After traveling to NZ we went to Australia, where we flew to Sydney, then will go to Port Douglas, and after that we go to Uluru and finally Darwin. But right now I am going to talk about Sydney. When we arrived at 5:45 PM and, although we thought the weather would be nice and sunny it was raining! So then we got a cab and drove to our new home where we ordered pizza then, after eating it, went to bed. The next day my sister and I were the planners for the day and we decided to go to this very yummy dumpling place and after that we went to the Chinese friendship gardens and after that we went to the best park ever! The park included a gigantic spider web thingy and a flying fox. The flying fox is a thing where you get on a disk attached to a rope sort of like a zipline and at the end, there was a spring so you bounced back to the little platform where you started out. There was a giant thing that sort of looks like a tire swing with netting at the bottom. On the opposite side, past the giant slide, and past the hills with mini slides on them, and finally past the jets of water shooting up you reach this thing me and my sister call the water works. What they are is a ton of little canals with flaps that reroute the water and dams that you pull up to let water flow and past that is the end of  the park! My favorite thing of the park is the giant spider thingamabob because I love climbing and you can almost see the entire park from the top of it. And now this part of the day was not planned by anyone and we crossed the Plymont bridge and then got on to the train to go to home and then on the train lu threw up and that mainly concluded our first day.

The second day mom planned the day because dad also had been throwing up the whole night. So Mom, Lu and I went to the aquarium and when we finished went to a very delicious lunch place that we had happened on it because I needed to go to the bathroom, and while I was going to the bathroom, Mom looked at the menu and decided that we would eat there. It was yummy! It was called the Tempered café and you should eat there for sure. They also gave us  a little dessert and the little dessert had a this top layer of chocolate and then some lime tart then the perfect dash of coconut layer then the crust at the bottom. Then we went to the wild life park and then the best park in the world again!  Then we went for a tour of the Sidney Opera House and saw a kids short film festival there!

My mom said that I should write about how I feel and I think that although I was nervous before I am feeling better about the trip but I wish that I could see all my friends again and I think that this trip will be super fun now that we have started the trip.

-HF

After a breakfast of lemon raspberry yogurt we got on to the bus that would take us to the gbr. On the way the bus stopped at other hotels motels and holiday inns where people boarded the bus to go to the GBR too! When we got to the port we were informed that we would be riding on the boat named calpyso 10. When we got on the boat we were asked to take off our shoes. Then we were called in to the main deck. We had been warned that the front would be soaked and if you had sea sickness you should sit on the lower deck. Although Lu sort of has motion sickness she decided to to sit on the second deck. (She is a bit crazy) and as we got onto the ocean the guide told us that the boat was much less shaky than the crew had expected, although it was still shaky. Then the guide told us that the back part that was outside would be soaked! So then we moved to the back and waited for the inevitable as you might be pondering was going to the reef and being dropped of to look at the reef. I realized that saying the tour dropped us off sounds like they left us there for an hour. Luckily they did not do that. 
The reef was amazing. They gave us noodles and a wetsuit to swim with. We swam out and took a look at the reef. Before we went in the guide had told us how to use the snorkel and the brown patches were the reef and the blue patches were the ocean. We swam towards what looked like the brown parts. First, we saw this giant thing of coral that stuck out like a thumb from the reef that showed as blue water because it was farther below. It was really amazing. You could compare it to Ayers’ rock. A few meters forward you came into the actual reef. It seemed like it was two feet below you and there were fish all around you. After a good look, lu and i decided to swim back but mom decided to stay out a bit. 
When we got back in, we heard a rumor that food was being prepared for lunch. We got fairly happy at the thought of that but learned we would only get lunch at the second stop. At the second stop, Mom told us it would be better to swim out much farther as we would see more. And one of the guides was giving a marine tour so me Mom and Lu decided to follow the tour. He told us about the coral and the fishes and I felt like that was really helpful and combined with the botanical talk that the other guide gave us during lunch. I gave my noodle to Lu and tried to swim without it but the waves were really choppy and I couldn’t stay afloat so I had to go back to the ship super soon. 
Our third and final destination was probably the most fun I had. Me and mom and lu went out together to explore the reef. We went super far out but then Lu decided to go back and Mom accompanied her so I waited for Mom to come back so we looked through it and there were these clouds of small teeny fish like a blanket. I’m surprised none got into my suit! When we finished we went to the third level of the ship and thought wow! We should have come up earlier. It was windy and dried off our suit earlier and we could see where the reef patches were. 
Then we headed back home. 

-hf

After a four hour layover at LAX we got on a plane to go to New Zealand. The plane flight was 12 hours long, luckily for us we rested on the plane for a bit and that helped combat the time zone change. When we landed we had to wait in a long line for customs and that took a good while, but we were rewarded when we finally got to the breakfast place called the scarecrow and ate a ton. Yum!!! After eating, and a lot of bad temper from Lu we finally were welcomed in to the warm and full of light apartment. After that we decided to crash and after that we went to eat ramen at a ramen place. Also yum! After that we walked over on to a bus and went to the museum, walking up to the museum we met a very nice lady that worked for the museum and she gave us a tour of the museum! After the incredible tour and some exploring the museum we decided to go home and sleep.

