SGS4 Adventure Dog

2011-12-06T13:59:00.000-08:00

Adventure Dog came to Georgia to visit our cousins for Thanksgiving.He also came with us to Gettysburg....What a great trip!

Adventure Dog going for his last swim

2011-10-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog getting ready for his last swim at River Island. What a great vacation but will be good to get back to the class and see what other adventures the other students can take me on. Thanks Simon for a great trip!

Adventure Dog hanging out with some muppets

2011-10-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog hanging out with some muppets finally animals his own size :)

A trip to the bagel store...

2011-10-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

Adventure dog eating Breakfast at the bagel store "A roll with a hole"

Watching Golf

2011-10-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog watching the Golfers from the window in our living room.

Adventure Dog Says Goodbye to Gramma

2011-10-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Gramma had to fly back to Long Island and day earlier then us and adventure dog was sad to say goodbye.

Adventure Dog stopping for a drink in the fountains

2011-10-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog stopping for a cool drink of water all this water fun is making him thirsty!!

Adventure Dog cooling off in the fountain

2011-10-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog cooling off in the foutains with Gavin. He was sad he couldn't go down the water slide with Simon but we weren't sure how good he can Doggie Paddle so he hung with Gavin in the fountains.

Adventure Dog loves going on rides

2011-10-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog really loves riding on all the rides at Magic Kingdom. He is sad that we left Magic Kingdom I guess we will have to make sure he has lots of fun at the pool!

Adventure Dog in the Hundred Acre Woods

2011-10-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog loved taking a ride in the Hundred Acre woods and checking out the Many Adventures of Pooh and his friends.

Adventure Dog at the Haunted Mansion

2011-10-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog at the Haunted Mansion... Scary stuff a ghost even took a ride in his car with him and Simon.

Adventure Dog waiting to get on Space Mountain

2011-10-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog patiently waiting on line to go on Space Mountain.

Adventure Dog at Cinderella's castle

2011-10-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog hanging at Disney World first stop Cinderella's castle.

Adventure Dog enjoying Tastee Treat

2011-10-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

To top off an excellent day Adventure Dog is relaxing at Tastee Treat and enjoying a delicious ice cream!!

Prince, Princess, Genie and Adventure Dog

2011-10-19T03:51:00.000-07:00

After enjoying dinner and show at Arabian nights Adventure Dog got his picture taken with the Prince, Princess and Genie of Arabian nights. Boy is he really getting around we wonder what other great stuff he will be having us do next.

Adventure Dog and the belly dancer

2011-10-19T03:49:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog enjoying some appetizers and trying to learn how to belly dance!! He cant wait for the Arabian nights show!

Adventure Dog Shopping

2011-10-19T03:47:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog helping the Keating Kids pick out the perfect sun hat.

2011-10-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog getting ready for a swim in the Lazy River at River Island. He is getting his swimmies ready :)

2011-10-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

Arriving Safely to St Petersburg, Florida and relaxing at pool it was time for the big wedding. Here is adventure dog, the new Mrs. Goldberg, and Simon at the wedding reception. Adventure Dog did a lot of dancing that night it was a great night had by them both. Let's hope adventure dog can rest up for his trip to Orlando. Next stop Orlando Florida for River Island and Disney Parks.

2011-10-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog and Simon in the pilots seat of Jet Blue. Upon departing the plane we asked the pilot if he would take a picture with Adventure Dog and the pilot stated I have something better and let them sit in the pilots seat. Both Adventure Dog and Simon were super excited!!

Adventure Dog getting ready for the flight!

2011-10-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

Adventure Dog and Simon getting ready to depart from NY JFK, Jet Blue to Sunny Florida.

Island Dog, Day 2

2011-09-30T05:09:00.001-07:00

It's day two at Nantucket, and my caretaker, Addison, has taken me with his family to breakfast at the Even Keel.
At the Whaling Museum we saw a bull sperm whale skeleton that was the same size as the harpoon ships. Yeesh, that whale had a face only a mother could love!

The highlight of yesterday was dinner at The Brotherhood of Thieves. Dinner was quite satisfying, especially the cole slaw I got to have.

Adventure Dog Arrives in Nantucket

2011-09-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

Addison's mom thought I should start by explaining that I am staying in Nantucket, Massachusetts. For anyone who hasn't been there, Nantucket is an island off the coast of Cape Cod. We're east of Martha's Vineyard, about thirty miles into the Atlantic Ocean. It took us three hours by car to get to the ferry, an hour to get breakfast and check-in, and a ferry ride which would take another two hours to reach Nantucket. We arrived at 11:00 AM. If it took us six to get here, can you figure out what time we left? I'll give you a hint, it was really early!

I'm on our ferry, the Great Point. It's a little rocky and I'm feeling a little seasick, but just look at the water!

Spots, one of my travelling companions also felt a little green around the gills so we decided to lay down while the waves were really choppy.

Addison's mom thought this would be a fun place for a photo. "Wait a minute, Mrs. Schwing, I'm not so fond of heights!"

What a relief to be back on solid land! Now we just need to find our taxi so we can get to the house.

After a quick trip to drop off our luggage and bookbags (because Addison has been working on homework on the ferry), we drove out to Something Natural for lunch. Yummmm! Everything on the menu looks delicious!

We have a Jeep at the house and I couldn't wait to take it out on the beach. There's even a little basket on the front that would be perfect for me to ride in! Sadly, Addison's parents decided I needed to ride in the car.

We all got inside the Jeep and drove up to Wauwimet to let air out of the tires. If you drive on the beach, too much air pressure in your tires can cause you to get stuck. And then we were off! We drove all the way up the beach to the tip of Great Point near the lighthouse to go fishing and have a picnic. If you look that the map, we are almost at the Northeastern Tip of Nantucket by the compass rose.

It's nice and open at this part of the Island and we saw lots of seals swimming off the shore trying to grab fishermen's catches. One man next to use lost a bluefish to a seal while we were having our picnic. We had a nice night on the beach until Scraps and I saw this sign. Oops!

We went back into Nantucket for some ice cream before heading back to the house. Everyone kept saying we had to get ice cream from The Juice Bar because they had the best ice cream on the Island. I was a bit confused why it was called The Juice Bar and not The Ice Cream Bar, but I got to help scoop the ice cream (which was delicious!) and decided not to ask any questions.

Thursday looks to be even busier than Wednesday so I can't wait to share some more of my adventures on Nantucket.

Adventure Dog observes local dress in Dubai

2011-09-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have met a local couple that let me have a closer look at their outfits. The man in white is wearing a Kandura. During the winter months United Arab Emirates (UAE) males can wear a whole realm of different colors such as brown or grey. The black rope on his head fixes the headscarf in place. In the old days I was told that it was used to hold the camels legs together so they would not wonder away from their owners. The woman in black is wearing an Abaya.

Boy I am really getting around Dubai. My new friend, Varun (pronounced Wa-run), is showing me Budha (also spelled Buddha). Varun is from Gurdaspur Punjab, India near Amritsar (look up the Golden Temple). He has just completed his MBA here in Dubai and is heading home to India.

Here are my good friends heading out for a night on the town! Don't they look great? Neera is wearing a beautiful sari. The sari is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma and Malaysia. Off to Australia tomorrow!!

Wait a minute Aron-- I am afraid of heights. Yes I see that we have arrived in Perth, Australia! Aron just came from England to play on the Western Australia Cricket Team. Cricket is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. A formal game of cricket can last anywhere from a whole afternoon to several days. Although the game play and rules are very different, the basic concept of cricket is similar to that of baseball.

Perth, Australia's city skyline is so beautiful at night! We are at Kings Park Botanic Gardens. See how big the moon is!

Chris let me sit on his shoulder so I could have a better look at Perth's skyline! Next we are heading to Fremantle to meet Mrs. L's sister, Amy.

Adventure Dog travels to the modern Arab land of Dubai

2011-09-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had a big warm welcome kiss by Emirate Flight Attendant, Nuala (New-la)! This looks like a fun place.

Wow a sign welcoming me to Dubai. I think it is a friendly place.

Hey let me introduce you to my friend, Mrs. L. She and I have become real travelling buddies.

A sunny and hot day (100 F) at the Dubai Marina. Can't wait to hit the beach!

Chill'en on the beach..... Not really. At 37 degrees C I have my doggie SPF on. Won't stay here too long but before I go I need to take a dip in the Gulf!

Met a few friends of mine walking the beach. They seem to be pretty big and not saying much....

I am off for a local cultural trip to learn about Dubai and the Arab lifestyle

Yummy, yummy- so much to eat. Think I will have the fish first!

No Place Like Home

2009-11-02T03:03:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone - hope you had a great weekend and a fun Halloween. And I especially hope that you have a full classroom today. I am sending Adventure Dog home to you today - he is so happy to be home, although he had a very adventurous trip and met a lot of great people!!
Thanks again for letting me bring him along to Jamaica!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Halloween at Saint Gabriel!

Thanks for blogging with us. It's been interesting to see the Jamaican people and to learn a bit about Jamaica.

We especially enjoyed the pictures you took.

We hope you have a safe trip home.

Thursday, the week is winding down!

2009-10-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone - the week is quickly winding down. As much fun and learning that adventure dog is doing he is anxious to get home to you all. I always say the best thing about traveling is coming home - I believe Adventure Dog agrees with me here. Adventure Dog had a very busy day again yesterday but he had a headache at the end of the day - there were a lot of screaming children to deal with!! The children are very scared and don't know what to expect, but some of them have very bad teeth because they eat too many sweets and don't clean their teeth very well - their parents want to make sure that they come to see us because it may be their only chance to get dental care so the parents are very forceful and the children fuss and fight a lot.

Too bad about the Yankees - Adventure Dog and I watched the game for a little while before we went to bed. Maybe tonight they will do better!

I am sure your door is looking great by now and you all have your costumes ready to go - Jamaicans do not celebrate Halloween - most of them have never even heard of it!! See how lucky we are!! Are you all going to trick a trunk? My car will be there all decorated - unfortunately Adventure Dog and I will miss Halloween this year!

