ToyVoyagers - Travelling Toys - Little Things on Big Adventures

Hi Mom!!

Today I got on the computer and did a bunch of research on the state of North Carolina. I have prepared a big report for you to read about the Tarheel state!! I am having fun and a new TV arrived today named Holgihh. Now there is a big gang of us here in the house and we are having a great time! I hope you enjoy my report!!

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/DarciesTVs/north_carolina.gif

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww183/DarciesTVs/North_Carolina_Tar_Heels-1.jpg

North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies North Carolina as a southern state in the subcategory of being one of the South Atlantic States.

North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds—Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States.

Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, melons, and cotton. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most rural section, with few large towns or cities. Agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of the coastal plain: the Neuse, Tar, Pamlico, and Cape Fear, tend to be slow-moving and wide.

The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "fall line", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Sauratown Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowder's Mountain, King's Pinnacle, the Brushy Mountains, and the South Mountains. The Piedmont ranges from about 300–400 feet (90–120 m) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. Due to the rapid population growth of the Piedmont, many of the farms and much of the rural countryside in this region is being replaced by suburbanization: shopping centers, housing developments, and large corporate office parks. Agriculture is steadily declining in importance in this region. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin and Catawba, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow.

The western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Balsam Mountains, and the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest in the Eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m).[3] It is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Although agriculture remains important, tourism has become the dominant industry in the mountains. One agricultural pursuit which has prospered and grown in recent decades is the growing and selling of Christmas Trees. Due to the higher altitude of the mountains, the climate often differs markedly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a midwestern state than a southern one.

North Carolina has 17 major river basins. Five of the state's river basins: the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New, are part of the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. All the others flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico.

The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which keeps temperatures mild in winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C); the average daytime winter temperature in the coastal plain is usually in the mid-60's. Temperatures in the coastal plain rarely drop below freezing even at night. The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all.

The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont often average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of Fayetteville. Additionally, the weaker influence of the Atlantic Ocean means that temperatures in the Piedmont often fluctuate more widely than the coast.

In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that are usually in the mid 50's, and temperatures often drop below freezing at night. The region averages from 3–5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6–8 inches in the Raleigh–Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for sleet and freezing rain. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year.

The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the low 40's and upper 30's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (−9 °C) or lower on winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the Blizzard of 1993 more than 50 inches (130 cm) of snow fell on Mount Mitchell over a period of three days.

Severe weather occurs regularly in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years, several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly strike the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. Although many people believe that hurricanes menace only coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in Charlotte and even as far inland as the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail, flash floods, and damaging winds.

North Carolina averages fewer than 20 tornadoes per year. Many of these are produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western piedmont is often protected by the mountains breaking storms up as they try to cross over them. The storms will often reform farther east. Also a weather feature known as "cold air damming" occurs in the western part of the state. This can also weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter.

North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including those of the ancient Mississippian culture established by 1000 A.D. in the Piedmont. Historically documented tribes included Cherokee, Tuscarora, Cheraw, Pamlico, Meherrin, Coree, Machapunga, Cape Fear Indians, Waxhaw, Saponi, Tutelo, Waccamaw, Coharie, and Catawba.

Spanish explorers traveling inland encountered the last of the Mississippian culture at Joara, near present-day Morganton. Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567 Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition into the interior of North Carolina on a journey to claim the area for the Spanish colony, as well as establish another route to protect silver mines in Mexico (the Spanish did not realize the distances involved.) Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca. The expedition built Fort San Juan and left 30 men, while Pardo traveled further, establishing five other forts. He returned by a different route to Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina, then a center of Spanish Florida. In the spring of 1568, natives killed all the soldiers and burned the six forts in the interior, including the one at Fort San Juan. The Spanish never returned to the interior to press their colonial claim, but this marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera and archaeological findings at Joara have confirmed the settlement.[9][10]

Sir Walter Raleigh returns to find the colony abandonedIn 1584, Elizabeth I, granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then Virginia).[11] Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. It was the second American territory the British attempted to colonize. The demise of one, the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, remains one of the great mysteries of American history. Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587. Dare County is named for her.

As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of Albemarle Sound. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to establish a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father Charles I.[12] By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, due to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and South Carolina. The latter became a crown colony in 1729.

Reconstructed royal governor's mansion Tryon Palace in New BernThe first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were British colonists who migrated south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655.[13] By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale British settlement.[14] During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave the province to the Lords Proprietors, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King Charles I (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the Earl Granville holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.[15]

Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the low country and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. The Tidewater in eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from England and the Scottish Highlands. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish and German Protestants, the so-called "cohee". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish from Ireland were the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the Revolutionary War, the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain.

Most of the English colonists arrived as indentured servants, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from relationships or marriages between free white women and enslaved or free African or African-American men. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.[16] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain, more slaves were imported and the state's restrictions on slavery hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco.

On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress. The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the state flag and state seal.[17] Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce guerilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. A major American victory in the war took place at King's Mountain along the North Carolina–South Carolina border. On October 7, 1780 a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the State of Tennessee) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson. Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories.

The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina, the Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."[15]

Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior American Army were crippling. Following this "Pyhrric victory", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis's eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence.

Antebellum Period
On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh, still standing today. Most of North Carolina's slave owners and large plantations were located in the eastern portion of the state. Although North Carolina's plantation system was smaller and less cohesive than those of Virginia, Georgia or South Carolina, there were significant numbers of planters concentrated in the counties around the port cities of Wilmington and Edenton, as well as suburban planters around the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Durham. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina, often to the derision of the generally non-slave holding "yeoman" farmers of Western North Carolina. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129–mile (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).[15]

In addition to slaves, there were a number of free people of color in the state. Most were descended from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the eighteenth century. After the Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Enough were inspired by their efforts and the language of men's rights, and arranged for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.[18]

On October 25, 1836 construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad[19] to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro, High Point, and Charlotte. During the Civil War the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

During the antebellum period North Carolina was an overwhelmingly rural state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of Wilmington, had a population of more than 10,000. Raleigh, the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents.

While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated than in some Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African-Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern Tidewater. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in the state. They were also concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern where they had access to a variety of jobs. Free African Americans were allowed to vote until 1835, when the state rescinded their suffrage.

In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which about one-third of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. This was a smaller proportion than many Southern states. In addition, the state had a substantial number of Free Negroes, just over 30,000.[20] The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister-state, South Carolina, becoming the second to last state to join the Confederacy. North Carolina was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— far more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dying of disease, battlefield wounds, and starvation. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond.

Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. This was particularly true of non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the war, while some covertly supported the Union cause during the conflict. Approximately 2,000 North Carolinians from western North Carolina enlisted in the Union Army and fought for the North in the war, and two additional Union Army regiments were raised in the coastal areas of the state that were occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863. Even so, Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville, which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.[15] In April 1865 after losing the Battle of Morrisville, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, in what is today Durham, North Carolina. This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of Wilmington was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union. It fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher.

