main museum, participated in a robot workshop and toured the main museum, toured the Huron Lightship and then spent the night aboard the USCG Cutter Bramble!! Friday morning they toured the Thomas Edison Depot Museum and participated in an electricity workshop. The overnight on board the Bramble was amazing!!! They even had hourly rotations beginning at 11:00 p.m. I took the two rotations from 1:00-3:00 a.m. Then at around 6:45 one of my male chaperones came down from the pilot house and told the couple of us that were up that the largest freighter on the Great Lakes was coming down the St. Clair River!!!!! The freighter is 1,000 feet long! The morning was cold and damp and fog was pea soup thick, but seeing that freighter slowly sailing down the river was a memory that will stay with me FOREVER!! It was such a ghostly sight because of the thick fog. There were only 4 or 5 boys, one of the male chaperones, myself and Mike the retired seaman who witnessed the sight. Mike had turned on the radar so we could see it coming down the river. Then he said that another freighter was coming upriver. It was probably only about half the length of the first one. They passed each other just south of our ship! It was absolutely amazing!!!

My students really seemed to enjoy their field trip. They will be studying Michigan history in the second semester, but our administrator wanted her staff to try and plan a field trip in the fall if at all possible because the spring is usually packed with field trips. I only wanted to take them to the lighthouse, but when I checked the web site, I read that it was closed for at least another year. :-( I then noticed that they had several other things that I thought would be possibilities. Well, I ended up turning what was to be a 3 hour trip into a two day trip!!! It was so worth it! They will certainly remember this trip -- I hope. 8-)

A Great Lakes freighter sailing into Lake Huron from the St. Clair River
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126531[/ATTACH]

The big black kettle contains our veggie soup!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126532[/ATTACH]

The Ft. Gratiot Lighthouse -- sorry for the fuzzies on the picture
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126533[/ATTACH]

One of my students said she was going to go home and hug her dishwasher!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126534[/ATTACH]

Making cornbread to go with our veggie soup!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126535[/ATTACH]

A working loom at the log cabin. They make rugs on it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126537[/ATTACH]

Punched tin -- I made one, too!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126540[/ATTACH]

A few of our completed hand-dipped candles!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126542[/ATTACH]

I sure wish I could walk on stilts as easily as some of my students!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126545[/ATTACH]

I'm sure that writing with a quill pen makes them appreciate ball point pens even more!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126547[/ATTACH]

Soup anyone!!?? It actually tasted pretty good!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126548[/ATTACH]

An embroidered quilt at the Main Museum.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126551[/ATTACH]

On board the Huron Lightship. Notice the wringer washing machine?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126553[/ATTACH]

Our home away from home -- the USCG Cutter Bramble! This pic was taken on Friday morning -- thick fog! We arrived after dark on Thursday so no pics.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126554[/ATTACH]

What do you think of these steep stairs?! They did wonders for my bad back and ankles! NOT!!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126555[/ATTACH]

Get a load of this motley crew!!!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126557[/ATTACH]

That's Sarnia, Ontario, Canada through the thick fog!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126558[/ATTACH]

The Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia, Canada. The fog was still lingering.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]126559[/ATTACH]
Attached Thumbnails attachment-126526.jpe   attachment-126527.jpe   attachment-126528.jpe   attachment-126529.jpe   attachment-126530.jpe  

attachment-126532.jpe   attachment-126535.jpe   attachment-126537.jpe   attachment-126540.jpe   attachment-126542.jpe  

attachment-126543.jpe   attachment-126546.jpe   attachment-126548.jpe   attachment-126549.jpe   attachment-126550.jpe  

attachment-126552.jpe   attachment-126553.jpe   attachment-126554.jpe  
pab58 is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:24 PM
  #2  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: West Coast
Posts: 9,267
Default

What a cool trip!
DebraK is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:35 PM
  #3  
Power Poster
 
amma's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Out searching for some sunshine :-)
Posts: 58,856
Default

What a great experience you gave your students, and your self too :D:D:D
Thank you for sharing it with us :D:D:D
amma is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:37 PM
  #4  
Super Member
 
Ditter43's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Crystal River Florida
Posts: 9,785
Default

What a neat field trip for all of you!!! Many good memories!! It sounds like you enjoyed it a lot too! :thumbup: :thumbup: :D
Ditter43 is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:43 PM
  #5  
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,407
Default

What a great trip for you and the students. I'm sure those memories will stay w/them
karenchi is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:47 PM
  #6  
Power Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 17,068
Default

What a wonderful experience! Love the pics and glad you had nice weather :)
sueisallaboutquilts is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 07:54 PM
  #7  
Super Member
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Merced, CA
Posts: 4,188
Default

What a wonderful thing for them to remember! I wish all kids could have such trips to remember. I'll bet that many years from now large men will come up and thank you for taking them to such fascinating places.
Ramona Byrd is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 08:16 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Posts: 857
Default

Since you have created such interest in the Great Lakes shipping, I would like to suggest a follow-up by having you view the webcam at the locks in Soo, MI

You could tie it in nicely with your history lessons: travel, raw materials, exploration, settling communities, food, etc.

Yup, I'm a quilter and a boat nerd :-) Some large ships have been converted to barges and are moved by tugs which fit in a notch of the barge. Just another idea....
kay carlson is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 08:24 PM
  #9  
Super Member
Thread Starter
 
pab58's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: near Tucson, Arizona
Posts: 5,841
Default

Originally Posted by kay carlson
Since you have created such interest in the Great Lakes shipping, I would like to suggest a follow-up by having you view the webcam at the locks in Soo, MI

You could tie it in nicely with your history lessons: travel, raw materials, exploration, settling communities, food, etc.

Yup, I'm a quilter and a boat nerd :-) Some large ships have been converted to barges and are moved by tugs which fit in a notch of the barge. Just another idea....
Thanks so much for the info!!!!!!!!! My students would LOVE it! :thumbup:
pab58 is offline  
Old 11-14-2010, 08:42 PM
  #10  
Super Member
 
Grammy o'5's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Tijeras, NM
Posts: 1,319
Default

Definitely sounds like a memorable trip! :thumbup: Thank you for sharing!
Grammy o'5 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
RevPam
Links and Resources
6
05-05-2012 01:13 PM
great aunt jacqui
Main
83
03-21-2011 04:15 PM
cjomomma
Pictures
109
02-27-2011 10:59 PM
Maride
Main
14
10-18-2008 09:20 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


FREE Quilting Newsletter