Lobsters and Giant Wetas
We went to the beach with friends on Saturday and we had an excellent time. We played in the surf and sand. Talie and the kids dug a huge pit and then connected it with a canal to another hole. It was about a metre from the edge of the sea so it was filling up with water. After we finished playing in it, it became the wading pool for all the other kids at the beach. By the time we left the surf had risen enough that the canal structure was a couple of meters into the sea.
I actually went swimming. I'm working on my uncomfortableness with water...not a fear...just uncomfortable. I'm not sure where it came from since I don't remember any bad experiences with H2O. My few memories of water are good ones....jumping off the dock in Lake Temagami and swimming lessons, though I do remember being older than the other kids in my class. Anyhow, I did some swimming but didn't make it to the dock which they have set out in the water...that'll be my goal for the summer.
J made a friend, an older boy, and they were trying to catch minnows...with a sand bucket. At one point they baited their traps (Jatz crackers, a Ritz equivalent) but still no luck.
E and I tried to dig a tunnel all the way to Canada...but to no avail. We dug down until the sand became to difficult to dig away. I think we may have reached the bottom of the beach since it is a man made beach.
We found a lobster on the beach soaking up the sun. We decided to take it home. It sat in my seat in the car. When we got home, it sat in my chair while we ate chicken drumsticks and taters. It slept on my side of the bed. Oh, did I fail to mention that I decided to try to get that surfer dude tan?
On Sunday we went to Somes Island, a conservation site. We took the half-hour ferry ride over, which was fun and wavy. E, N and I stayed up top the whole time. It was windy and salty and wet. Talie and J hid down below.
The island has a pretty cool history. The Maori had built a Pa on the site, which was they fortified villages. The steep slopes and the ocean made it easily defendable, and the ocean also provided plenty of food. During the later 1800's to early 1900's it was used as quarantine site for ships ariving with small pox. We saw a memorial to all the victims of this disease...it was pretty sad...many young children...one only a day old, not even named. During the war it was an internment camp for German and Italian New Zealanders. Following the war it was used as an animal quarantine station right up until 1995.
Some of the scenery was breathtaking.
Now it is a conservation area. They have the Tuatara, which is an ancient type of reptile. Giant Wetas, even bigger than the ones we found at our house. Unfortunately, we found neither of these guys...at least not living ones. While walking we found a recently stepped on Giant Weta...I think one of our party stepped on it. There was also a Weta hotel, but these were Tree Wetas like the one we took pictures of a few of weeks ago. We saw lots of sea gulls too.
I thought the coolest part was the gun placements on the hill. We got to walk through bunkers. There was one with scratchings on the wall that looked like someone was counting out the days until the end of the war.
I actually went swimming. I'm working on my uncomfortableness with water...not a fear...just uncomfortable. I'm not sure where it came from since I don't remember any bad experiences with H2O. My few memories of water are good ones....jumping off the dock in Lake Temagami and swimming lessons, though I do remember being older than the other kids in my class. Anyhow, I did some swimming but didn't make it to the dock which they have set out in the water...that'll be my goal for the summer.
J made a friend, an older boy, and they were trying to catch minnows...with a sand bucket. At one point they baited their traps (Jatz crackers, a Ritz equivalent) but still no luck.
E and I tried to dig a tunnel all the way to Canada...but to no avail. We dug down until the sand became to difficult to dig away. I think we may have reached the bottom of the beach since it is a man made beach.
We found a lobster on the beach soaking up the sun. We decided to take it home. It sat in my seat in the car. When we got home, it sat in my chair while we ate chicken drumsticks and taters. It slept on my side of the bed. Oh, did I fail to mention that I decided to try to get that surfer dude tan?
On Sunday we went to Somes Island, a conservation site. We took the half-hour ferry ride over, which was fun and wavy. E, N and I stayed up top the whole time. It was windy and salty and wet. Talie and J hid down below.
The island has a pretty cool history. The Maori had built a Pa on the site, which was they fortified villages. The steep slopes and the ocean made it easily defendable, and the ocean also provided plenty of food. During the later 1800's to early 1900's it was used as quarantine site for ships ariving with small pox. We saw a memorial to all the victims of this disease...it was pretty sad...many young children...one only a day old, not even named. During the war it was an internment camp for German and Italian New Zealanders. Following the war it was used as an animal quarantine station right up until 1995.
Some of the scenery was breathtaking.
Now it is a conservation area. They have the Tuatara, which is an ancient type of reptile. Giant Wetas, even bigger than the ones we found at our house. Unfortunately, we found neither of these guys...at least not living ones. While walking we found a recently stepped on Giant Weta...I think one of our party stepped on it. There was also a Weta hotel, but these were Tree Wetas like the one we took pictures of a few of weeks ago. We saw lots of sea gulls too.
I thought the coolest part was the gun placements on the hill. We got to walk through bunkers. There was one with scratchings on the wall that looked like someone was counting out the days until the end of the war.
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Love Dad D