January 10 - 12

On Wednesday, my family and I went to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. We went with Jamie and Tess, good friends of my mom and dad’s. First when we got there, we saw some Cheetah’s and growing cubs. Their enclosure was right next to the Zebra. The Zebra would be teasing them because they couldn’t get at him through the fence. Next I saw a Panda Bear for the first time. The Panda Bear had a baby in July. I didn’t see the baby because there were special tickets to see the baby. You can find the Panda Cam here

I saw a Gorilla. Did you know that King Kong was a vegetarian? Yep, he was. I also saw a Naked Mole Rat. Sometimes they aren’t really naked just to tell you, they still have a little bit of fur! I also got to see a Komodo Dragon. They are almost extinct.

On Thursday, I went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum with my Dad. We got to see the original Chuck Yeager airplane called the Bell X-1. I wrote my report last year on Chuck Yeager. He is still alive and came to see his plane in the museum. He was the first man to go Mach 1. We also saw the SpaceShipOne. Space Ship One was the first plane to go into space. It was built by a private company owned by Burt Rutan. It also can carry three people. People will pay in the future to go to space. Only test pilots can go today. I also go to touch a moon rock. It was really cool because you got to actually feel and touch it. It felt very smooth, and not a bit like cheese! It was black. I was surprised by that. It was a volcanic rock.

We also visited Arlington National Cemetary. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and my second eternal flame at the grave of John F. Kennedy.

Michael

January 5 – 8

The first day we were in New York City we went to a HUGE camera store. My Grandpa gave me $100 to buy a camera for the trip. I found a camera that like a lot. I plan to take lots of pictures on our trip.

On Sunday, I went on a ferry to Ellis Island. On the way, we passed the Statue of Liberty. Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France. When we got back to the dock, there were two people dressed up as the Statue of Liberty, fighting about who was the real Statue of Liberty! They were wearing sunglasses.

Michael

January 3 – 4

In Atlanta, we went to the Coca Cola Museum. It showed lots of history, it never told us about the secret recipe though! On the second floor, we got to taste lots of Coca Cola drinks and other Coca Cola drinks from around the world. I drank lots!

The next day, we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site. We learned a lot about his life and work. We visited the church where he grew up and saw was he was buried. That is where I saw my first eternal flame.

Michael

December 31 – January 1

In Saint Paul Minnesota the biggest surprise came up. I was invited to go on stage with Mr. Garrison Keillor and go on the radio live in front of the whole United States. The reason I was invited was because I was the youngest person in the whole audience. I was very, very scared. But I did it! I sat on a high stool, and answered a few questions. If you go to you can hear the show and in the first hour, he talks to me for a minute. It was New Year’s Eve, and the show ended at 1:00 in the morning 2006.

Another fun thing in Saint Paul was the snow. I had fun throwing snowballs at my Dad.

Michael