Stillwater Boom Site

I've been meaning to take Caleb to a few places I used to love. Today I remembered while we were out, and I drove him to the Stillwater Boom Site. Quite a bit has changed. When I was younger I remember that the area where we parked was not an actual parking lot...today it's a large, beautifully decorated and paved lot next to a picnic area. That's okay. Then in place of the rickety old stairs I'd described to him was a perfectly placed cement staircase with a rail! Much safer...I can't deny I was maybe just a little disappointed anyway.

Once we got to the bottom, I showed him our old fire pit, the cave, and the long, beautiful beach only steps from the wooded area. He immediately began skipping rocks...turns out he's an expert rock-skipper! Who knew!

Happy Independence Day!

I love the Fourth of July for all the right reasons, and all the shallow reasons too! I'm not big on weaving my way through 84 hours of grid-locked traffic, but I'd hate to miss the fabulous light show! I also need to be more careful of my budget than I used to be, so I feel okay about missing the organized concession-related festivities.
We live in Maplewood, MN, and we usually go to Hazelwood Park. We go just early enough to get the mini-doughnuts, find a spot, lay down a blanket and park our tushies. This time, Cale mentioned that he really wouldn't mind missing the celebration altogether. Isn't it great when things just gel like that?

We grabbed Grandma, drove to Maplewood Mall parking lot and stayed right in our cars. Perfect! We had company. Many people had the same idea and even set up chairs in front of their cars.

It couldn't have been better! I got the light show and the sense of community and it was completely free!