How is everyone feeling - are your classmates back to school or are a lot of people still out sick?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jamaica
Look at this site and it will give you a brief history of Jamaica - it is very interesting. There are so many things about the world that we live in that we don't know about it. I will tell you my favorite thing about Jamaica - everywhere you go, everybody is so friendly - they don't know you but their attitude is that we all are connected and that we all know everybody and they always greet you with a smile and a greeting - it is the nicest thing!! Imagine walking down the street in Milford, or at the store, and people you have never seen before smile and say hello - it would make everyone so happy. Maybe you want to try it and see what happens.

OK, time to get to work now - have a great day - Adventure Dog wants me to remind you to work hard and be nice!!

Hello again - hope you are feeling better.

2009-10-28T04:37:00.000-07:00

Hi all - I hope some of you are feeling better today - here's adventure dog waking from a much needed sleep - as you can see he is being well taken care of! Yesterday was very hot again and we worked very hard so we were very tired!! Adventure Dog was especially busy - we went for a walk to a school and to a day care center to do oral hygiene instructions and give out toothbrushes and guess who was the star of the show - that's right, Adventure Dog!! All the children wanted to hold him and play with him but I was very careful with him so that he wouldn't get hurt or scared. Only a very few lucky ones got to actually hold him.

This is my first patient of the day - a very scared 9 year old who needed her front tooth taken out - she was very brave with the help of Adventure Dog. Mrs Soulier is going to have to give me lessons with putting photos on the blog - for some reason now that I can get them on here they are not in the order that I would like - I am going to take a few more minutes to try to figure it out and then I have to go to my breakfast meeting and get to work.
I'm so sorry you didn't get to go on your field trip yesterday, I know a lot of you were looking forward to it.

Some typical Jamaican food is spiced with what they call "jerk" - it is a combination of spices that make it very spicy hot - it is delicious if you like spicy food. They also eat a dish called "callaloo" a lot - this is a leafy green vegetable - often it is mixed with peppers and onions, sometimes fish. Another food item they eat a lot of is called a "patty" - this is similar to a soft taco, but the edges are closed and it is usually filled with meat or vegetables.

Jamaica Language is a reflection of the diversity of the people of Jamaica. The wonderful blend of various races and cultures has affected the languages spoken in Jamaica. English is the official language of Jamaica.

The most unique of the languages of Jamaica is a dialect formed by the amalgamation of words from many languages with English. It is known as Jamaican Creole or Patois. It is the most widely spoken language of Jamaica. Patois is popular because of the musical lilt and rhythm in the words of the language. It is also used in the lyrics of Reggae, the famous music of Jamaica.

The immigrants from outside Jamaica have brought with them their language as well and languages like Spanish, Irish, Scottish are also spoken. The other two significant languages of Jamaica are Taino (mixed with Spanish) and Arawak, specific to particular regions.

The Jamaican Creole having elements of English is however not easy to understand for outsiders because of the way it is spoken by the Jamaicans.

I wanted to put some more here but I really have to get going - I will write more later. Have a great day!

Greetings from Some of Us!

2009-10-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Guess what? We did not get to go to see the Mayor today. So many of us are out sick - 7 yesterday and 5 today - that we had to postpone our trip until a later date.

What language do Jamaicans speak? Is it Spanish-related?

Wow! It's so hot there. We have a cool rainy day today.

How are you and Adventure dog today? You were soooo busy yesterday!

What have you been eating? Anything special to Jamaica? How about A.D.?

Are you working or staying right near the water? The beach looks beautiful.

We just came back from getting our pumpkin blessed and will be working on our Halloween door for the rest of the week. It is going to feature lots of funny jokes from a Dracula joke book we found at the book fair. Do Jamaicans celebrate Halloween - or a holiday like it ? That would just create more work for you!

Hope all is well, and we look forward to hearing more news from both of you.

XOXO back at you from Victor!

Our First Day at Work

2009-10-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

Werel - it was great to hear from you - I regret to tell you that I have no pictures for you today - we were very busy and a few people took pictures but I wasn't able to get their cameras to download them.

We were so busy today. We saw approximately 120 patients. It is so hot here - very humid, probably in the 90's, we have no airconditioning at all in the places where we work - all day long we are sweating - we drink a lot of water and still it's not enough. In the afternoon it rains a little but not enough to cool things off. The patients sweat a lot also!
Adventure Dog has been such good company - for me as well as the patients. For me, I tell everyone why he is here and it helps me not miss my family so much. For the patients, especially the children, they are scared to be going to the dentist so they hold Adventure Dog while we are doing the procedure and he helps make them feel better - so you were right about that!!
Nic - I haven't seen any lizards or iguanas but they are definately here - if I do I will try to get a photo for you - but they move very quickly. Yes, Brandon, they are still eating a lot of sugar cane like I showed you in the slide show last year - you have a good memory!! That is not the biggest problem here for their cavities here though, it is really the candy and the sugary drinks - just like in the States!!
As far as the time goes, we are one hour behind EST - and you are right again, that will change after Sunday when we set the clocks back - why do you think some places have DST and other place don't?

I know you are going on a trip to the Mayor's office today - have a lot of fun and make sure you ask a lot of good questions, like you are of me. I know that you will enjoy Peter Pan Pizza - you guys are so lucky that you get to go to a nice school and go on field trips and get such a good education.

In Jamaica the music that they are popular for is called Reggae Music - it has a very good beat to it - maybe Mrs. Soulier can play some for you - the biggest Reggae star is Bob Marley - he is not alive anymore but his name is always who first comes to mind with Reggae Music.

Each day I will tell you something about Jamaica - if there is something in particular you would like to know then tell me and I will find out if I can. Do you know what language they speak here?

I will try to get more photos for tomorrow - farewell to all from Adventure Dog - and a special hug and kiss for Victor!!

How's your first day?

2009-10-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from 4th Grade!

How was your first day of work? How many patients did you get to see? Did Adventure Dog get to see any patients? Maybe he can be sort of be a therapy dog! Has he been good company for you?

Nic wants to know if you've seen any iguanas or other lizards yet.

What is your weather like today? Today is a nice day here. We'll have a high of 62 degrees and it is mostly sunny. Do any of the places you're working have air conditioning?

Brandon wants to know if there is sugar cane in Jamaica like there was in your slides last year.

We hope you are having a good day and that Adventure Dog is enjoying himself.

Thanks for being in touch with us.

P.S. We wondered if you were in our time zone. We did a little research, and it looks like you are 2 hours behind. That will change on Saturday with Day Light Savings Time.

We've Arrived in Jamaica!

2009-10-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well, after a long day of travelling, due to many delays in the airport, Adventure Dog and I finally landed in Jamaica last night. He was very excited and loved his very own pouch to travel in.

We are here with a group of 30 people, all volunteers, who are going to be spending the next week helping the Jamaicans fix their teeth. We are setting up four different clinics in four different villages.
Today, we met our team, there are 9 of us. We went to the clinic that we will be working at and set it up so that tomorrow it will be ready and we can get right to work.

Jamaica has a lot of people who are very poor and don't have enough food to eat - so when they need to have their teeth fixed they have no money. Even if they had some money, there aren't enough dentists here to help everybody. Even though Jamaica is a very poor country, the people here are very friendly and very happy, and the country is truly beautiful. It is an island, which means it is surrounded on all sides by water, and the inner part of the country has high hills.

Ask Mrs. Soulier to show it to you on the map, or maybe some of you have been here before. The part of Jamaica we are in is Montego Bay. Do you remember last year when your class helped to collect toothbrushes for me to bring to Jamaica, and I came into school and showed you all a slide show - maybe you can tell Mrs. Soulier about that.

Let me know what types of things you are interested in and I will be happy to share them with you, or if I don't know I will find out. Send questions and when I write again I will answer them.

Until then, Adventure Dog and I are going to have some dinner and get to bed early. Tomorrow we start work and it will be a long day - and it's very hot down here and that makes it even harder work!! Until next time....

Adventure Dog in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California

2009-06-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Mrs. Soulier’s class at Saint Gabriel School, my name is Paul Soulier and I am Mrs. Soulier’s brother-in-law, living in Oakland, California. Mrs. Soulier asked me to host Adventure Dog for a few days during his exciting journey. Sorry it has been awhile since any news has come from Adventure Dog, maybe it was because he was having way too much fun here in California!

Well, let’s see. Adventure Dog made his journey to Los Angeles in Southern California from Nashville, and then he made his way about 375 miles north up the Pacific Ocean coastline to the San Francisco Bay Area and Oakland, CA. He is continuing his adventure around the United States and enjoying himself along the way. Below is a map of California between Oakland and Los Angeles so you can see the path traveled by Adventure Dog.

Here is a picture of Adventure Dogs arrival at my home in Oakland. Our plans for Adventure Dog while here include touring around Oakland, a trip across California to Lake Tahoe (located on the California/Nevada border) for some great skiing, and then touring around the city of San Francisco upon his return to The Bay Area. What I will also do along the way is to include some internet links for some of the places that we visited so you can read more about them. That way, if you want to do additional reading or research during the summer, it will be that much easier.

Oakland and The Bay Area is a very unique place to live or visit. I guess if I have to say what is best about this part of California I would have to say, the weather! (Oakland is located on San Francisco Bay right across the water from San Francisco) Here in the Bay Area the average temperature during the year does not change more than 20 degrees or so. Yes, we do not have snow and cold during the winter and it does not get hot and sticky during the summer. In Oakland during the summer the average temperature is about 70-75 degrees and during the winter it is about 50-65 degrees. And the other unique thing about The Bay Area is that it rarely if ever rains between the months of May through September. I have lived here for about 30 years now and I have seen it rain once or twice during these months. Kind of makes it easy to plan your weekend when you know it won’t rain! You can always play outside, go to a baseball game, ride your bike or do whatever you want outside and not have to worry about it raining. And since there is no rain in the summer months, we do not get all those summer bugs! Yes, that is right no mosquitoes or big flies to bother us. In fact, we do not even have screens on the house.