Bennett Place historic site in Durham, North Carolina.The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox."

Film studios are located in Shelby, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem. Some of the best-known films and television shows filmed in the state include: All the Real Girls, Being There, Blue Velvet, Bull Durham, A Walk to Remember, Glory (film), The Color Purple, Cabin Fever, Super Mario Bros. (film), Cape Fear, Children of the Corn, The Crow, Dawson's Creek, Dirty Dancing, Evil Dead 2, The Fugitive, The Green Mile, Hannibal, The Last of the Mohicans, Nell, One Tree Hill, Patch Adams (film), Shallow Hal, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Leatherheads, Nights in Rodanthe and 28 Days. Half of Steven King's movies were filmed in North Carolina. The television show most associated with North Carolina is The Andy Griffith Show, which aired on CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, although it was filmed in California. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith. The show is still popular in reruns and is frequently shown in syndication around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the National Black Theatre Festival and the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina.

The School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is a unique arts conservatory that combines rigorous professional training with unparalleled facilities, equipment and resources. All Second, Third and Fourth Year productions are entered into film and video festivals worldwide, and several have won major awards, including the Student Academy Award, the Angelus Award and the Cine Eagle Award. The best Fourth Year productions are also screened on film in front of large industry audiences at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles in June each year. School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and others. Some well-known alumni of the NCSA School of Drama are Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Dent, and Tom Hulce.

Although North Carolina did not have a major-league professional sports franchise until the 1980s, the state has long been known as a hotbed of college basketball. Since the formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1953, the conference's North Carolina member schools have excelled in conference play. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Duke University, and North Carolina State University are all located within 25 miles (40 km) of one another, creating fierce rivalries. Wake Forest University, another ACC member, is located less than 100 miles (160 km) to the west of these schools in Winston-Salem. UNC has won four NCAA national championships in basketball: 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005. The Tar Heels also won a national-level championship in 1924, before the NCAA was created. Duke has won three NCAA championships: 1991, 1992, and 2001. NC State has won two: 1974 and 1983. The Duke-UNC basketball rivalry has been called one of the best rivalries in sports and the two schools are often contenders for the national title. In addition to the ACC schools, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte went to the NCAA's Final Four in 1977, and Davidson College near Charlotte went to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" in 1968, 1969, and 2008. In 2007 Barton College in Wilson won the NCAA Division II championship in men's basketball. Although basketball remains the dominant college sport in North Carolina, several schools have also enjoyed success in football and other sports. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Appalachian State University won the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision championship; they are the first university to win the Division I Football Championship Subdivision championship three times in a row. Wake Forest University has also enjoyed substantial success in football; in 2007 they won the ACC football championship and participated in the 2007 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. This was the first major bowl berth for a North Carolina-based team since Duke defeated Arkansas in the 1961 Cotton Bowl (game).

The Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shining Rock Wilderness AreaDue to geography, rich history, and growing industry, North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities from swimming at the beach[53] to skiing in the mountains. North Carolina offers fall colors, freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, birdwatching, agritourism, ATV trails, ballooning, rock climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and sailing, camping, canoeing, caving (spelunking), gardens, and arboretums. North Carolina has theme parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, historic sites, lighthouses, elegant theaters, concert halls, and fine dining.

North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation utilizing numerous local bike paths, 34 state parks, and 14 national parks which are the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Flat Rock, Croatan National Forest in Eastern North Carolina, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at Manteo, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro, Moores Creek National Battlefield near Currie, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Old Salem National Historic Site in Winston-Salem, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Uwharrie National Forest.

Famous food and drinks from North Carolina

2008 Lexington Barbecue Festival A nationally-famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue. However, there are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and method of preparation used in making the barbecue. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat. The "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Wilson, near Raleigh. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a ketchup and vinegar based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival which brings in over 100,000 visitors each October.

North Carolina is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, first produced in 1890 in New Bern. Regional soft drinks created and still based in the state are Sun Drop and Cheerwine. Krispy Kreme, a popular chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in Winston-Salem. Despite its name, the hot sauce Texas Pete was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The Hardees fast-food chain was started in Rocky Mount. Another fast-food chain, Bojangles', was started in Charlotte, and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is Golden Corral. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in Fayetteville. Popular pickle brand Mount Olive Pickle Company was founded in Mount Olive in 1926. Cook Out, a popular fast food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and operates exclusively in North Carolina.

Ships named for the state
Several ships have been named for the state. Most famous is the USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship. The ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater during the war. Now decommissioned, it is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another USS North Carolina, a nuclear attack submarine, was commissioned on May 3, 2008.[55]

Cardinal, North Carolina state bird
Strawberry, North Carolina state red berry
[edit] State symbols
Main article: North Carolina state symbols
State motto: Esse quam videri ("To be, rather than to seem") (1893)
State song: "The Old North State" (1927)
State flower: Dogwood (1941)
State bird: Cardinal (1943)
State colors: the red and blue of the N.C. and U.S. flags (1945)
State toast: The Tar Heel Toast (1957)
State tree: Pine (1963)
State shell: Scotch bonnet (1965)
State mammal: Eastern Gray Squirrel (1969)
State salt water fish: Red Drum (also known as the Channel bass) (1971)
State insect: European honey bee (1973)
State gemstone: Emerald (1973)
State reptile: Eastern Box Turtle (1979)
State rock: Granite (1979)
State beverage: Milk (1987)
State historical boat: Shad boat (1987)
State language: English (1987)
State dog: Plott Hound (1989)
State military academy: Oak Ridge Military Academy (1991)
State tartan: Carolina tartan (1991)[56]
State vegetable: Sweet potato (1995)
State red berry: Strawberry (2001)
State blue berry: Blueberry (2001)
State fruit: Scuppernong grape (2001)
State wildflower: Carolina Lily (2003)
State Christmas tree: Fraser Fir (2005)
State carnivorous plant: Venus Flytrap (2005)
State folk dance: Clogging (2005)
State popular dance: Shag (2005)
State freshwater trout: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout (2005)
State birthplace of traditional pottery: the Seagrove area (2005)

Hope you enjoyed your history lesson Mom!!

