Here, There and Everywhere (and the other Great Lake!)

We came home from the lake to deal with a couple of appointments, a visit to Rick's brother's place and Rick's birthday! Yes, it's been a little busy.

Rick's brother has a condo over in Muskegon, a stone's throw from Lake Michigan. Yes, last week, Lake Huron. This week, Lake Michigan. Maybe I'll get to all five this summer! Much of the time Rick and two of his brothers spent down at the water, getting brother Tim's boat ready for a sail north with other brother Dan. So Tim's wife Kim and I took a walk on the beach.

I am a sucker for lighthouses, so to see three simply by turning my head was fun. There was this one...

...and this one...

...and the one we got to see up close and personal.

You can't go inside but it was a magnificently tall structure.

I loved seeing the gull perched on top.

Have I mentioned I love my zoom?

I think Kim may have been bemused at my fascination with taking tight shots of the graffiti on the lighthouse.

But don't you think they'd make good collage paper backgrounds?

Feel free to click, enlarge and save if you are so inclined! (And there's more where that came from!)

I found the color, texture, rust and shapes of this lighthouse to be visually intriguing! I couldn't resist overshooting.

Or shooting this magnificent sailboat coming in.

There was a sand soccer tourney going on with kids from across the state. I'd never heard of sand soccer before but running in that soft sand strikes me as being difficult!

Back at the condo, I couldn't help but admire Kim's hydrangeas! They were dazzling.

Two of Tim's kids and three grands joined us for dinner.  I learned a new card game which I have unfortunately forgotten the name of and details to! But then lots of family pics.

Rick and I left the next morning and that night was his birthday. We dined out with friends and then returned to their house for cake. I made Ina Garten's sheet cake and I messed it up royally. It's a white cake but Rick likes chocolate so I subbed a half cup cocoa for a half cup flour and it ended up being very dry. (Her frosting didn't work, either and that wasn't my fault!) Disappointing because Ina's recipes usually do.

Then back home for presents!

In any language, a red letter day!