Home, sweet, home!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

      I’ve been sitting at my computer for some time, trying to keep my mind focused on work.  However, it continues to drift back toward my travels this week to Harlaxton College, in England for a 30 year reunion.   I arrived home Sunday evening, June 11^th and I have been unable to concentrate on anything as the Harlaxton magic continues to pull my thoughts its way.  Thank goodness a good friend talked me into attending because it truly was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.   It seemed so peaceful and the cares of our adult world fell away as we all became 21 again, even if for a short time.  Just yesterday I sat at the table looking at Pikes Peak and thinking I am the luckiest girl in the world.  Great friends, family, and career! 

The Old Oak Staircase

Medieval Feast with my buds!

     During this trip, we made visits around the Grantham area, then spent about four days in London and one day in Paris.  However, for me the best was the time spent at Harlaxton, walking the grounds, and soaking up the manor’s majesty and breathtaking beauty. 

The sun room

Reliving vivid memories, and thinking about people who made my time there, so wonderful 30 years ago.  This reunion became another chapter which extended my time at Harlaxton. I can’t say enough about how 30 years just seemed to melt away and it seemed like it had only been 3 days since we had last seen one another.  Truly magic!  It was great to see that same awe and wonder in the eyes of everyone who was there.

Buds forever!

     Every evening we took long walks down the drive or to the village pond and just walked and talked reconnecting  and getting to know perhaps some we didn’t know as well,  but got to know better this time.  Some mornings we didn’t get back to our room until 3:00 a.m.!  When was the last time any of us did that? 

The Mile long drive past the gate house

I will be forever grateful for my time at Harlaxton as I have been shaped and molded into the person I am as a result of this incredible experience.  I was reminded that the manor holds its mystical spell over us and it is the people who made and make it such a wonderful experience.   Hopefully, those who didn’t make it this time will be on for Evansville next April and Turkey in 2012.  It will be an awesome time!

Harlaxton Magic

Railroad Museum

 Today we went to Sacramento and spent the day at the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento and Sacramento History Museum.  We learned a lot about the Transcontinental Railroad which helps give teachers more background when teaching about the railroad.  The museum had lots of different trains throughout train history.  We saw examples of Pullman coaches which was very cool, considering we went to the Pullman Museum in Chicago last year.

Dinner?

  The museum spoke about how a young nation began a new way of life, but destroyed the Indians.  We also learned about the contribution the Chinese made to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and how they lived a very healthy life.

Chinese immigrant

One of the two gold spikes was recovered 5 generations after the man’s family who had paid for them to be made, gave them to the museum to display. That was awesome to see!

The Lost Golden Spike

The Pony Express Riders began in Sacramento and that was very interesting, especially as I’m from Missouri and St. Joseph is where the express ended.

Dana, Lindsey, and I went down to the American River to put our feet in the river where John Marshall who worked for Mr. Sutter, found gold and changed the United States forever causing  the Gold Rush.   The mill was actually at a different place, the desk clerk told us, but the same river.

River of Gold!

      Old Sacramento was very touristy but we had a great time shopping and eating a great meal at Fat City Restaurant.  The veggie lasagna was delicious.

All I can say is, “WOW!!!!!” Dana, Lindsey, and I just returned from seeing WICKED.  I have stars in my eyes and a song in my head that keeps repeating, “Because I knew you…….la, la, la.   Gosh, I wish Scott Whitehead had been here, I think he would have loved it. This is the kind of musical that keeps people going back for a similar experience.  I am sooo glad Lindsey found tickets for cheap.  I really want to buy the sound track and learn all the music.  When we were walking home the fog had rolled in above us and it was truly a magical moment.  Too fun!

Foggyy Evening

Earlier in the day we attended a class at the California Historical Society where I think we were able to look at some really summeries of cases that led to Brown vs. Board of Education like Plessy vs. Ferguson, Dred Scott, etc.  That was cool. 

Also, there was a very interesting, handwritten letter from James Otis’s nephew chronicling his adventures across the ocean to China at the age of 16.  Pretty cool stuff and his beautiful handwriting is a great example to show students.