Maori meeting houses 

 The Maori, as you might be wondering, (unless you are a New Zealander)were the first to cross the ocean and settle in New Zealand. The interesting thing about the Maori is that the Maori had sailed across the ocean to new land and  the amazing thing was that the Maori had sailed acros the ocean, not in ships like the mayflower but in ships with two pontoons that had a flat deck sitting on the pontoons and that could carry up 100 people at a time. 
 Now enough of that and on to the Maori meeting houses. The meeting houses were used as a community house, or a place of peace, and if you started a fight you would be kicked out until you calmed down. The meeting houses were also considered, and not like a church or a house of worship, a sacred place ,where usually no food was allowed and no shoes were allowed inside and religious ceremonies were held there. The meeting houses were also called by other names such as a wharenui, whare rūnanga, or a whare whakairo. Also the meeting houses all had a name, and that name was usually a legendary hero, a legendary god, of a famous ancestor. And lastly the houses were sometimes given as a wedding gift.



  The Maori meeting house,above, was the meeting house that we saw at the museum. The meeting house used to be panted red for the grand opening of the museum but after months of chipping the museum finally got the original color and now they are weaving new panels for in between where the paint was chipped off. 
-HF

It was four in the morning and my sister and I had just been roused from sleep to go on a plane by ourselves to Ocean City. After the three hour long plane flight, we landed and were received by our grandparents. They took us to the house that they had rented and we changed into our bathing suits and, while grandma cooked dinner, me, my sister, and grandpa went for a walk on the beach. The walk soon became a time to play at the beach and me and my sister had much fun. But soon we had to go back to the house and eat a dinner of mac & cheese and salad, then we had to go to bed. I woke up next morning in an unfamiliar bed and then I remembered! And at that thought I let out a sigh and thought of my dear mom and dad and how I wish I could see them again.

Soon we found ourselves walking around on the boardwalk, and then getting a surrey, a four person bike, and riding around the boardwalk.

After the tiring morning we decided to go to the beach and have some fun! And…we did just that.

Once we had our fill of the beach we went to bed…but not before doing some mini golf, and then fell asleep almost immediately. The next day, after some breakfast, me and my sister found out that we would be boarding a pirate ship and going for a ride. Soon after receiving a eye patch and boarding the ship we found out that we would be fighting pirate Pete so we got out the water guns and blasted him. Although that was not the end of our pirating adventures I must finish the trip now otherwise half of the post will be taken up by them! And (again) we went to the beach after that, and after that we went to bed. (also again) . This time I woke up I learned that we would be visiting Cape May Lighthouse and then go to see Lucy the elephant, both of which were fun.(to learn more about Cape May Lighthouse and Lucy the Elephant,look at my sister’s and my other posts)

Next morning I woke up to the rain and cold, and because of that we were not able to really go to the beach. But we still went on a walk on the boardwalk, and we also went to a bookstore and got five books. And lastly but not least we went to see Finding Dory. We spent the rest of the day (and night) resting. The final day we would be staying had just come around the corner and slammed right into me. Soon we were driving along to get mom at the Tropicana bus center, then we went back to the house. And soon again! I was slammed by realization that lu, my mom, and I had to go soon. And we did we went home at nine.

-HF

The first Cape May Lighthouse was built in 1823, but due to erosion the lighthouse was moved and again, soon the lighthouse was moved and rebuilt in 1847, yet thanks to erosion the lighthouse was moved again but rebuilt in 1859. The third Cape May Lighthouse is still standing and if you go to Cape May, this is the lighthouse that you will see. This third lighthouse was built under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds. The lighthouse was automated in 1948. So far the lighthouse has changed ownership twice, the first owner was the Coast Guard, but the ownership changed hands into the state of New Jersey, who then leases the lighthouse to MAC (Mid-Atlantic Center for Arts and Humanities). MAC is the one that cleaned up the lighthouse and made it into a still a functional lighthouse and a museum.

The houses on the sides of the lighthouse are the three keepers’ houses. The house on the left is for the main keeper, the house on the right is for the two assistant keepers. Before the picture was taken the houses were about the same size. But soon, due to the assistant keepers’ complaints the house was expanded in 1903. The second keeper’s house was burnt down in 1968.

-HF   

Have you ever seen the ocean? Let alone its floor? I will take you on a journey to the bottom of the seafloor. Once you are past the coral the seafloor will drop and after the drop the life will seem to disappear but look closer and life is still thriving, but not as extravagantly as coral life. You can find families or urchins, a lone tripod fish, at the edge of perilous cliffs animals shaped to look like plants to catch micro animals such as amphipods and other such micro animals. Very rarely an entire whale will sink to the seafloor and animals will feed on it for years. The first to find such a big feast will be the hag fishes then sharks and so on, after some of the bones are picked clean plankton and bacteria will take root on the bones and live there, and after a year or so the hagfish, all ways first to come last to leave, will still chewing on some meat still there. Go even deeper and you will encounter hydrothermal vents, these vents are connected to the mantle when water seeps into holes in the ground and mixes with the magma it releases poisonous gases and a thick black steam, the temperature of the water is so hot that usually it would turn to steam but because of the high pressure the water stays water. Earlier I mentioned that hydrothermal vents released poisonous gases and might thinking“How could life survive there?” In bafflement. Well life survives by, instead of the bottom of the food chain being plants they are micro plankton and are then eaten by tube worms and stuff like the then crabs and finally to the fish which are very rare down here. To conclude this I will talk about the the natural phenomena under water lakes. Now this no doubt making you ask“Underground lakes ! ill believe underwater lakes but that is just absurd!”But it is possible it is just heavier-brine-filled water than the surrounding water.

