The Chicago area has been experiencing a tremendous amount of rain and the kids and I wanted to head to the beach to watch the storm waves. Normally, Lilia and Franky spend beach time searching for rocks and shells. This time, I thought about how fun it might be to throw a message in a bottle into Lake Michigan. I had always wanted to do this and granted, in my mind it involved an ocean and a ship, but hey, a gigantic lake is good practice. Lilia was really excited about the idea, but she did express concern that a pirate might find it and then he'd have our address. A valid concern, but I reminded her if we saw a guy with a beard, parrot and peg leg hobbling up the driveway, we would just lock the door. After that we just did pirate impressions and all hesitation was forgotten. The message in the bottle reads, "Greetings, if you find our note, please contact us!" along with our names and address. You never know, it might end up getting kicked right back up on the shore, but we'd like to think that it will travel far and end up in the hands of someone who will actually connect with us. So, if you live in the Great Lakes region, please be on the lookout for a lime juice bottle. We'll be waiting.
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| Lilia took this photo-not bad for a 1st grader |
Greetings Arreola Family,
ReplyDeleteThe Starr's, Len, Katie and Lexi, found your note and we made contact!
It's Saturday May 4th, 2013. We arrived at Glencoe Beach to search for a variety of rocks needed for Katie's school project, and a variety of things we found! Katie and Lexi were doing the same as your Lilia and Franky: spending time at a beach searching for rocks and shells. On the rocky shore I followed Katie maneuvering around unsteady rocks and she happened to kick a bottle. I looked to see it tumble and noticed the message in that bottle. Now holding up the clear glass bottle I called for Lexi, her sister, to bring it to Katie as her reward. We three were so surprised and delighted to stumble across such a thing, thinking: who actually can say that this happened to them? We tried to retrieve the letter from within, but damp paper and smooth glass made it 'stick' on the bottles inner neck. So like a fine wine, we left the cap off to let it breathe, setting it down to air dry as we went off for more rocks.
After lunch the paper was dry enough to twist out with my pinkie finger. Lexi read it aloud and presented us with a little adventure to follow it's directions to meet Fransico, Christine, Lilia and Franky. 30 mins later the Starr's introduced ourselves to a just as surprised Christine for delivering our greetings and to say: your message was found!
The Stars offer in return our warmest regards to your Family. Splendid Family you have!
Christine, Thank you for creating a fond memory and story that my kids and I to tell hereafter.
Though we're not pirates, if you say the last name like "ST-ARRrrrrrs" it'll work well enough.
Cheers,
Len, Katie[9] and Lexi[8]