Windermere Island

This trip is going to be all islands in the Bahamas. Today I am stopping at Windermere Island, a small beachy island. The island has many vacation homes and the legendary Windermere Island Club. Diana of Wales vacationed at this island and the paparazzi snapped the famous photo of her pregnant here.

The island was also the sight of Mariah Carey's wedding to Nick Cannon in 2008. Mariah Carey has a private house on Windermere island. The island is 5 and a half miles long, and most celebrities use it as a getaway from paparazzi.

I went scuba diving again, but I did it for a reason. Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who visited the island, named the reef that runs for 5 miles around the island, one of the two most beautiful reefs in the world. I saw why almost immediately. The fish were colorful and the coral was vibrant, and the sandy bottom set it off perfectly. I was amazed.

I went back to my hotel and ate at the little cafeteria they had for dinner. I then went up to my room for an early night. I had learned a lot about Windermere island. I was quite pleased with my journey.

Grand Bahama Island

The cruise ship let me off in the Bahamas at grand Bahama Island. The Grand Bahama is the closest Bahama Island to the USA. It is also the 4th largest Bahama island. It had a very nice resort on it, where I stayed. The hotel was very big and had a very fresh air about it.

I went snorkeling on Deadman's reef in the morning when I got up. The water was stingingly cold from the breeze. I dove under, and guess what? I saw another shipwreck! I decided I would swim into it and see what was in it. I went in, but didn't see anything much.

After snorkeling, I just chilled out on the beach.
 for awhile. I heard someone saying something about a Garden of Groves, so I decided I would check it out. It sounded cool. I visited it, and it turned out it was 12 straight acres of garden and tropical animals and plants! It was amazing! I loved seeing the beautiful gardens that were there.

It was pretty late after I finished eating at a local cafe, so I went to my hotel room and got some shut eye. I didn't know where I was going tomorrow, but I didn't want to miss ANYTHING!

Cruise Ship, Day 2

Today, I woke up and stretched and decided almost automatically to get another ship massage. It was one of those days where you wake up and you just feel exhausted and achy. This ship had to be the most relaxing place I had been on my travels, and my body wasn't used to it. The massage felt GREAT. I then decided to go shopping. I could not believe that you could SHOP on a boat.

The stores were not really that great, as they were more of a souvenir shop kind of thing. I was rather disappointed. I decided I would go back up to the pool and swim. After a while, I got bored of swimming too. I asked one of the attendants what there was to do. I found out that they had a bowling lane on the middle deck. I was pleased. I went to check it out.

The bowling lane ended up being awesome! You could play as many rounds as you wanted as long as you wanted. It was all included with the price of the cruise. I kept my self occupied with many, many, MANY rounds of bowling before I went to the lower deck to eat my dinner.

After I ate, I went back to my cabin to rest up for tomorrow. I felt way better tonight than I had last night. I now knew to stay FAR AWAY from the cruise ship's cafeteria slop.
Good night

Cruise Ship

Typical cruise ship- not the one I was on.

After NJ, I caught a cruise ship. It was a beautiful day to catch one. The sun was shining, and the sky was that perfect shade of blue. The clouds looked like those out of a dream, perfectly rounded. I packed my bags and got on board. After checking out my cabin (which was small yet comfortably cute), I decided to go up to the top deck and use the swimming pool.


The cruise ship was really cool. The swimming pool was my favorite feature. It had such clear water, I couldn't believe it. I swam for a half an hour, then got out and went on the deck. I found out that you could get massages on lower decks. I decided that this was a perfect way to loosen up before dinner.

I got the massage, and it was wonderful. I had never felt better when I left. I went to the ship's buffet for dinner. They had EVERYTHING! The food was alright. I guess you could call it satisfying. After this, I finally went to my cabin to get a good rest.

I was restless most of the night, and kept thinking about the awful cafeteria food. It had made me sick. After  throwing up TWICE, I felt good enough to sleep.

Good night.

Pennington New Jersey

Today I am visiting a very special place. It is where I lived until I was 6 years old. Pennington was a very nice town. I loved it. Granted, I like New Hampshire more, but Pennington holds many memories. My first karate school, my old house, my old dog, the hikes my family would take... there are a lot of reasons I came to Pennington.

I visited where my old house is. It had changed a lot since when I had lived in it. Renovations had been made, and everything was different. The trellis was gone. The yard looked so unfamiliar it startled me. I couldn't believe it. Next, I went to see if some of the places I liked when I was younger were there. Some were, some were not.

My old karate school was still there. Some of the teachers were very different. Some of them did not even recognize me. It was very weird. When I was in Pennington, it almost felt like I was in some kind of ghost town.

I had a very- well, I could say fun, but it really wasn't. I had a very WEIRD trip to Pennington. (If you want to see a picture of where I used to live, please search 74 Woosamonsa Rd in Pennington New Jersey. Then use street view to explore my town.)

Buffalo, New York

I took a trip down to good old Buffalo. Buffalo is the home of many things- Niagra Falls, one of the great lakes, the Buffalo Bills, and the Buffalo Po'locks. The Buffalo Po'locks, if you don't know, is my godfather Uncle Paully's Fantasy Football team.


While in Buffalo, I had to visit Niagra Falls. I have always wanted to and never have. It was very pretty. They are so big, and the water is so fast... It took my breath away. I had seen waterfalls before, but none as big and commanding as this one. After this, I caught a cab to Lake Ontario. I saw why they called it a great lake. It was HUGE!!!

