Camping and Diving In Ohio

Our new Hooligan 4

This weekend was the first weekend of the year where we could camp at White Star.  Remember what I said back in this post about diving being a highly social activity?  Well, when you get the opportunity to camp with some great people, it really shows.  We roughed it in our new tent this weekend, a Christmas present from Aaron's grandparents.  While our old tent was nice, it was also HUMONGOUS!  Like, two queen size air mattresses, a bathroom (with the appropiate plumbing) and a fully outfitted kitchen complete with double ovens could fit in there.  Ok, maybe just the two queen sized air mattresses.  Point is, the tent is far too large for just Aaron and I, but it will be nice the day we take our future children camping with us.  The best part about the new tent though - it's the Hooligan 4 by Coleman - is the cool little vestibule thing that is incorporated into the rainfly.  We can throw our gear in there and keep it mostly covered from the elements.  And we can leave dirty shoes outside of the tent, but not have to worry about them getting rained on or all dew-y over night.  

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Wonderful visibility at Whitestar Quarry

On Saturday, we got in three dives - the most we have done in one day in MONTHS.  We were exhausted.  The first dive was unhooking a floating dock so that it could get hauled out of the quarry and then hauling out some bouys to mark a couple underwater objects.  We got two of the three objects bouyed - the third we couldn't find.  The quarry is currently in the process of "turning over," meaning that the water on the surface is warming and the different layers within the quarry are mixing and, thus, churning up the bottom.  This usually creates poor visibilty, which on Saturday was about 10 feet.  Really kind of crappy for the quary (and significantly less than the 100+ foot visibility we were spoiled with this winter).  On the second dive, we hauled out the swim platforms from the beach and hooked them up to the concrete blocks at the bottom.  Diving over in the swim area is kind of cool.  They've put down sand for the swimmers, and it's fairly shallow, so if you squint just right, it almost feels like your in the Caribbean.  Except for the 41 degree water.  The third and final dive of the day was lifting another one of the platforms.  We were aiming for the middle one (we did the left on a couple weeks ago), but couldn't find it (again, the viz was crappy), so we did the right one instead.

Daniel waking up after a cold slumber in his Kia

Platforms raised, bouys out, gear doffed (taken off for those unfamilair with the term), we headed to a local bar/restaurant for some dinner.  After dinner, it was back to the campground for some time by the fire and beverages.  The weather during the day was nice - windy, but sunny and mid-50s - but we were hoping that at least the wind would die down once the sun set.  It did not.  Add in a dropping temperature and it made for one cold night next to the fire.  But, good people and good conversation totally made up for the bone-chilling wind cutting through the 4 layers I had on, most of which I also slept in.  Between the 50 degree sleeping bags, extra fleece blankets, sweatpants, Under Armor, hat and hoodie, I was actually quite toasty.  I did come to one conclusion this weekend though: winter camping is not for me.

Dave and Tracy after completing placements

Sunday saw two more dives.  This time, they were fun dives.  Aaron and I have aquired new dive computers - the Shearwater Petrel - and we were playing around with them.  They are actually technical diving computers, capable of doing decompression profiles, but they do have a recreational mode, which we use.  Until we are more used to them, we are still diving our Suunto Cobra's as back ups (and pressure gauges since the Petrel isn't air integrated yet).  Aaron decided that on his first dive, he wanted to try to get his Petrel into decompression, just to see how it would react.  He was diving Nitrox (33% I believe), and programed that into his Cobra but set his Petrel to air.  And then we went and sat in the crusher pit at 78 feet.  He was 6 minutes away from his no-decompression limit (NDL) when our third dive buddy signaled that he was at half tank.  So, following good gas management practices, we headed back.  Alas, we are still unsure about how the Petrel will react when it reaches its NDL.  I suppose we will have to go diving another weekend to figure that one out.

The final dive of the day was another fun one in the crusher pit.  A friend of ours (not the same one as from the first dive on Sunday) had bought a couple of Torrent pulses and we played with those.  Essentially, they are a "gun" that shoots rings of air underwater.  They are "supposed" to be used to signal people when you're diving; however, I will leave it up to you to decide what they were actually being used for (keep in mind two boys, I mean guys, were using these).  Nevertheless, they were fun to play with.

Original Tony Packo's Restaurant

On our way home, we stopped by the famous Tony Packo's in Toledo for dinner.  I went for the classic: one hot dog with a bowl of chili and a side of their Paprikash.  It was tasty and now I want to try all the menu items!  