Now, why does the weather stay this way around here? I guess the main reason is the Pacific Ocean. You guys live on Long Island Sound which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. These two bodies of water warm up in the summer and cool down in the winter time. The temperature of the Pacific Ocean does not change much (average 55 degrees) and therefore, keeps the air temperature pretty much the same. It also creates a lot of the high pressure that keeps the storms out of the area during the summer months. One of the drawbacks with the ocean temperature being 55 degrees is that it is not very comfortable to swim in, at all! Below is a map of The Bay Area showing where Oakland and San Francisco are located.

Well, now that you are all ready to be the weather person on TV, what else can I tell you about Oakland. Let’s see, there are about 400,000 people living in the City of Oakland, making it the 8th largest city in California. Oakland is the only city in the United States that has it’s very own salt water lake. Yes, that’s right salt water. It is called Lake Merritt and it is located right in downtown Oakland. Does anyone have any idea where the salt water might come from? Yes, that is right. It comes from the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Below is a picture of Adventure Dog checking out at the Lake. He came along with me when I went to pick up my car at the auto repair shop, it needed new tires. Lake Merrit is about three miles around so it makes a nice walk if you wanted to see the whole thing.

http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/parks/lakemerritt.asp

While we were down at the lake I decided to make a visit to a brand new Cathedral that was just completed here in Oakland: The Cathedral of Christ the Light. This Cathedral is not like any of the older ones that we might have seen, it is very hi-tech looking and looks very cool at night when all the lights are on. It was built to replace an older Cathedral that was damaged during an earthquake that we had here in 1989, the Loma Prieta Earthquake. Here is a picture of Adventure Dog checking out the Cathedral. I have also included the link to the Cathedral website if you would like to read more about it.

http://www.christthelightcathedral.org/

I guess I might have just mentioned something that a lot of people think about when California is mentioned: Earthquakes! Let me tell you that earthquakes are something that we do take very seriously here, but do not spend all day worrying about. We try to be prepared for “the big one” as people call it. Meaning an earthquake that can cause some serious damage. But at the same time, it is not something that we allow to control our lives. We have small earthquakes that we can’t even feel just about every day. The ground in The Bay Area is always moving and we have grown accustomed to the possibility of having an earthquake. If you want to read more about earthquakes, check out the link to the Wikipedia website or go to the library this summer and get a book on earthquakes, they are a very fascinating natural disaster!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquakes

Adventure Dog was wondering what else happens in Oakland! Being a dog he does like water and thought that there are probably a lot of boats and ships here. Well, he is very right. Oakland has the 3rd largest ocean port on the West Coast. The others are up north in Seattle, Washington and south near Los Angeles at Long Beach. What makes it such a good port is the natural deep sea port created by the San Francisco Bay. Oakland is also located right across the Pacific Ocean from a far away neighbor. Can anyone tell us what is west of the United States across the Pacific Ocean? Correct: the continent of Asia! Countries such as China, Korea, Japan and many others are important trading partners with us in the United States. All sorts of things are made in these countries and brought here by large ships. Adventure Dog and I took a ride down to the port of Oakland where these HUGE container ships come and go everyday of the week. These ships are so large that some of them can hold thousands of containers that are the size of a truck you would see on the Connecticut Turnpike when you are driving with your parents…. WOW! Here adventure dog is checking out some of the equipment used to load and unload these huge ships.

We also stopped to check out a harbor where there many boats that individual people own and keep for their own use. In fact, since the weather is nice some people even live on their boats year round, just like you and I live in our house. I guess it is fun being able to take your house and move it when you want to, or take it out for a ride on San Francisco Bay. Most people just keep their boat in the harbor just like they would do in Milford.

While we were out we stopped at Jack London Square. This is a part of Oakland located on the water where there are a lot of shops and restaurants. There is also an Amtrak train station that you could get a train that would take you to the train station not far from Milford. One of the interesting historical spots in Jack London is a spot where the Pony Express ended and the rider would then jump on a boat and go over to San Francisco. The Pony Express was a way that mail was delivered from Missouri to California in the 1860’s. Actually it only lasted for about a year and half but it has been an interesting event in the history of the United States. Adventure Dog thought it was kind of a cool spot so he decided to take a little rest on the historical landmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express

Living in Oakland offers a wide variety of things to see and do. Not only are there many places which Adventure Dog visited, but a wide variety of places with great food to eat. I noticed that adventure dog has a big appetite so he was asking what do we have to eat here? The Bay Area probably offers more different kinds of food than most places in he United States. I am told that there are restaurants from more than 150 different countries. If you can name a country, The Bay Area probably has a restaurant serving food from that country. Is that because there are cooks here that know how to cook food from say India or Brazil? That is part of the answer. The real reason is that we have people from all around the world that have immigrated from these counties and now live here! It is amazing that we have people from just about every country you could imagine. There are more Chinese living here in Oakland and San Francisco than any other city outside of China. If you like Chinese food, we have all different kinds of Chinese restaurants from every “province” in China. A province would be similar to a state here in the United States.

Adventure Dog went to with me to Oakland Chinatown becasue not only are there neat restaurants with good food, there are Chinese grocery stores there where one can get fish that is fresher than fresh, and interesting vegetables that you will not see at Stop and Shop. These grocery stores are always busy because the Chinese people like to get their food fresh, everyday. They will go grocery shopping everyday in order to get the fish, meat, produce that was just delivered. One of the reasons that they do this is because many of these people are recent immigrants and back in China they live in places where they do not have refrigerators, so they had to shop everyday. So they were used to doing it. Very different than our way of life. San Francisco has a very large Chinese population and a HUGE Chinatown. Ask Mrs. Soulier about her visit to San Francisco Chinatown, she can tell you about her experiences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_chinatown

Well, after spending sometime checking out the sights of Oakland, my son came home from college for his spring break! Alex goes to De Paul University in Chicago, Illinois so he was looking forward to spending sometime with us and relaxing a bit too. What he also decided to do was bring along three of his friends from school, two of them had never been to San Francisco or to California. One was from Green Bay, Wisconsin, one from Michigan and one from Nashville, Tennessee …. where Adventure Dog visited not too long ago.

One of the reasons they came out was to go skiing. You didn’t know that we had skiing here in California?! Well if you were to go about 200 miles east of Oakland, you would be in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Lake Tahoe. We were leaving on a Sunday and were going to go to a ski resort called Heavenly in South Lake Tahoe.

It usually takes about four hours to drive so we took our time and stopped for dinner in Placerville, CA. Most people never heard of Placerville but San Francisco was settled because of Placerville. This was the place where gold was discovered and settlers came from all over the United States to try their luck in finding some gold for themselves. Most people never found much gold but ended up staying and making a new life for themselves here in California. The people who made the most money were the ones who sold supplies to the “Forty Niners”. (This was the name given to the people looking for gold. The name was the year the gold rush started: 1849) The most famous Company that survived the Gold rush 160 years ago was a clothing company called Levi Straus. In fact, they designed a pair of pants called “blue jeans” that most of you wear today. So all of you have a connection to the initial settling of San Francisco and the discovery of gold, and did not even know it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Rush_(California)

http://www.coloma.com/

After dinner we went back out to the car and guess what, it was snowing. Even though we were going skiing and wanted some snow, I was a bit concerned because sometimes driving to Lake Tahoe can be a little more difficult when it is snowing. In order to get to Lake Tahoe you have to drive through some pretty big mountains, the Sierra Nevada’s. In Connecticut there are not really any big Mountains, even in New England the tallest mountain is Mount Washington and I think the top is 6,500 feet. The road to Lake Tahoe takes us to 7,500 feet. The top of Heavenly where we were taking Adventure Dog skiing was 10,000 feet high …. wow!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tahoe

We were able to get through the mountain road to Lake Tahoe OK. There was plenty of snow for skiing so everyone was very excited. In addition to skiing, another reason why snow is important to California is that this is where most of our water comes from. Remember I was telling you that we do not get rain in The Bay Area from May through September? This is where our water comes from and the amount of snow in the mountains is very important.

It was dark when we arrived at the ski house where we were staying so we just went to bed early so we could get up early to ski. Most of the boys never saw anything like Heavenly or the nice views that you have when you are at the top of the mountain. As you can see Adventure Dog enjoyed the skiing too.

The lake itself at Lake Tahoe was formed about 2 million years ago during the Ice Age. Some parts are so deep that even to this day scientists still have no idea how deep it is! It is a vacation destination both in winter for skiing, as well as the summertime for outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and boating. Adventure Dog enjoyed his stay and was happy to go skiing in such a beautiful place. If you have time, read more about Lake Tahoe with the link above.

After staying in Lake Tahoe for a few days, we came back to Oakland. Everyone, including Adventure Dog was pretty tired. Alex had a few more days before he and his friends had to go back to Chicago and start school again, so they decided that they would spend most of the time exploring San Francisco. “The City” as it is called by the people who live in The Bay Area is quite the place. It has quite a colorful history and to this day is an interesting place to live, work or visit. I moved to San Francisco from Milford 30 years ago to begin my accounting career. I always enjoy having visitors so I can share a few of the things I have discovered over these 30 years. Adventure Dog really enjoyed his visit and I think he would love to return one day.

San Francisco is unique in that it is not very large for a major city. How many of you would believe me if I told you that Milford is actually bigger than San Francisco? Hard to believe but true; San Francisco is about 47 square miles while Milford is 58 square miles. On the other hand Milford has about 50,000 residents while San Francisco has over 800,000 people living there!! Right now the only place to build is up: taller buildings. This is because San Francisco is a peninsula, land surrounded by water on three sides and there is no more land to build on or expand. Attached is a satellite image of San Francisco, you can see the water on the three sides. One side is the Pacific Ocean, one side is the San Francisco Bay and the top is called the Golden Gate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco,_CA

I don’t know if any of you have been to San Francisco but there is a lot to see and do. We went to many of the sights including the Golden Gate Bridge. This is truly one of the prettier bridges or places to see. It connects The City of San Francisco to Marin County located to the north. It was constructed about 75 years ago and just about everyone who visits, has to go …. including Adventure Dog.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_gate_bridge

One of the neat things is that you can go below the bridge and see all the boat traffic come through the Golden Gate, as well as look up at the bridge. There is even an old fort there remaining from The Civil War.

