Spring Break Road Trip!

This week was Aunt Beverly's spring break from college. Uncle Josh wanted to do something really fun, so we took a road trip to stay in a Bed and Breakfast! Do you know what a Bed and Breakfast is? Sometimes people shorten it to B&B. It is a like a small hotel where you go to stay overnight and also get a very nice breakfast in the morning. They are fun places to go.

Here is a map of where we are and where we went. Can you see the island on the very bottom? That is Long Island and that is where Queens is. We had to cross a bridge to get to the mainland and then drove to Connecticut. That is the next state to the north. We drove through New Haven to a very small town called Preston. Can you see New Haven on the map?

We drove up the pink line which is Interstate 95 to New London. The place we stayed was just a little north of there, between Norwich and Uncasville. Can you find that on the map? If you click on it to make it bigger, it might be easier.

The place we stayed at was called Captain Grant's, 1754. It is called that because the main house was built in the year 1754 by a sailor named Captain Grant. He built the house for his wife. Her name was Mercy. The house that we stayed in was right next to the big one and was called the Avery House. Avery was Mercy's last name before she married Captain Grant. This house was built in 1790. They are both very very old houses. 

The inside of the room was very nice. It had a fireplace where we built fires to make the nights cozy.

There was also a pretty piece of furniture called a vanity. Women used to use these before they had bathrooms like ours. Here is where they combed their hair and got ready for the day. They could keep all their pretty things, hairbrushes, perfumes and jewelry here. 

This house was built a long time before they had electricity, but they have updated it so we had modern things like lights and a bathroom.




A long time ago, it was hard to heat the house with just the fireplaces. Because of that, people built their houses with very low ceilings. This helped to keep the warm air closer to the floor where the people where. Aunt Beverly isn't very tall, and you can see in this picture that the ceiling isn't very far above her head. Uncle Josh is very tall and had to duck to walk into the bathroom!

 

Across from the Bed and Breakfast was an old cemetery.  We took a quiet walk around in it to see all the old graves. 

Here is a picture of Aunt Beverly taking a picture with her iPod. Can you see me tucked in her arm? There were gravestones of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were very big and some were very small. Some were so old that you could not read them anymore! The writing had been worn off from the wind and rain.

Here I am looking at a big and old gravestone. Here is a close up of it. Can you read the date?

This person was born on January 19th, in 1801 and died on May 20, in 1881. That means that they lived to be 80 years old. If they were still alive today, they would be 211 years old!


After seeing the cemetery, we took a drive to the nearby town of New London. It was a very old and pretty city. This city was founded in 1646. That was a very long time ago! That means this city is over 300 years old! Wow! Before is was settled by people from England, it was called Nameaug by the people that lived there first. They were Native Americans and their tribe was called the Pequot. (That is pronounced like pee-kwat.)  This city is right on the water that leads to the Atlantic Ocean. There used to be a lot of sailors here as this was what was called a major Seaport. That means that many ships used to travel in and out of here. They would bring goods to sell from other countries and also take good from America to sell in other countries. 

Here is a picture of the water and a big ship. I couldn't be in the pictures of New London because it was raining and I am made of paper. I had to be careful. I didn't want to fall apart! Aunt Beverly and Uncle Josh took lots of pictures, though.

Here is a big statue that is in downtown. It is was made to remember the Civil War.

Here is the Amtrak train station. It is in downtown, too, and is right on the water. It is an old brick building. 

Here is another picture of downtown New London. See all the old buildings. Don't they look interesting next to the new cars? Aunt Beverly and Uncle Josh said that this town reminded them of other towns they have seen in Ireland. Isn't that cool?

There are some stores in New London that sell very old things called antiques. Here is a picture of Uncle Josh looking as some very interesting things. It was fun to go to these stores and see all the old things that people used to use. 


It was a very fun trip that we went on to Connecticut. I am glad that we got to go out to another place to see more interesting things. Soon I will be going back to Idaho and even though I got to see and learn so much here, I am very excited to see Mickie again and tell everyone about my wonderful adventures!