Chocolate Moose

wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 5:16 pm	Hello! I'm Chocolate Moose, a kind moose with a sweet tooth! MY ITINERARY fam-united – Bruchsal, Germany – Thank you for a GREAT visit! The Sparkle – Germany - Thank you for a FUN visit! BlackCat – Essen, Germany - Thank you for an AMAZING time! Oksana – Russia - HERE CURRENTLY Fleurdunord – France kittyfluff - Ireland Träumerin - Germany Then looking for more fun places to go! I am so excited to begin my adventures tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about traveling, so my first trip will be with my owner. She is heading on a trip to Milwaukee, so my friend Waddlesworth and I will be going along! Even though the plane scares me, I'm excited to see snow....do you think that there are real moose in Wisconsin?
wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 5:18 pm	Here we are, getting ready to get on the plane. You can see our plane in the background (and I think the reflection of my owner, Mara, as well!). Waddlesworth is much more calm than I am.
wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 5:21 pm	So, the flight wasn't too bad, though I did need a nap afterwards. Thankfully, the humans needed a nap too. The hotel is nice, even though the temperature is set for humans. It's cold and snowy outside - perfect weather for a moose. Waddlesworth and I spent the morning watching the birds outside the window. Waddlewsorth thinks a few might have been his distant relatives. I was hoping for a moose to walk by. No such luck.
wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 5:30 pm	After looking at the birds, we decided we needed a little culture. So we headed to the Milwaukee Museum of Art. The building is really cool. Waddlesworth says it looks like it has wings. I think it looks like it has antlers. The inside of the museum was neat too. This spot was perfect for us to take a break at. There wasn't a whole lot of moose art, but I did like this funky picture that put you in the middle of the art. Can you see me over the girl's shoulder? We really liked the drive home, too, since we got to see the park and Lake Michigan all covered with snow. Waddlesworth said that he wanted to stop and take a swim on one of the chunks of ice floating in the lake, but the humans were already shivering, so seeing it from the car had to do!
wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 6:08 pm	So, THIS is why they were traveling - to celebrate Christmas! I don't know much about Christmas, but we really enjoyed sitting on the presents under the tree! And neither of us could resist a spin on the train. Turns out that the candy cane car is a perfect way for a moose and penguin to travel! After the humans opened their presents, I found a great surprise - a wooden moose for Mara to take home with her! Opening presents was fun, but wearing the decorations was silly (ok, it was fun too!)
wmphimu Posted Dec 28, 2007, 6:14 pm	So, my first trip wasn't as bad as I thought! Even though it was fun, though, I'm glad to be home!
wmphimu Posted Jan 3, 2008, 10:53 pm	Happy New Year! I celebrated the New Year with the humans, who apparently have a tradition of playing board games with their friends. I was hoping to play CandyLand, but the humans wanted to play trivia games - movie trivia (which they weren't too good at) and Trivial Pursuit. At least they let me play Movie Trivia with them. I'm pretty good at rolling the dice... ...but I don't know the answer to ANY of these questions!
wmphimu Posted Jan 10, 2008, 3:27 am	Oh my - I am so excited! I am going to be going on my first trip by myself soon! I'm going somewhere called Germany. I did some research... Did you know they have gummi bears there? Speaking of gummi bears, I tried to convince Mara that I needed some snacks for the trip. I don't think I'll be flying first class on this trip, so I really wanted to pick out something to keep me happy. Of course, Mara pointed out that I probably don't want to get my new luggage sticky. Speaking of new luggage, Fenway and I picked out some nice luggage for our trips at Target. They're not fancy, but I like it.
fam-united Posted Jan 25, 2008, 9:15 am	Hi mom! I just crawled out of my envie and saw Petra's smiling face. I'm a little dizzy from my travel and so I will take a little rest now. In the afternoon I hope to see some places in Bruchsal. It is such a beautiful weather today. Greetings from sunny Germany Chocolate
fam-united Posted Jan 27, 2008, 6:31 pm	It's carnival time, they call it the fifth season. Today was the carnival procession through the streets of Bruchsal. My host family met friends and then they stood in front of their house to watch the procession. We toyvoyagers didn't dress up today, but we will try to do it this coming week. Here are a view impressions of the procession. Petra said, that it was just too much time between the groups, that came along the way.
fam-united Posted Jan 31, 2008, 11:03 am	After Petra came home from school, she asked us, whether we would like to go and see the nice view from top of the small hill called Michaelsberg, which belongs to Untergrombach, a suburb of Bruchsal. The weather was foggy, so of course I couldn't see the Palatine mountains and very far into the Rhine valley. But at least I saw a part of Bruchsal in the far. The quarry pond belongs to Untergrombach. Petra liked to swim there, when she was younger. It was getting dark rather quickly. This is the nice chapel called "Michaelskapelle". It was rather cold there and windy. So we hurried to go back to the car. We took the last photo, while sitting in the car. It is a view to another suburb of Bruchsal, Obergrombach. And you see the Kraichgau hill country. I saw it much better than you do on this photo. It was just too dark already.
fam-united Posted Jan 31, 2008, 1:01 pm	Yesterday something scaring happened to me. I didn't think anything bad, just sat together with my toyvoyager friends and talked about our stay here and where we will go next and so. Suddenly a hand grapped Tenderheart Bear and me. I looked at the face and I saw a really young captain Jack Sparrow. Shock!!!! I needed a while until I was able to open my eyes and to look in that face again. Phew, was I happy to see, that it only was my hosts son, who was dressed up as Jack Sparrow for his school carnival.
fam-united Posted Feb 5, 2008, 5:41 pm	The kids took us with them to the carnival procession in Karlsdorf, which is a small town near to Bruchsal. We asked them to take some photos with us, but it didn't work so well. Ok, maybe it was also our fault, because we always tried to jump into the photos. Nevertheless we can see them here and some other photos with witches, which are very important for carnival in Germany and a music group, which plays Guggenmusik - a music, that you only can listen to but not explain and some more.
fam-united Posted Feb 5, 2008, 5:46 pm	Today we had to say GOODBYE to Tenderheart Bear and Sylphide. They will travel to Pandamao in Munich now. We all are a little sad of course, but I think, that some others will go on with their travel soon, too. Oh yes, I nearly forgot to tell you, that Sylphide was so nervous, that she crawled into the wrong envie!!! Petra had to hold her and put her into the right box. Although we all had been sad, we had to laugh out loud.
fam-united Posted Feb 5, 2008, 9:43 pm	Today evening we will go to a family carnival celebration. First we helped to prepare a carrot salad. It was a bit difficult to cut the carrots, because Hoppity suddenly seemed to be very hungry. We needed the help of that little snowman. Hoppity jumped down, because she was so excited to get closer to this toy. In the evening we danced a little and once I jumped into the photo, so you can see, that I had been with them. It was too dark to find me on the other photos. And yes, you see me with some "Berliner", that they like to eat on carnival.
fam-united Posted Feb 6, 2008, 7:27 am	Today we were in the Maerklin railway museum in Göppingen. My hosts are big fans of toy-trains and since a long time they wanted to go to this museum together. They asked us, whether we would like to join them and we all wanted to go there, of course. So we got ready with breakfast and jumped into the big rucksack, that Petra always carries around. Happily we were allowed to crawl out of it soon. Our hosts daughter played with us during the drive. While we were in the museum, we saw many toy trails and other things, that were created by Maerklin. On our drive home Petra took some more photos with us. You see a photo of the big road works and some other impressions of our drive. The bridge, that you see over the autobahn, is a parkhouse, which is next to the airport of Stuttgart in Leinfelden.
