Day 20- Alpacas, Lake Superior and the Food Fest

Things picked back up today. We still slept in, but once everyone was up and running we went to see a friend of Aunt Liz who works at a local alpaca farms (Avalon Alpaca Farms). These were some of the cutest animals we have seen on the trip. They were very friendly and polite, but the were also very shy. The kids really enjoyed getting to pet and hold the baby alpaca who was only one week old. Unlike the llama, these guys were not aggressive at all.

After a quick break for naps we headed down to "look" at the beach. As soon as we got there, both Emma and Jake ran straight into the freezing cold water and became a complete mess. It is amazing how they seem to have no temperature gauge. As they continued to play, the real excitement began. Several sailboats had been running through the lower harbor, when Liz suddenly noticed that one of the boats seemed to be leaning over extremely steeply.  She brought our attention to it, and as we all watched, we noticed that the boat seemed to be in trouble.  All of a sudden, the boat looked as though it was doing a "wheelie" --  the stern was in the water, and then it started to sink.  Jerry called 911 and alerted the coast guard.  It took the coast guard about 7 minutes to get out on the water.  Good thing that there were a few other boats out there to help them.  When the coast guard got there, they hooked the boat up and towed it in to the harbor.  Once in the harbor, the fire department was there and a large crane as well.  It took awhile, but they finally got the boat up and the water pumped out of it.  We took lots of pictures and videos(although the videos are too large for me to upload them...  anybody know how to do it??)

Once the boat excitement was over, we could focus on the "International Food Fest". We didn't really sample any of the food, but the kids had a great time on all the inflatable rides and playing the games. Emma won an inflatable penguin and Jake won a couple of small finger puppets. After a few hours, we headed back and everyone  is exhausted, so it is off to bed.

Fourth of July Parade tomorrow (yes- I know it is the 3rd) along with some swimming on the beach. It is so relaxing and nice up here.

Link to Today's Pictures:

July 2