Michigan Vacation- Day 4 Greenfield Village

It finally stopped raining for us to be able to venture out. Since Greenfield Village is 2 1/2 hours east of where we are staying, we had to be up at 7am and be ready to leave by 8. I was up at five because as it turns out Carson has a case of the croup. I thought only babies could get it but apparently children up to age four have been known to come down with it. Needless to say it has been a very stressful couple of nights. That's when it seems to be the worse for him. It got so bad at one point, he was crying and said "I want my bad cough to go away" Broke my heart because there is nothing I can do to help him. I read that giving a child warm clear liquids can help, so I keep a glass of room temperature Sprite next to the bed and it seems to help him a little bit. I also read that the first two nights are the worst and that it can last anywhere from 5-6 days. Fun times!

Here is a brief description of where we were headed:

Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past. There are 83 authentic, historic structures, from Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The buildings and the things to see are only the beginning. There’s the fun stuff, too. In Greenfield Village, you can ride in a genuine Model T or “pull” glass with world-class artisans; you can watch 1867 baseball or ride a train with a 19th-century steam engine. It’s a place where you can choose your lunch from an 1850s menu or spend a quiet moment pondering the home and workshop where the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Greenfield Village is a celebration of people — people whose unbridled optimism came to define modern-day America.

We got to the Village around 11:00 and it was sooooo HOT. Actually it was more humid than hot. Carson's poor little head was sweaty before we even made it to the front gate and he still didn't seem to be his usual happy self. We started walking around and going through the different little houses. Then we sat and had lunch by a shady tree. I had packed us lunch because those kinds of places always charge an outrageous amount for food. Carson mostly fed his lunch to the birds.

The kids always enjoy going to places like these. We were also unlucky lucky enough to be there for the World Tournament of Historic Baseball. They play by 1867 rules and don't even wear mitts. It was actually pretty interesting. There was a team that was from Columbus and they made it to the championship game so hubby wanted to stay and watch. The kids were so miserable at this point from the heat and I was worried about Carson because he did not eat anything so I decided I would take them over to the Henry Ford Museum where it was air conditioned and wait for hubby to be done watching the game. Chandler decided to stay with him. So the four of us headed over to the museum. We decided that we would come back up to the village another time when it's a little cooler like in October or November. We have a family membership to both the village and museum so it gives us an excuse to come back.

On our way back, we stopped off for dinner at a Coney Island. I guess in Michigan, coney's are a big thing. I wish we had them in Ohio. The kids and I all had coney's and chili cheese fries and hubby got a deluxe breakfast. Strange I know. He did order a coney as well because even he thought it was silly to come to a coney place and not try one. As we were leaving, the manager had seen our Ohio plates and so he asked hubby where we were from. Turns out he grew up in Ohio about a half hour from where we live. This turned into a 10 minute discussion about there being no decent coney places where we live other than Skyline Chili. The manager hands hubby his business card and on the back he had written "one block of chili and 20 hot dogs". He asked if we brought a cooler up and said to stop back in and he would give us the chili and hot dogs. We were so surprised and thanked him for his generosity. Talk about a great souvenir!
We made one more stop to get ice cream and as soon as we got back to the room, everyone fell asleep from exhaustion.


Carson and Colton feeding the birds.



Me and Hubby and part of Carson taken by Caitlyn who needs to work on her photo skills and no, hubby never smiles in pictures.



Colton giving Carson a ride- you can see in the pics that Carson wasn't feeling too well :(



Old Timey ball players.



Me, Carson and Caitlyn watching the game.




A couple of the houses. My favorite is the grey one.




The Four C's


Period dressed people. I felt sorry for them that they had to walk around in the heat in those get-ups.


Horse drawn carriages. There is a carriage you just can't see it, but you can see the driver's foot ;p


Model T cars that you can ride around in.


At the museum- Caitlyn and the Weinermobile


Carson the hot dog.