A.D. in Nashville

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

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."

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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/

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

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

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.

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

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! :)