James Otis's newphew's letter about travels on a steamer to China

Afterward, Linsey and I took off for Haight-Ashbury, saw lots of peace and love.  Then headed for some inexpensive shopping in China townwhere I bought a yellow San Francisco jacket which made me quite happy.  Up until then I was shivering in the San Francisco cold.  Now life is good again.

Orpheus Theatre

I left my cell phone in the van, what a bummer.  I’m sure I will miss having contact with my family.  Once we arrived in San Francisco and checked into the Hilton, a group of us walked to the Ferry Building.  We were immediately struck with how different San Fran is than New York.  Panhandling is much more rampant and a lesser police force is evident.  I do not feel near as safe here as we did in New York.  We walked along and shopped at some of the street vendors along the way.  We saw lots of jewelry and all kinds of stuff. 

     The real excitement came later in the evening when all of us went to Kulecko’s Italian restaurant and Donna, Lindsey, Dana, Genevive, John, ___________ and I got stuck in this teeny, elevator.  Wall to wall people.  Oh my.  When we really realized we were stuck it was hard to keep from panicking, as it became hotter and there was no air circulating.  Dana called the phone on the elevator car to let them know we were stuck and then Matt who was really funny, but not. After about 15 minutes they pried the door open and into the restaurant we went to share dinner.   The food was excellent!

Monday, June 21, 2010

      I’m missing my family a lot.  Without my phone it is hard and people have been kind to loan theirs but I didn’t memorize many numbers because I’m used using the phone list in my phone.  We went on a walking tour of San Fran today.  Our guide took us to China Town, Little Italy, the Barbary Coast, and all kinds of interesting places.  We ate lunch at a baseball restaurant called Lefty O’Doul’s.  After the walking tour finished, a bunch of us opted to catch the bus to Fishernan’s Wharf.  We walked along the water, shopped at the street vendors, bought a couple of pair of earrings, saw the Dolphin Club swimming in the bay, hiked up to Ghirardelli Square and observed their chocolate making process and of course we had to try some.  Very tasty!  Their hot fudge is amazingly good.  Then we headed to the Wharf and got sidetracked with designer purses. Donna, and Lindsey each bought a purse or two and got to experience the room behind the wall. It was pretty funny.  Finally, we made it to the Wharf and saw all of the seafood such as lobster and crab for sale.  Some of the crabs were still moving after being cooked.  That freaked us all out.  It didn’t seem that most of us were seafood lovers, so we went to a bakery and I enjoyed bread bowl chili.  Then we were enticed by the purses behind the wall again and missed our bus like three times.  It grew very cool temperature wise on the wharf.  I was glad to finally make it back to the hotel and crash.  It was really a fun day.  We also landed tickets for WICKED for only fifty dollars for tomorrow evening!  Anybody else want to go?  That price is sooo much better than the $200 tickets in New York.  Cool!

June 19, 2010

I’ve had a few days to sit and reflect about the New York trip, and all I can say is WOW! What an incredible experience!  Our time was filled with visits to fabulous historical sights such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Little Italy, Central Park, Five Points, Tenement House Museum, Ellis Island, the Erie Canal, Ticonderoga and Saratoga, Harriet Tubman and William Seward’s home.  And that is the short list.  Our group exerienced educational program experiences, such as EY Zipris Primary Source Workshop, which will be  become invaluable as we translate our New York experience into the classroom.  This trip has given me so much background information and will provide enrichment  for my class and students.   Our group experienced soooo many different things and we wore ourselves out!

Of course, the opportunity to be dropped into New York City’s  past and present for a week and a half was such a treat!  While there, I found the city to be very safe and New Yorkers extremely helpful and kind.  Looking back, it is so amazing that such a diverse population has learned to coexist effectively and rather peacefully.  The city sounds and hordes of people are everywhere, all the time and that was pretty cool.  New Yorkers were extremely kind to answer any questions we asked, to the point of walking along with us, and making sure we didn’t get lost. The New York Police force boasts 40,000 police officers, who can say more with their facial expressions than most people with their voices.

New York is a great example of a melting pot full of people from all walks of life, who choose to live in the city to make their fame and fortune.  There are some who can’t wait to make the almighty dollar, get out, and others who would never dream of leaving New York. 