fam-united Posted Feb 10, 2008, 6:17 pm	We still had beautiful weather and Petra felt much better again, so we decided to make a trip to Frankfurt a.M., which is about one hour away from Bruchsal. At first we thought, that we could visit the zoo, but then we decided to visit the airport. Everyone was really excited, but unhappily we had no chance to join the family while the had a bus sightseeing tour there. Hasi, Sabrina's own toyvoyager, took some photos for me, so I hadn't been to sad, that I had to wait in the rucksack in a bus on the parking place. Now I know, that Frankfurt a.M. has the third biggest airport in Europe after London and Paris. Nearly 70 000 people work at this airport. Due to more than 51 Mio passengers, nearly 480 000 flights and 1.75 mio tons of air cargo this airport belongs to the biggest international airports.
fam-united Posted Feb 10, 2008, 6:39 pm	We all were hungry and of course we toyvoyagers wanted to talk about that airport, because Hasi and Mister Snow had been allowed to go into the visitor bus. So we had a rest at a resting place of the freeway.
fam-united Posted Feb 10, 2008, 7:20 pm	Petra told us, that there is a house created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in Darmstadt. We still had some time, so we drove there and found this house. I just can tell you, that it is very very beautiful and interesting. It is called "Waldspirale", what means something like wood spiral. It was created between 1998 and 2000 and seems to be like a fairy-tale castle. No window is like the other. It has space for 105 appartments. There are lime trees, beeches and maple trees on top of the roof. A playground and a similated river are part of the garden in the inner part of the spiral. In the tower on the southeast corner is a restaurant with cocktailbar and in the opposite tower a café. Sadly Hundertwasser died in February 2000 short before the building was completed.
fam-united Posted Feb 11, 2008, 7:24 pm	I had been so so sad the whole day, because all other toyvoyagers left the house. I nearly cried and I really felt lonely. But then something wonderful happend. My host found a little package on the stairs - brought in the afternoon, while she was out of the house. You can't imagine, how happy I was, when I saw, that Elle is here to stay with me for a while. I jumped on Elle's back. And I heard, that we are waiting for three other toyvoyagers. So please don't worry, mummy, I feel much better again.
fam-united Posted Feb 23, 2008, 10:23 pm	Today we were in Petra's school. I saw the children cutting out princesses and robbers. They were very busy walking to the board, because in front of it, we had all the pieces of cloth. Look at their work, I like it. I asked Petra to take a photo of the classroom too, while the pupils were in the longer break outside in the schoolyard.
fam-united Posted Feb 23, 2008, 10:28 pm	Two days later we were at her school again. We saw the room, where she stores the paper for paper handicrafts at her school. It is her job to order this paper and to buy new paper, before there is only too little of it here. It is also a room for other stuff, that you need in a school, but I didn't look at that.
fam-united Posted Feb 23, 2008, 10:40 pm	In the morning we were at school again. I don't know, but maybe Petra wants us to sign up at her school??? I'm not sure, if I like this, but right now it is ok. Here you see the teacher's room, which is much too small for so many teachers. That's what Petra says, because I didn't see another teacher except her. When we arrived at home again, new guests had arrived too. Pandamao and Petra called it a group tour, because all three came in one package from Munich to Bruchsal: Amara Anthea, (Playmo)Bill and Fusco. Let's see, what we will do together. I'm sure, we will have fun. Too sad, that Petra has no time to do something with us until it's weekend.
fam-united Posted Feb 23, 2008, 11:05 pm	Since our new friends are here, it is raining and so we were happy, that Petra found a new handicraft, that is called Kumihimo. She ordered it from a catalog and I asked her, whether I can try it. I'm not so sure, whether I will be great at Kumihimo, but the result looks great, if you know, how to do it.
fam-united Posted Feb 28, 2008, 8:19 pm	Sabrina and her friend Cara wanted to spend some time with us today. Here you see me in house at a playground. Of course I jumped on Elle's back again, I just love to sit there, because you really see more of the world on her back.
fam-united Posted Feb 29, 2008, 8:58 pm	The next day Petra thought, that it is a good idea to show us a part of the palace garden, but we only had a little time and we still hope for better weather. So you only see me with the backside of the palace and with a statue. The third photo shows the jailhouse ahead. It is a very interesting building, but hard to take photos of it, that's what Petra told me. There are "famous" murderers in this prison, what made me really feel unwell for a moment. The last photo shows a private grammar school, which was founded by patres of the Pallotti order. In the far you see the baroque church St. Peter
fam-united Posted Mar 1, 2008, 10:09 am	Today was a wonderful day. Petra told me, that we will drive to Mannheim to visit the Planetarium and see a show there. Unhappily she wasn't allowed to take photos in the hall, so you see me only with the Planetarium in my back.
fam-united Posted Mar 7, 2008, 2:19 pm	Tomorrow we will go to a birthday party. So I helped Petra to bake a biscuit cake. The whole family loves it, because it is easy to make and really tasty with the butter cream layers.
fam-united Posted Mar 7, 2008, 3:40 pm	I had a little sightseeing tour through Bruchsal today. Petra showed me the palace again and told me a little bit about the history of Bruchsal. Bruchsal was first named in 976 A.D, although the oldest settlement was discovered dated back to 640 A.D.. located near to the St. Peterskirche. Since then Bruchsal had been a place for Kings to visit and for Prince Bishops to live. In 1rst March 1945 during the second world war about 1000 people lost their lifes. The inner city and baroque palace were destroyed and the palace was rebuilt during the 70th. palace backside church tower of the catholic church St.Damian and Hugo, which was also baroque until 1945, but was rebuilt rather modestly. The part with the three dormers is the church. On the left side you see the gate St. Damianstor, next to it you see the big red tower of the jailhouse. The building on the right side is the county court. While the palace is in the flat area of Bruchsal, which belongs to the Rhine valley, the Belvedere is at the edge to the Kraichgau. It was a former hunting lodge and is now used as theatre platform during summer. Close to it a few clubs celebrate garten parties in summer too. My hosts like to go there, when there is a party of a choir, in which some members of their families are singing. Next to the Belvedere is the oldest grammar school of Bruchsal, which uses the Stadtgarten, the park next to the Belvedere, as a school yard. Only a few stairs down from the place before, Petra showed me some views over Bruchsal. I just will try to remember the towers names, because I think, I forgot everything else. The tower on the left side is the old tower of the old castle of Bruchsal, which is called Bergfried. I remember, that there is the Bügerzentrum, where citizens meet for cultural events and where also is a restaurant. Then you see the tower of the city church, which is in the inner city, where the market place is located. And at last you see the Lutherkirche, which is one of the two evangelic churches of Bruchsal. On this photo you see the two towers of the baroque church St. Peter. And maybe you see a big building right under the crane. This building is called Sancta Maria and it is close to where I live right now. Next to me you see the older people houses, a new one with the orange colour and the roof in the right corner and the white building behind it is the old part. Behind this white building you see the grey building of St. Paulusheim, which is a private catholic grammar school, only open for Christian pupils, because they do many religious things in their free time. Now I'm in front of St. Peter. It is only a few metres from my hosts home to go. Petra told me, that this church is also baroque inside, but mostly it is closed. Standing nearer to the church I had this view to the grey building of St. Paulusheim again. Another view to St. Peter. I'm on the area of the graveyard right now. The graveyard is a very silent place with a wonderful view over Bruchsal, but it is hard for older people to walk there, because it always goes up and down. Maybe you remember, that I mentioned Sancta Maria. This building with its nice garden is on the left side of the photo. The left tower is the City church tower and the other tower is the one of St. Damian and Hugo.
