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Florida Living by Amelia

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We arrived in Florida late at night, weary from more than 22 hours of driving. While stopping for gas, each rest break was warmer, further south. Florida was no different. Once we finally got into the state, we could tell that January 2021 would be a warm one. To be honest, the Airbnb we rented was... kind of trashed with weird gross junk everywhere, but my favorite part, the sun room was perfectly fine. From there you could see all sorts of sea birds diving and sweeping about. There were courmorants and seagulls and cranes and herons and plenty of others. Grey mossy strands hung from the majestic limbs of some of the older trees in the area. Palms stood out against the horizon, where you could see the canals flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, with houses standing against them, including ours. We were left a 2 person kayak and canoe to paddle to a beach and explore the canals. We went to many beaches and even went to a wildlife reserve during our stay. Once while Dad was working, we went...
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Living in Knoxville by Amelia

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Living in Knoxville was a very interesting experience. Madeleine and I shared a room and we also shared a bed which was also interesting because at home we have bunk beds. William slept in his own room and our parents shared the master bedroom. On one of our first outings, we got southern food at a takeout restaraunt and explored Market Square, a very old place where people held markets. Apparently, Market Square was also where Elvis Presley became famous. Someone had blared his song 'That's All Right Mama' over the speakers and people got interested in his music. He even got a job offer! There were also these really cool vines that COVERED the forests. Our house didn't have a garage because the weather was not extreme there. Well, there was this one time we were driving around and trying to figure out what to do outside, when a notice came onto Dad's phone saying ' Your route may be affected by Hurricane Zeta. We all freaked out and drove very quickly home. Lu...
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Chattanooga by Amelia

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One of our last adventures in TN was going to Chattanooga. For most of our time there, we were driving through a Civil War battlefield that was in Georgia and in Tennessee There were many different war sites, and since we couldn't tour as usual with a park ranger, our parents called a certain number that would tell recorded stories and information about the place you were at if you pressed a certain button. We visited several sites and memorials. My favorite battle place was up on a very tall mountain. The battle that took place there was called 'The Battle Above the Clouds'. Up on the mountain, you could see everything! I was sad when we had to go, but the next place we were going to was cool too. It was a HUGE graveyard, with polished grvestones as far as the eye could see. It was awful to see all the damage done and all the graves of soldiers who died for peace. My family is very grateful for the soldiers who gave their lives to stop slavery. They were very kind to do so...
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Asheville by Amelia

Our trip to Asheville was full of surprises. We were still a bit traumatized from Nashville's business and noise, so we were worried Asheville, North Carolina would be the same. We were very wrong. We first went to an arboretum. There were some cute animal scenes made from wire by the parking lot. When we went inside the building, we saw a huge collection of art about the arctic. They were really pretty and realistic. When we entered the gardens, my heart skipped a beat. All different plants and flowers were planted along a nice path and there were so many things to do! First we saw a huge quilt made from plants, and a little overlook to see the beautiful patterns. There were a lot of fountains, and after I saw these, we went to my favorite exhibit. There was a whole section of the arboretum dedicated to bonsai trees. There were many scenes with the miniature plants in them and a wall of information about how to grow them. After that, we went on a little hike through the woods, tha...
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Nashville by Amelia

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Our trip to Nashville was full of surprises. The city was nothing like I expected it to be like. I was thinking of a touristy place with gift shops and old buildings and some bands playing under a pavillion. Nashville was nothing like that. First of all it was LOUD!!!!!! All the chatter of the ever-present crowds combatted the noisy racket of about 50 bands playing at once from all the bars. We walked on a huge pedestrian bridge because we thought it would be the most pandemic-free place that was still worthwhile. Everyone was unmasked, and the rare occasion of a person wearing one, was spoiled by the fact that they wore it wrong. They didn't cover their nose, instead, it's highest extent was the upper lip. Oceans of people swarmed the streets, and it was barely safe in the car, because there were all these weird bar buses, where teenagers scream very loudly and drink and blast music, breaking everyone's eardrums. Some of these had pedals, so the party would move the vehicl...
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Nashville the party place - by Madeleine

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Nashville is the capital of Tennessee. On Broadway where the Honky Tonks are is the most crowded place I've ever seen. There were party trucks! (Party trucks had people on top partying). There were these cool things called pedal taverns. People were partying on those too. Here's how pedal taverns work. People sit on these seats and pedal the pedals to make the tavern move. While they are pedaling sometimes they drink something. There were so many lights and people. A part of Nashville I liked was a really long bridge. We walked half way across it and then we turned back. We saw bluish water under the bridge and a lot of lights from Nashville. It was a pretty view. There was a man playing the saxaphone, which had a lot of buttons. Here is a poem I wrote about driving past the Honky Tonks on Broadway: Honky Tonks Nashville's too loud. My eardrums are breaking. When we pass a crowd, once asleep, I'm awaking. As the sounds quickly grow I shout "NO NO NO!...
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How silk is made - by Madeleine

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One day during homeschool our uncle Derek came here. He was our guest speaker. Derek gave us silk flags from San Francisco. They were squarish and weighted so that when you wave them in a special way they look pretty. He helped us practice waving them around in the right way. He also taught about silk and how it's made. We watched a YouTube video about farming silkworms and shockingly it was full of DEATH! The people boil the silkworms in their cocoons! Then they take the cocoons and unravel ALL THAT HARD WORK FROM THAT POOR LITTLE SILKWORM to make silk!!! They keep some silkworms alive to breed them and then KILL THE BABIES IN THEIR COCOONS! I liked spending time with my uncle and practicing with the silk flags.
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