     When asked what my favorite activity was, I have to say it seems to change daily.  At the moment, visiting Teddy Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill home comes to mind.  While sitting in rocking chairs on his front porch, it became easy to imagine him and his wife doing the very same thing not long ago.  Walking across the lawn and hiking with friends through the woods to Oyster Bay was pretty amazing as well. 

Oyster Bay

I could just see the Roosevelt children spending their days collecting shells, oysters, crabs, and other sea creatures at the beach.  Then, to have these lovely woods to hike through, must have been pure delight.  I really enjoyed hearing that Teddy reserved playtime his kids at the 4:00 hour, and the dinner table was reserved for family time.  I think perhaps those are some lessons families could learn today.  When it’s all said and done what do we leave behind – family and hopefully positive impacts upon those we love.  For some reason, I also enjoyed the simplicity of the Roosevelt’s grave site covered with ivy.  It seemed very quaint and peaceful. 

Oyster Bay

          In upstate New York, Fort Ticonderoga was an enjoyable site to see.  I took a few minutes and walked to the garden below the fort, and discovered a delightful greenhouse, flower and vegetable garden once I passed through a wrought iron gate and a red, brick wall, that enclosed the garden.  

The Secret Garden!  Ooh!Of course  the boat ride on the Erie Canal will allow me to bring first hand photos of the canal opening and closing to share with my class.  To think the canal cut the cost of shipping 90-95%.  Awesome!

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at night was awessome.  We  felt safe and thoroughly enjoyed the views all around.   Thank you Jonathan for assigning McCullough’s book as I wouldn’t have had any background on that bridge or understood its importance.  My experience in New York has given me a new appreciation for its history and the part it plays in the world as a major city.  Now, I better understand why New York is considered to be the center of the world culturally, and financially to so many. 

I feel blessed to have been able to attend Boston, Philly, Chicago, and New York.  Thank you gentlemen for a job well done! 

I’m glad we stopped by Chester Arthur’s grave site on the way to the airport, as it is interesting to see how different each Presidential grave site is.  In comparison with Teddy Roosevelt’s, I felt Arthur’s monument lacked the warmth and charm of the green ivy covered graves and the tall, wrought iron gates surrounding Teddy and and Edith’s graves.

Teddy and Edith Roosevelt's grave

Of course, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s graves are right in the middle of his mother’s rose garden with their pets.

Roosevelt Rose Garden

After arriving back to Pueblo, I was amazed at how lovely the stars and cool wind seemed to me.  It was wonderful to experience New York City, and Upstate New York, but their is nothing like coming home.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

James Hughto was our guide and he gave us lots of good information about these forts.  First we watched the video Something More at Stake and we  were informed that  Saratoga was a changing point in the war.  What beautiful countryside! The lake on the way to Ticonderoga looked so inviting.  The surrounding terrain was green, with cabins here and there.   We saw a mountain with a small peak with flag poles at the top and that is Mt. Defiance where the British put their guns in 1777 campaign overlooking Ft. Ticonderoga.  At the bottom of hill is where outlet of Lake George flows to Lake Champlain.  This is where Abercrombie set up headquarters during the French and Indian War.  This assault that the British fought against Ft. Caroline is significant to the Campaign of 1777 and revolution in general.  Hughto also told us the outlet cascades through several waterfalls hence the name Carillion because the French felt cascading waterfalls sounded like a musical instrument.  To start our tour we stopped at the French lines, which are just inside the gate of Fort Ticonderoga which borders Vermont.  Mt. Defiance felt that the British would not be able to get canons up their but General Phillips said, “Where a goat can go a man can go”, and proved it by dragging to Mt. Defiance.   

      Walking around the fort was pretty awesome and being able to see Point Defiant was great.  The view of Lake Champlain was spellbinding.  

The Fort was used during the French and Indian and American Revolutionary War by the British.   After the battle at Lexintgon and Concord, The Green Mountain Boys, Benedict Arnold, and Ethan Allen forced the British to give up the fort.  Former book seller Henry Knox began moving captured cannon to Boston to provide General Washington with much needed supplies.     