San Francisco has many nick-names including the City of Seven Hills. This is because there are seven main hills throughout The City. Adventure Dog was amazed how hilly the streets are. Some of the streets are so steep that the sidewalks have steps/stairs on them so you can walk up and down a little easier. This is also a very good way to get some exercise. Some streets have “Cable Cars” running up and down the hills. These look like a trolley or a street car, but are actually operated by a cable that runs under the road … very cool!

As with any place that has big hills, you have nice views. One place that Adventure Dog visited with the boys and myself was a spot called Twin Peaks. Here one can see all of San Francisco and many of the cities beyond.

People who visit San Francisco come for the views, the many restaurants, to see a play, enjoy the music, visit many of the museums, take a trip to Alcatraz, go whale watching, ride the cable cars, explore one of the many different neighborhoods, visit the historical locations or just relax. San Francisco and the Bay Area have a lot to offer. Adventure Dog enjoyed his stay and hopes that you learned something from his visit. He knows that he certainly learned a lot. If you have time or like to learn more, check out some of the links that Adventure Dog and I attached. There is a lot of interesting information to be found. Thanks for letting me share this leg of the journey and thanks for listening!

Nashville to Los Angeles

2009-03-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

Hello. My name is Jim Pitt and I am Mrs. Soulier's brother. That's Adventure Dog in front of our house in Nashville, Tennessee. Because of a change in my job I am moving to Los Angeles so last week I packed up a UHaul truck and, along with my son Dylan and Adventure Dog, drove west to California. Here's a look at our route, which took us across much of the southwest United States:

The trip from Nashville to Los Angeles took three days and 2,014 miles. We drove through seven states (Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) and saw all sorts of weather, from rainy in the 40's in Nashville to snowy in the 20's in the mountains of Arizona to sunny and very hot (high 90's) in the California desert. It was also very interesting to see how the terrain changes in different parts of the country. In Tennessee and Arkansas it was very green and hilly, while for much of the rest of the trip it was flat and you could see for many miles. I commented to Dylan that, while it sometimes seems like our country is overcrowded, a drive like ours makes you realize how much open space we actually have.

Day 1
Nashville, Tennessee to Clarksville, Arkansas
443 Miles
8 Hours

We left Nashville on Friday afternoon and made it as far as Clarksville, Arkansas that night. Major cities that we drove through were Memphis, TN, which is on the Mississippi River, and Little Rock, the state capitol of Arkansas.

Memphis is well known for its cultural contributions to the identity of the American South. Many renowned musicians grew up in and around the Memphis and northern Mississippi area. These included such musical greats as Elvis Presley, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones, Al Green and, more recently, Justin Timberlake.

During the 1960s the city was at the center of civil rights issues. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic I've Been To The Mountaintop speech at the Masonic Temple. The Lorraine Motel is now a Civil Rights Museum.

Located near the geographic center of Arkansas, Little Rock derives its name from a small rock formation on the south bank of the Arkansas River called la Petite Roche ("the little rock"). The "little rock" was used by early river traffic as a landmark and became a well-known river crossing. Little Rock was also very much involved in the struggle for civil rights.

Day 2
Clarksville, Akansas to Gallup, New Mexico
915 Miles
14 Hours

We got up bright and early and made a quick stop before hitting the road:

You can see from these photos that Adventure Dog had a very big appetite that day and finished everything on his plate.

Soon after we crossed the border from Arkansas to Oklahoma the land around us went from hilly to mostly flat. The biggest hills we saw were small, "rolling hills." Oklahoma is a land of flat, fertile plains and low hills. Oil and natural gas wells can be seen throughout much of the state. Oklahoma's plains also host large herds of cattle and vast wheat fields. We drove through the state capitol, Oklahoma City and the road there was extremely bumpy, as you can see!

As we drove west through an area of western Oklahoma and Texas known as the High Plains we saw a number of wind turbines, which convert wind power to electricity. This is known as a renewable energy source because, unlike oil or coal, wind is a resource that will never run out:

The area of Texas we drove through is called the Panhandle because it sticks out from the rest of the state, much like the handle of a pan. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by the state of New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. Here is Adventure Dog helping navigate our way through Texas:

It was also in Texas that we found Dylan's favorite rest stop:

From Texas, we entered New Mexico, a state covered mostly by mountains and desert. New Mexico is the sixth most sparsely inhabited state in the U.S. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics at 43%, comprising both recent immigrants and descendants of Spanish colonists. It also has the third-highest percentage of Native Americans. The tribes represented in the state consist of mostly Navajo and Pueblo peoples. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultural influences. It was a beautiful drive through New Mexico, especially since the sun was going down:

We drove late in to the night, going through Albequerque (the largest city in New Mexico) and finally stopped for the night in Gallup, where Adventure Dog and Dylan went right to bed:

Day 3
Gallup, New Mexico to Los Angeles, California
656 Miles
9 Hours

In the morning Adventure Dog must have been hungry because when I woke up I found him ordering a large breakfast from room service:

Once we hit the road it wasn't long before we were in Arizona, which is one of the "Four Corners" states. It borders New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile international border with Mexico. In addition to the Grand Canyon, many other national forests, parks, monuments, and Indian reservations are located in the state.

Arizona is noted for its desert climate, exceptionally hot summers, and mild winters, but the high country in the north features pine forests and mountain ranges with cooler weather than the lower deserts. We drove through that very part of the state (the high country) and I was surprised to actually find snow in Arizona:

It was also in Arizona that we saw the first signs for our final destination, Los Angeles, and that was a good feeling, even though we still had more than a few hours to go:

The rest of the day was spent driving through the deserts of Arizona and (finally) California, where in some areas the highway exits were more than 50 miles apart. Then, at around 4:00 in the afternoon we arrived in Los Angeles. Here we are just after arriving:

And here is Dylan pointing out the orange tree in my new front yard:

Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over 498.3 square miles in Southern California. Additionally, the Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to nearly 12.9 million residents, who hail from all over the globe and speak 224 different languages. Los Angeles is the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most diverse counties in the United States. Its inhabitants are known as "Angelinos."

Los Angeles was founded September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola). It became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its independence from Spain. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican-American War, Los Angeles and California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923 Los Angeles was producing one-quarter of the world's petroleum.

By 1900, the population had grown to more than 102,000 people, putting pressure on the city's water supply. 1913's completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct (which pipes water in from Owens River, more than 200 miles away), under the supervision of William Mulholland, assured the continued growth of the city.

In the 1920s, the motion picture and aviation industries flocked to Los Angeles. In 1932, with population surpassing one million, the city hosted the Summer Olympics.

Los Angeles is subject to earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The geologic instability produces numerous fault lines both above and below ground, which altogether cause approximately 10,000 earthquakes every year. One of the major fault lines is the San Andreas Fault. Located at the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, it is predicted to be the source of Southern California's next big earthquake. Major earthquakes to have hit the Los Angeles area include the 2008 Chino Hills earthquake, 1994 Northridge earthquake, the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake near Sylmar, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.

The name given by the Chumash tribe of Native Americans for the area now known as Los Angeles translates to "the valley of smoke." because of the smog from native campfires. Because of it's location and heavy reliance on automobiles Los Angeles suffers from air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources. Unlike other large cities that rely on rain to clear smog, Los Angeles gets only 15 inches of rain each year: pollution accumulates over many consecutive days. Issues of air quality in Los Angeles and other major cities led to the passage of early national environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act. More recently, the state of California has led the nation in working to limit pollution by mandating low emission vehicles.

Day 4
Hollywood, California

Los Angeles is probably best known as the movie-making capitol of the world. The area of Los Angeles known as Hollywood is the center of US film and television production. Early filmmakers first came to Los Angeles because of the mild temperatures and general lack of rainfall. Early silent movies (the first film shot in Los Angeles was produced in 1906) were shot outside, where directors could take advantage of the bright sun, which they used instead of lights. It was not long before nearly the entire film industry was based in Hollywood, where it grew to the giant industry that it is today.

Before sending Adventure Dog on to his next adventure we took him out to see some sights. First, we saw Charlie Chaplin's studio, which he built in 1917. Chaplin, a comic film maker who's signature character was known as The Little Tramp, was the biggest star in the world and he designed this studio so that it would appear from the outside like a village in his native England (it still does to this day). It is now the home of Jim Henson Productions (creators of The Muppets):

Next, we went to the location of an old (and very funny) short film starring Laurel & Hardy called the Music Box, which was made in 1932. In this film Laurel & Hardy are movers who have trouble getting a piano (the "music box") up a large flight of steps. When the film was made there was very little around the steps but, as you can see, they're now surrounded by houses on either side. It's neat to see the actual staircase where the film was made. This is how they appeared in The Music Box:

And here is what they look like today:

Finally, we went to Hollywood Blvd., where famous stars are honored with "stars" built in to the sidewalk. Adventure Dog asked if he could pose with a few of his favorites:

Also on Hollywood Blvd. is the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where movie stars are honored by casting their hand and feet in cement. As a big Star Wars fan, Adventure Dog wanted to pose by the prints of Han Solo, who was played by Harrison Ford:

Well, that wraps up our Los Angeles adventure. When Dylan was at the airport to catch his flight back to Nashville, Adventure Dog tried to go along with him but he's got more adventures ahead so I'm sending him off on his next mission:

A.D. in Nashville

2009-02-27T05:39:00.000-08:00

Today is Adventure Dog's last day with me. We took a little tour of the sites of some of the sites of Nashville and looked up some facts about the geography and climate of Tennessee. Here's what we found:

Tennessee stretches about 491 miles from east to west and is about 115 miles north to south. It is the 36th largest state, with 42,146 square miles. This means that your state, Connecticut, would fit into Tennessee 7 times!
We have almost 6,000,000 people, making us the 16th most populous state.