fam-united Posted Mar 8, 2008, 10:30 am	Because the weather was much better than the days before, Petra took us to her school, where we had to wait for her in the car for hours. Then she drove to Untergrombach, which is one of the suburbs of Bruchsal. The Michaelsberg, a small hill - only 296m high, belongs to Untergrombach. You have a wonderful view over the Rhine valley and if the weather is very very good, you can see the Palatine Mountains in the far. 3500 - 2600 BC first signs of humans had been found on this place, the "Michelsberg culture". You surely remember, that I had been there already, but it was rather late and dark then, so we decided to take the photos once more. Here you see a part of Bruchsal . The quarry pond belongs to Untergrombach, which you see on this photo. This is the best view to see the Palatine Mountains on the horizon, but today we had no luck. You see another part of Untergrombach. You see, that it is also to the border of the Kraichgau, just the same as Bruchsal. This nice chapel is called Michaelskapelle and it is on top of the Michaelsberg. Petra told me, that there are many couples, that want to marry in this chapel. Here you see so-called "Steinriegel" (field clearance cairn), made by people working on their fields a long long time ago. They threw the big stones from their fields to the border of the neighbour's field, so that in the middle all stones were accumulated. Many animals and flowers love this gaunt places and that's why a few weeks ago, people cleaned the Steinriegel from all the earth, that came between the stone during the many many years and from all the other plants, that love to grow in earh. Another word I learned is "Magerrasen" (neglected grassland), which is typical for the Michaelsberg. Here we are still standing at the same place like before with view back to the chapel. You see the "Magerrasen". The Michaelsberg is nature reserve area, I'm sure, you already realized this too. Soon there will be beautiful seldom flowers and animals. We all wanted to go into the chapel and take some photos there too. It is nice baroque, not too many paintings or golden things.
fam-united Posted Mar 16, 2008, 3:06 pm	Today some of us had to say Goodbye to Petra and her family and of course to our toyvoyager friends: Elle travels to Munich now and Lucky Bunny to India. Mocke, a really new toyvoyager, travels to England and I will stay at the German border to the Netherlands. I'm excited to meet The Sparkle soon.
The Sparkle Posted Mar 30, 2008, 9:15 pm	Today Chocolate Moose arreieved at my home. I'm verry happy to have him and is beautiful travelbook here. He will have easter with us. I hope he likes to have a late easter breakfast.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:02 pm	My first easter After the tripp in the envelope i sleeped a few day because my bio-ritme was away. And than at the 4th day off my stay my host telles me it is the second day off Easter. I missed the big breakfest but theire are still a lot of easter chocolate bunny's in the house and she wants to take my picture with them. And here you can see mee with a lot of bunny's and other easter things.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:09 pm	My host is learning to become a teacher for children in the age 4-12. Now she has her own class with children age 4-6. I go with here for a visit because they have a special day today. The have a project about water and today they are going to practisch some things. What is living in the water? Are their different animals in the see and some water near your home? Practisch writing by making some waves. Pool water is different than water in the kitchen wat is the difference? Can you smell something?
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:14 pm	Today i visit my first geocache with me host. She real love to do that because you can see a lot by doing this. Today we have found some art made out off stone that you can find in this area. It called sandstone. Me in the art work. It is some kind of old looking window. You can see the wood behind the river in it or when you walk arround it some fields and a Dutch farm.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:19 pm	Today i found my second geocache together with my host and her boyfriend. This time the geocache was hidden in a small wood near some fields. After geocaching we get hungry and go to a schnitzel restaurant. Choosing from the menu. Waiting for the food. Oeps, my host forgot to make a picture off me and the food.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:26 pm	Together with some friends my host was going to hunt for a geocache again. After walking arround for a hour we found this hight thing. My host is afraid for hights so she is not going upstairs with me till the top but we go till the first stairs. This looks realy high. Look at the little car. Downstairs it is a big car. And than we have to make a picture from a strange looking man. Because we only found his head. Me and the head.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:30 pm	Me and Bruni Lila where going geocaching again with our host. Look what i have seen during a little walk in the woods of a city that called Geesteren. We where verry close to it. We hate it that the battery's goes down so we cannot make some more pictures. After that the battery goes down we where even closer to them.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:36 pm	The little brother off my host her boyfriend stays some days with us. And loving geocaching that much they want to show it to him. So we take a drive to a other area in germany to do some geocaches. We have found 3 that day and one off them gives a great vieuw. After walking upstair at 256 staps we have found this great view.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:42 pm	Today we visit this old watertower during a geocache. We can only visit the outside because the gate has a big lock. Me on the gate in front of the yellow watertower. Me and a lovely hors that we have seen during this geocaching day.
The Sparkle Posted May 8, 2008, 7:46 pm	After that my host was having some computer problems it is time for me to go to my next host. I will leave Bad Bentheim and my host tomorrow and go than to a city that called Essen where my next host is living in. I believe it is not a verry long travel becaus it is also in Germany. Greetings, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 10, 2008, 12:30 pm	Hello ! I arrived today in Essen. It was a short travel and everything arrived good. Fabi was very happy about the chocolate bunny and I have met the other 3 Voyagers that are here (Amelie, Trafalgar and Wauzi). We will go on a festival soon, so I don't have much time to tell you something. I have met Fabis budgies, too. They were singing when I came out of the envelope. But on the photo one is missing. There are 4 of them in the cage. Have a nice day, Chocolate Mouse
BlackCat Posted May 10, 2008, 9:54 pm	Hello ! We are back from the Middle Ages festival in castle Broich now ! It was really nice there. We had a lot of fun. I was able to sit next to a campfire and in a selfmade cage. I even learnt how to fly ! It was so funny there. All the people were really nice and I have so much photos for you. Hope you will like them. Chocolate Moose I am next to Wauzi...it was difficult for me !