       Phillip Schuyler was replaced with Horatio Gates because fort had been taken without a shot.  American’s pulled out of Fort Ticonderoga and retreated all the way to the Mohawk River and Gates in charge from there.   We followed John Burgoyne’s route to Saratoga.  Upon retreat American’s crossed bridge of boats in the night and slipped away from the British who pursued them.  The American’s did leave behind a couple of guys and cannons across the lake from Ticonderoga.  The cannon they left were given instructions to fire upon bridge of boats when British were coming. 

     The British pursued and caught straggling Americans at Hoverton, Vermont.  Hughto felt the British should have taken note of how the American’s were fighting, as they would pretend to surrender then turn on them.  The Hoverton Battle was a defeat for Americans who retreated to the Mohawk River.  Then the British main army sailed up Lake Champlain towards Whitehall.   (Vermont across the lake.)  Whitehall founded by Phillip Skein (sp?) awarded for service during the French Indian War and brought in Scotch Irish settlers named Skeinsborough after him. It was a boat manufacturing center.  Hughto informed us that the mountains to the right were the Adirondacks which are still rising, as they go up about a ¼ of an inch a year.  In the distance to left are the Green Mountains of Vermont.  Just across the lake represent the Teconic Mountains which are some of the oldest. 

     Three weeks after the battle of Lexington and Concord Ethan Allen and the green mountain boys surprised the British and took over the fort by dawn capturing Ft. Ticonderoga.  The greatest treasures were cannon and ammunitions which book seller Henry Knox managed to take overland in the winter to drive British from Boston. 

     Whitehall claims to be the birthplace of the U.S. navy where Benedict Arnold built his boats and battled Valcore Island.  The British pursed the Americans and captured wounded and sick sent to Whitehall for their safety and imprisoned them, Phillip Skein stayed for about 10 days and Americans got their act together the Great Portage between Lake Champlain and Hudson River.  22 mile stretch and takes British 22 days to move 22 miles because of all the cut down trees.

    Ft. Ann was a small fort built to guard the portage of La Portage and.  In this area Robert Rogers’s rangers would confront the French.  This was contested ground.  San Luc was a Frenchman who went native and seemed to be everywhere during the French and Indian war.  He drove Robert Rogers crazy. 

Fort Edward split by the Hudson River.  It was not a strong fort, British advance one mile a day that our bus drove along.  Once Burgoyne gets to Ft. Edward there are no more falls and he can get supplies on boats but army will march. We passed by an island where Rogers would muster his men.

 I learned today that there were two Saratoga Battles.  I did not know that.  It was also interesting to compare Arnold with Timothy McVeigh the Oklahoma Bomber with Benedict Arnold who were both war heroes, but turned against their country afterward. A good comparison and one I may use in my classroom.  When my students  get to Benedict Arnold, we will discuss him, I will explain the word traitor, and possibly compare him to Timothy McVeigh. I’m sure it will be thought provoking.  I am assuming the man who put the monument up for Arnold knew him. 

Having visited Ticonderoga and Saratoga will certainly enlived classroom discussions about these battles, and allow me to teach on these subjects more effectively.  Thank you Jonathan, Scott, and Matt!

The Gang

Monday, June 14, 2010

Wesleyan Church

      We left one minute ahead of schedule bound for the Women’s Rights Museum in Seneca Falls.  (Just the way I like it – a schedule FULL and moving from one place to the next quickly. No time to let grass grow under our feet!)  What an awesome place.  As a little girl I remember hearing lots of talk about equal rights and its impact upon society, and the work place. Then when I went to work for Safeway as a teenager, I remember hearing that women would be paid the same amount of money on the union scale as men and how everyone thought that was amazing.  Little did I realize,   such a long, hard, fight occurred years before by women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony to secure rights, I now benefit from.  Way to go girls! This is a good lesson to teach students that sometimes you must take a stand on issues, you believe in, despite the opposition.  (I purchased a DVD about women’s rights to reinforce classroom materials.)

     In 1840 Henry Stanton attended a World Anti-Slavery conference in London with his wife Elizabeth where they met Lucretia Mott.  However, the women were banned from the conference and struck up an acquaintance in which they fussed about the similarities between women and slavery.  Since they were unable to attend the conference they decided to start their own.   In 1847 the Stanton’s moved to Seneca Falls, NY.    

