DAY 1- A VISIT TO OBAMA'S TOWN
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The giraffe is related to other even-toed ungulates, such as deer and cattle, but is placed in a separate family, the Giraffidae, consisting of only the giraffe and its closest relative, the okapi. Its range extends from Chad in Central Africa to South Africa. Giraffes usually inhabit savannas, grasslands, or open woodlands. However, when food is scarce they will venture into areas with denser vegetation. They prefer areas with plenty of acacia growth. They will drink large quantities of water when available, which enables them to live for extended periods in dry, arid areas. (wikipedia, giraffe)
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DAY 2: Annapolis and Baltimore
Jakes Grandparents came down to visit for the weekend so we got to play with them to! They both love the outdoors, and his grandma loves to sew! We all had lots to talk about! They were so fun to play with and spend time with! We started off the day in Annapolis, Maryland. We got to see pretty water, lots of Navy people, and more. When I told my mom about all the Navy people there, she told me that my grandpa (her dad) used to be a teacher for the Navy in Annapolis. Neat!
What a cute couple :)
We saw this neat little ally way. We thought it was pretty small, small enough to put both feet accross the alley way. Dont let Jake deceive you as he is against the wall. This is only possible with shoes that have "grip" on them. ha ha
A great Saturday party!
The Capitol Building
Now we are at Fort McHenrys. Remember how I told you Jakes grandparents loved the outdoors? Well they each have National Park passes, so we all got to get inside free because of their passes! Sweet!
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A great adventure!
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Day 3 SUNDAY :)
Sunday was a great day. Sadly Jakes grandparents left, but we had a fun time being able to spend some time with them. We got to go to church, and also participate in fasting for fast Sunday. Lately, I have been so grateful for fast Sundays. I never realized how cool, what a blessing, and great thing fasting once a month is. I am really grateful for that opportunity and fast Sunday experience. After church we watch a LDS movie, and all went to the Washington DC temple. It was huge! And also a very neat structure. Then we went and walked around the ground and had fun watching butterflies and bees, looking at flowers and taking a tour of the Visitors Center.
When we got to the temple, Jakes family told me of a funny story of a man that flew over the DC temple in a helicopter, and tried to still angel Moroni because he thought he was made of solid gold. I thought that was such a good story.
"The Washington D.C. Temple (formally the Washington Temple) is the 18th constructed and 16th operation temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Kensington, Maryland it was built with a modern six-spire design, wit the three towers to the east representing the Melchizedek Priesthood leadership, and the three towers of the west representing the Aaronic Priesthood leadership. The central easter tower reaches a height of 288 feet, the tallest of any LDS temple. It was the first temple in the United States east of the Mississippi River since 1846. The temple was designed to be similar in style and form to the Salt Lake Temple so that it would be easily recognized as a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was estimated that it would cost fifteen million dollars to build the Washington D.C. Temple and members of the Church that would be attending the temple were asked to help in providing at least four and a half million dollars. Local members eventually raised six million dollars. The Washington D.C. Temples angel Moroni statue, which sits atop the tallest tower, is eighteen feet tall and weighs two tons. Another interesting feature is hat the temple appears to not have any windows. From the inside, however the thinly cute marble appears translucent. The open house continues for seven weeks and over 750,000 people went through the Washington D. C. temple. Spencer W. Kimball dedicated the temple on November, 19 1974, which also happens to be Kelsey's birthday. " (Wikipedia, Washington D.C. Temple)
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Sue was a great cook. For dinner she made an awesome briskest, veggies and of course dessert! Then Wesley, Jake and I got pjs on to get ready to watch our nightly movie.
DAY FOUR: DOWN TOWN D.C.
A view from a small window in the Washington National Monument.
I liked this sign.
Hidden secrets inside the monument.
The Washington National Monument is an obelisk near he west end of the National Mall. It was built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington. The monument, made of marble, granite, and sandstone is both the world's tallest stone structure and the worlds tallest obelisk, standing 555 feet 5 1/8 inches. There are taller monumental columns, but they are neither all stone nor true obelisks. It is also the tallest structure in Washington D. C. It was designed by Robert Mills, an architect of the 1840's. (wikipedia).
The Obahmas house. "The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington D.C,. it was designed by Irish born James Hoban, and build between 1792, and 1800 of white painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style. It has been the residence of every U.S. President since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the home in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage." (Wikipedia, white house)
A great company...... " The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of Treasury under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Interal Revenue. The IRS is reponsible for collecting taxes and the interpetation and enforcement of the Interanl Revenue Code, the body of federal tax law in the United States. (Wik, IRS)
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Day FIVE: DC
The longest escalator in the world. After three minutes of being on the escalator, it still kept going, but I stopped counting. The crazy thing to think is how deep were we really in the ground???..... "An escalator is a moving staircase- a converyor transport device for carrying people between flooors of a building. The benefits of escalators are many. they have the capacity to move large numbers of pople, and they can be placed in the same physical space as one might install a staircase. Thye have no waiting \interval (except during very heavy traffic), they can be used to guide pople toward main exits or special exhibits, and thy may be weather proofed for outdoor use. In 2004, it was estimated that the U.S. had 30,000 escalators,a dn that people used escalators 90 billion times each year." (wik, escalator) There have also been accidents that have occored on esclators. Here, lists a few:
Walking on our way to the zoo. We saw lots of pretty petals on the ground.