BlackCat Posted May 16, 2008, 7:39 am	Happy Mothersday, mummy! Today was such a nice sunshine outside, that we went into the garden. We had a lot of fun. First we played Hide and Seek. Trafalgar hided behind the high grass. We need a long time to find him. But it was funny. After that I layed down in the sun and took a little nap. It was so nice and warm. When I wake up again, we picked some flowers for Fabi's mum. Fabi's mum wished herself for Mothersday some selfpicked flowers. So we helped Fabi and made a big bunch of flowers ! Have a nice day, Mummy, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 17, 2008, 12:15 pm	Hello ! Today Trafalgar and Amelie left and traveled on to the next host. I am the only guest now! But I think Wauzi and I will have a lot of fun in the next days. We are waiting for some new guests and maybe I will go to a concert with Fabi today ! So it seems to be a lot of fun. I have a lollipop today ! Yours, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 18, 2008, 4:33 pm	Hello mummy, today we went on a concert. On the way to the concert we passed by a driving school. I saw a teddy bear in a car. We made a photo for you. It was so funny. I am not on the photo because the photos with me weren't good. I am sorry. Then we came in the youth center where Fabi is working. There was a hiphop concert and I was excited. I was allowed to play with the lights and to sing a song. It was funny. I have no photos from the concert because Fabi was at the cash (her working place there) and we hadn't the chance to make a photo with me. But I hope you like the ones I will show you here. Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 24, 2008, 1:38 am	Hello ! On the 19th May Momo arrived here. He was adopted by Fabi from Delenna. He is a cow and a really sweet one. I really like him. We have a lot of fun together. I have some photos of us together ! Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 24, 2008, 1:44 am	Hello ! Today Momo and I made a puzzle together. I was responsible for the core with the motive and Momo made the frame. We had a lot of fun and I really like the result. The picture is nice, isn't it?! Maybe we will hang it up on the wall. We will see. Enjoy the pictures, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted May 28, 2008, 5:04 pm	On Saturday Hueso arrived, but we hadn't the time to update our travelogs (Fabi doesn't feel good), so we will do this today ! He is a cute little dog and I like him !
BlackCat Posted May 28, 2008, 5:08 pm	Hello ! Today we played a little bit Nintendo 64. I was really good at Banjo and Kazooie. I like this game. First I played alone, but then we played all together. I have two photos of it for you! Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 7, 2008, 9:39 pm	Hello mum, Today we visited the Hundertwasserhaus here in Essen. It is a really colourful house. It was built for the parents of children, that have to get a chemotherapy in the hospital here. There are living people from all over the world. I hope the house makes the parents smile, as it makes me smile ! Have a nice night, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 10, 2008, 8:45 pm	Hello ! Today we went into a museum where hunters shows their trophies. It was built for children, that don't go in the forrest. So they can see, what animals life there and how they look. All the animals where death and stuffed. I was really shocked, when we went in. But we made some photos, because it was interessting how big these animals are. We even saw a moose head, it was sooooooo big. That was bad. I started to cry a little bit, but Fabi get me down again and I decided, that it is better to show the children, how we look in the wild, than to be eaten or so...but I was really unhappy ! Hope you like the pictures, Chocolate
BlackCat Posted Jun 13, 2008, 4:30 pm	Hello ! Today we went into the botanical garden again. I was allowed to drive with the little train around in the garden. After that we went into a plant house. First we visited the rain forrest. Then we went into a room where a gong was. I was able to hit the gong and it was really loud. Then we went into the desert. It was really hot there and I didn't like the climate, but I decided to stay some time there, because everybody made a break. In the next plant house, we saw a nice flower. So I wanted to show you and Fabi made a photo. I hope you like this photos. I liked the day and we will make some more visits in other parts of the city, later ! Have a nice day, Fabi
BlackCat Posted Jun 16, 2008, 10:52 pm	Hello , Today we visited the castle ruin 'Altendorf'! It was nice there and we had a lot to see. It was built in the second half of the 12. century in the romanic style. It was just a tower where people lived, not a castle like some others. In the beginning of the 20. century it was just a ruin, not a place where you can life. The development association of Burgaltendorf restored the tower and now you can have a walk around and with a guide you can also go in. We didn't go in, because there was no guide at this time. But it was also nice from outside. Ciao, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 16, 2008, 11:01 pm	Hello ! Today we visited the Coal Mine Industrial Complex "Zollverein". It is a UNESCO world heritage site and it is really big. We didn't see all of it, just the main part. But it was funny there. A lot of people were there and painted pictures of it. We weren't able to make a photo of us with one of the pictures, because the people weren't ready when we came there. But we have some nice photos for you. HERE you can find some informations about it. Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2008, 12:15 am	Hello everybody, today a new ToyVoyager arrived here, right before we went out. It is Burrimul Memu and he is really nice, I have to say. We had a little talk in BlackCat's bag. We visited the Villa Hügel today. It was built in the end of the 19th century by Alfred Krupp. It was built for his family. The house has a big park around it. You can learn more at: www.villahuegel.de/english/ We had a lot of fun there ^^, Chocolate Moose This is the playhouse which was used by Krupps children. It was closed, when we visited it. But we looked inside the windows and saw that everything is children size inside. A little kitchen and all the stuff what is in a normal flat, too.
BlackCat Posted Jun 22, 2008, 6:46 pm	Hello ! Today we met olgamaus and her ToyVoyager for a walk in Essen. She came here the long way from Remscheid to see the Zeche Zollverein and to go into the Gruga Park. I don't know the reason but BlackCat didn't make a photo of us in the Gruga Park, but we will go there again, soon. But we made a photo at the Zeche Zollverein for you. Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose A group picture (from left): Burrimul Memu, Aquila, Wauzi, BertieTheDuck, Brownie (who isn't at ToyVoyagers), Hueso, Percy, Momo, Desmond and Me
BlackCat Posted Jun 22, 2008, 9:02 pm	Hello ! Today we went into the Eickenscheider Büschken. That's a forest not far away of Fabi's home. She was there all the time, when she was young. She played "Hide and Seek" with her brother and her best friend there and they had a lot of fun running through the forest and just enjoying the nature. I like this place. It was really quiet there. We were 2 hours there and nobody else was around us. We had a lot of fun climbing around. Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 22, 2008, 9:04 pm	Hello ! On our way home from the forest we found this old lorry. It isn't usable because it is used for flowers, now. But it should remember the people that are passing by that there was a coal mine. The name of that coal mine was "Katharina". Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 29, 2008, 7:09 pm	Hello ! It was raining a lot the last days, so we weren't able to go out, without getting wet. So BlackCat decided to stay inside and watching the people walking through the rain. It was funny to see the umbrellas flying away and such things. We had a nice time. Have a nice day, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 29, 2008, 7:11 pm	Hello ! Today the weather was better and we went out into the park next to BlackCat's house. It was a nice walk, but we weren't allowed to take too much photos. There were a lot children, that didn't want to be photograph, so we decided to make just some pictures from outside. But you can see how nice it is there. Hope you like them, Chocolate Moose
BlackCat Posted Jun 29, 2008, 7:15 pm	GO!!!!!!!!! GERMANY GO!!!!!!!!! Today is the finale of the European Championship and we will have a little party with live watching. We are all really excited of what will happen and BlackCat is already ready for the party. We will watch the game (Spain against Germany) in her bedroom with a lot of friends on her bed (really nice )! We have already save us a pillow to sit on. I hope they will win, because then we will have a big party here ! Cross your fingers for GERMANY!