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Seneca Fall's Home

Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s home looked like a great place to raise seven children.  The lake was just beyond her home across the street and her 1837 house sat in the middle of a large, green yard.  When Elizabeth married her father gave her this home that needed renovation, so her father gave her the money and told her to go for it!  So she hired men to do carpentry work in her home and had them add orchards and gardens to the back.  In 1851 Elizabeth met Susan B. Anthony for the first time, later she and her family moved to New York City in 1862. All seven of her children attended college.

      Next, we visited the McClintock House

McClintock House - Ladies Meeting

where five ladies, Jane Hunt, Martha Wright (Elizabeth’s pregnant sister), Lucretia Mott, Stanton and McClintock got together to discuss all the rights denied to women and decided to begin their own convention. 

We made another stop to the William Seward home

Seward Home

which was absolutely stunning.  He was the Governor of New York, a United States senator yet went against laws of the land and helped slaves gain freedom. I think this is a great jumping off point to discuss with students whether or not Seward was justified in his actions.  Why or why not?  I think I will definitely see who are or aren’t the rule breakers with this discussion.   How would students act if they found themselves in such a situation?  Seward became Lincoln’s Secretary of State and was a target of the same assassination attempt, which eventually President Lincoln died from.  Fortunately, Steward’s daughter was with him and both sons were home.  When the assassin showed up at the door, he pretended to have medicine to attend to an already wounded Seward.  He was let in, but his son became suspicious, told him his father was resting, and he would see that he got the medicine.  The next thing you know, Stanford’s son is beaten and slips into a coma.  His daughter Fannie screams loudly while the man is stabbing Stanton, and her brother wakes up, they pull him off their father, he runs downstairs, to meet a government messenger, and knifes a man in the back.  They find him in about three days.  Seward’s sheet with a rusty blood stain from this attack was on display at his home.  Apparently, the family saved what most would have thrown away.  

     Our next stop was a quick tour of Harriet Tubman’s 7 acre home in Auburn, NY, which she purchased from her friend Mrs. Seward’s husband William and later bought more land to equal 25 acres. 

Harriet Tubman's home under renovation

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and helped many of her family and 100s of slaves to leave slavery by the Underground Railroad, getting them from house to house.  The Seward’s were staunch abolitionists and became friends with Harriet.  Harriet ‘s  first husband was murdered according to our guide Christine.  She married a South Carolina soldier who later died of tuberculosis.   A memorable quote that I will use on my wall at school this year will be, one of Tubman’s quotes,

“…If you are tired, keep going, if you are scared, keep going, if you are hungry, keep going; if you want to taste freedom, keep going.”   Harriet Tubman. 

This is so applicable in the classroom and in life.  A great lesson in perseverance can be taught with those words and actions.   I wish I could bottle it especially for my students.  Sometimes they become faint of heart, and if I could just convince them to strive for the goal and attain it – they will see that it would be sooo worth it.     

Harriet Tubman

            Next, we went on a peaceful and lovely ride on the Erie Canal at Pittsford.  When we get to that lesson next year, I will certainly be able to add my first had experience of taking a boat ride on it and learning about the tunnels underneath big enough you can stand in.  They open and close the tunnels depending on which direction they want the water to go, operated on gravity.  It was fun to see the boat go up as the water rose.  Then it was just a peaceful ride.  There is nothing like peace.

Erie Canal

Erie Canal

      Overall today, the thing I got most out of today was the concept of perseverance.   Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, provided an example by continuing to fight an exhausting women’s rights battle.  Also, Harriet Tubman and the Stanton ‘s  worked to abolish slavery and to change their world.  As a result of this  I think one of the most important lessons I will try to impart to my students is “…If you are tired, keep going, if you are scared, keep going, if you are hungry, keep going; if you want to taste freedom, keep going.”   Harriet Tubman.  In fifth grade this is one of the great lessons I can teach my students is to persevere– you can do it, get through, push hard, and keep going. 

Wow!  This was my kind of day move, move, push, go, go, go, – Wow!  We won’t remember how tired we are just how cool it was.  I appreciate a jam packed day! 

