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December 31, 2008 – Caribbean I like fishing a lot!!! We have caught so many fish that sometimes
we have to throw them back in the water. My favorite fish was the king fish that was only a foot long, we threw it back to
grow bigger. My favorite part so far was visiting Mosquito Bay. When you jump in the water you glow. You could also see the
flying fish jumping out of the water even though it was dark. School is great. My mom is teaching me a lot. My favorite subject is History. In history, I’ve learned about
many famous Americans. Some of my favorites are John Paul Jones, Patrick Henry, Albert Einstein, Nathan Hale, Ulysses S. Grant,
and Ben Franklin. My least favorite subject is Spelling but my mom says that I have to learn to spell. I have to take Spelling
and Math tests just like kids at home. The subjects that I study are Reading, Critical Thinking, Phonics, History, Spelling,
Math, Gods of Greece, , and Geography.
March 2009 - Panama Canal We are at the
mouth of the Panama canal. When Teddy Roosevelt was president the French tried
to build the Panama canal. But too many people died because mosquitoes, 20,000 people died
and they stopped. So the Americans tried to build the canal and they did it! The Americans lost 5,000
lives. The Panama Canal is very important to the world because now ships can go through central
America instead of going all the way around South America to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. April 2009 - Galapagos On 3/31/09 we got to the Galapagos. On the first day we saw lots of sea lions. The Galapagos is known for its cool
species of all different animals. We saw boobies, iguanas, sea lions, and tortoises. In Santa Cruz, the Lynch’s came.
They stayed for a few days and then they left. When they were here we jumped off cliffs and also rode horse and went to the
beach. We had a lot of fun with them. I had a lot of fun playing with Jack again. I liked the food here, too. I liked the
Galapagos, it was my favorite place so far. July 2, 2009 - Tahiti We went to Tahiti. There was a big city there. We met two kids boat
named All the Colors and Hip Nautical. The kids names are Jack, Alistair, Monica, and Robin. We also caught up with our friends,
Seth and Elizabeth on Honey moon and Orono I, and Arielle. We did the Rendezvous which is a race to Moorea which is 15 miles. You couldn’t use your motor so we had to sail.
There wasn’t much wind so we went slow. We didn’t win but we beat Honeymoon and a few other boats. But we had
fun. When we got to Moorea we played on the beach and I made a tree house. We also watched Polynesian dancing and games. There
were also awards. It was a fun week playing with our friends. Sept 9, 2009 - Niue Niue is my favorite place that we have been to on this trip. The hikes were awesome. Some of my favorite hikes were the
Togo Chasm and all of the caves. The whales
in Niue come right into the anchorage. These whales are Humpbacks which are named by the hump on their back when they jump
out of the water. Humpbacks are very large baleen whales. Baleen whales do not have any teeth but instead have something like
a giant toothbrush in their mouth that only lets tiny foods like krill, plankton, and shrimp come in. The humpback whales
are one of the most active whales on earth so you can often see them jumping out of the water. The humpbacks grow to 15 M
which is about 50 ft. The whales that were by our boat were a little smaller maybe 35 ft. The tailfin can be 5.5 Meters across.
I really liked seeing them put their tales in the air. I really,
really liked Niue. You should come and visit it too. It is the coolest experience that we have had so far.
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June
2010 - Fiji My
favorite thing I did in Fiji was probably lobster catching. It was fun. We went at night. (I was sort of scared because sharks
are most active at night.) But we couldn’t go at day because lobsters only come out at night!!! I don’t know why
they only come out at night. If I were a lobster I would come out at day. Anyway we caught 3 lobsters and 1 fish. You probably
don’t think it’s a lot but … IT IS a lot. The natives get tons and tons of fish and lobster. Their fish
and lobsters are usually bigger than ours. Their lobsters are huge. Their fish are even bigger. That’s about it. Oh
I forgot that bit. We went with 2 other boats and we caught the most that night.