Tennessee ties with Missouri as the most neighborly state in the union. It is bordered by 8 states;
Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

The Mean Elevation of the state of Tennessee is 900 feet above sea level.
The highest point in Tennessee is Clingman's Dome at 6,643 feet above sea level, on the east side of the state.
The lowest point in Tennessee is 178 feet at the Mississippi River, which is the western border of the state.

Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 91.5 degrees to a low of 27.8 degrees.

I know that some of you are sports fans from reading your survey results. Nashville has two professional sports teams. The Tennessee Titans are our football team and the Nashville Predators play hockey. We went to see the Titan's stadium and went to a real Predators game!

We also have a minor league baseball team, The Sounds, and lots of college teams. The University of Tennessee has a popular football team. They are located in Knoxville.

And for those of you who are Red Sox fans, we wanted to show you that we have lots of RS fans here in Nashville, too, so A.D. has been in good company.

Another thing that Nashville has a lot of is music and music businesses, and it's nickname is "Music City, USA". There is a street that is nicknamed "Music Row" and there are lots of music business, such as record companies and music publishing companies, on Music Row. Adventure Dog's favorite is "Big Yellow Dog" Music. About 7 songwriters work there and write songs for a living. After they write a song, it is "pitched", or given to another musician who listens to the song to see if they like it. If they do like it, they might record it in a recording studio and put it on a record or dvd. Then we all get to hear it.

Please let me know if you have any questions about Nashville or Tennessee. I've really enjoyed being Adventure Dog's caretaker. Instead of sending him to his next destination through the mail, I'm handing him to my brother, Jim, and nephew, Dylan, here in Nashville. They are driving from Nashville all the way to California, and are taking A.D. along for the ride. Should be fun and interesting!

Thanks so much,

Mary Anne

A.D. in Nashville

2009-02-26T05:34:00.000-08:00

We were hungry when we returned from New Orleans, so we made a delicious pizza, on the grill. Then we went for a walk at my favorite place in Nasvhille, Radnor Lake State Park. It's right near my house and has great trails and a small lake. There are lots of turtles that come out when it's warm, but it was a cold day and we only saw some ducks. You can see some in the photo with A.D.

Here are some fun and interesting facts about Tennessee:

The name "Tennessee" originated from the old Yuchi Indian word, "Tana-see," meaning "The Meeting Place."

.

Nashville is the capitol of Tennessee. The capitol building was designed by noted architect William Strickland, who died during its construction and is buried within its walls

The "Guinness Book of World Records" lists the Lost Sea in Sweetwater as the largest underground lake in the United States

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. The park was named for the smoke-like bluish haze that often envelops these fabled mountains.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed in 1968. The museum preserves the motel and tells the history of the American Civil Rights Movement

Tennessee has more than 3,800 documented caves.
Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world. It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.
The largest earthquake in American history, the New Madrid Earthquake occurred in the winter of 1811-12 in northwestern Tennessee. Reelfoot Lake located in Obion and Lake Counties was formed during this earthquake.

Reputed "Turtle Capital of the World," Reelfoot Lake also features thousands of sliders, stinkpots, mud and map turtles.

Three United States presidents have come from Tennessee. Andrew Jackson was our 7th president, James K Polk was number 11 and Andrew Johnson, number 17. An interesting fact about Andrew Johnson is that he held every elective office at the local, state, and federal level, including President of the United States. He was elected alderman, mayor, state representative, and state senator from Greeneville, TN. He served as governor and military governor of Tennessee and United States congressman, senator, and vice president, becoming President of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. All these men were president in the 1800’s.

Here is a link to a nice slide show of photos from around the state of Tennessee:
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/photos/

2009-02-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

What great masks you made on Fat Tuesday! Good questions, too.

The parade routes are about 4 or 5 . There are anywhere from 15 to 35 floats in each parade, plus marching bands, horses, motorcycles and dancing groups. The Krewe d'Etat is our favorite because we have some good friends who are in that krewe, but there are definitely some other very fun krewes.

We listened to marching band music, some jazz bands that were on parade floats and heard lots of songs about Mardis Gras.

We ate King Cake, onion rings, shrimp and oysters. There is a lot of good fish and seafood in New Orleans. One specialty is crawfish and we ate some of those. They look like miniature lobsters.

The Little Chef was one of the toys that was thrown from a float. Isn't that funny?

I loved the Elvis's, too. They stand on both sides of the float, so there were probably 20 or so Elvis's on that float.

Yes, you can still see some damage from Hurricane Katrina. There are some houses that are all boarded up and you can tell that nothing has been done to fix them. Some homes were bulldozed down and grass is growing where they stood. It's sad, but the city is slowly coming back.

Adventure Dog also made a new friend, Suzette, a sweet cat who lives at the house where we stayed, with Shawn and Allison. Suzette had an accident recently and is blind.

After Mardis Gras, we went to Audubon Park which has some big, beautiful trees. Then we went to a good seafood restaurant, called "Deanies". Then we went to the airport and flew back to Nashville.

A.D. in New Orleans

2009-02-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

Mary Ann -

Thanks so much for taking care of Adventure Dog.

We are jealous A.D.'s trip to New Orleans. Mardi Gras sounds like a lot of fun, and we enjoyed seeing your pictures. We have a few questions for you.

How long in miles are most parades?

Why is the Krewe d'etat your favorite?
Where did the little chef come from?
What have you had eat in New Orleans for Mardi Gras?

We really thought the Elvis float was funny! How many Elvis were there?

What kind of music did you listen to in New Orleans?

We know that Hurricane Katrina was in New Orleans. Can you still see any damage from the Hurricane?

Are you back in Nashville now?

Thanks again for helping us with our A.D. project. We look forward to learning about your life in Nashville and A.D.s visit there.

P.S. We've posted some photos of us on Fat Tuesday.

Mardis Gras

2009-02-23T18:57:00.001-08:00

Today is Mardis Gras! Mardis Gras means "Fat Tuesday", in French. The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. These days Mardis Gras is a festival, and the most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is at New Orleans, Louisiana. Festivities start in New Orleans each year on January 6, the Twelfth Night feast of the Epiphany -- the day, tradition has it, that the three kings first visited baby Jesus. Families and friends have parties and share “King Cake”. Hidden inside each King Cake is a tiny doll of baby Jesus. Whoever gets the piece of cake with the doll provides the next cake, and so it goes for several weeks, all the way to Fat Tuesday. The date of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) moves. It can be anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th. The date depends on when Easter falls. Two weeks before Fat Tuesday, the residents of New Orleans start the Mardis Gras parades, and there are about 90 parades in those two weeks. Each parade is sponsored by a club, called a “Krewe”. There are big floats and very fancy costumes and masks and the people who ride on the floats throw out trinkets, like beads and toy coins. Mardis Gras ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. The next day is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Adventure Dog and I are having a lot of fun at Mardis Gras with some good friends. There are lots of people at the parades and everyone holds their arms up in the air so we can catch the beads and toys. They even throw out little stuffed creatures and animals just about Adventure Dog's size. Our favorite Krewe is the "Krewe d'Etat" and we caught lots and lots of good stuff.

2009-02-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Mary Anne Pitt. I am Mrs. Soulier's sister, and I'm happy
to be Adventure Dog's caretaker for awhile.

Adventure Dog arrived at my home in
Nashville, Tennessee, last week while you
were on winter break. He was a little tired after his trip from
Miami, so he rested up before we headed to
the airport to fly to New Orleans, Louisiana,
for a visit. It takes just about one hour and
twenty minutes to fly from Nashville to
New Orleans.

Here are some interesting facts about the state of Louisiana:

Length x Width
Louisiana is about 380 miles long and 130 miles wide.

Borders
Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas on the north and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. Mississippi borders Louisiana on the east and Texas borders Louisiana on the west.
Total Area
Louisiana covers 51,843 square miles, making it the 31st largest of the 50 states.
Land Area
43,566 square miles of Louisiana are land areas.
Water Area
8,277 square miles of Louisiana are covered by water.
Highest Point
The highest point in Louisiana is Driskill Mountain at 535 feet above sea level.
Lowest Point
The lowest point in Louisiana is 8 feet "below" sea level in New Orleans.
Mean Elevation
The Mean Elevation of the state of Louisiana is only 100 feet above sea level.
Major Rivers
Atchafalaya River, Mississippi River, Ouachita River, Red River, Sabine River
Major Lakes
Calcasieu Lake, Catahoula Lake, Grand Lake, Lake Maurepas, Lake Pontchartrain, Toledo Bend Reservoir, White Lake

The Land
Louisiana can be divided into three geographic land areas.

East Gulf Coastal Plain: The East Gulf Coastal Plain lies to the east of the Mississippi River north of Lake Pontchartrain. As might be expected, the land is quite low and consists of marshland near the river. The land rises slightly in the north to rolling hills.

Mississippi Alluvial Plain: The Mississippi Alluvial Plain stretches along the Mississippi River from Arkansas in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. This area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows. Fields atop the ridges along the river are referred to as the "frontlands". The land contour slopes away from the frontlands to the "backlands", comprised of clay and silt. The Mississippi Delta, at the mouth of the Mississippi River covers about 13,000 square miles (about 1/4 of Louisiana) and consists of silt deposited by the river. The Mississippi Delta is the most fertile area of Louisiana.

West Gulf Coastal Plain: The West Gulf Coastal Plain lies west of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. In the south, along the gulf, are barrier beaches. Behind the barrier beaches are marshes that extend about 20 miles north into the interior of Louisiana. To the north of the marshlands are the Louisiana Prairies, characterized by gently rolling landscape. The land gradually rises in the north, toward Arkansas. The highest point in Louisiana, Driskill Mountain, is only about 40 miles from the Arkansas state line.