Baseball Hall of Fame

Sunday, June 13, 2010

      After a Hampton Inn breakfast, we headed off for Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I was soooo impressed with the lesson plans the education department offered us on geometry, civil and women’s rights.  I will definitely incorporate these lessons in my classroom.  I am not a huge baseball fan but I left the Hall of Fame reflecting that I should rethink the baseball thing, and attend the next baseball game I’m invited to. (Perhaps, I will reconsider going to the game in San Francisco.)  I really enjoyed seeing players that I remembered my dad and his brother talking about like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Lou Gehrig.  Last year, I had a boy in my class that loved football.  If I could tie football into something he would buy into it. I think the lessons the Hall of Fame provide will be invaluable.  However, I was surprised they did not offer a video providing an overview of baseball’s history for educators.   My students would love that.   I did suggest it on a comment card.

Eva, Kelli Jo, and I ate a quick pizza lunch, shopped until we left for  Fenimore Art Museum which displayed John Singer Sergeants artwork.  Fortunately, we saw his portrait titled Madame X while in New York. 

     We toured the women’s dress collection, and my favorite picture was of a little black girl who was held in for recess looking out the window with longing and a little attitude, to be outside.  I think I will enlarge that photo and show my students that they are not the only children throughout history to lose recess.  That was my favorite painting of the whole collection.  The black and whites downstairs were awesome. As I began to view the collection the first photograph I saw, was a distraught photo of Jackie Kennedy attending the funeral of her husband, which caught my breath immediately.  Right away I thought to myself this is going to be hard, realizing that if the exhibit started off such a photo, there would be others that provoked raw emotion.

     Next, we toured the Farmers Museum, in which the whole group rode a carousel, which provided a glance of an old school, tavern, blacksmith shop, sheep, church, gardens, and hops used to flavor and preserve beer, and act as a sedative.  According to one of the workers, women often made pillows out of hops to relieve stress symptoms.

     Then we went to have dinner in a beautiful resort hotel and ate at the Hawkeye restaurant. Unfortunately, all of us were not able to sit outside, but I went down by the lake front and soaked up the beauty of the area.  It incredibly serene and provided a much needed time of reflection and prayer.  Nature’s beauty calms the soul.  Upstate New York ground appears to be covered with a brilliant, green carpet, and hills half topped with haze.  What a beautiful sight compared to Pueblo.  

Lake Oteswaga?

     I ordered the steak special, ate two bites, and then passed the remainder to Hutch.    I wanted all that came with it but not the steak.  The cheesecake was fabulous!

This morning we arrived at Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill home better known as the Summer White House.  The property was lush, green, and heavily treed. Theodore and his wife Edith’s home was filled with fur rugs of animals TR had killed as well as their dining room set they purchased in Italy on their honeymoon.  Dark green shades hung over the windows, with dark paneling and stairs throughout.  A very masculine decorated home.  What a fascinating life TR led.  We learned much about his personal, and presidential life today.  Apparently, Roosevelt went to grade school with his 2^nd wife Edith, they dated, and had a spat and broke up.  His first wife Alice died after giving birth to their daughter Alice.  Later Roosevelt and Edith reconnected and they married and had 5 more children.

As President Roosevelt wins the Nobel Peace Prize and he thinks it is stupid and it takes him five years to pick it up.

A group of us walked down to Oyster Bay and thoroughly enjoyed walking on a rolling path of dead, pressed down leaves, until we came to a wood ramp taking us past a reed area. Then to the sandy beach covered with oyster shells, horseshoe crabs, and various sea life that had washed ashore.   We enjoyed taking pictures and exploring a bit.  Pretty cool!

We went to the museum where I took lots of pictures to pictures, and then Eva and I hoofed it back to the front porch to sit where Teddy and Edith would sit to watch the evening so we could snap some pictures.

Then we went to Young’s cemetery and saw Teddy and Edith Roosevelt’s grave, surrounded by a tall black wrought iron fence, and covered with luxuriant  ground coverings. One of the most quaint yet elegant Presidential grave sites I’ve seen.

We stopped in Cold Springs Bay for a lunch at a quaint bakery which served a knock out carrot cake.  I was surprised at the huge spaces of green rolling hills.  Dinner was eaten in the little town of Oneonta.