To finish up my trip, I saw a Buffalo Bills game. It was very good. I had a good time in Buffalo. On my way to my hotel, I got a McDonald's meal and ate on the road. It was good (but then again most stuff from McDonald's tastes good. It isn't good FOR you but it tastes good.)

I had a good time in Buffalo. It was fun to see the sights and kick back a little, relax. Now I am going to catch some shut eye.
G'night.

Rindge NH

Today, I went to Rindge New Hampshire, the small town I had grown up in. I visited my Dad, and hung out around town. I went shopping at the old Wal Mart's.  I visited the town center too. It was close to Christmas Time so I got to see the Christmas fireworks.


I next took a trip to Keene. It was still the main shopping center. I had a great shopping trip. I even saw some flyers at Petco for dogs and took one, just in case I wanted to get a dog anytime soon. With all my world traveling, I doubted I would get one until I was done touring the world.

Rindge is really a small town. It has wonderful people living in it, a very good community. The town center is small and home-like, and the buildings are small and you can tell they are very old. There is a large almost park in the town center, and every year a farmer's market is held there.


I had a wonderful time in my old town. Not a lot had changed, which I was happy about. Change can be good and change can be bad. I think that changing the peaceful town of Rindge New Hampshire would be bad.

Home Again

This is the end of my trip. I am back home in Boston. I visited the world 2 times, and had a great time. I may or may not continue to travel, or just end my blog here. I guess you'll know tomorrow. I visited the world twice. I can't believe it!

I had a lot of souvenirs to put away at home, and a ton of clothing to wash. I unpacked and finished doing what needed doing, and then settled down in bed for a nap. My nap ended up being my night's rest.

I called my family to tell them that I was home, and they said that Ashleigh was not back yet. I gave her a telephone call and she said she was on her way to New York, where she lived. Now how had she caught up with me so fast?

Anyway, that's about all I have to say. G'night everyone.
Maddie

Richmond Virginia

Today is my fun trip, and I am spending it in Richmond Virginia! The first thing I am going to do is go to the Edgar Allen Poe Museum! Edgar Allen Poe is a famous poet and author. I sometimes call him Edgar Allen Poet.

I went to the museum that stands for the time he was in Richmond. It tells about his life, and some of his original writings are showed. It was really cool. There was a beautiful garden outside, and it had a fountain and a bench. The fountain was especially pretty.

Next, I went to the Old Dominion Railroad museum. It was all about the old railroads of Virginia. It didn't have any old railroad cars, just signs telling about the history of them. It was still pretty neat. I would have preferred to see one of the old railroad cars, but I can just go to the train station and be satisfied.

Finally, I went to the Hollywood Cemetery. It started in 1847 with the remains of presidents James Monroe and John Tyler. After this, I went to the hotel to get some sleep. I have repeated this a million times, but I ABSOLUTELY HATE WALKING AROUND IN STRANGE PLACES AFTER DARK.

Miami, Florida

I went from Cuba to the Bahamas, and from the Bahamas to Miami. Today is my fun trip, and so I am going to go to the Miami Zoo. It is quickly becoming one of the best zoos around, because of its climate it can keep animals from many different areas.

The zoo had everything! Panda bears, bears, leopards, lions, giraffes- EVERYTHING! It was really fun to go look at the animals and find out a little about them. As I was walking through the zoo, I bumped into someone. It was Ashleigh! My little sister was back on her trip and was in the zoo! I couldn't believe it.

Next, I went to the Coral Castle. It was built by a Miami native named Ed Leedskalnin as a monument to his love. He spent 28 years sculpting coral into a 1100 ton beauty. It was really cool. Ed had done a good job with his time.

After this, I headed back to my hotel. I need some sleep before tomorrow's excursion.

Havana, Cuba

Hello from Cuba! Might I note that this is a history day, and I would like to start off by saying that you can by NO MEANS FLY TO CUBA FROM TH U.S. ANY OTHER COUNTRY IS FINE, BUT NO FLYING FROM THE U.S.!!!!!

Now, on to the history part. Cuba means "where fertile land is abundant", but was originally named Juana by Christopher Columbus after the prince Don Juan, but after he left the name didn't hold and it was named Cuba, the name that the natives before Columbus had given it.

The natives have a special nickname for their island- El Cocodrilo. From above, Cuba seems to look like a crocodile. Cocodrilo is Cuban for crocodile. There are crocodiles that reside in Cuba as well, so it's name might have come from that.

Well, I should probably get some rest now. I have a long journey ahead of me tomorrow. Bye.

Dominican Republic

Today is my fun trip! I am in the Dominican Republic, and I am going to search head to toe to find fun things to do here. It shouldn't be hard. I have heard some rumors about pirate treasure washed up on beaches, and the BEAUTIFUL beaches that are here. I think I know where I am going first!

I grabbed a towel and rented a metal detector and hit the beach. I swam in the water for a little bit, and then got out to dry off. I started scanning the beach with my metal detector. All I found was a few bottlecaps, nothing to flaunt about or keep as memorabilia. Tough luck for me. At least I helped clean up the beach.
Next on my list of things to do was to ride a cable car and take a tour up and over Mount Isabel de Torres. I took the tour and it was amazing! I was up in the clouds half the trip, but as I came down I got to see how beautiful the mountain was. Nothing compared to NH mountains, but still, it was nice.

That's about it. I had to get home and go to bed. Using the metal detector took up half my afternoon, and as I rounded the mountain, it was turning to sunset. I HATE walking the streets in strange places, so I made haste to get to my hotel.
Good Night,
Maddie