After 5 dives this weekend, we were both exhausted.  It ended up being somewhere around 3 hours or so underwater cumulative.  Once we got home, we unloaded the truck and crashed.  Hard.  It was another one of those weekends where I need another weekend to recover.  We made one quick stop at the National Museum of the Great Lakes which recently opened on Front street in Toledo.  We will be visiting the museum and posting much more information in the future, but for now you will need to settle for these pictures from the outside.

Dinner at Tony Packo's

Scout trying to catch something in the water

Trying to stay warm after a cold night

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Eastern Market

This past Saturday, Aaron and I woke up early and went down to Eastern Market, a farmers market in downtown Detroit.  However, It's more than just a farmers market ... it's an experience.  There are food trucks, flower peddlers, butchers, nurseries and a TON of good people watching.  I think one of the best parts of the Market though is that most vendors, if not all, accept Bridge Card funds which allows people on food assistance programs to be able to buy fresh, wholesome produce.  So much healthier than a lot of the processed food found in most grocery stores.

Whenever we are there, we always pick up a bag of mixed greens from Brother Nature.  They grow all of their greens in Detroit and are chemical free.  Seriously, you don't even need salad dressing, it's THAT good.

One of my favorite parts from the day was all the Easter lilies.  There were literally thousands of them.  There were other spring blooms for sale too - daffodils, hyacinth, tulips - and their smell was heavenly.  For reals.  I think hyacinth is the best smell in the world.  Well, as far as spring flowers go.

Surrounding the market are a number of local businesses - restaurants, wine shops, butchers, fishmongers, you name it, there's probably a shop that sells it.

We spent a few hour wandering around the market, grabbing some produce for the week and an Easter lily to take to my grandmother the next day.  We then headed over to Bucharest Grill near Comerica Park for some lunch.  If you're in town for a Tiger's game, make sure you check out Bucharest.  Best. Schwarma. Ever.  The little bar next door has some really good Michigan beers on tap and you can order food from Bucharest right through them.  It really is a pretty cool deal.  And it's pretty cheap.  Can't beat that!

What were you all up to this weekend?  Anyone visiting their local farmers market?

P.S.  To see all the pictures we took this weekend, click through the gallery below!

Harsen's Island Part Deux

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Dock near where we enter the river. 

This past Sunday found us once again on the banks of the St. Clair River.  This time, it was completely open water (no ice!) and the weather was perfect.  A little windy, but temepratures in the mid to upper 60s felt awesome, especially after the winter we had.  The night before though, a bad storm had passed through the area and wiped out power in several large swaths - the island being one of them. 

We normally meet for breakfast at Sans Souci ("Without Worry," in French), but they were closed due to the power outage.  I am a breakfast eater.  Always have been, always will be.  Breakfast is my thing.  Even on busy work mornings, I get up and make myself eggs and toast.  Weekends usually call for something more elaborate - waffles, pancakes, crepes, cinnamon rolls - sometimes all at once.  Just kidding.  Sorta.  Anywho, point here: I had not eaten breakfast before driving up there because I had planned on eating here.  Aaron has learned over the years that in order for me to be of any use, not to mention pleasant to be around, he needs to feed me and get me some tea, preferably out of this mug.  By the way, hangry is a real thing - science says so.  He's also learned that I'm not much of a morning person, but that's beside the point.  Thankfully for everyone who has to deal with me, the grocery store across the stree was open and they had some day-old donuts.  So, chocolate covered cake donut for breakfast it was.  

Sans Souci Bar and Restaurant.  You can see Canada from their back porch!

The John D. Leitch

After scoping out our normal spot and different one a few blocks down, we got our gear set up, donned our drysuits and got in the river.  But not until we waited for this guy to pass by:

It really is amazing to watch the freighters come through.  There's something about them just gliding through the water that's mesmerizing.  From the surface.  If you're in the water, as we were when two more passed through, it's kind of scary.  They mess with the current making it go faster, turn slack, and then return the other way.  Basically, you need to stay out of the shipping chanel (not that hard) and find something study and, ideally, unmoving, and hold on tight.  Underwater, these things are loud too, making them seem much closer than they actually are.

The water temps this weekend were still on the cold side, about 41 degrees, giver or take a few.  Between the cold water, and having to hang on for two passing freighters, we called it a day after one dive.  I managed to find a few cool bottles that are getting cleaned as we speak, but nothing spectacular.  The day I find a creamer or a cobalt-blue apothecary bottle though, you'll know.  Acutally the whole world may know.

