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My Journal - April 2000 |
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Today we went to Water Mania. My favorite slide was one you go on with a sled thing face first on your belly. We went on that 3 times! Then we went on the slide next to it on a double inner tube! That was a closed slide and it was dark! I mean pitch black! Once in a while you saw a glow thing but it didn’t give off any real light. So that was fun! There were also two slides for double inner tubes. One I didn’t like because I was in front and we were plunging straight down! The other was a lot more fun ‘cause you either went backwards on the turns or you watched the other person go backwards on the turns.
There was also a "lazy river" that we went on with the inner tube. Altogether it was a great day!
Today, Claire and Nancy missed their plane! So they came with us to Tampa.
Today Claire and Nancy caught a plane and left. We went swimming, ran errands, watched TV and visited with my grandpa Bill and grandma Susan. The RV is being repaired and will be finished tomorrow.
It took all day for the RV to be fixed so we stayed another night in Tampa at my grandpa’s.
Today we left Tampa and went to Fort Frederica, Georgia. Kinda boring. We found another park and went to bed!
Today we went to Fort Pulaski (in Georgia) This fort was built of solid brick in 1829! It’s purpose was to guard Savannah from any further British attack. In the beginning of the Civil War, the South successfully took it from the North and held it for a little while. But on April 11, 1862, the North started 30 hours of bombardment. The North could reach the fort from their location on Tybee Island (one mile away) and vice versa. The only difference was that the North had new cannons to try out! They were called rifled cannons. The smoothbore was the old style. Rifled means a grooved inside that makes the bullet-shaped cannon ball spin, and the spinning makes it more accurate! So the outside of the fort walls, even today, have at least 4 unexploded cannon balls imbedded in them!
Next we went to Wormsloe, an old pre-revolutionary war plantation. Then we went to visit Brian (our kayak guide’s) house. We met his wife-to-be, Carrie, and went out to dinner with them. Then, as always, we went to bed!
Today, we first went to visit a Savannah house that was General William T Sherman’s headquarters. It was a typical civil war era southern home. It had beautiful chandeliers, beautiful furniture plus a little history of which I forgot, but it was very nice! Then we walked down to the river and stretched our legs a bit! We headed north to Charleston, South Carolina, found an Air Force base and went to bed.
Today we went to Fort Moultrie, then Fort Sumter! Moultrie was a small fort with a long history! It started as a palmetto log fort, back in the Revolutionary War! Palmetto logs absorb cannon blows, so it was a great advantage over the English, who where attacking Charleston harbor! They drove the British successfully back to the Atlantic! It’s cannon’s stood idle throughout the War of 1812! It’s next service was to the confederacy! It fired on Fort Sumter, which we then took a ferry to see, since it can only be reached by boat! A man by the name of Anderson and 83 men evacuated Fort Moultrie, going under cover of night to Fort Sumter, which is the easiest of all the Charleston Forts to defend! 34 hours of heavy fire later the white flag flew over Fort Sumter! The next day the first two casualty’s of the Civil War occurred by accident! Fort Sumter at the time had three stories, I saw only one! When we got off the ferry we headed right for the the Air Force Base just as it began to rain! We hung out for the rest of the day! Till bed that is!
Today we went to Magnolia Plantation! We went on a train ride and in a cool maze! The house we didn’t see, but the gardens needed attention! There were lots and lots of Azalea’s everywhere! We went on the watch tower and looked at the vast rice fields! We then went to Blockbuster and watched a movie or two! Then we went to bed!
Today we took a boring, 2 hour architeture tour! There wasn’t very many interesting houses! There was a few 1700’s building’s, but most of them burned down! Then we went for another 2 hour walk on our own! Then we went to AFB and went to bed!
Today we drove across South Carolina to Ninety Six! An old american revolution town! We walked a mile long trail and I got "Heroines of the American Revolution" at the Visitors Center! Then we went to Columbia!
We spent the night with friends in the house!
Today we went with Janie to the state capitol building, where a bunch of demonstrators where flying the Confederate flag! There were the people with the American flag that where "battling" the others! Then we drove to the school where Janie teaches art! We saw her classroom in the three story brand new brick spacious building! The halls and stair cases where very wide and they even had an elevator! The glass-block, carpeted gym was also large and open! It smelled like new paint in the halls and cafeteria! They even had a security guard on duty! We had to leave then to go to Ashville, so we left! We reached out campsite at dark and went to bed!
Today it rained! So we only looked at the Biltmore gardens from the car! We sat all day pretty much! Then we went, as usual, to bed!
Today we set out on the Blue Ridge Parkway! We made two stops, although you couldn’t see a thing through the fog! The Folk Arts Center was great! So was the other place! We got to Vicki’s place late so we went to bed!
Today we watched TV, rented movies, then we went to sleep? No to BED!
This morning I watched my movie one more time, then we went for a little walk in the woods! Just a little way out we found this little black snake in a tree! Then we drove to WalMart for the night!
