Norfolk and Nauticus
01 December 2009
Today is Michael's birthday! Maia and I got up early to begin making his cake. His favourite is cheesecake and we had already shopped for the basics, so it was just a matter of finding out what kind he wanted: chocolate peanut butter swirl. We made a double recipe that would fit into a 9" X 13" pan. There are five of us after all and, why not extend a birthday celebration for a few days if you can!
We had decided to stay in Norfolk for a day to go to Nauticus, a science, marine and naval museum. We'd been there on our way north in the spring and really liked it.
The kids' favourite was the water table. Water flowed down a slight slope from the top of the table to the bottom. They placed gates in various positions to alter the course of the flowing water.
Another hands-on activity was the robotic arm with which they tried to lift objects out of sand. The robotic arm had side to side, up and down, backward and forward and clamping ability. Zoe was very patient and persistent with this activity and was able to control it well.
At a nearby display, Maia enjoyed navigating virtual ships on the Chesapeake. After a few initial crashes, she became proficient at navigating, having had some real life experience on Gromit!
Liam, who had hurt his foot while jumping into a red tent filled red blood cells (2" diameter balls), wasn't able to do much without mom and dad's assistance with getting around.
We saw two great films. 'Octopus Challenge' and 'Pirates'.
All in all, apart from Liam's hurt foot, it was a great day.
PS. Michael pointed out that I forgot to mention that on our way from Deltaville to Norfolk, we tried out our new fishing gear. Just before leaving, he had bought a spool of 25lb. test fishing line, a hand held spool to wind it on to and a couple of large lures. We put out about 100 feet but didn't catch anything.