New York, New York

I traveled to New York today. I want to do some big time sightseeing, and I started by getting up at 7:00 in the morning to go see the Empire State Building. Did you know that the empire state building is 1454 feet tall and has 102 floors in it? I went up to the observation deck and looked out. Using a pair of binoculars, I could see the Statue of Liberty!

Speaking of the Statue of Liberty, I took a ferry trip to Ellis Island so that I could up in the torch of the Statue of Liberty. I took a few sandwiches and a thermos of lemonade with me and had my lunch in the torch. The view from up there was amazing! I could see everything!

I took the ferry back and by that time it was getting dark. I decided I would eat when I got back to the hotel. Lucky for me, the buffet was still open and I was able to get a salad before they closed for the night.

That's it for today. I had a great time in New York City.

Madison, Wisconsin

Today I arrived in Madison Wisconsin. I was happy to go there, because my name is in the title. I want to learn why the town was named Madison. I researched on my laptop and it turns out that it was named for President James Madison, who was president at the time it was made capital.

While in Wisconsin, I went on the Ice Age trail. It was the only thing that I wanted to do in Wisconsin. It took me three hours to hike the entire trail, and it was starting to get dark as I headed back. I had gotten some good wildlife photos on the way though.

By the time I was off of the trail, it was 6:00 and I was absolutely exhausted. I got some dinner from Mcdonalds and ate as I rode back to my hotel in a cab. I wrote in my diary for a little, and then fell asleep reading a book.

I woke up early the next morning and went souvenir shopping. I only wanted a snowglobe, and I found one really cheap at a gas station. Then, I ate lunch and shopped around some more.

Billings, Montana

When I got to Billings Montana, I was exhausted. I didn't want to go to sleep though. I wanted to go to a place called Moss Mansion. Moss Mansion is a museum that has been used many times in movies and TV shows. It had gotten some good reviews on the trip adviser website I use, and many people had said it was well worth the trip. So I went. The staff were very polite, and since it was wintertime, the holiday decorations were up. The decorations alone were well worth my visit. The museum was very cool too. It had a lot of stuff from the 1800's in it, as that was the time period the mansion was built in.

After the museum tour, (which ran about an hour,) I decided it was time to eat. I felt like eating Mexican food for some odd reason. I found a well rated one called El Corral. I went in and enjoyed a delicious meal of enchiladas before moving on with my trip.

To finish off, I went to the three sights indoor shooting range. I took one of the pistol classes, and while to someone with a great interest in guns it may be great, to me it was just boring and confusing.

After this, I went back to my hotel to catch some shut eye. I was super tired since I had not taken a nap earlier. Good Night. I had a great time in Billings.

Vancouver, Canada

I got off the train at 6:00 a.m. in the morning today. I was in Vancouver! I was so happy that I had finally done a train trip. I went to my hotel and unpacked my bags. After getting 2 hours of sleep, I decided to go to a golf course and play some golf. I had a lot of fun doing it, though I was not a good player.

Next, I went on a whale watching tour. I saw a couple of whales and took some photos. I got a little seasick though. I had eaten lunch just before starting off, and when some waves rocked the boat, it ended up rocking my stomach too. YUCK!

I finished off the night by going to the famous Vancouver Opera. It is the second biggest opera company in Canada! It was wonderful.
The singing started getting too high for me though, and I had to leave.
It was about time anyway; I was tired.

I caught a cab to my hotel, and was sound asleep within minutes. I had a great time in Vancouver. Good Night!

Final Day on Train

Today is my final day on the Canadian train. Tomorrow, I am going to get off in Vancouver. I double checked my train car to make sure that I had all of my items packed into my bag. I decided that I would write a farewell poem and leave it on the train.

It went like this:

Farewell train, I've had a ride,
I've let you carry me with pride,
But all good things must come to end,
I hope you'll say you'll be my friend,

And carry me from A to B,

And if by chance again we meet,

You'll let me ride again.

Satisfied with my work, I went to the library car and picked another Sherlock Holmes book to read. I sat back in my chair and started to read Sherlock Holmes and The Giant Rat of Sumatra. I soon got hungry and went to the food cart. I discovered that I was going to be eating lamb today. I took it to a table, but was disappointed  It tasted horrible. I had much preferred the boiled chicken with BBQ sauce I had had previously.

I went to the game cart, but I did not feel like playing chess. I instead got into a game of UNO with a family that was taking a train vacation. I had a lot of fun. Soon, I wanted to sleep. I had to get up early the next day to get off the train.

Train Day 2

I am still on the train, headed to Vancouver. Today, I am going to hang out it the train's library for awhile. I went to the library car and found a Sherlock Holmes mystery. I found a comfortable spot in my seat and sat back to read. Around 12:00, my stomach started grumbling for food. Since I had once again skipped breakfast, I was very hungry.

Upon arriving at the food cart, I discovered to my dismay that we had a very poor buffet choice today. I finally settled for boiled chicken with BBQ sauce. I had a cup of coffee with it. Cobbler of the month was blueberry, and I decided I would have a piece. It was very tasty. After this, I walked back to the library cart and returned to my book.

As it got dark, I decided that I had better head back to my train car. However, I had heard about a game car, and I was tempted to see what it was. It ended up being a room with tons of board games and a chess table. I sat down and was soon caught up in a game of chess against an elderly woman.


By the time the game ended, it was about 10:00. I was very tired, and refused to play another game of chess. So I went back to my car and got ready for bed. I had a great day today, and now that I know about the game car, I have something to do over the next few days.
Good night,
Maddie.

Canadian Train

I am on the train! I have no idea where in Canada I am, I just know it is very pretty. Here are some pictures of the type of train I am on: 

A view from the train.

So as you can imagine, I am very happy. Who wouldn't be??? The mountains are my home and my natural habitat. I am having such a good time watching the tall green trees and clear blue lakes and murky marshes drift past my window. I felt poetic, so I wrote this:

I sit and watch the world go by,

underneath a cloudless sky,

the birds all chirp among the trees,

as free as anything could be,

like fish out in the open sea,

the world never ceases to amaze me.

After I had finished writing, I realized I had missed breakfast. Lunch would be over in a half an hour, so I hurried to get dressed and ran to the food car. Soon, I was happily eating lasagna and salad.

I went back to my cart and decided to draw a little. I drew a beautiful sketch of a train in the wilderness with animals living in it and vines wrapped around it- a deserted old train. The sketch managed to keep me up until 12:00 a.m drawing. I soon fell asleep.

Banff Canada

Hello from Banff! This beautiful Canadian town is best known for honeymoons because of it's beauty. Located in the Rocky Mountains, the town is like winter wonderland. I could automatically see why everyone came here to celebrate marriage. It was so- tranquil.

I had heard about these long, through the wilderness train rides that started in Banff and ended in Vancouver. Even though I had already been to Vancouver, I still wanted to do that train trip. My Dad had always wanted to take me and my sister on one, but we never had enough money to do so.

I got a ticket (very expensive) and got an absolutely tiny train car to myself. There were little fold down beds and all. I started accommodating myself to the train, starting with hurling into a handy paper bag that I always kept with me. I then moved down a train car and then ate lunch at the eating car. I was surprisingly liking the train ride.

Soon, I felt it was time to sleep. I was getting tired at sitting at my window just watching tree after tree after tree go by. I folded down my little bed and settled in. Good Night.