-HF

The day of the field trip, before my class got on to the buses, at home, me and my mom packed our bags for the field trip and went to school. After going through the procedures we disembarked, we being the whole of 4th grade, including 77 smelly, loud and not to mention nerdy, and awesome people scattered throughout the throng. I joined up with my group consisting of my mom one of my best friends and his mom and three other friends we, as a group, named ourselves the nerds. First the whole of 4th grade got on two school buses and went to … ONE MILE ABOVE SEA LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aka thirteen step of the capital building. Then our troop moved onward and yon-ward until we got to… MC. Donald’s! The only thing to say about that is … well don‘t go there. After we got there and went we loaded onto ONE insanely packed bus to go to City Park. After City Park the rest of the day went past in a blaze as we were so fatigued, but we still we went to Union Station jumped on the 150 Meridian( I think…) and saw some cool stuff. And for dinner we went to the Old Spaghetti factory. The end of the days excitement had ended. At least I had thought so! No not quite the excitement had far from ended as, I am a boy I had to sleep with the rest of the boys and boy where the loud! No one fell asleep till 11:00 pretty much.

Once we had all woken up we ate a sugar filled breakfast. And started the ghost part of the tour where we got to see some of the creepiest houses in Denver. Then we were able to see the Supreme Court it was AWESOME!! But that pretty much ended our day. So we went back to the mansion and got on buses and drove back to school

-HF

As you have probably already noticed I like dragons and this is about them.

theme song

Dragons so many to cover the probably most known, as the star show the night furry toothless  is the sweetest dragon ever and most power full as Hiccups Horrendous Haddock The Third (I love saying that) the (also) star of the show but I think that there are much more powerful (as in the changewing witch can camouflage and shoot acid)  but it makes sense that that the star gets the most powerful dragon. Now on to the dragons.

I will start with the common dragons as in the Deadly Nadder, Gronckle, and the Monsteres Nightmare etcetera etcetera…

The Deadly Nadder.
These dragons are a lot like the screaming death, both can shot spines from their tail but the similarities end there. Nadders have the best fire for welding nice and concentrated hot fire un like the Monstress Nightmare witch has fire that is hot but is more in a loose line then the Nadder. Also Nadders have wide apart claws on there feet. (very good for grabbing sheep!)

The Monsteres Nightmare.                                                                The Monsteres Nightmare use to be a big problem in Berk these dragons can light themselves on fire as their body in covered head to toe in Monsteres Nightmare gel a green saliva produced by the Monsteres Nightmare it’s self, can be collected and used. The  Monsteres Nightmare is a big fellow probably the bigest common dragon.

The Treble Terror.                                                                                       These tiny terrors are small no doubt but bad as the name suggest          they are treble! They have no spacial thing. (except for being small)      also they have an even more concentrated fire then Nadders.                  But they make the most best  pet ever!

The Hideous Zippleback.                                                                                                              This particular dragon has two heads one shoots flammable gas the other sparks it and sets it on fire all dragons gather this gas to shot (except for Night Furies) witch they gather in their throat. The Hideous Zippleback also in good trade on the market to!(as Zippleback boots and clothing)

The Gronckle                                                                                                A ferocious stead indeed these bolder class dragons are tough and mean (well at least they were) but they are now some of the cutesiest dragons on berk. they have 6 shots unless they eat a rock then they belch Gronckle lava.

-HF 🙂

My son and I were talking tonight about some of the things that will be strange about traveling for the year. He noted that he’ll really miss our house and his friends and how everything will be so different when we return. Then we started talking about the rhythm of our lives and how that is mostly separated out into weekdays–the days he goes to school and I go to work–and weekends, when we are home with few obligations. Aside from the time when we are in Ireland, where I will be ‘working’ and our schedules will be pretty set, the first five months of our journey will be not only rootless, they will also be free from these rhythms that we have become so used to. And while not everyday will be a ‘weekend day,’ free of schedules and appointments, neither will it be a ‘week’ day where we all go off on our separate ways in the morning and then meet up again in the afternoon. I suspect that the daily rhythms of those first five months will be a kind of hybrid of weekend and week days; that is, partly celebratory, emancipatory and free of obligations and partly prone to schedules and timetables and meeting deadlines. But of course all that will be unmoored from our everyday life in Denver, making for a strange and wonderful way of experiencing time and our relationship to each other.

This is my dad!