Road Trip Thursday - Day 8

Well, Mother Nature let me keep my promise to my fellow travelers - that if we had nice weather, we'd go outside and play football, in honor of both last week's Tennessee Titans and this week's Crimson Tide. We had nice weather, so we did play some highly improvisational touch football.

(Many thanks to everyone who explained my referee calls to me as we went along...)

However, before we did that, we did actually learn a little something about Alabama. We learned that their state nut is the pecan, their state flower is the camellia, and their state fruit is the peach.

Next, we learned about Helen Keller, who was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880, and who was the first deafblind person to graduate with a bachelor's degree from college.

But then, football.

Catch us next week as we wrap up our trip in sunny Florida!

Photo courtesy of GioPhotos via Creative Commons

Road Trip Thursday - Day 7

I could not, in good conscience, drive our car into Tennessee without touching on its glorious recording industry. So, as we munched on our cornbread, we listened to Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, and - of course - Elvis Presley.

Then, we read all about the Great Smoky Mountains and the different wild animals that live there - particularly black bears, wrapping up by singing the perennial camp favorite, "I Met a Bear."

Now, a word on football.

My traveling companions had expressed a desire to visit the Tennessee Titans. My original plan was to head outdoors and toss the old pigskin around. And then it poured down rain.

Plan B? To catch some of the team's 2010 highlights on YouTube. 20 minutes of technical difficulties later, I scrapped that, too.

Plan C? Paper footballs, of course!

Ah, well. We're headed to 'Bama next week. We'll get some good football in then.

(Weather permitting.)

Photo taken by me, courtesy of me. Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee.

Road Trip Thursday - Day 6

Seeing as how Famous Illinois People Pictionary was such a hoot last week, we started this week off with Famous Missouri People Pictionary.

You'd think I'd have learned from years and years of being the worst person at the Pictionary table that I am not good at turning words into images, but I can't help myself. To me, being laughably bad at something just means you get to laugh a lot. My apologies to my road-trippers, as well as to Scott Joplin, Ryan Howard, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Our snack for the day was iced tea and cookies. Legend has it that iced tea was invented at the World's Fair held in St. Louis in 1904, but many sources, including our book for the week - Meet Me in St. Louis : A Trip to the 1904 World's Fair - say that iced tea was probably already in existence before the fair. Still, all agree that the drink is probably as popular as it is today thanks in part to the 1904 World's Fair.

After the World's Fair, we pulled up our chairs to watch part of a video about the Gateway Arch, right in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri. Did you know that at 630 feet, the arch is the tallest man-made arch in the world, and that it's over twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty?

(Neither did we.)

We wrapped up our day by looking ahead to next week, when we visit Tennessee - home to Vanderbilt University, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Tennessee Titans.

(To me, though, it'll always be Graceland.)

See you there.

Road Trip Thursday - Day Five

It was bound to happen eventually. I lost my voice.

Yup, the autumn ick has swept through the library staff, and I am its most recent victim. Still, I wasn't going to let a little thing like not being able to talk get in the way of our trip to Chicago, now was I?

We started off with some deep dish pizza, and went straight into Famous Residents of Illinois Pictionary - a great game for the artsy and vocally challenged. (Well, the vocally challenged, anyway. Artsy, I am not.) I had barely finished the top hat before our car collectively shouted "Lincoln!" I wasn't nearly as handy with Walt Disney, but my Michael Jordan got at least one guess.

Next we read about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and how it burned down an enormous portion the city. (We = not me; thanks to everyone who helped out by reading a section aloud.)

Finally, we looked at our trusty atlas and mapped out the rest of our trip - next stop Missouri, and then on to Tennessee, Alabama, and finally, Florida.

See you there.

Public domain photo via Wikipedia

Road Trip Thursday - Day Four

It was very hard for me to not sing Cleveland Rocks! all day yesterday, knowing that we were headed for Ohio as part of Road Trip Thursday.

First we talked a little bit about some of Ohio's state symbols, and how many of them seem to be bright red. For example, the state flower is the red carnation. The state beverage (to my dismay) is tomato juice. The state bird is the cardinal, and the state insect, the ladybug. (Interested in finding out more about Ohio? Of course you are!)

Then we read One Giant Leap: The Story of Neil Armstrong, seeing as how the first man on the moon was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

The optimal snack for the Buckeye State would have been buckeyes, of course, but since I didn't want to tempt the allergenic fates (and since 3-way chili is way, WAY too much of a meal so close to dinnertime), I opted for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, in honor of the Annual Circleville Pumpkin Show. (And because, let's be honest, I like to make them.)

Side note: I cannot convey to you in words how good 3-way, Cincinnati-style chili is. Please, treat yourself.

Finally, in tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we played a little name that tune. (Or rather, name that artist.)

Join us next week as we head west toward the Windy City!

Photo thanks to Mini D at Flickr via Creative Commons

Road Trip Thursday - Day Three

I'll come right out and confess that I'm from upstate New York. Therefore, I have a pretty big chip on my shoulder when it comes to New York City vs. The Entire Rest Of The State issues.

However, when we've only got 45 minutes in which to explore a state that hosts what is arguably the cultural capital of our nation, NYC is going to get the attention, and upstate New York just...isn't.

We started today by reading a selection from Ballpark: The History of America's Baseball Fields, since there was a strong desire in our car to visit Yankee Stadium. We learned all about the House that Ruth Built - and about how the Babe actually started his career with the Red Sox. (And let me tell you, there was a very strong outcry in our car when that little bit of news was shared... We have some die-hard Yankee fans around here!)

After Yankee Stadium, we went and built ourselves the Statue of Liberty, using only paper towel tubes, pipe cleaners, paper plates, and human beings. How we ended up with three torches, I still don't know, but now she has two spares...

As for upstate New York, the aforementioned Entire Rest Of The State? Well, we sampled some apple cider and listened to Low Bridge.

Ah, well. I will somehow manage to hold my head up when I cross the state line at Christmas.

Join us next week when we arrive in the Buckeye state!

Photo public domain via Wikipedia

Road Trip Thursday - Day Two

We started our first day of driving by eating unattractive (my fault) but very tasty (again, my fault) blueberry muffins in anticipation of our destination - Maine, which produces 98% of the low-bush blueberries in our nation. Who knew?

As we drove, learned about state symbols (moose, pine tree, honeybee) and a little state history and culture (23rd state, entered the union in 1820, big on seafood).

Next we read the Caldecott Award-winning book Time of Wonder, by Robert McCloskey, who lived many years in Maine and set several of his books there.

Finally, we visited the kids page of Maine.gov which offers many resources to help learn about the history and culture of the state.

Join us next week as we tackle the Empire State!

Photo public domain, via Wikipedia

Road Trip Thursday - Day One

And they're off! Day One of Road Trip Thursday found our fearless and energetic travelers ready to hit the road. But before we could, we had to lay down some road rules.

First, Miss Angela is the driver, and you should always be respectful of the person driving.

Secondly, we can only drive 500 miles in a day. Anything more and Miss Angela's eyes start to go buggy.

Finally, when deciding on our destinations and activities, we must work together. Road-tripping with a group is all about sharing the decision-making.

Aiming for Maine!

After visiting our reference section and checking out some atlases, our travelers chose a few states they'd like to visit over the course of the next 8 weeks, including: Maine, Ohio, Florida, and Alabama.

So, we'll be heading toward Maine next week, with stops in some New England states along the way. We'll see the sights, talk about the local culture and history, and certainly taste some regional flavors.

Until next time!

Photo courtesy of Fundamentaldan via Creative Commons License 2.5