Climate (All temperatures Fahrenheit)
Highest Temperature
The highest temperature recorded in Louisiana is 114°, Fahrenheit. This record high was recorded on August, 10, 1936 at Plain Dealing.
Lowest Temperature
The lowest temperature in Louisiana, -16°, was recorded on February 13, 1899 at Minden.
Average Temperature
Monthly average temperatures range from a high of 93.3 degrees to a low of 36.2 degrees.

Here's a link to the symbols of Louisiana. You can print out the symbols to color yourself, if you like: http://house.louisiana.gov/pubinfo/state.htm

Please let me know if you have any questions for me or Adventure Dog. We'll be happy to try to answer them.

More soon!

Lighthouse at Key Biscayne

2009-02-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

Hello! Adventure Dog and I have been so busy— I took him on a road trip to Miami, and he’s been going to the beach and meeting all my friends! He’s also had fun going to college classes with me.

We drove to Miami from my house in Tampa. Before we left my pet dog, Davout (Dah-voo), and Adventure Dog looked at a map to see how many miles we were going to drive. From Tampa to Miami is 300 miles! It took us about five hours to drive to Miami.

Once we got here Adventure Dog was excited to meet some of my friends and go to the Key Biscayne Light House. This lighthouse is actually the oldest building in all of Miami! It was built in 1825 and most of the original structure exists to this day. We went to the top of the lighthouse and took some really great pictures! Adventure Dog was so brave-- we climbed all 110 steps together, and he didn't get scared once!

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse, which is about 100 feet tall!

We were also lucky enough to climb to the very highest part of the lighthouse, which is where the powerful Fresnel lens is located inside a glass room. The Fresnel lens was designed especially for lighthouses so that sailors at sea could more easily spot the light and navigate their ships away from the dangerous shoreline.

After we finished looking out from the top of the lighthouse, Adventure Dog and I went to visit the cottage where the original lighthouse keepers used to live. A lighthouse keeper is a person who was hired to make sure the lighthouse operated correctly every night.

Adventure Dog even got to meet a Florida Park Ranger! We took a picture with him after he gave us a tour of the cottage.

Adventure Dog also investigated a few coconut trees! He learned that coconuts have "hair" on the inside of their shells. The inside of the coconut seed, the white, fleshy part, is called the "meat" and is the edible portion. The milk of the coconut is drinkable, and is clear like water but tastes sweet.

Adventure Dog also wanted to let you know that his favorite plane we saw was the F-16 Fighting Falcon because it accelerated the fastest and could fly the highest! All of the planes we saw could be used to drop bombs; the predecessor of the B-50 Superfortress was the type of plane that dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which helped end World War II.

Adventure Dog actually got to visit an amusement park while my cousin Hunter was visiting me! We went on a roller coaster at Busch Gardens, the amusement park near my home in Tampa. I went to Disney many years ago, but where I really want to go is Sea World! Adventure Dog also said he'd like the chance to see more marine animals.

Speaking of marine animals, Adventure Dog is relieved that there haven't been any shark sightings in Florida recently. Fortunately there haven't been any shark attacks recently Dylan, which is good news for all the people who enjoy water sports like surfing! It is a good question to ask, though, because in December and January Australia had a slew of shark attacks that worried many people. Apparently the deadly Great White Shark was taking a bite out of Australian swimmers! According to National Geographic, there are only 16 shark attacks in the United States each year, but thankfully almost all of the victims survive; about one person dies every two years. It might also make you feel better to know that, while around 375 shark species have been identified, only about a dozen of these species have been known to attack humans. The most dangerous sharks are the Great White, the Tiger, and the Bull sharks. Here's a picture I found of a Great White Shark in Australia: I think it looks really scary!! I also can't believe how big this Tiger Shark is compared to the diver next to him! Here's a picture of a baby Bull Shark:

To answer Sonny's question, skate parks are really popular here when people want to skate instead of surf! In fact, a lot of my friends who go skating have said that some of the best skate parks in America are here. The only problem, they said, was that it's so hot that they get soaked in sweat once they start!! So after they skate they head to the beach for a swim to cool off.

Adventure Dog and I are amazed at how accurate Hunter and Theo's picture of a Floridian neighborhood is!! We love how you included details like a baseball field and a big yellow school bus. We also love the pool and the palm trees!! It looks a lot like the neighborhood I live in back in Tampa. You could even add in a few convertible cars (cars that have retractable roofs) if it's a hot Florida day! You two did a really great job!! I love it!

Sadly I have to say goodbye to Adventure Dog so he can travel to his next destination-- Tennessee!! He had a really great time here, and even has a few more pictures to share with you of him at my school.

If you have any more questions about Florida before our last post, feel free to let us know! :)

We're so jealous!

2009-01-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

Kelly -
Adventure Dog is so lucky to have you as a friend. We are all jealous of his trip with you to Macdill, and it looked like a beautiful Florida day.

As usual, we have some questions. What did A.D. say is his favorite plane? Did you take any pictures of the Base itself? Did you see any planes that would drop bombs? Does the park feature any military equipment in addition to the planes? Did you see any planes fly by while you were there? Did you see any very old planes?

In addition, we are curious about the following. Have you ever been over to Disney? Is there surfing in Florida? Sonny wants to know if there are many skate parks, and Dylan has to know if there have been any recent shark attacks.

Thanks for sharing so much of your vacation from school with us, and we can't wait to know a little more about University of Miami when you head back!

One more thing...we're posting a drawing that Theo and Hunter have been working on together during a few "indoor" recesses. It's their interpretation of an aerial view of a Florida neighborhood. (A little bit got trimmed off in the scanning process, but you'll get the idea.)

Trip to MacDill Air Force Base

2009-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hello! This weekend Adventure Dog and I went to MacDill Air Force Base, which is where the United States Central Command is located. The United States Central Command is the headquarters that is in charge of planning, coordinating, and executing military operations in the mideast, the Horn of Africa, and parts of central Asia. Historically, MacDill Air Force Base has been important in World War II and the Cold War. Many of the highest ranking officers of the Marines, Navy, Army, and Air Force are stationed there. Adventure Dog was excited to see MacDill Memorial Park, where we saw airplanes on display!

The first airplane we saw was the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, which is a propeller and jet-powered plane that was used by the Air Force after World War II. The B-50 Superfortress could reach speeds of 400 miles per hour! It was also the first plane ever to fly around the world non-stop, which was accomplished by refueling the plane in mid-air! The Lucky Lady II was the name of the B-50 that circumnavigated (circled) the earth in 1949.

The next plane we saw was an F-4 Phantom II, which is supersonic. This means it can fly faster than the speed of sound! It can fly 1,472 mph at an altitude of 40,000 feet. It was produced for the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy in the 1960s through the 1980s. This plane was often used for reconnaissance (which means gathering information through direct observation; in America, this is also known as “recon”) during the Vietnam War. Other countries, like Australia, Britain, Japan, and Germany, also used these planes. I found a really good picture of a squadron of F-4 planes flying over Florida on the Air Forces’ 50th Anniversary commemorative flight in 1997.

The last plane we saw was an F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is a jet fighter aircraft that has been used in many different ways, and its versatility has made it useful to the air forces of 25 other nations, including countries like Norway, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Chile, Morocco, and the Netherlands. This jet was first used in the 1980s, and it will continue to be used by the US Air Force until 2025. It reaches a maximum speed of 1,500 mph, which is even faster than the F-4 Phantom II! It can also fly at an altitude of over 60,000 feet. What’s really cool is that this jet can almost climb to its maximum altitude in just one minute! From takeoff, it will take only one minute for the jet to reach 50,000 feet, which is amazing. In comparison, the commercial air planes that most people use to travel only fly at a speed of around 600 mph at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

This is a picture of Adventure Dog on top of the Army Air Corps emblem. The Army Air Corps was the predecessor of the present-day Air Force, which wasn’t formed until 1947.

I hope you enjoy these pictures! Adventure Dog loved seeing the United States Central Command and MacDill Memorial Park, and we both had fun taking pictures with the planes! =)

Notes

2009-01-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

driving from FL to CT

favorite animal

how many beaches

what are you studying

Hiking in Wilderness Park

2009-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

Hello! I wish I could have snow here—I haven’t seen snow in a very long time! The farthest south it has ever snowed in the continental United States is on Miami Beach in 1977. It sometimes snows a little bit in Northern Florida, but rarely in Tampa and almost never in Miami. I have never seen it snow in Florida, but if it did I would be really excited since I love making snowmen and having snowball fights with my brother! =) I looked online and found a picture of the 1977 snowstorm—if you look in the background you can see palm trees!

Right now I would say it’s too cold for most Floridians to enjoy swimming in the ocean. The Gulf of Mexico, on Florida’s west coast, is usually slightly warmer than the Atlantic, so if I were to go swimming I’d try to swim there! While in some very cold places, like Canada, some people will swim in 65-75 degree water, most Floridians like the water to be between 80 and 90 degrees. In summer, once the sun sets, the ocean is actually warmer than the air, so it’s like taking a nice warm bath!

Around late March and early April it starts becoming hot enough again for us to swim in our pools. The farther south you get the warmer the weather. When I’m in Miami I always wear shorts, flip flops, and t-shirts, and can lay out by the ocean any time of year, but when I’m in Tampa (which is about a five hour drive north of Miami) I wear jeans and sometimes even a sweatshirt during winter. Right now it’s very warm though, so I haven’t had to wear a sweatshirt yet! The weather here has been sunny and gorgeous—Adventure Dog doesn’t want to come inside!

You’re right that most of Florida is in the same time zone as Connecticut—where I live in Florida is also in Eastern Standard Time, which is five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). GMT is the time at the earth’s longitude 0, which is also called the Prime Meridian. (The earth’s latitude 0 is the equator.) Most of Western Europe is on GMT. Only the far end of the upper west panhandle of FL is in the central time zone-- you can see which part by looking at the time zone map.

