Finland Part 2: Some Sightseeing

Part Two of Finland blogging consists of some sightseeing and some fun things we did together while still at my Grandmothers. The third and final installment of this trip blog will be the last two days we spend being "American Tourists" in Helsinki! :) But here are some fun things we did up north.

As many of you probably know, Shad is a HUGE sports fan. His two favorites include college football and baseball. So when Shad found out that Finland had it's own bizarre version of baseball, he really wanted to check it out! This particular version of "baseball" is unique to Finland. Here is a peak at the field and players (notice: no pitcher's mound... I'm not sure how it works you'll have to ask Shad!):

Just Shad and my dad went. It was a really rainy and cold that day, and it was far away (about two hours) so we didn't want to take Owen. But they had a good time. Us girls at home caught highlights of the game on TV!

One evening my parents ventured out and found this really gorgeous spot to do some fishing and roast some Makara! The many, many times that we have been to Finland we never discovered this spot, just a few minutes from Mummo's house!

It had a fire pit, perfect for roasting Makara. A Finn favorite.

And yes, we are wet! We got caught in a brief rainstorm, but it quickly passed!

Owen, as always, enjoyed playing outside.

He particularly liked collecting pinecones, which he calls "pops," and sharing with Mummo.

After Makara, we went fishing! One of my all time favorite things to do in Finland!

That's me! The fish were definitely biting...

GQ Shad... ruggedly handsome!

Owen with one of the two teeny-tiny fish we caught. Both caught by my dad! He loved it!

A family pic, before we left.

We took Owen back to the park where he had fun playing in the water/dirt...

And we enjoyed the sights...

A Finnish road trip isn't complete without seeing some Reindeer in the street!

We saw our fair share of them! This guy even posed for us!

Finland isn't exactly known for its high elevation and waterfalls, but there is one small waterfall near Mummo's house that we stopped to see one evening.

It was a fun stop to check out.

Owen actually really liked it, he kept saying "Wow!" (And yes, there is the baby bump)
Another fun thing about Finland is how the berries grow wild everywhere! These are what we think are Lingonberries, there are Currents that grow, and Blueberries EVERYWHERE.

The final thing we did while up north is visit an area called Hossa. It is so BEAUTIFUL there. Its known for its camping, hiking, and fishing. And also for these ancient rock painting discovered in the 1970s that date back 7000 years! We decided to make the drive up north and take the 3 mile hike to see these painting. I vaguely remember going there before when I was younger, because this was the second time around for us, but the first time for Shad (and Owen!).

Hiking:

Taking a brief break for juice and a snack.

We made it! (It actually felt like a REALLY long hike)

Here they are, can you spot them?

How about now?

Hmm?? What do they mean? (There was an explanation of each painting there, it was mostly people and animals, moose and swans supposedly... but who really knows right? They're 7000 years old!!)

We, of course, had to take our family pictures with the rock.

And take some silly pictures with the rock too! My cavemen...

This is the view just across the river from these rock painting:

And on the way home, we stopped and took some scenic shots of Hossa... it was so beautiful there.

And so ends Part Two! Next and final stop... Helsinki!