Lake Michigan

Today we went to Lake Michigan (Kenosha & Racine, Wisconsin...just south of Milwaukee)! It was so nice to see some water that is ocean-like and the weather was cool but sunny :) We went to see a lighthouse that is one of the oldest/tallest/longest running in the Great Lakes area. Unfortunately, it was under renovation until October 7th so we'll have to go back when we can take a tour and climb to the top! After we visited the lighthouse we found a fun place to eat on the harbor in Racine where we watched the sailboats go by.

The Climb...

Last Thursday, we had our last official day of training. We spend the day at the climbing wall and the other high ropes course (this one is about 10 feet higher and requires more physical strength).

The climbing wall has two sides, each side with a hard, harder, & hardest path. We practiced rescues and spent some time climbing as teams (three of us were tied together so that we had to climb at the same pace and work as a team to get to the top). In the afternoon, we learned about the adventure course (the higher ropes course) and had the opportunity to do a partner climb. For this climb we were clipped together and had to climb up a pole, stand up on a 2 foot by 2 foot platform, and then jump off! It was quite the experience and it was very rewarding once we completed the task.

The 158th Walworth County Fair

Yesterday we went to the 158th Walworth County Fair! It is the oldest county fair in the state of Wisconsin and one of the only remaining fairs here that still doesn't serve alcohol. It was only $9 to get in (or $300 for a lifetime membership) and then all of the events were free for the day. We watched harness races, saw a lumberjack show, walked through the animal barns, strolled up and down the vendor's rows, saw a wedding by the ferris wheel (they had their first dance on the stange before the LeAnn Rimes concert) and attended the LeAnn Rimes concert! It was a very full day of walking around in the hot (but not humid!) weather, but the concert was worth waiting around for. We sat in the free grandstand seating while others waited in line with their chairs and made a break for the dirt track seating once the security opened the gates (It was quite entertaining!!!) Here are some of our pictures from the day: