Hello Everyone!
I'm writing this post from the comfort of our house. We arrived last night at 12:09. The picture that I took for the previous post was snapped just as we pulled up and I immediately posted it. However, this post is not about last night or today but rather about the last several days. I'm sorry that there aren't any pictures, but is very difficult to get pictures from my iPod on this blog. But, I am working on a slide show of pictures from our whole trip. Many are ones that my Mom and Dad took and are spectacular pictures. I will try to get that on by tomorrow night.
Day 13:
We left Maine and started south. On the way, Dad saw a sign for Lowell National Park. Lowell was the first industrial factory in the United States. He decided to stop there. It was very interesting. We got to see fabric weavers in progress, as well as read and learn about the beginning of the Industrial Revolution as well as the conditions of factories during that time. We stayed there for three hours and then continued down the road. We made it to Albany, where we stayed the night.
Day 14:
We left Albany and drove. and drove. and drove. We made it to Fremont Ohio, which is outside of Toledo. Not much happened, except that this was the last night we stayed in a hotel.
Day 15:
The final day of the trip! (Sort of. I'll get to that in a second) While eating breakfast, we noticed a flier on the table. It was advertising the Presidential museum/library of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president. It is not an 'Official' Presidential library, because it is not affiliated with the Federal Government, but that didn't mean it wasn't a great museum! We got to learn about Hayes' life in the military, governorship, presidency, and his life afterwards. There was also an exhibit on the War of 1812 in Ohio, as well as an extensive weapons collection which included pieces of the USS Maine, weapons carried by men killed at Lexington green, as well as cannonballs fired from every war up until the Spanish-American War. There were also many Chinese weapons from the Chinese Boxer's rebellion. We spent several hours there before hitting the road. We stopped at our first Steak'nShake ever. It was really, really good. It was so good in fact, that we ate there for dinner to! We entered Iowa at around 8 o'clock and
Day 16:
got home at 12:09, just 9 minutes into day #16. We were welcomed by our Aunt Lynn. We unloaded the truck, and then went straight to bed. I hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures, and I'm sorry that I have been a little behind on the posts. The last post will be the video/slide show. Thanks so much for reading!
JM
Friday, June 21, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
The Last Few Days....
Hello Everyone!
I am sorry that I have not posted in a couple of days. We have been in Maine with our friends, and we have been getting up in the morning and doing things and then going straight to bed. It has been awesome. However, I will start off with a summary of the last few days before getting to Maine.
Day 8:
We went to the awards ceremony and got to march in the parade representing Nebraska. Then, the ceremony began. The awards ceremony is very long, (3 ½ hours) and our category was near the end. In the end though, the wait was worth it. William and I won third place in our category with our documentary. Joel and his partner came in first in their category with their website. After the ceremony, we visited Ikea, (My Mom’s favorite store) and then began our trek to Maine. Maine is a VERY LONG way from Washington D.C. It is a good ten to twelve hour drive. So, we did not make it all the way to Maine that day. We went to Newark, New Jersey.
Day 9:
Today, we made it to Maine. On the way, we got to see the Statue of Liberty, (From a distance) the Liberty Tower (The World Trade Center) as well as the 9/11 Memorial for New Jersey residents. We then continued north. We arrived in Maine at 8 P.M.
MAINE:
In Maine we visited our friends the McHughs. They live two miles from the ocean in a small town called Kennebunkport/Kennebunk. The town is known as the summer home of Former President George H. W. Bush. We did many things here, and as it will be easier to put it all as a single subject instead of divided into days, I will do so.
The day after we arrived, we made a basic list of everything that we wanted to get done. Here is what it looked like:
Kayaking
Boogie Boarding and Surfing in the ocean
Hiking in the woods
Exploring the woods
Go Man Shopping in the “Dock Square”. (The business sector of Kennebunkport)
Watch the Hobbit movie
Play Basketball
We managed to get all of that done plus a lot more. On the first day, we spent most of our day at the beach or playing woofle ball. The beaches are beautiful. We got to collect shells, boogie board, search in tide pools, and I got to try to surf. We also tried to build a sea wall and levy system to protect our sandcastles. It was awesome. We also played basketball. That night, we were so exhausted that we went straight to bed without any ado, which is not normal because generally we stay up and talk.
The next day was Father’s Day. I got up early and help Mrs. McHugh make breakfast. We made Biscuits and Gravy. We went hiking while the Moms went shopping. We then went ‘Man Shopping’. We toured several of the shops with our friend Elliot. That night, Joel, Jake and Elliot watched the Hobbit, the rest of us went for Ice Cream and an awesome creamery named Goose Rocks Dairy. Their Ice Cream was incredible. That night, we watched the College World Series on TV. I am rooting for Indiana and Mississippi State.
We were planning on leaving the next morning as the McHughs were going to go on a camping trip, however, they put it off a day, so we stayed another day. While the other boys went to play basketball and go to the beach, I went with Mrs. McHugh and Mom Antiquing. We went to four different shops as well as a flea market. I got two British Coins from the early 20th century. I also got a medallion commemorating the bicentennial of the United States as well as a Ronald Reagan political button. After browsing the shops, we went to a business called Port Canvas. Port Canvas is a business that makes canvas bags from materials all made in Maine. While the Moms were shopping, I started talking the General Manager, and she gave me a full tour of their headquarters. She showed me how the bags were embroidered and how they were put together. She also showed me all of the different products that they made. I got a medium sized duffel bag embroidered with my initials. It was a cool experience.
The next day, we packed and prepared to leave. We packed up and left at around 10. I will post more on the trip home tomorrow. Today is our last day on the road, no matter how long it takes us.
I am sorry that I have not posted in a couple of days. We have been in Maine with our friends, and we have been getting up in the morning and doing things and then going straight to bed. It has been awesome. However, I will start off with a summary of the last few days before getting to Maine.
Day 8:
We went to the awards ceremony and got to march in the parade representing Nebraska. Then, the ceremony began. The awards ceremony is very long, (3 ½ hours) and our category was near the end. In the end though, the wait was worth it. William and I won third place in our category with our documentary. Joel and his partner came in first in their category with their website. After the ceremony, we visited Ikea, (My Mom’s favorite store) and then began our trek to Maine. Maine is a VERY LONG way from Washington D.C. It is a good ten to twelve hour drive. So, we did not make it all the way to Maine that day. We went to Newark, New Jersey.
Day 9:
Today, we made it to Maine. On the way, we got to see the Statue of Liberty, (From a distance) the Liberty Tower (The World Trade Center) as well as the 9/11 Memorial for New Jersey residents. We then continued north. We arrived in Maine at 8 P.M.
MAINE:
In Maine we visited our friends the McHughs. They live two miles from the ocean in a small town called Kennebunkport/Kennebunk. The town is known as the summer home of Former President George H. W. Bush. We did many things here, and as it will be easier to put it all as a single subject instead of divided into days, I will do so.
The day after we arrived, we made a basic list of everything that we wanted to get done. Here is what it looked like:
Kayaking
Boogie Boarding and Surfing in the ocean
Hiking in the woods
Exploring the woods
Go Man Shopping in the “Dock Square”. (The business sector of Kennebunkport)
Watch the Hobbit movie
Play Basketball
We managed to get all of that done plus a lot more. On the first day, we spent most of our day at the beach or playing woofle ball. The beaches are beautiful. We got to collect shells, boogie board, search in tide pools, and I got to try to surf. We also tried to build a sea wall and levy system to protect our sandcastles. It was awesome. We also played basketball. That night, we were so exhausted that we went straight to bed without any ado, which is not normal because generally we stay up and talk.
The next day was Father’s Day. I got up early and help Mrs. McHugh make breakfast. We made Biscuits and Gravy. We went hiking while the Moms went shopping. We then went ‘Man Shopping’. We toured several of the shops with our friend Elliot. That night, Joel, Jake and Elliot watched the Hobbit, the rest of us went for Ice Cream and an awesome creamery named Goose Rocks Dairy. Their Ice Cream was incredible. That night, we watched the College World Series on TV. I am rooting for Indiana and Mississippi State.
We were planning on leaving the next morning as the McHughs were going to go on a camping trip, however, they put it off a day, so we stayed another day. While the other boys went to play basketball and go to the beach, I went with Mrs. McHugh and Mom Antiquing. We went to four different shops as well as a flea market. I got two British Coins from the early 20th century. I also got a medallion commemorating the bicentennial of the United States as well as a Ronald Reagan political button. After browsing the shops, we went to a business called Port Canvas. Port Canvas is a business that makes canvas bags from materials all made in Maine. While the Moms were shopping, I started talking the General Manager, and she gave me a full tour of their headquarters. She showed me how the bags were embroidered and how they were put together. She also showed me all of the different products that they made. I got a medium sized duffel bag embroidered with my initials. It was a cool experience.
The next day, we packed and prepared to leave. We packed up and left at around 10. I will post more on the trip home tomorrow. Today is our last day on the road, no matter how long it takes us.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Quick Summary and then Day 8!!!!!
Hello Everyone!
I'm going to do a quick summary of Days 5,6, and 7, and then I will talk about what we are doing today.
Day 5:
We to up early and went to the University of Maryland to compete. We competed, and then decided to go to the National Zoo. We went there and saw the Pandas. Then, we returned for dinner, where we learned that Will and I had made the finals and got to compete again.
Day 6:
First, we toured two of the Smithsonian. (The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History) We then went back to our hotel so that I could get ready to compete. We went to the University of Maryland and I competed in Finals with Will. Then we went back to our hotel.
Day 7:
Yesterday, we went to the Nebraska breakfast, where all of the representatives of Nebraska speak. Then, We toured the Capitol with our friends the Rothfusses. We then went to the National Museum of Art and got to see the only DaVinci on this side of the ocean! We then returned to our hotel, where we swam for a couple of hours and then played Pictionary with our friend Spencer. We then proceeded to go to bed.
So there you have it. Today, we are preparing to drive to Maine. The award ceremony is this morning, and then we will drive to New York. Tomorrow, we will make it to Maine!
Today is the award ceremony. I will attempt to blog live (if they have WiFi) but I'm not sure if I will be able to.
Thanks for reading!
JM
I'm going to do a quick summary of Days 5,6, and 7, and then I will talk about what we are doing today.
Day 5:
We to up early and went to the University of Maryland to compete. We competed, and then decided to go to the National Zoo. We went there and saw the Pandas. Then, we returned for dinner, where we learned that Will and I had made the finals and got to compete again.
Day 6:
First, we toured two of the Smithsonian. (The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History) We then went back to our hotel so that I could get ready to compete. We went to the University of Maryland and I competed in Finals with Will. Then we went back to our hotel.
Day 7:
Yesterday, we went to the Nebraska breakfast, where all of the representatives of Nebraska speak. Then, We toured the Capitol with our friends the Rothfusses. We then went to the National Museum of Art and got to see the only DaVinci on this side of the ocean! We then returned to our hotel, where we swam for a couple of hours and then played Pictionary with our friend Spencer. We then proceeded to go to bed.
So there you have it. Today, we are preparing to drive to Maine. The award ceremony is this morning, and then we will drive to New York. Tomorrow, we will make it to Maine!
Today is the award ceremony. I will attempt to blog live (if they have WiFi) but I'm not sure if I will be able to.
Thanks for reading!
JM
The Documentary
Hello Everyone!
This may give away the material in the next few blog posts, but that doesn't matter. After competing on Monday, William and I made it to the finals. We then competed Tuesday night in another round which was the same as all the rest only without any Q and A. So, we have a one in ten or so shot of making it into the top three. However that is not what this post is about. Since we have competed for the very last time, it is now time to officially release the documentary! Now, don't feel obligated to watch it, but if you have benn wanting to watch, here it is!
Thanks for reading everyone!
Have a great day!
JM
This may give away the material in the next few blog posts, but that doesn't matter. After competing on Monday, William and I made it to the finals. We then competed Tuesday night in another round which was the same as all the rest only without any Q and A. So, we have a one in ten or so shot of making it into the top three. However that is not what this post is about. Since we have competed for the very last time, it is now time to officially release the documentary! Now, don't feel obligated to watch it, but if you have benn wanting to watch, here it is!
Thanks for reading everyone!
Have a great day!
JM
Day 4!
Hello everyone!
This post will be on Day 4. I am sorry that I’m so far
behind on the updates. It has been a busy the last few days.
Day 4:
We got up early to check out of our hotel. We then went to
the National History Day check-in on the campus of Maryland University. We
checked in and received our competition times and we got free stuff. (Always good!)
I received five magazines on the American Civil War. Our Grandma bought us
National History Day jackets and t-shirts. After that, we decided to go to Fort
Stevens, a small gun emplacement in the middle of urban Washington D.C. We did
not realize that we were there until we were in the parking lot. (It was not
the best part of town) We were expecting a full blown fort and a visitors
center, (It was the National Park Service.) but what we found was quite
different. It was a small grass field, with a wall around it. Two cannons were
positioned along the side of the wall. We found a large plaque which said that
the spot where we stood was the place where the only sitting President who has
ever come under direct fire from an enemy combatant. Abraham Lincoln had stood
there 151 years before. The walls, while looking like wood, were actually
concrete. It was all very cool. After staying there for about half an hour, we
returned to our hotel. We stayed there for about an hour before proceeding to
the Opening Ceremonies of National History Day. One of the cool things about NHD
is that each state (And territory) has its own button. Each student gets there
state’s buttons and then tries to trade them for all of the other state
buttons. It is a lot of fun. I currently have 46 of 56 buttons. We traded
buttons for an hour before the opening ceremonies. We listened to the host of NPR’s
“Wait wait, don’t tell me” game show, a constitutional historian. We then listened
to the sponsor of NHD and then the we got ready to go to our hotel. It was an
awesome night.
(I will add pictures when I get some from Dad.)
Thanks for reading!
JM
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Day 4! Sort of....
Hello everyone!
Today was an awesome day. However, the competition starts tomorrow and I need to get to bed, so I will blog on today tomorrow! Tomorrow, we compete at 10:20. I will be sure to have dad take pictures. Thanks for your patience!
JM
Day 3!
Hello Everyone!
Well, today was an interesting day. We had planned on going the Dulles branch of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. We left the hotel about 9:45 and arrived there at 10:15. We wandered in the halls and looked at the airplanes. We saw the Enola Gay and several World War I and earlier aircraft. We then looked at the restoration hall. We saw different aircraft in different stages of being restored and conserved. We then went into the Space Shuttle Hall. The Space Shuttle Discovery is housed in a massive hangar with other rockets and space capsules. As we were finishing in the hall, something strange happened. The lights and the AC flickered and then went out. The security lights came on, and we just kept walking. We started looking at helicopters when a security guard came along and told everyone to go to the upper level. We went upstairs. We waited for an hour for the lights to come on, but nothing happened. We couldn't see anything because they wouldn't let us in the upstairs halls, so we left to eat. They closed for the day as we walked out.
We ate lunch and decided to got to Bull Run battlefield. We took the walking the walking tour of Henry Hill, the main place where most of the conflict happened. We stood in the place where General Thomas J. Jackson stood "Like a stone wall". We also got to see a plantation that dated back to the 18th century. It was all very interesting, and yet sobering, to see where some many men had died for the cause that they thought was right. After leaving the battlefield and the plantation, we ate and went to our hotel to swim. Here are some pictures. Thanks for reading!
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Tomorrow,(Or rather today) We will move hotels. Then, we will go to the opening ceremonies of National History Day! Thanks for reading! Look for a post tonight!
JM
Well, today was an interesting day. We had planned on going the Dulles branch of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. We left the hotel about 9:45 and arrived there at 10:15. We wandered in the halls and looked at the airplanes. We saw the Enola Gay and several World War I and earlier aircraft. We then looked at the restoration hall. We saw different aircraft in different stages of being restored and conserved. We then went into the Space Shuttle Hall. The Space Shuttle Discovery is housed in a massive hangar with other rockets and space capsules. As we were finishing in the hall, something strange happened. The lights and the AC flickered and then went out. The security lights came on, and we just kept walking. We started looking at helicopters when a security guard came along and told everyone to go to the upper level. We went upstairs. We waited for an hour for the lights to come on, but nothing happened. We couldn't see anything because they wouldn't let us in the upstairs halls, so we left to eat. They closed for the day as we walked out.
We ate lunch and decided to got to Bull Run battlefield. We took the walking the walking tour of Henry Hill, the main place where most of the conflict happened. We stood in the place where General Thomas J. Jackson stood "Like a stone wall". We also got to see a plantation that dated back to the 18th century. It was all very interesting, and yet sobering, to see where some many men had died for the cause that they thought was right. After leaving the battlefield and the plantation, we ate and went to our hotel to swim. Here are some pictures. Thanks for reading!
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| Jake with the Space Shuttle Discovery. |
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| Emma's 'Ear-ring' |
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| A surfing plane! |
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| Joel with Space Shuttle Discovery. |
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| Emma manning the cannons. |
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| Us in front of the Concorde. |
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| Dad with a cannon. |
JM
Friday, June 7, 2013
Day 2
Hello Everyone!
I am writing this from our truck as it speeds down
Interstate 340 towards Dulles. Virginia. Today has been a long day. We had the
same amount of driving time as yesterday (About 10-11 hours, Myers traveling
time), but this morning, we left at 9:30 instead of 6:45. However, we have gone through double the
amount of states today then yesterday, and it was much more interesting today.
If you've ever driven through Illinois and Indiana for a couple of hours, you’ll
know what I mean. There is NO scenery at all. It is blank fields, full of corn
and cows. There are no billboards so you can’t play road games like bingo or Rubberneckers.
Trust me when I tell you, it is BORING! Today however, we went through Indiana,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and hopefully in a few minutes, we
will be in Virginia. Most of those states are covered in beautiful mountains.
(The Appalachians) The green forest and high mountains provide a beautiful view
as far as one can see. The valleys are covered in mist and the mountains are
covered in trees, with huge limestone deposits, only partially uncovered, jut
out from the side of the mountains. It is so beautiful. I am not able to
capture its majesty with my camera, but hopefully, you will be able to see a
little bit about it from them. We stopped for lunch in Ohio. So far, we have
only had to go on one Turnpike. (Last year, we spent almost the whole trip on
Turnpikes and paid about $50 in tolls.) We ate dinner in Maryland at a
Chik-Fil-A.
Also, as you may have heard, a large tropical storm is currently
creeping up the East Coast. We are probably going to feel its effects tomorrow.
I, personally, would like to see a tropical storm, however, I don’t think that
Dad would want to drive through one. We are almost to the hotel, so I should
probably wrap this up.
Tomorrow, we will be in Dulles Virginia. There, we will
visit the Smithsonian’s other Air and Space museum, which is HUGE. Its main
attractions are the Concorde, the Space Shuttle, and the Enola Gay. I can’t
wait to see them. We will stay at the Homewood Inn and Suites for tonight and
tomorrow night, then off to Maryland and the National History Day competition!
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| Joel |
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| Emma |
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| Jakob |
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| Dad |
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| Mountains |
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| The G. A. Henty book that I've finished so far. |
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| Pennsylvania!! |
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| Going into the mountains |
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| The view from the mountain. |
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| The top of one of the mountains. |
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| The view from another mountain. |
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| One of the mountains. |
Thanks for reading! Look for tomorrow’s post and pictures of the airplanes at the museum! Thanks!
JM
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Day 1!
Hello Everyone!
Day 1 on the road! Check out my earlier post about this morning. Today, we traveled across Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. I am writing this from a Drury Inn and Suites in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tomorrow, we are planning on going to Dulles, Virginia. It will be a long day! Here are some pictures from the road! Thanks for reading!
Day 1 on the road! Check out my earlier post about this morning. Today, we traveled across Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. I am writing this from a Drury Inn and Suites in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tomorrow, we are planning on going to Dulles, Virginia. It will be a long day! Here are some pictures from the road! Thanks for reading!
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| The signs on our Expedition. |
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| Some of the packed bags. |
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| Emma at 6:15! Up and at them! |
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| A nice sun rise! |
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| A last look at the house. |
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| Iowa |
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| The Iowa Capitol. |
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| At a gas station, I thought I'd show you what the back looks like. |
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| The Mississippi River! (Do you see Huck Finn?) ;) |
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| Now entering Illinois! |
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| Can you tell that We've been in the car to long? |
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| Welcome to Indiana! |
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Emma: "Can someone help me out with this thing?" (Yes, she said that)
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Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Getting Ready!
Hello everyone!
Here is our adventures today! I spent most of the day finishing our bibliography and refining it. Everyone else finished packing, cleaned the car and got the necessities for a long road trip. Tomorrow, we are hoping to leave around 6:15 (Yes, A.M.). We will pick up breakfast in Des Moine Iowa and make it to Indianapolis. We should get there around 6:00 or so.
Hopefully, I will have plenty of pictures to show you guys tomorrow! Here are some pictures of today:
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| Finishing the Bibliography.... |
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| Finishing packing |
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| Getting the truck ready. |
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| The books that I'm bringing. (6 G A Henty books, and a script writing book.) |
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| I managed to cram all of that in my bag along with my NOOK and a note pad. (I should get an award. ;)
So there you have it! Hopefully, there will be a post tomorrow night around 9 o'clock or a bit later, depending on our time of arrival at the hotel. Thanks for reading!
JM
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Blogging series/Update
Hello everyone!
I'm sorry about the lack of blog posts. Since my last post, we have been very, very busy. We have done a TeenPact class, (I will blog on that later) Gone to a home school conference, made a film, and started summer vacation. I will try to keep blogging more regularly.
However, that is not what this post is supposed to be about! On Thursday, we leave for the University of Maryland and the national National History Day competition. We will be going to Indianapolis, Indiana on the first day and then going to Dulles, Virginia on the second day. We will be there for the competition until Thursday. We will then proceed to Maine, and then come back on Monday. I am going to try and make a video and a blog post on what we did everyday. Starting tomorrow, you should see what we did everyday!
I'm sorry about the lack of blog posts. Since my last post, we have been very, very busy. We have done a TeenPact class, (I will blog on that later) Gone to a home school conference, made a film, and started summer vacation. I will try to keep blogging more regularly.
However, that is not what this post is supposed to be about! On Thursday, we leave for the University of Maryland and the national National History Day competition. We will be going to Indianapolis, Indiana on the first day and then going to Dulles, Virginia on the second day. We will be there for the competition until Thursday. We will then proceed to Maine, and then come back on Monday. I am going to try and make a video and a blog post on what we did everyday. Starting tomorrow, you should see what we did everyday!
Thanks for reading!
JM
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