August 2008

August was such a fun month that I have to report on it. It started out with watching the Tall Ships arrive in Duluth. It was a windless day, so the ships could leave their sails unfurled, even as they navigated the narrow canal. It was a grand sight, but I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the ships. They seemed so small beside the tall buildings and thousand-footers and they looked lonely without any other tall ships around them. They weren't useful and imposing anymore, they had been surpassed by all of the modern advances of technology and were now just a tourist attraction. Still, it was awesome to tour them and imagine what it would be like to be out in the middle of the ocean or the lake with no land around at all and the foam speeding away under the prow. Someday, I am going to sail on one of them, preferably the Niagara, because on this ship, you sleep in a hammock and get a sea chest, just like a real sailor! Also, you get to climb the rigging! Frank loved watching the ships come in, too. His favorite part was when the ships fired their cannons. He kept saying "do it again!" Even now, from time to time, he will remark, completely out of the blue, that seeing the tall ships was fun and tell me about how they fired their cannons. They apparently made quite an impression on him.

At the end of August, we went to the State Fair again and also the Renaissance Festival. Frank had a wonderful time at the fair. We were joined by Emeric, Mike, Pat, Kelly, Pat's parents and Sean. Frank was excited to see Sean and they played with the stroller wheels while we waited an Incredibly Long Time for the bus. When we eventually got to the fair, we ate all of the traditional fair foods: corn-on-the-cob, pronto pups, lemonade, Sweet Martha's cookies and of course cheese curds. Frank remains a huge fan of Sweet Martha's and also enjoyed the corn very much. In between eating, we saw the pigs and cows and the fish pond. We went on the Sky Ride and down the Giant Slide. Frank liked the Sky Ride, he thought it was fun to be up so high. It made me a little nervous, I couldn't help thinking about what would happen if the wire suddenly snapped! But I liked the slide and Frank was nervous on that one, so we were even.
This year was Frank's first time at the Ren Fest. We went on the swan swing and watched the joust. Frank cheered and clapped for the horses. I tried to get him to cheer for the knights, but he only said "No! Horses!" Oh well. He was entranced by the fire eaters. We tried to have him fence with his aunt Patricia, but he found the helmet too distressing. So, after we had gotten him all suited up, and he was about to enter the ring, he freaked out and wouldn't stop crying and we had to take it all off again. He will have to wait until next year to defeat Patricia.