Back to Manhattan

Today we went back to Manhattan to see more sights. I was very excited because Uncle Josh said he would show me the Statue of Liberty today!

The first place that we went to see was Times Square. Have you heard of this place? It was named after the newspaper called The New York Times and is where they drop the ball on New Year's Eve. There are so many flashing lights and huge screens! It is also very busy. There are many theatres and stores here. One of the stores is a huge Toys R Us. It has all sorts of neat things inside!

There is even a Ferris wheel inside that people can ride!

Here are some pictures that I found online of Times Square at night. It is sure bright!

Look at all those people and lights! Wow! Do you recognize anything in this picture?

These big signs are advertisements for the shows that are playing on Broadway. Most of them are plays that are musicals. Aunt Beverly and Uncle Josh went to see Phantom of the Opera and they said it was wonderful! Can you find the sign for the Phantom of the Opera in this picture? Here's a hint: It shows his mask...

Here is a picture of Times Square in 1880. That was 132 years ago. What a difference!

This is one of the entrances to Chinatown. This is what you see when you are coming from the Brooklyn Bridge in to Manhattan.

After Times Square we went to see Chinatown. This is a very old part of town where people from China came to live a long time ago. There are still many Chinese people that come and live here. There are so many signs in Chinese and I heard many people speaking Chinese too! It was fun to feel like I was in another country.

Do you see the Chinese writing on the buildings? It seems like a fun language to learn!

The bakeries have so many tasty looking goodies. They also have a drink here called bubble tea. It is cold and is made of tea and milk and has round pieces of tapioca in it called pearls. Here is a picture of what bubble tea looks like. It is so good!

The black balls at the bottom are the tapioca "bubbles". You just suck them up through the straw and eat them. You have to be careful not to choke though!

After Chinatown we went on the ferry to Staten Island. If you look back to the map of New York City, you will see that Staten Island is another island just south of Manhattan. The ferry is a boat that you can ride to get between the islands. It is a very fun ride because you can see the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The coolest thing, though, was that we went right by the Statue of Liberty!

Here is a picture from inside the boat. You can see the skyline of Manhattan. Look at all those skyscrapers!

Here is a picture of one of the ferries on the water in front of the statue of liberty! It was so exciting to see her! I had heard about the statue before, but didn't really know much about it so when we got home, I looked up some information about it online. Here is what I found:

The Statue of Liberty was built by French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, with the help of tons of workers working ten hour days, seven days a week for nine years! The statue was finally finished in 1884 and presented to America on July 4th. It didn't arrive in the United States until many months later though, cuz all 350 individual pieces of the statue had to be packed into 214 crates for the long boat ride from France to New York.

Auguste Bartholdi thought that the New York harbor was the perfect setting for his masterpiece because it was "where people get their first view of the New World." The statue was to be a symbol of welcome for all immigrants coming to America, as well as a universal symbol of freedom.

Statue of Liberty Quick Facts

• The Statue of Liberty celebrates her birthday on October 28th in honor of the day she was officially accepted by the president of the United States in 1886.
• Visitors must climb 354 stairs to reach the Statue of Liberty's crown (or take an elevator to a lower lookout point).
• There are 25 windows in Lady Liberty's crown.
• The seven spikes on the Statue of Liberty's crown represent either the seven oceans or the seven continents.
• The statue is made of copper and is now green in color because of oxidation (a chemical reaction between metal and water) from evaporation of the seawater surrounding it.
• The Staue of Liberty weighs 450,000 pounds (204, 100 kilograms).
• The Statue of Liberty has size 879 sandals that are each 25 feet (7.6m) long.

Read more: Statue of Liberty Fun Facts http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2512-statue-of-liberty-fun-facts#ixzz1pOrhZFNh


Wow, the statue of liberty is pretty cool! Today was another exciting day in New York City. I enjoyed seeing all the lights in Times Square, the different places in Chinatown, and the famous Statue of Liberty! It will soon be time for me to go back home to Idaho, but Aunt Beverly and Uncle Josh said that there is a trip we will be going on before return. I wonder where it could be?

