Phoenix Arizona

Hello from wonderful Phoenix Arizona! The first thing I am going to do (after unpacking) is go to the museum! I am very curious about how Phoenix got it's name. I know of the mythical creature, but I am not sure if the mysterious fiery bird has anything to do with the city.


The museum helped me better understand how Phoenix got it's name. Before there was a city, there were Indians that lived on the land. Their main goal was to have many canals channel through their town, making things easy for them. However, when great droughts came around, the Indians were left with no water and died.

 A traveling pioneer saw the land as perfect farmland with a bit of tweaking and some water. Soon, plants were growing successfully. Phoenix got it's name when a traveler quoted that "a new city will spring phoenix-like upon the ruins of a former civilization." (Phoenix are known to die and then be reborn from their ashes.)

While I didn't do anything much fun this trip, I did learn something new, and that really is the goal of my traveling. To learn new things. Other than eating and browsing in some shops, that is all I really did in Phoenix: study. Well, I'd best be off to bed now. Wouldn't want to miss ANY of my trip.

Oklahoma City

Hello from OKC! I love it when states name their capitals with the same name as the state. It makes things so much easier to remember! I started out my day by going to the zoo. I had a great time looking at the animals, especially my favorite one: the giraffe. After this, I had a good lunch at the zoo cafeteria.

Some Chihuly glass art.

Next, I went to the Oklahoma City museum of art. It was beautiful! The museum had been started in the 1920's and has been running ever since, with no building moves except for one in 2002. The museum hold the largest collection of Dale Chihuly glass in the world.

Before I went for dinner, I went online and searched for the best pizza joint in Oklahoma City. I right away knew what one I wanted to go to. Hideaway Pizza! It had tons of good reviews. I went and it was awesome!

By this time, it was dark. I got back to my hotel in a hurry. I hate being out after dark in strange places. I got  to bed and had a long rest. I hate to  be tired on my journeys.

Springfield Illinois

Wax Figures of the Lincoln Family

Illinois, here I come! I booked a room in a small hotel that was not well known but had good ratings. When I got to Springfield, I was exhausted! I dragged my luggage up to my hotel room and then collapsed on my bed. I barely had time to think about what I was doing the next day. I slept for about 12 hours, and woke up a 9 the next morning, ready to tour Springfield.

I went to the Abraham Lincoln Historical Museum and Library. It was so cool! There were interactive exhibits, wax figures, and replicas of the white house and log cabin. FUN FACT: Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, was born in Springfield Illinois in a log cabin, hence the exhibit.



I learned a lot about the Lincoln family while I was there. For example: Good Ol' Abe spoiled his kids! The kids would climb on his shoulders during important meetings and scribble on official White House papers.

I only had time for one trip unfortunately. It was getting very late, and I wanted to get to sleep. I drove back to my hotel and fell asleep, dreaming of the days of Lincoln.

Boston, Massachusetts

Remember how I said I was going to New York? Well, I decided instead of landing there, I would just scoot back to home and freshen up. I went back to my house, and unpacked my stuff. I unpacked my souvenirs and put them away in my cabinet. Then, I took a long hot shower. It felt great.

After my shower, I took a nap. When I got up, I repacked my stuff before bed. I made myself a sandwich for dinner and then flopped into my bed for some more relaxation. The next day, I got up feeling normal.

I decided that before I went anywhere, I needed some more money from the bank. I guess you know where I went next. That's right---- THE BANK! After withdrawing some money, I decided I didn't know where I wanted to go. I decided I would sleep at my own house for one last night. After the bank, I went to the grocery store to get materials for making sandwiches. When I got home, I made my food for the next day.

After this, I looked online and decided I was going to go to Illinois. But now, I had to get some sleep. I didn't want to be tired on my drive tomorrow!

Cruise to New York

Today, I am on a cruise ship headed for New York. I was getting bored of cruising around the islands, so I decided I would go back to the U.S. and take a rest back home. I enjoyed a long day's rest on the cruise ship, and the next day, I got up fully refreshed and ready to have fun.