Since lunch at Sans Souci was not part of the equation due to the power issues, we headed out.  There's only one way on and off the island and it's on one of these ferries:

The first couple of times it's a weird sensation to look out the car window and see water.  It's not normal.  But once you get over the fleeting thought that you're car is going to be submerged under the cold river any second, it's actually kind of cool.  You drive on, pay the toll, and drive off on the other side.  Pretty nifty.

Since all the ships entering the upper Great Lakes (Huron, Michigan and Superior) need to pass through this river, the local population harbors an interest in the ships themselves.  The Harsens Island St. Clair Flats Historical Society is hosting a "Get to Know Your Ships" event.  It looks at the history of ships on the lakes and covers information in their annual book.  For more information, see the poster below.

So that wrapped up our weekend.  While getting ready for bed that night I looked at Aaron and told him that I needed another weekend to recover from the weekend we had just had.  Anyone else ever feel the same way?

Focus: Hope

In college, Aaron and I were both members of Greek life.  Aaron was a member of Beta Sigma Theta and I was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau.  One of the tenents of Greek life is their commitment to philanthropy and community service.  It's so important that it has even garned a position in the creed of Alpha Sigma Tau: "As a memebr of Alpha Sigma Tau ... I will strive to contribute my share to the progress of mankind."  Each year, members of Greek lettered organizations contribute millions of hours and thousands of dollars to various philanthropic organizations nationwide.

Since graduation, I have maintained a fairly active membership in the Detroit Metro Alumnae Chapter of my sorority.  Many members think that their involvement ends at graduation, but there is still so much more that one can gain from other alumnae.  I have met some great friends, many of whom I would never have met otherwise, through the alumnae group.  Each spring, the alumnae chapter partners with a local chapter (Delta Tau at Oakland University) and Focus: Hope to pack food boxes for those less fortunate.

This past Saturday, we all met at the Focus: Hope headquarters in Detroit at 9 AM, ready to contribute our share to the progress of mankind. 

Of course, we have a little bit of fun with it!  Here, one of the alumnae members is warming up by pressing cheese blocks!

The boxes travel down the line and get loaded with non-perishable items including juice, cheese, beans, peanut butter, milk, and rice.  Then they get loaded on to pallets to be delivered to other local organizations that distribute them to those in need.  These two kept a watchful eye on the pallets, making sure they were removed when full so that we could continue packing as efficiently as possible.

The goal for each year is to beat the number of boxes that were packed the previous year.  Last year, 1300 boxes were packed.  This year, we packed a whopping 2175 boxes in just over two hours!  We actually ran out of boxes to pack.  Below is a picture of everyone who helped.

Aaron even came to help!  We were at the end of the line loading the packed boxes onto the pallets.  Each box weighed about 15 pounds, and there were 55 boxes on each pallet.  Over the course of the morning, we loaded somewhere around 13 pallets.  That amounts to approximately 10,725 pounds of food we loaded!  Boy are we feeling it today.

All the Detroit Metro alumnae who helped!

After we are done packing food boxes, we head to the original Buddy's Pizza, a Detroit classic.  They serve "Detroit Style Pizza" and it. is. awesome.  Detroit style pizza is a deep-dish square, baked in an industrial parts trays, originally used to hold parts in automotive manufacturing facilities in metro Detroit.  The crust is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

And this was just the start to a fun-filled weekend!  Check back soon to see what we did on Sunday!

First Open Water Dives of 2014

Something magical has happened this week.  Something we here in Michigan, nay, the entire northern half of the United States, have waited months for.  I think...it's possible...that spring is finally here!  However, Mother Nature sure did make us work for it!  Before the sun started shining and the temperature warmed up, it snowed.  Again.  No accumulation.  But still, it snowed.  In April.  In Michigan.  Alas, that is the beauty of Michigan weather for you.

Last weekend, the quarry looked like this.  Not enough ice to ice dive (which was totally fine by me - I've had enough ice diving for a while), but too much ice for open water diving:

WSQ on 3/29/14 Photo Courtesy of Rich Synowiec

But this weekend, the quarry looked like this.  Glorious, beautiful, open water!

WSQ on 4/5/14

Granted, the water level is up.  Way up, which isn't really an issue.

