Swim Lessons, Ghost Busting and Exhaustion

What a busy weekend! Jack started swim lessons on Saturday. We took him last year and planned to take him earlier this year but our family vacation took place during the spring/summer swim lessons. I admit that I was a little worried at first because Jack kept saying "no" to everything they suggested the parents and their children try. "Kick your feet." "No." "Blow bubbles." "No." Of course, by the end of the swim lesson he was having a great time and didn't want to leave.On Saturday afternoon, I met up with a paranormal group for an investigation. I am doing a story about ghost investigations for an upcoming story. The group investigated a house built in 1880 that has been in the same family for six generations. It's an amazing home. Unfortunately, I was concentrating on video recording so I didn't take very many stills.The family has an amazing history - one ancestor who fought in the War of 1812, another who was a Captain for the Union during the Civil War. The home was full of amazing antiques, including a chair bought at a presidential auction in Washington, D.C. The chair belonged to Andrew Jackson.

We were given a tour by a relative and later, after the paranormal group had their cameras set up, another relative offered to drive us to the family cemetery. He also took us to a cemetery where slaves and freed blacks were buried.One of the relatives, a gentleman in his 60's, says he is a believer, meaning he thinks ghosts exist. He has seen images of past relatives in the house. Fortunately or unfortunately, I did not see a ghost or any strange lights in the house during the investigation. One person in the group likened an investigation to watching grass grow, meaning, it can be very boring.Ghost hunters are demanding. Most of the investigation consisted of sitting in a dark room with audio recorders and asking the ghost to make a noise or an appearance. I think I have good hearing but didn't hear 3/4 of the knocks or clicks that the others did. There is also something where ghost hunters take mini radios, set them to AM radio and then let it scan. They then ask questions and see if any words pop out during the scan. For example, an "Are you here?" question is answered with a "Yes" on the radio.

While we were outside, waiting for the house to "settle down," I think I heard some female voices and I wasn't the only one who heard them. There were four ladies in the investigation. Two were sleeping in their cars at the time and the other lady and I didn't make the noises. Who knows. One person in the group had a strange anamoly in a picture taken at the cemetery. If she e-mails it to me, I'll post it in the future.

Look into the monkey's red eyes. Look into its red eyes! At 1 o'clock in the morning, you are getting very sleepy! :)What is amazing and somewhat sad about this house is that there are so many antiques and artifacts laying around the house. The dresses are falling apart. And there are family papers, art and antique furniture collecting dust in the attic. The house is beautiful though. It is amazing that the building still exists.Some interesting/funny things. The Leroy Van Dyke family reunion had taken a tour of the house earlier that day. A tourist at some point in the house's history, wrote "REDRUM" in a mirror in the attic. Funny, but still a little creepy when it's dark at night.

We were blessed. The relatives and caretaker of the house were extremely nice. I was also fortunate that the investigative group let me be a part of them for the night. Being in a dark room and asking a spirit to show up is kind of fun. However, I was happy to get back home.We saw my folks today and attended a Knights of Columbus fish fry. Jack was happy to see his cousins and also took a ride on a Diego Razor with my help. He couldn't push the razor with his legs but he sure enjoyed the ride.I made mom take this next picture. I thought the leaf imprints in the sidewalk were neat. It almost looks like a painting.I operated on only three hours of sleep today. Amazing. And not a sip of caffeine. But I'm exhausted now. It's time for bed. I hope you had a nice weekend!