Today we went to see Fort Raleigh (the lost colony!) The first baby born to English born parents was named Virginia Dare after the colony and on my birthday, August, 18,1587, 402 years before I was born! Anyway the Governor of the lost colony was John White an artist. He had to leave on business, and 3 years later when he came back they were gone! Everyone in the colony was gone! So that’s why it’s called the lost colony! Then we went to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk! I learned that the first flight went 125 ft in 12 seconds! The second went 175 ft, the third went 200 ft, and the fourth, in which the plane crashed, went 825 ft in about 1 minute! We climbed the hill to the memorial on top! Then went off to camp! Then we went to bed!
Today! First we went to Jamestown! Jamestown was the town 100yrs or so after the lost colony and about 100yrs before Plymouth Rock! (They very proudly state) The visitor center was crowded so we got my junior ranger booklet and went on the tour! Th tour was OK, the man leading was really funny! He was ecstatic about Jamestown being founded before Plymouth! Then we went to Yorktown. I didn’t do much but run around looking for answers to my junior ranger questions! So then we went to our camp! Last night we had a big storm with really hard rain and lightning and very loud thunder! Tonight is nice and calm for sleep!
Today we went to Williamsburg! It was a miniature Disney world except they where authentic and Disney’s a fake! We went in so many old revolutionary homes! Some of them have people living in them! The highlight for me was when John Randolph was leaving to go to congress! He made a speech, then a real fancy carriage came in the middle of the crowd! I don’t have much to say because I’m all ready to read and I can’t just tell you everything. It’s the end of a chapter so I must leave you hanging like my book is me! So then as most of us do before 12 and the usual thing for us we went to bed!
Today we drove 3 hours back into North Carolina to look at a boat called the Little Sinbad that looks a bit like a patchwork quilt right now but its not finished yet! Its make of steal, all steal! It’s 46 ft long and about 13 ft wide! This is the first that was ever made! They also had a very friendly cat named Abigail that lives there full time! We then went and did our laundry! Then we drove the 3 1/2 hours back to Virginia! Then just outside Petersburg we found a campsite for bed!
Today, we went for a walk in Richmond and got soaked in the rain. We also walked the siege lines of Petersburg. (A ranger looked exactly like a bigger version of my friend Josh.) I also met another very nice ranger and, as usual, we then went to _ _ _!
First of all, we went to Appomattox Court House. Lee signed the surrender papers in Mr. McLeans’ house, who could rightfully say that the war started in his front yard and ended in his living room! We saw the McLean house. It wasn’t all that special looking, but it was fixed up to when Lee and Grant were there! Appomattox was a tiny town. From the court house, which was in the middle, you could see from end to end. Then we went to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home.
In his house, he had a revolving book stand, a revolving chair, a bed between two rooms, a revolving door, an immense private library and last but not least, a staircase with barely enough room for one person to go up! The grounds weren’t as grand with just a middle vegetable garden and small flower garden. We walked back to the car through the woods and set off for Washington, D.C.
Today we got up and did an Easter egg hunt! There was one golf ball and whoever found it got a hollow chocolate bunny! I guessed the hiding place, but Evan nearly got it when it hit the ground. For the rest of the day we played, then slept.
Today we went to Washington, D.C. First we went to our senator’s office (Ted Stevens) and got tickets they had for us. Then we walked around for a little while to explore Capitol Hill. Then we went back to Uncle Mike’s place on the Metro. We stayed up a little while, then went to bed!
Today, we went first thing to the White House for a tour. We didn’t get to see very much. But the little we did see was beautiful! There was very rich red in the red room, an emerald green in the green room, and rich gold and fabulous yellow and deep red in another room. There was a deep, rich red carpet, and then quite suddenly we were done. One thing can describe my misery outside. It poured, it rained so hard huge puddles formed just waiting for unwary feet! I got caught twice! We trudged around Washington D.C. with soaked, cold feet, two umbrellas, and spent the day at two Smithsonian Museums. (Natural History and American History) Finally, we went home to a heater and a nice comfortable, warm, soft bed!
Today was much more enjoyable than yesterday, mostly because it only barely drizzled! So first we got off at Ford’s Theatre were President Lincoln was shot! His booth was still there, too! We went across the street to the house where he died. That was very quick, so I can’t tell you much except that he died in a very tiny room. Then we went to the FBI building, except that all the tours were done. So then we walked to the Lincoln, FDR, Jefferson, Vietnam, Korea Memorials and Washington Monument. Then we went back home to bed!
First we went to the Capitol to witness a vote in the Senate. The line didn’t move quick enough so we barely saw the end. Then we went to the Supreme Court building, where we had lunch. The "tour" only took you to the large court room! This room is made from all foreign materials, mostly stone. Then we went across the street to a Senate conference room to listen to the end of a hearing about the National Park Service such and such. Then we went to the Library of Congress, which was celebrating it’s 200th birthday. Then we read and went home.
Today I stayed at Uncle Mike’s house, read, went to bed.
Today I read, then we went to see Clara Barton’s last house! (This was the headquarters of the Red Cross) Then I read again and now we have guests (uncle, aunt, and cousins.) We didn’t visit very long, then we went to bed!
Today we swam at the YMCA and read! Mama and Dad went to a hotel for the night. Then I went to BED!