Adventure Dog saw a real live alligator today! We went hiking in a Florida wilderness park and we even got a few pictures of the trip! Paul’s question (how fast can alligators run) was a good thing to ask because you wouldn’t want to get in a race with an alligator! Alligators have been clocked at 27 mph, which is higher than the speed limit (25 mph) in my neighborhood! The average alligator can easily run 10 mph, and weighs 800 pounds and is 13 feet long. In comparison, Olympic runners can sprint for short distances at around 25 mph, which is extraordinarily fast, but still not fast enough to outrun a particularly determined alligator at close range. Some survival guides suggest that, if an alligator ever chases you from closer than fifteen feet away, you should run in a zig-zag pattern, swerving left and right, in order to discourage it from following you. Because of their size and body shape, it is harder for an alligator to make sharp turns. In other words, humans are more agile, but not faster, so we have to use that to our advantage. However, if the alligator is farther than fifteen feet away from you, you would be better off running in a straight line as fast as you can—humans can only out run an alligator over long distances, not sprints. The moral of the story is to never get too close to any alligator or lakes, rivers, and canals in Florida that you don’t know for sure are alligator-free. Adventure Dog decided to climb a tree so he could get a better look of the alligator's swamp!

Adventure Dog and I also saw a turtle on our hike, as well as an American White Ibis.
Here’s a picture of the ibis we saw. These birds are small and white with a long curved beak, and are special in Florida because they are the first birds to return after a hurricane or a storm.The mascot of my school is a white ibis named Sebastian! Here’s a picture of him:

There are indeed many pelicans in Florida! Thankfully they are not endangered like so many other Florida animals. Pelicans are actually found on every continent in the world except Antartica. The American White Pelican, the most common species found in North America, is protected by several migratory bird laws, but the population is numerous enough not to merit an endangered status. An interesting trivia fact I recently learned is that the famous Alkatraz Island is named for the word for “pelican” in Spanish!

I have been lucky enough to see a manatee in the ocean—I was on the Key Biscayne beach near Miami and I could see some in the shallow water by the shore. They are really peaceful, beautiful animals, and are really fun to watch!

If you are interested in learning more about endangered animals in America and in the rest of the world, I highly recommend visiting the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) website: www.worldwildlife.org. They have beautiful pictures and great information on all kinds of species, including Florida animals like marine turtles, dolphins, and the monarch butterfly, which migrates to Florida during the fall and winter.

The WWF also has information on how climate change will impact endangered species in Florida. As greenhouse gas emissions cause global temperatures to increase, the ice caps begin to melt. All that ice melting makes the oceans rise, which in turn means flooding on land. In fact, the Pacific Island Tuvalu is already being flooded and people have had to leave their homes. Because almost all of Florida is at sea level (meaning the land here is very flat and close to the ocean), if the oceans rise even a meter, most of Florida will be underwater, including my school and my home. All of the animals that depend on Florida’s wetlands will also lose their habitats. For more information on climate change, including the evidence for climate change and its impact, you can check out the helpful BBC climate change website: www.bbc.co.uk/climate/.

To answer your question about Santo Domingo, I have to say I've never met anyone from there, but since Miami is such an international city I'm sure there are people from Santo Domingo living there! That's one of the things I love most about Miami-- I have friends from all over the world, including Britain, India, Australia, Brazil, Cuba, and Russia. I love Florida's diversity!

I hope you're enjoying learning about Florida! Keep the questions coming-- Adventure Dog and I have so much to share with you! =)

Greetings from Grade 4

2009-01-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Kelly,

Thanks very much for taking care of A.D. and for the very long and interesting blog. We appreciate all of your effort and have learned a lot already.

We're expecting a snow and ice storm this afternoon. Have you ever had snow in Tampa? How about in Miami? Or is it warm all year around? Is it always warm enough to swim at the beach? We are checking on your weather and comparing it to ours. According to weatherchannel.com, today in Tampa is 79 degrees. Our temp today is 32 degrees.

We think that you are in our timezone. Is all of Florida in the same time zone?

Two of us our from Santo Domingo. Do you know anyone in Florida who has immigrated from there?

In talking about your wildlife, some students mentioned pelicans. Do you have any pelicans? Do you know if they are endangered like the manatees and panthers? Have you seen any manatees in the ocean? Paul wants to know how fast the alligators run!

Thanks for the manatee postcard as well.

Talk to you soon.

Grade 4

¡Hola de la Florida! Hello from Florida!

2009-01-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Mrs. Soulier’s Fourth Grade Class!

My name is Kelly and I’m Adventure Dog’s caretaker while he visits Florida! I took a picture of Adventure Dog relaxing by my pool drinking Florida's official state drink-- orange juice! He's also wearing my sunglasses, and so far he's having a great time! I'm really excited to share some interesting facts with you about Florida.

Florida is a unique state because it is a peninsula, which means it is almost completely surrounded by water. The Gulf of Mexico is on Florida’s west coast, and the Atlantic Ocean is on Florida’s east coast. Georgia and Alabama border Florida to the north.

The state reptile is the alligator, which is native only to America and China. At my school, the University of Miami, three alligators live in the big lake on campus. This means that no students are allowed to swim in the lake because it would be dangerous; alligators can easily out-swim and even out-run a human. Alligators live in many lakes and swamps in Florida, even in neighborhoods, because alligators are usually timid and scared of humans. There are signs in most neighborhoods that read, “Please do not feed the alligators.” This is because if humans feed the alligators, the alligators will get used to people and will no longer be afraid of us, and then they would become more likely to attack someone who accidentally got too close. Thankfully, alligator attacks remain very rare, and alligators have thrived despite being endangered. The alligator in the picture is one of the alligators that live in the lake at my school.

In addition to alligators, many other marine animals, like dolphins, manatees, and sharks, live in and around the state of Florida. When I visit the beach, I have to check with the lifeguard station to make sure there have been no shark sightings before I go into the water. If a shark has been seen swimming near the shore, the lifeguard puts out purple flags to warn everyone that dangerous marine life is in the water. If it’s safe to swim, the flags are green. If the weather is dangerous, the flags are red. This warning system is important because there are many tropical storms and hurricanes in Florida.

The state animal is the Florida Panther, which is currently one of the most endangered mammals on earth. Loss of habitat is the main culprit; because Florida’s population continues to grow every year, construction of cities and towns threatens wildlife, along with automobile collisions. Once on the verge of extinction, the Florida panther population is now around 100 felines. Awareness and public support for endangered species is key to ensuring that these animals won’t become extinct.

I live in Miami, which is the second largest city in Florida. A lot of people from Cuba immigrate to Florida, so there are a lot of people here who speak Spanish. In fact, the Miami Airport announces all flights in Spanish first, and then in English! Miami has a culture that is very heavily influenced by Cuban American music, art, literature, and food. There are a lot of restaurants where you can order Cuban food made by people who are really from Cuba! Some examples of Cuban food are Cuban pastries (pastries filled with guava fruit or meat) and arroz con pollo, pronounced “A-roz con poi-YO” (rice with chicken).

I like living in Florida because it is sub-tropical, so the weather is usually sunny and hot. I love to go to the beach on a sunny day to study and do my homework by the ocean! Many exotic plants and animals are native to Florida because of its climate, which is similar to the tropical climate found along the equator. Beautiful flowers like hibiscus grow here, as well as palm trees and banyan trees (the same trees that grow in Hawaii!). The summer is the wet season, which means it rains almost every day for a short period of time. During the summer months it will be sunny in the morning, and then in the afternoon it will suddenly start to rain for about half an hour, and then it will suddenly stop again and the sun will come right back out! The rain here is warm, and the droplets are really big and fat, so the short rain storms can be fun to watch. However, if it starts to thunder and lightning, it’s important that we go indoors for safety.

Tampa, my hometown, is the lightning capital of the world—more people are struck by lightning in Tampa than anywhere else on earth, which is why our hockey team is called the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa’s sports teams are becoming almost as famous as its lightning storms! A few years ago the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, which is the most important championship in hockey. The Tampa Bay football team, the Buccaneers, won the Super Bowl in 2002, and then the Tampa Bay baseball team, the Rays, played in the World Series this year, but we lost to Philadelphia. The Yankees even have a stadium in Tampa that they use during Spring Training, because the weather is so nice! Other Florida sports teams are also very famous, like the Miami Dolphins, who may play in the Super Bowl this year. The famous basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal, played with two Florida teams—the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.

Florida also boasts the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States, St. Augustine. St. Augustine was founded by Spanish conquistadors (conquerors) in 1565, almost fifty years before the first permanent English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. The famous Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon led the first European excursion into Florida while searching for the mythical Fountain of Youth. Ponce de Leon believed that the Fountain of Youth was in Florida, and that anyone who drank its water would become young again. While Ponce de Leon never discovered the magical fountain, St. Augustine has a national park called the Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park, and tourists often drink from the fountain built there. Today there are rumors of a secret society in St. Augustine that protects the Fountain of Youth from discovery and whose members are said to be extraordinarily aged, yet still appear young.

Nearly two hundred years after St. Augustine was established, the city came under British rule following a treaty ending the French and Indian War. During the American Revolution, St. Augustine was still under British rule and therefore was a Loyalist colony, meaning it did not want the American colonies to separate from England. However, since the American colonies won the Revolutionary War, the British were forced to relinquish control of St. Augustine and the city fell back into Spanish hands in 1783. All of the territories North of Florida became U.S. territories, but since Spain had helped the American colonies win independence from the British, they were given control over Florida. However, years later, from 1808 to 1812, Spain needed to concentrate its efforts in Europe because the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, was invading. Florida was peacefully ceded to America and became a territory and then eventually a state in 1845.

During the Civil War, which began in 1861, Florida seceded from the Union and became part of the Southern Confederacy. However, a small contingent of loyal Union soldiers were able to take back St. Augustine and the city remained in Union hands until the war ended in 1865, upon which time Florida rejoined the United States. The sixteenth U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, had succeeded in keeping the United States together, and ending slavery. However, the plight of Native Americans, such as the Seminole tribe in Florida, was still largely unacknowledged and ignored. Even today there are many injustices facing Native American communities who have had their land taken away from them by Spanish conquistadors and, later, by Americans. Of the many wars fought between the U.S. government and Native Americans, only one such war was won by Native Americans. The Florida Indian tribe, the Seminoles, was victorious in the Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War.