This weekend was the first weekend of open water diving for 2014.  I forgot what it was like to dive WITHOUT a line tied around your waist, without someone on the other end almost constantly tugging on you.  My buoyancy this weekend...nearly spot on.  It was glorious.  Truly amazing.  And we had pretty good weather to boot!  A little chilly (mid-40s), and windy, but it was sunny.  If you could manage to find a spot out of the wind, and squinted your eyes, you could almost trick yourself into thinking it was summer.  Almost.

The dive this weekend had a mission: raise a platform.  White Star Quarry is used extensively for training and open water check-out dives (the first dives that a new diver will do outside of a pool and determine if they become certified or not).  As such, platforms are kind of essential.  The quarry bottom is silty and too much agitation anywhere near the bottom will kick it up and the silt won't settle out for days.  This is where platforms come in - they provide a good place for classes to sit and perform essential skills - mask clears, regulator retrievals, out of air drills - without stirring up the bottom.  Well, stirring it up too much.  In the winter, they sit on the bottom of the quarry.  In the spring/summer/early fall, they are suspended from the surface by four large buoys.  So, this weekend, we had to get one of the platforms up off the bottom and attached to the buoys on the surface.  This involves a semi-complicated maneuver of lifting one side with liftbags (essentially, bags filled with air), attaching that side to the buoys and then repeating the process on the other side.

Since the water is still cold (my computer read 41 degrees), we only did one dive.  But that one dive was awesome and totally worth the hour and 15 minute drive down.  Aside from the diving, we got to hang out with some great friends and spend sometime outside, which really, is also a crucial part of diving.

Divers Incorporated - Monroe

This past week, some good friends of ours opened a second location of their dive shop: Divers Incorporated - Monroe.  The grand opening of the new store coincided with the 10 year anniversary of owning their first shop (Divers Incorporated - Ann Arbor) and the 9 year anniversary of operating the White Star Quarry in Ohio.  To celebrate, they had a Grand Opening party this week.  Scuba diving, good friends, cold beer: I can't think of a better way to spend a Tuesday evening!  We had so much fun in fact that we had to drag ourselves out of there long after the sun set.  Who knows what may have happened if we hadn't had to work the next morning!

New store front for Diver's Incorporated - Monroe

Not long after we got certified, we noticed something about divers: they are all very social.  We've come to the conclusion that diving is not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle.  The actual diving, the time spent underwater, is really quite small compared to everything else we do during a day of diving.  Most of the time, we are socializing with other dive friends - sometimes at the dive site, sometimes around a campfire, and a lot of times over a meal and a beer.  And the Grand Opening party was just another opportunity to spend time with others who enjoy the lifestyle as much as we do!

The new Divers Incorporated location offers divers, and those interested in learning to scuba dive, classes, air fills, rental equipment, and a full line of dive gear and accessories for purchase.  It is conveniently located at 440 North Main St. in Monroe, MI.

View of showroom floor front loft in new store.

The new store is beautiful inside and the staff is welcoming and eager to help you with all of your scuba diving needs.  If you're in the Monroe area, or even just passing though, stop by and tell them the Oaks' sent you!

Update: Photo's from river diving last weekend added to blog post.

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Yankee Air Museum Heritage Night

Jacket worn by some of the Bomber plant employees

Close to our home, there is a small airport with mostly corporate jets and specialty charters that flying in and out.  However, the airport has a long history and the area surrounding it played a critical role during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter hard at work

Willow Run Plant was built by Ford Motor Company from 1941 - 1942 and, during the war years, focused solely on building the B-24 bomber.  Over 8,600 bombers were built and peak production saw one bomber being built every hour - something many thought was impossible. 

It was during this time that the famous "Rosie the Riveter" was born.  As men were being called upon to enter the armed services, a dearth of employees needed to perform manufacturing jobs was created.  It was at this time that women and minorities stepped to fill that need.

While Aaron and I have never been to the museum before, we were really there to attend a presentation from pilot who flew the A-10 warthog during Desert Storm.  It was so interesting to hear about the conflict from a person who flew during that time.  

The A-10 was manufactured by Fairchild-Republic in the Early 70's and was just recently announced that it will be phased out from active duty in the near future.  Lt. Col. Joe Rutkowski gave a great presentation telling stories, and sharing memories from his deployment in Iraq, and many other bits of information that only a veteran can share.  Much more information about the A-10 see the Wikipedia article here.

If you're ever in the area, and have a penchant for World War II or aviation history, stop by the Yankee Air Museum.  And, if you're there in August, you may even catch the "Thunder Over Michigan" Air Show!