BlackCat Posted Jul 1, 2008, 3:26 pm	Hello... today was a sad day. I have to leave to Russia today and everybody said goodbye to me. BlackCat was really sad, when she gave me my book and put me into my envelope. I am so unhappy. Hopefully the travel won't be long and maybe I will meet them all again one day. That would be great ! I am on my way to Russia now, Chocolate Moose Wauzi saying goodbye to me Hueso saying goodbye to me Momo saying goodbye to me Burrimul Memu saying goodbye to me Goodbye my friends...
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Oct 12, 2008, 4:42 pm	Hello everybody! Finally I've arrived in Russia to my new host Oksana. The city is called Novosibirsk and it's 115 years old. It's population is about 1,5 mln people. Here I'm in Oksana's flat. I noticed that she has many toys here and pets. I'm sure I will have very interesting time here )
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Oct 12, 2008, 5:01 pm	Today Oksana has taken me in the park. It looked really wonderful with all those yellow and red leaves:
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Oct 19, 2008, 3:52 am	Today my host tas taken me to her work. I could see many interesting things there )) I found an aquarium with two golden fish in one of the rooms. Oksana says that golden fish can make my wishes true. Well, I have so-o many wishes... ;-) And here I'm on a big indoor plant. It really looks like a tree I found many toys on the desks of Oksana's colleagues: And almost all of them were handmade teddybears. As far as I understand teddybears are very popular in Russia.
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Oct 19, 2008, 3:59 am	Today we went to the post-office and we used the Metro! It was such a fun ) And here is the the House of Opera in Ballet in Novosibirsk: And here is a throne. It looks like from some fairy-tale. And it stands on one of Novosibirsk's streets.
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Oct 19, 2008, 4:16 am	Today Oksana has shown me many interesting places in the central part of Novosibirsk. Here is the Voznesensky Cathedral: And these are the Lenin's monument and the House of Opera and Ballet: The Lenin's Square: Some very lovely wooden houses. They are very old, because they were build in the beginning of XX century: Look what a beautiful ornaments! It's the wall of some coffee-house: The Lenin's House- the place where different concerts are hold. The Pervomaysky Garden: The Novosibirsk's mayorality: What a strange fish! It stands near some cafe:
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 4, 2008, 4:31 pm	Look what a lovely sculpture of a girl and a cat! And here is a new monument which I supose symbolizes the friendship between Siberian cities: And here I'm near the cinema-house. It shows a new Russian movie "Admiral". We are going to watch it soon. One more old building which was build in the begining of the XXth century. Now it's a modern restaurant. Two more old buildings:
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 5, 2008, 4:32 pm	Today Blue Rat has finally returned home from her long trip. Here I'm with Theodor, Smith and Blue Rat. Blue Rat tells us about her adventures and shows the postcards: And here we are with a fantastic elephant. Oksana has bought it recently. It's so-o beautiful! It's like a real Indian elephant decorated with briliants Look! It's a real African drum. It's called jembe. Oksana promises to teach us to play it
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 9, 2008, 9:02 am	Here are some more photos on the centre of Novosibirsk. These two ladies are sitting near some cafe: The local museum: The tramway:
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 16, 2008, 4:26 pm	Today is Sunday and Oksana has taken me to the ballet. It was such a beautiful perfomance-"Bayaderka". I haven't heard about it before, but I liked it from the first minute! And I was impressed by the theatre itself!
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 16, 2008, 4:37 pm	Hey, we have real Russian winter here with lots of white snow! Look! Look, what a beautiful church! And it's the Novosibirsk circus: What I can't understand is - how Russians can eat ice-cream when it's so-o cold outsides??? 8)
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Nov 29, 2008, 4:45 am	Today Oksana takes me to the mall. I like such places very much, because there I can see many interesting things and people. Look! There are electric trees near the mall. It must be very beautiful there in the evening when it's dark outsides.
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Dec 9, 2008, 4:00 pm	We already have started to prepare to the coming New Year and Christmas. Oksana and her colleagues decorated their office. It looks pretty nice, isn't it?
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Dec 9, 2008, 4:07 pm	The weather is lovely today! It's snowing heavily and it's rather warm- about 0'C. It was a great pleasure for me to walk in the winter park today morning. There were some snowmen there! They were so-o funny!
Oksana oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com Posted Dec 14, 2008, 8:27 am	Today is my last day in Novosibirsk and in Russia because I'm leaving to France. I will miss my host and my new friends which I've met here. Wish me good luck!
Fleurdunord Posted May 12, 2009, 10:49 pm	Bonjour/hello ! Sorry for the long delay!! Here you can see all the friends who welcomes me : the stay at home toys and the voyagers - Burrimul the emu, Gus the girafe, Squiggles the squirrel, Mausi the mouse and Bunnylove who was a new guy like me! I started to visit the city of Arras and the nice library.
Fleurdunord Posted May 15, 2009, 7:46 pm	I've been to the countryside at Fleur's parent's home. We all played in the garden and the first spring flowers. Then we had a good cup of tea.
Fleurdunord Posted May 15, 2009, 8:21 pm	[size=3]I was cooking during these holidays : i first made a cheesy "tartiflette" ... and i realised the dream of my life (and completed my mission) : i've eaten a real home made "mousse au chocolat"! (so yummy)[/size]
wmphimu Posted Sep 23, 2009, 11:47 pm	Hooray! After YEARS of traveling, I arrived home this weekend! Of course, as soon as I got here, we left for a day trip to Baltimore to see the Red Sox (our favorite baseball team!) play the Baltimore Orioles. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but it was a perfect day and I had a LOT of fun! Here I am at the game! And on the way out we could see the stadium where the Ravens play their games!
wmphimu Posted Sep 26, 2009, 11:13 pm	Hello! It's a kind of yucky day here, but that didn't stop us from having a great time! Today was the National Book Festival, so we all jumped in Mara's purse and headed downtown to Washington DC! The Book Festival was SO crowded - I couldn't believe how many people were there! Because of the weather and the crowds, we only stayed for a little bit, but it was still a lot of fun! (in the second picture, you can see the Smithsonian Castle and the Washington Monument in the background!)
wmphimu Posted Sep 26, 2009, 11:23 pm	After walking around the Book Festival, we decided to visit a museum! We went to the National Gallery of Art, which is part of the Smithsonian! There are two buildings - one has classic art and one has more modern pieces. Here I am in the East Wing - it was designed by I.M. Pei! And behind me is the Alexander Calder mobile - it was really cool! In between the two buildings is a cool fountain that I.M. Pei designed - it is a fountain above ground and on the walkway underneath! In the West Wing I had a real treat - we saw Ginevra de' Benci - it's the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere!
wmphimu Posted Sep 26, 2009, 11:30 pm	We finished up the day with a little sightseeing in the car (you can see that it was too wet outside to walk around any more - I didn't want to get my fur wet!). Here we are in the car...the building on the left is the Department of the Treasury... Then we saw the Washington Monument... And finally, we drove by the Pentagon!