The Florida War was the most expensive Indian war fought by the U.S., and lasted longer than any other war between the American Revolution and Vietnam. The peace treaty that followed the Florida War is also the only treaty with Native Americans that the U.S. government has not broken or betrayed. Unfortunately, all other promises Americans have made to the Native Americans have been broken, and today some efforts are being made to repatriate (which means “to return”) sacred objects and remains that were stolen from Indians by the U.S. government. Today the Seminole tribe has its own museum that documents the history of their tribe and European settlement in Florida, and many important cultural artifacts are being returned and featured in the museum. The Seminole museum is called the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, which means "a place to learn." Pictured here is a young Seminole girl wearing traditional garb.

I hope you will enjoy the postcards I am sending in the mail and the pictures I post to your blog! I would love to answer any questions you may have about me or Florida. Adventure Dog and I look forward to telling you even more about my favorite state!

Love,

Kelly &
Adventure Dog

P.S. Here is a picture of me and a friend next to the Banyan tree! If you look closely you can see the many trunks of the tree, as well as roots hanging in the air dropping down to the ground below. This particular banyan tree's home is at my school, the University of Miami, in southern Florida.

FLORIDA FAST FACTS

Capital: Tallahassee
Date of Statehood: March 4, 1845
State Flower: Orange Blossom
State Tree: Sabal Palm
State Bird: Mockingbird
State Butterfly: Zebra Longwing
State Marine Animal: Manatee
State Saltwater Animal: Porpoise
State Motto: “In God We Trust”
State Gem: The Moonstone (In honor of Apollo 11 and the moon landing in 1969, which had launched out of Florida at Kennedy Space Center, pictured here)
State Beverage: Orange Juice
State Shell: The Horse Conch

2008-12-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

ad in the air...

2008-12-23T06:41:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share with you a couple of pictures that I took while on my journey with Adventure Dog back to Connecticut. I thought the class would like to see the bathroom signs at the airport to teach them two new Hawaiian words! Mahalo for letting AD visit me in Hawaii and I hope the rest of his travels are spectacular!
Aloha!

The Amazing Banyan Tree

2008-12-22T09:38:00.001-08:00

Aunty Sammy -

It was fun to see Adventure Dog visiting another school.

The Banyan tree sounded so amazing that we googled it. We never thought that a tree could have 12 trunks. Here is the picture we found on the Internet.

We all got a chance to visit with Adventure Dog today, and we're looking forward to seeing you at our Christmas Party tomorrow.

Adventure Dog is off to Florida next! He'll travel with Hunter by plane during Christmas vacation.

Adventure Dog Goes to School

2008-12-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

AD got a real treat on Wednesday, he was able to go to Mrs Royers 1st grade class at King Kamehameha III Elementary school. All of the kids were very impressed by his travels, and cant wait to start a similar project of their own. The school is on the grounds where King Kamehameha lived in his palace. Across the street is our world famous banyan tree. Its one single tree that takes up a whole city block. There are moss-like strings hanging off the branches and if you leave them alone, they grow into the ground and add another trunk to the tree. So even though its one tree it has a dozen or more "trunks" its so big that they have big pieces of wood holding it up so it wont break under its own weight. It is more than 100 years old!

He's very excited to be traveling on a plane today for home, but he is sad to leave Hawaii. He can't wait to see you all, and is getting very excited for Christmas.

What a great weekend! Mahalo!

2008-12-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

Aunty Sammy -

Thank you so much for sharing your weekend with Adventure Dog.

Your work looks like fun! Is it all rock music there or is there ever any traditional Hawaiian music at the Hard Rock?

The statues were awesome. Have you ever hula danced? We just started to read a book called "The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Kai'iulani of Hawai'i." We already learned that the Princess's dad was from Scotland. Mrs. Soulier is having trouble pronouncing all the names.

For morning work yesterday, we tried to spell as many words as we could using just the Hawaiian alphabet. We realized that only Paul and Malena from our class could spell their whole name. The longest word we came up with was pineapple!

It's 35 degrees F today but feels like 28! It's cloudy and was sleeting this morning and is supposed to snow and/or sleet tonight. Maybe school will be delayed tomorrow! (The weather channel says it's 74 degrees F in Lahaina today.) You better pack some warm clothes!

Well, we know that you are getting ready to come to Connecticut for Christmas, and it is time for A.D. to move on. You can either send him from Maui to his next stop or you can pack him with you, and we can send him off again from Milford. Let us know what is easier for you.

Aloha!

P.S. If "mahalo" is thank you, how do you say "you're welcome?"

P.S.S. Would you like to come to the Grade 4 Christmas Party on the 23rd? Mrs. Sullivan is planning it so it will be a lot of fun.

P.S.

2008-12-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

I forgot to tell you how we get from island to island! It really depends on which islands you are traveling to. For instance, the islands of Lana'i, Moloka'i, Maui and Kaho'olawe are very close to eachother and you can take a medium to large size boat. To get from one island to another when they are farther away, we need to take an airplane, or the 'super ferry' which is a very large boat,or barge, and takes much more time. It is too dangerous to take a medium or large boat this long of a distance.

2008-12-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

Aloha!

I attached some pictures of our weekend here in Hawaii. Unfortunately, it stayed pretty rainy this weekend, but usually it is beautiful weather here; about 84 degrees and sunny. We are very lucky and can go to the beach all year long.
One of the pictures I took is of the island of Lana'i, which you can see from where I live on Maui. I can't see any volcanoes from where I live, but the volcano that made up Maui, Haleakala, is only about an hour drive from my house. It is not an active volcano anymore, but is responsible for erupting the lava that made up this island.
To answer your other questions, I am not much of a surfer, but it's only because I'm pretty clumsy. Surfing is very popular here though, and I enjoy watching.
I like to eat fresh bananas, avacados, papaya and passion fruit that grow on trees here on the island.
Adventure Dog came to work with me this weekend at the Hard Rock Cafe, so I took a picture with him and I and some of my co-workers on the stage where we have rock bands play.
I hope that everyone had a great weekend and it wasn't too cold!!

Aloha!
Aunty Sammy and AD

Rainy here too!

2008-12-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Aunty Sammy -

Yesterday was rainy here as well. We have been checking your weather on weatherchannel.com and yesterday it said that it was 74F and fair. We guess the weatherman was thinking about your usual weather. It was very, very rainy here last night...lots of flooding this morning. It is about 45F here today and sunny but windy. The web says that your weather is 66F and partly cloudy.

A few more questions:
Do you get to go to the beach all year round? Do you go surfing?
Can you see volcanoes from where you live?
How do you usually get from one island to another?
What kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables do you enjoy on Maui?

We hope you, Oscar, and AD have a great weekend!

Rainy Day...

2008-12-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

Aloha Class!
Today was a very rainy day here in Hawaii, which is very unusual. I am pretty sure that it was raining on all of the islands, but definately on the island of Maui, which is where I live. There are eight main islands (over 100 little ones too), which make up the state of Hawaii. They are Ni'ihau, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lana'i, Kaua'i,Kaho'olawe, and the big island, which is actually named' Hawaii.
To answer your questions, there are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet: all of the vowels: a, e, i, o, u, (which are pronounced like spanish vowels in words), and the consonants are; h, k, l, m, n, p, and w. (the w is pronounced like a v when in the middle of a word, like the in the name of the island, Kaho'olawe). KA-HO-O-LA-VAY.
Our time difference now is that I am 5 hours behind. We don't have daylight savings time, so in the spring it will go up to 6 hours. So when you are reading this, AD, Oscar and I will be sleeping!
Hopefully the weather will be good this weekend so AD and I can go to the beach!
Aloha!!

Mahalo to Aunty Sammy

2008-12-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Aunty Sammy -

Aloha! Mahalo for taking care of A.D. for us. We would like to learn even more Hawaiian words and to learn a lot about where you live. We already have a question. Mrs. Sullivan told us that you are 5 or 6 hours earlier than us. Which is it now? We are on Eastern Standard Time right now. Please give Oscar an extra treat for sharing his bed with A.D. Aloha!

P.S. We are wondering how many letters there are in the Hawaiian alphabet.

ad's first nite

2008-12-11T02:22:00.000-08:00

My dog Oscar has been very kind to share his bed with Adventure Dog, especially since he doesn't take up much room!

Bon voyage, Adventure Dog

2008-12-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

Grade 4 packed Adventure Dog up today into his Priority Mail envelope. He is on his way to Lahaina, Hawaii. Have fun and be good, Adventure Dog. We can't wait to hear from you soon!

ABOUT THE MEMBERS OF SGS GRADE 4

2008-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

We want to give you some information about the class that sent you this dog. We are 11 boys and 10 girls. We are 8, 9, and 10 years old. We each filled out a survey in order to give you some insight as to our interests. Our answers are summarized below.
What is your favorite subject?
Spelling, Math, English, Gym, Social Studies, and Writing
“I love to go to…”
Arcades, J.C. Penney, ice rinks, Grandma’s house, basketball courts, skate parks, the beach, Florida, relatives’ houses, Target, the movies, and Nevada
What is your favorite thing to do?
Tae Kwon Do, play basketball, have sleepovers, play with friends, play in the snow at Grandma’s, play laser tag, skate board, play outside, go fishing, look for shells, go swimming, play video games, play baseball, read, read, read, dirt bike, horseback ride, and dance
Some great things about our school are…
Spirit Day, recess, learning, prayers, Sparkle (spelling game), gym, fun projects, music, friends, books
We think Adventure Dog will need…
A cool outfit, sunglasses, love and kindness, help being good, a Red Sox hat and shirt, a friend, a Yankee hat, a foam finger, a lap top, a cape with an A on it, a side kick, a pet, food, toys, a toothbrush, binoculars
We want to learn more about the United States, most especially:
What everybody does in the states they live in; baseball, politics; about different cultures; about Arizona, Nevada, New York City, Florida, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, etc.