The first thing I did was enjoy a good swim in the top deck pool. The water was very refreshing. After swimming, I went for a massage on the second floor. The masseuse was very talented, and soon I felt very relaxed. I went for lunch at the on-ship buffet. The food was typical ship food- crummy ( but at least it didn't make me sick.).  I figured that after this I had probably better start getting ready for dinner. I had reserved a V.I.P spot to sit at the captain's table.

I went to get my hair and nails done first. Then, I bought a new purse at the ship's boutique. I went back to my cabin to get dressed, and that was that. I walked around the ship for awhile and then went to dinner. The dinner was surprisingly good. The captain had his own personal chef that actually made GOOD food was the reason. I enjoyed myself.

After dinner, I went back to my cabin, stuffed up with food PAST the gills. All that I wanted to do at this point was collapse. I was literally stuffed. I had tried to leave after the third course, but the captain had forced me to stay for dessert. Besides, who could pass up brownie sundaes? Made THE RIGHT WAY???

Bermuda

Today I traveled to Bermuda, an island probably most known from the name the Bermuda Triangle. It is beautiful on Bermuda. I had read on a tourist site that there were pink sand beaches, and whattaya know, there were! It was wonderful. I sat on the beach and enjoyed the sea breeze, and then went out for a swim.

The Bermuda Triangle is a very well known legend. Many ships and planes have disappeared over the mass of water, supposedly due to paranormal activity.

The Bermuda Triangle is over 1000000 miles long, so it is pretty hard to avoid. Funny, many ships and planes disappeared during storms. Many think that the disappearances could just have been stubborn pilots determined to get to base.

I had a good time in Bermuda. I ALWAYS enjoy a good beach. And it was in my favorite color, which is even better. Even better, I love an area with a good legend about it. I have to hit the sack now. I wouldn't want to miss a bit of tomorrow's trip.

Acklins Island

Today, I visited Acklins Island! It is a poor, do-it-yourself island, so I had a little trouble getting used to it. It has been poor since the American Loyalists found it in the late 1780's. They turned it into a cotton farm and used slaves to run it.

When slavery was against the law, it was turned into a place to dive for sponges and people sold them for awhile. But soon, even sponges couldn't bring in enough money. Now, people on the island fish and hunt for food.

I was NOT about to eat fish again, so I instead unpacked my bag and found a granola bar that I ended up eating as part of my meal. I found a tin of cereal in my bag as well. I didn't feel like going out to the store. I ended up renting a kayak and kayaking around with some other tourists for a little, which was very fun.

That was basically what I did. I learned a little more history then I did anything else. I am not big on being a beach bum ALL OF THE TIME. Only once in a while.

Egg Island

I stayed put at Island Andros, but visited another island. Egg Island is a small, uninhabited island that gained it's name because all of the locals' chickens live on this island, and this is where locals go to collect eggs.

 I had befriended an islander on my fishing trip the day before, and he took me with him to egg island when he went to collect eggs. I sat on a small, crescent shaped beach that was part of the island.

Egg Island is known for one other thing other than the egg-collecting. It gained some fame in the 1980's when people speculated that this was the island that Columbus had landed on when he was searching for the "New World".

I collected some eggs myself. I found out that the hens are very wild, and that you have to take caution when you grab eggs. I made myself an omelette for dinner. It was super good. Then, I went to sleep. I had more islands to explore!

Andros Island

Andros island was my stop for today. It is the LARGEST inhabited of the 26 islands in the Bahamas. The Andros Barrier Reef, which runs underneath and around the island, was voted second longest in the world next to the Great Barrier Reef.

Andros island has tons of fishing flats. Andros Island is actually named bonefish capital of the world because so many bonefish are caught so frequently. I went to one of the best fishing spots, and actually caught a bonefish. Here is what they look like:

And here is how big they can get related to humans:

Please note that the person in the photo is not me or anyone I know so I etched out the face for privacy reasons.

Anyway. Locals fish on the reef almost every day to get food for their family. Talk about living it old style! Most people will just catch fish for fun or trophy, only occasionally to eat. While  was there, I went out very deep in the water so that I could catch some edible fish and try gutting it etc. I ended up catching some tuna. I enjoy tuna, so it didn't really matter.

All of the fishing ended up taking my time on the island away! By the time my tuna was ready to eat, it was dark and I needed to get some sleep. I had a fun time fishing, and I can tell my Dad about it when I get home again.