A Day in Manhattan

Today we went to see some sights in Manhattan. Manhattan is the part that most people think of when they think about New York City. It has lots and lots of really tall buildings called sky scrapers. Here is a map of Manhattan. This one shows the buildings called the Twin Towers. They aren't there anymore, but there is another tower there now. I like this map, though, because it shows the big buildings.

I labeled some of the places on this map. Can you find the Brooklyn Bridge that we visited in my last post? Manhattan is an island so there are lots of bridges.

First we went to Central Park. It was cold, so we didn't go explore too much. Aunt Beverly and Uncle Josh said that it is really pretty in the summer time when all the trees have their leaves. It is a big park with lot of different things in it. There are paths to walk on, gardens, meadows and even a zoo! Can you find Central Park on this map? It is near the top. 

This is called the Maine Monument and is at the main entrance to the park at a part called Merchant's Gate. A merchant is a person who sells things.

After Central Park we went to see Columbus Circle. This is right next to Central Park. It is named after Christopher Columbus. 

Can you see the statue of Columbus?

Here is another picture that I found online. It shows Columbus Circle and the Merchant's Gate in Central Park in the summer time. 

This picture is taken from inside one of the glass buildings. (That's what the squares are from.) Can you see why this area is called a circle?

From Columbus Circle we headed south to the part of Manhattan called Midtown. It is called that because it is in the middle of Manhattan. Here we found the main building for the New York City Public Library. Maybe you have seen it on TV. It is very famous. They first started building it in 1902 and opened in 1911. It is very old, isn't it?

Inside they have many one of a kind books and areas to read and learn new things. It is very pretty inside. Here are two pictures that I found online. 

At the entrance to the library there are two lion statues. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. I knew that patience means waiting for something without complaining, but I had to ask what fortitude meant. Aunt Beverly told me that it is when a person has inner strength when they face hard times. I like those names. 

Here I am with one of the lions!

After the library we went further south to a part of Manhattan called Herald Square. It was named after a newspaper that used to be here called The New York Herald. I got to see the big Macy's store. This store opened in 1902. That means it is 110 years old! You have probably seen it when you watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. It is a big store!

Here is a picture that I found online of Herald Square a long time ago. This was taken in 1907. They didn't have color pictures back then. Just look at all those old fashioned clothes!

(If you click on the picture it will get bigger.)

Nearby Herald Square is the Empire State Building. Did you know that New York is called the Empire State? That is where the building got it's name. They started building it in 1929 and finished in 1931. It is very tall. It has 102 stories! It is 1,454 ft high counting the antenna (the long skinny part) on top. It was the tallest building in world for 40 years!

Manhattan is a big part of New York City and there is a lot to see. Today it was starting to get cloudy like it might rain and we were getting tired, so we went home. We will be going back to Manhattan again soon to see more sights! I can't wait!

A Visit To Brooklyn

Today we went to a different borough in New York City. Do you remember what the word borough means? That's right! It is another area of the city. It is to the south of the part of Queens that I am visiting. It is called Brooklyn. Can you find it on this map? Hint: It is green.


First, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was built in 1883 and it was the longest suspension bridge in the whole world until a bigger one was built somewhere else in 1903. It spans, or goes across, the East River. It is 1,595 and 1/2 feet long! It took a while for us to walk across it. 

You can see Manhattan on the other side of the river. Those tall buildings are called skyscrapers.

Once we got into Brooklyn, we walked down along the waterfront to a park. It had some great views of Manhattan as well.  You can also see the bridge. It is on the right. I told you it was long! :)

From here we took the subway down the the southern part of Brooklyn that is on the water. We went to an area where a lot of people from Russia came to live. It is an interesting area with some great food. We went to a Russian bakery to get some fried bread that is stuffed with vegetables such as cabbage and potatoes. They are called piroshkis, and they are soooo yummy! We took our food to Brighton Beach to eat it. 

You can see the beach and the water. From Brighton Beach you can almost see out to where the harbor meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is a picture of Aunt Beverly's Piroshki. This one had potatoes in it. Yum!

 What a busy day. I am very tired, but I can't wait for my next adventure and to share it with you!