Party at the zoo.
Just monkeying around.
We got there early enough to see the animals out and about. Then it started to rain.
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The elephants were having a blast. They were so active and running around. They loved throwing dirt on themselves. "Elephants are the largest land animals now living. The gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land mammal. (Pregnancy) They typically live for 50 to 70 years, the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years. The largest elephant ever weighed about 24,000 lbs with a should height of 13 feet. Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where hey are thought to be on par with cetaceans and homids. Aristotle once said the elephant was the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind." (wik, elephant)
haha such a great picture.
A sad face.
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A large iguana
A pancake turtle. We saw them in real life, but I liked this fake picture because you can see the cute turtles face. I really want to get a pancake turtle now. I think him and Herbie could be the best of friends.
This crazy looking snapping turtle is a map turtle. He has a little worm like thing on his mouth that lures in fish to think its a worm and then he snaps down and bites on them. Bye bye fish.
I wish you could see how huge this tortoise is that is drinking the water. From the picture he does not look big, but he is big enough to give a horsey ride to two large humans. I would say this tortoise has to be at least 200 years to be this big. When this tortoise dies, I wonder if they will have to get a crane to get this boy out?
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- Eight people died and 30 more were injured on February 17, 1982, when an escalator collapsed on the Moscow Metro. Wrongly set up service brakes were later blamed for the accident.[4]
- 31 people died after a fire, begun in the undercarriage of an MH-type Otis escalator, exploded into the ticketing hall at King's Cross St. Pancras station in 1987.
- On December 13, 1999, 8-year-old Jyotsna Jethani was killed at New Delhi's international airport. Jethani fell into a gaping hole that resulted from improper maintenance. [5]
- On June 15, 2002, Andrea Albright, a 24-year-old J.C. Penney employee in Columbia, Maryland, was critically injured while riding the store's escalator from the first to the second level. She somehow got her head caught between the escalator rail and a low ceiling. In 2005, her parents sued the property manager, two design firms, and the escalator company for $5 million.[6]
- On New Years Eve, 2004, escalators at the Taipei City Hall Station kept moving commuters onto the overcrowded island platform. A woman whose hair got caught in the escalator received 20 stitches to the scalp.[7]
- Francisco Portillo, a Salvadoran sushi chef, died after being strangled when his sweatshirt caught in a Boston subway escalator on February 21, 2005 at Porter Square. He was allegedly drunk at the time.[8]
- On September 13, 2008, an 11-year old boy died after falling off an escalator in Lyngdal, Norway.[9] On April 20, 2009, a teenage boy died after getting very serious skull injuries after falling off an escalator in Falun, Sweden.[10] On June 26, 2009, a man died after falling off an escalator in Helsingborg, Sweden.[11] All three were riding the handrail.
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"Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to thirty eggs. Tortoises generally have life-spans comparable with those of human beings, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years. The oldest tortoise ever recored was Tu'i Maliala, which was in the Tongan royal family. It was kept in the Tongan royal family until its death in 1965. I lived to be 188 years old. There was one other recored kept of one who had a life span of 226 years. Female tortoises tend to be larger than males. Giant tortoises move very slowly on dry land, at only 0.17 miles per hour." (wik, tortoise)
Two frogs in love.
Jakes mom was prepared and brought ponchos incase it rained! They came in handy! Sue is always prepared! Thanks Sue! Hopefully by this picture you can get a little taste of how large this tortoise really is.
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Playing in the mettttro.
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Yummy crepes! Sue loves crepes, and is a regular there. The crepes were really yummy. "A crepe is a type of very thing pancake, usually made from wheat flour. The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." While crepes originate from Brittany, a region in the nowadays widespread France and they are considered a national dish, and they are also increasingly popular in North american and South America. In Brittany, crepes are traditionally served with cider. "
The yummy last meal. Sue made an awesome chicken ball concoction that tasted very yummy.
Wesley loves to dance. We went and saw him perform for a school mens competition.
There is no better way to end a trip than with a delectable "Ritas." The best kind are ones with ice cream on them, then it is kind of like a slushy full of yummy flavor, topped with delicious soft serve ice cream. That is quite a good combination if I do say so myself. If I lived back east, I would work at Ritas. It could be a negative though for much weight gain. I would say it would be worth it.
All sources of cited information are provided from the one and only, WIKIPEDIA.
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All sources of cited information are provided from the one and only, WIKIPEDIA.