July 2010 - Vanuatu Then we went to Vanuatu. There was a big volcano. We went to the highest
point. There were a bunch of little explosions. Then there was a huge explosion. Dad was even scared. Every one was scared.
There was a stampede to the cars. (No I’m not kidding it was really a stampede.) Then at night
we saw a dim light in the sky. We called it a moon bow. It is a rainbow but the moon is the light that reflecting.
August 12, 2010 - Darwin, Australia We went to Australia. It
was a 10 day passage to get there. It was an OK passage. No one got sick but it was
kind of annoying. We made landfall at Thursday Island. We only stayed there for three
days. On the first day we relaxed and on the second day we looked at the town. It wasn’t
a big town but at least it was a town. Up at shore there was a little park. We
played there for an hour and on the last day we did shopping and email.
Then we started getting ready
for another passage so we had to take down the laundry, put away the toothbrushes, lift up the anchor, and sail away.
Darwin
was our next big stop in Australia. It was a big city alright. There were bunches of
places to shop like Target, Woolworths, Big W, and Kmart. I got a Lego Millenium Falcon.
We also caught up with our friends, PJ and Heidi, on Orono I there. We rented a car and started driving
south. There were a ton of termite mounds and two wallabies. We stayed at a hotel that
had AC. We went on two crocodile cruises. On the first one, we saw salties (saltwater
crocs) and on the second one we saw freshies (freshwater crocs). When we got back to Darwin, we went to
the Crocosaurus Cove and saw the movie star, Burt, from Crocodile Dundee.
August 30, 2010 -
Flores, Indonesia When we left Darwin, we sailed three days and arrived in Kupang, Indonesia. It was a dirty city
and the whole beach was gross with litter. There were a lot of motorcycles running everywhere. After Kupang, we went to Flores.
The village where we were had a nice beach. A man, named Patrick, came and invited us to the village
and his house. When we went to the village, we were invited to school. The kids at the
school were nice but they kept touching our hair.
After Waimalung, we went to another anchorage. There was a bar
and a tour center there. Mom and Dad scheduled an all day tour. We came up for dinner
and saw a lot of dancing.
Then we woke up at 4 AM just to catch the bus for the tour. We went to the tri-color lakes - #1
lake was blue, #2 lake was black, and #3 lake was green. He reason the lakes are colorful is because of
the chemicals from the volcano. Then we went to two villages and they both had a feast but I didn’t
really like the food.
September
4th, 2010 - Gilli Bodo, Flores, Indonesia Happy Birthday, Grant!!! I had a great 10th birthday. I got a pocket knife,
my favorite book, a Prince of Persia Lego ship, a water gun, a bracelet, a bag of Lego, a wallet, and the game Greed.
We celebrated my birthday on the beach. We had a water balloon fight and tug of war.
Then we watched Lightning Thief. We had a sleepover.
September 12th, 2010 - Komodo National Park,
Flores, Indonesia Then
we went to Komodo. We went up to shore and there was a komodo dragon just laying like a bump on a log.
We took a one hour walking tour with a guide. We saw lots of dragons, a water buffalo, and monkeys.
I thought the dragon would be more active. August 12, 2010 - Darwin, Australia We went to Australia. It was a 10 day passage to get there.
It was an OK passage. No one got sick but it was kind of annoying. We made landfall
at Thursday Island. We only stayed there for three days. On the first day we relaxed
and on the second day we looked at the town. It wasn’t a big town but at least it was a town.
Up at shore there was a little park. We played there for an hour and on the last day we did shopping
and email.
Then we started getting ready for another passage so we had to take down the laundry, put away the toothbrushes,
lift up the anchor, and sail away.
Darwin was our next big stop in Australia. It was a big city alright.
There were bunches of places to shop like Target, Woolworths, Big W, and Kmart. I got a Lego Millenium
Falcon. We also caught up with our friends, PJ and Heidi, on Orono I there. We rented a car and started
driving south. There were a ton of termite mounds and two wallabies. We stayed at a
hotel that had AC. We went on two crocodile cruises. On the first one, we saw salties
(saltwater crocs) and on the second one we saw freshies (freshwater crocs). When we got back to Darwin,
we went to the Crocosaurus Cove and saw the movie star, Burt, from Crocodile Dundee.
August 30, 2010 -
Flores, Indonesia When we left Darwin, we sailed three days and arrived in Kupang, Indonesia. It was a dirty city
and the whole beach was gross with litter. There were a lot of motorcycles running everywhere. After Kupang, we went to Flores.
The village where we were had a nice beach. A man, named Patrick, came and invited us to the village
and his house. When we went to the village, we were invited to school. The kids at the
school were nice but they kept touching our hair.
After Waimalung, we went to another anchorage. There was a bar
and a tour center there. Mom and Dad scheduled an all day tour. We came up for dinner
and saw a lot of dancing.
Then we woke up at 4 AM just to catch the bus for the tour. We went to the tri-color lakes - #1
lake was blue, #2 lake was black, and #3 lake was green. He reason the lakes are colorful is because of
the chemicals from the volcano. Then we went to two villages and they both had a feast but I didn’t
really like the food.
September
4th, 2010 - Gilli Bodo, Flores, Indonesia Happy Birthday, Grant!!! I had a great 10th birthday. I got a pocket knife,
my favorite book, a Prince of Persia Lego ship, a water gun, a bracelet, a bag of Lego, a wallet, and the game Greed.
We celebrated my birthday on the beach. We had a water balloon fight and tug of war.
Then we watched Lightning Thief. We had a sleepover.
September 12th, 2010 - Komodo National Park,
Flores, Indonesia Then
we went to Komodo. We went up to shore and there was a komodo dragon just laying like a bump on a log.
We took a one hour walking tour with a guide. We saw lots of dragons, a water buffalo, and monkeys.
I thought the dragon would be more active. August
12, 2010 - Darwin, Australia We
went to Australia. It was a 10 day passage to get there. It was an OK passage.
No one got sick but it was kind of annoying. We made landfall at Thursday Island. We
only stayed there for three days. On the first day we relaxed and on the second day we looked at the town.
It wasn’t a big town but at least it was a town. Up at shore there was a little park.
We played there for an hour and on the last day we did shopping and email.
Then we started getting ready
for another passage so we had to take down the laundry, put away the toothbrushes, lift up the anchor, and sail away.
Darwin
was our next big stop in Australia. It was a big city alright. There were bunches of
places to shop like Target, Woolworths, Big W, and Kmart. I got a Lego Millenium Falcon.
We also caught up with our friends, PJ and Heidi, on Orono I there. We rented a car and started driving
south. There were a ton of termite mounds and two wallabies. We stayed at a hotel that
had AC. We went on two crocodile cruises. On the first one, we saw salties (saltwater
crocs) and on the second one we saw freshies (freshwater crocs). When we got back to Darwin, we went to
the Crocosaurus Cove and saw the movie star, Burt, from Crocodile Dundee.
August 30, 2010 -
Flores, Indonesia When we left Darwin, we sailed three days and arrived in Kupang, Indonesia. It was a dirty city
and the whole beach was gross with litter. There were a lot of motorcycles running everywhere. After Kupang, we went to Flores.
The village where we were had a nice beach. A man, named Patrick, came and invited us to the village
and his house. When we went to the village, we were invited to school. The kids at the
school were nice but they kept touching our hair.
After Waimalung, we went to another anchorage. There was a bar
and a tour center there. Mom and Dad scheduled an all day tour. We came up for dinner
and saw a lot of dancing.
Then we woke up at 4 AM just to catch the bus for the tour. We went to the tri-color lakes - #1
lake was blue, #2 lake was black, and #3 lake was green. He reason the lakes are colorful is because of
the chemicals from the volcano. Then we went to two villages and they both had a feast but I didn’t
really like the food.
September
4th, 2010 - Gilli Bodo, Flores, Indonesia Happy Birthday, Grant!!! I had a great 10th birthday. I got a pocket knife,
my favorite book, a Prince of Persia Lego ship, a water gun, a bracelet, a bag of Lego, a wallet, and the game Greed.
We celebrated my birthday on the beach. We had a water balloon fight and tug of war.
Then we watched Lightning Thief. We had a sleepover.
September 12th, 2010 - Komodo National Park,
Flores, Indonesia Then we went to Komodo. We went up to shore and there was a komodo dragon just laying like a bump
on a log. We took a one hour walking tour with a guide. We saw lots of dragons, a water
buffalo, and monkeys. I thought the dragon would be more active.
April 10, 2011 - Egypt
The Great Pyramids
When we left Chicago everyone picked one thing that they
wanted to see, Caroline wanted to see the Eifel Tower, Noah wanted to see the great Sphinx, and I wanted to see the great
pyramids.
The
pyramids are huge and awesome. They were bigger than I would have ever imagined. They are in Giza which
is right outside of Cairo. There are three of them that are all in a diagonal line and they are 200 to 300 meters apart.
It took 20 years to build one pyramid. The Pharaoh Khufu owned the biggest one. His son Pharaoh
Khafre owned the medium one and Pharaoh Menkaure owned the small one. They are the oldest Wonder of the Ancient
World that still exists. The pyramids were made to be pharaoh’s tombs. The first
pyramid, Khufu’s, was built in 2560BC which is about 4500 years old. How they were made is still
a mystery but people think that the workers made a dirt ramp and drug stones to the top of the pyramids. Some people think
that aliens built them because they are so complicated. Crazy huh. Khufu is the largest of the three pyramids.
It was the tallest man made structure ever built until modern times. It is 480 feet tall and is
made of 2.3 million blocks. Inside the pyramids, the King’s chamber is the highest. Menkaure
is the smallest pyramid but the tomb is very complex.
Eventually the pyramids were robbed of their treasures. The
pharaohs began to make their tombs further south in the Valley of the Kings so that robbers couldn’t find them.
The only downside about visiting the
pyramids was the many, many tourist thirsty souvenir sellers and camel owners. They were everywhere!
They would never leave us alone even when we said “No”. One of them even tried to buy
Caroline for 400 camels.
This
was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. Well, scratch the tourist thirsty sellers but the pyramids were breathtaking!
The Great Pyramids
When we left Chicago everyone picked one thing that they
wanted to see, Caroline wanted to see the Eifel Tower, Noah wanted to see the great Sphinx, and I wanted to see the great
pyramids.
The
pyramids are huge and awesome. They were bigger than I would have ever imagined. They are in Giza which
is right outside of Cairo. There are three of them that are all in a diagonal line and they are 200 to 300 meters apart.
It took 20 years to build one pyramid. The Pharaoh Khufu owned the biggest one. His son Pharaoh
Khafre owned the medium one and Pharaoh Menkaure owned the small one. They are the oldest Wonder of the Ancient
World that still exists. The pyramids were made to be pharaoh’s tombs. The first
pyramid, Khufu’s, was built in 2560BC which is about 4500 years old. How they were made is still
a mystery but people think that the workers made a dirt ramp and drug stones to the top of the pyramids. Some people think
that aliens built them because they are so complicated. Crazy huh. Khufu is the largest of the three pyramids.
It was the tallest man made structure ever built until modern times. It is 480 feet tall and is
made of 2.3 million blocks. Inside the pyramids, the King’s chamber is the highest. Menkaure
is the smallest pyramid but the tomb is very complex.
Eventually the pyramids were robbed of their treasures. The
pharaohs began to make their tombs further south in the Valley of the Kings so that robbers couldn’t find them.
The only downside about visiting the
pyramids was the many, many tourist thirsty souvenir sellers and camel owners. They were everywhere!
They would never leave us alone even when we said “No”. One of them even tried to buy
Caroline for 400 camels.
This
was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. Well, scratch the tourist thirsty sellers but the pyramids were breathtaking!
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