wmphimu Posted Sep 30, 2009, 10:14 pm	I am so excited! Plaid Moose and I have been having a great visit with Bally, but it's time for him to go home. BUT...he invited us to go home with him! Mara said it was ok, so I'm going to North Carolina! We gave Plaid Moose a hug goodbye, hopped in our luggage, and got on a plane to North Carolina! I can't wait!
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 4, 2009, 6:03 pm	Hi Mom!! I got to the airport with Bally and Ballys mom, Darcie picked us up!! I am now in Richlands and I am just in time for the Halloween fun!! Here I am with Bally getting out of our traveling bag Tommorro we are going to the racetrack so my host Steve can practice doing some starts. My host races his bike at VIR, Road Atlanta, Daytona and Barber Motorsports park. Racing season is now over but he still heads up to the local drag strip to improve his starts for next year! I heard we are also off to Walmart to get Halloween candy and also to the costume shop for costumes and Decorations!! Ill update more soon!! Chocolate Moose
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 6, 2009, 12:57 am	Hi Mom!! Today I got on the computer and did a bunch of research on the state of North Carolina. I have prepared a big report for you to read about the Tarheel state!! I am having fun and a new TV arrived today named Holgihh. Now there is a big gang of us here in the house and we are having a great time! I hope you enjoy my report!! North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The United States Census Bureau classifies North Carolina as a southern state in the subcategory of being one of the South Atlantic States. North Carolina consists of three main geographic sections: the coastal plain, which occupies the eastern 45% of the state; the Piedmont region, which contains the middle 35%; and the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The extreme eastern section of the state contains the Outer Banks, a string of sandy, narrow islands which form a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and inland waterways. The Outer Banks form two sounds—Albemarle Sound in the north and Pamlico Sound in the south. They are the two largest landlocked sounds in the United States. Immediately inland, the coastal plain is relatively flat, with rich soils ideal for growing tobacco, soybeans, melons, and cotton. The coastal plain is North Carolina's most rural section, with few large towns or cities. Agriculture remains an important industry. The major rivers of the coastal plain: the Neuse, Tar, Pamlico, and Cape Fear, tend to be slow-moving and wide. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the "fall line", a line which marks the elevation at which waterfalls first appear on streams and rivers. The Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the state's most urbanized and densely populated section - all five of the state's largest cities are located in the Piedmont. It consists of gently rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. A number of small, isolated, and deeply eroded mountain ranges and peaks are located in the Piedmont, including the Sauratown Mountains, Pilot Mountain, the Uwharrie Mountains, Crowder's Mountain, King's Pinnacle, the Brushy Mountains, and the South Mountains. The Piedmont ranges from about 300–400 feet (90–120 m) elevation in the east to over 1,000 feet (300 m) in the west. Due to the rapid population growth of the Piedmont, many of the farms and much of the rural countryside in this region is being replaced by suburbanization: shopping centers, housing developments, and large corporate office parks. Agriculture is steadily declining in importance in this region. The major rivers of the Piedmont, such as the Yadkin and Catawba, tend to be fast-flowing, shallow, and narrow. The western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Balsam Mountains, and the Black Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest in the Eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m).[3] It is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. Although agriculture remains important, tourism has become the dominant industry in the mountains. One agricultural pursuit which has prospered and grown in recent decades is the growing and selling of Christmas Trees. Due to the higher altitude of the mountains, the climate often differs markedly from the rest of the state. Winters in western North Carolina typically feature significant snowfall and subfreezing temperatures more akin to a midwestern state than a southern one. North Carolina has 17 major river basins. Five of the state's river basins: the Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, French Broad, Watauga and New, are part of the Mississippi River Basin, which drains to the Gulf of Mexico. All the others flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins, 11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the state's borders - the Cape Fear, Neuse, White Oak and Tar-Pamlico. The coastal plain is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean which keeps temperatures mild in winter and moderate in the summer. Daytime high temperatures on the coast average less than 89 °F (31.6 °C) during the summer. In the winter, the coast has the mildest temperatures in the state, with daytime temperatures rarely dropping below 40 °F (4.4 °C); the average daytime winter temperature in the coastal plain is usually in the mid-60's. Temperatures in the coastal plain rarely drop below freezing even at night. The coastal plain usually receives only one inch (2.5 cm) of snow and/or ice annually, and in some years there may be no snow or ice at all. The Atlantic Ocean has less influence on the Piedmont region, and as a result the Piedmont has hotter summers and colder winters than the coast. Daytime highs in the Piedmont often average over 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer. While it is not common for temperatures to reach over 100 °F (37.8 °C) in North Carolina, when it happens, the highest temperatures are to be found in the lower areas of the Piedmont, especially around the city of Fayetteville. Additionally, the weaker influence of the Atlantic Ocean means that temperatures in the Piedmont often fluctuate more widely than the coast. In the winter, the Piedmont is much less mild than the coast, with daytime temperatures that are usually in the mid 50's, and temperatures often drop below freezing at night. The region averages from 3–5 inches of snowfall annually in the Charlotte area to 6–8 inches in the Raleigh–Durham area. The Piedmont is especially notorious for sleet and freezing rain. It can be heavy enough in some storms to snarl traffic and collapse trees and power lines. Annual precipitation and humidity is lower in the Piedmont than either the mountains or the coast, but even at its lowest, the precipitation is a generous 40 in (102 cm) per year. The Appalachian Mountains are the coolest area of the state, with daytime temperatures averaging in the low 40's and upper 30's for highs in the winter and often falling into the teens (−9 °C) or lower on winter nights. Relatively cool summers have temperatures rarely rising above 80 °F (26.7 °C). Snowfall in the mountains is usually 14–20 in (36–51 cm) per year, but it is often greater in the higher elevations. For example, during the Blizzard of 1993 more than 50 inches (130 cm) of snow fell on Mount Mitchell over a period of three days. Severe weather occurs regularly in North Carolina. On average, the state receives a direct hit from a hurricane once a decade. Tropical storms arrive every 3 or 4 years. In some years, several hurricanes or tropical storms can directly strike the state or brush across the coastal areas. Only Florida and Louisiana are hit by hurricanes more often. Although many people believe that hurricanes menace only coastal areas, the rare hurricane which moves inland quickly enough can cause severe damage. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused heavy damage in Charlotte and even as far inland as the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northwestern part of the state. On average, North Carolina has 50 days of thunderstorm activity per year, with some storms becoming severe enough to produce hail, flash floods, and damaging winds. North Carolina averages fewer than 20 tornadoes per year. Many of these are produced by hurricanes or tropical storms along the coastal plain. Tornadoes from thunderstorms are a risk, especially in the eastern part of the state. The western piedmont is often protected by the mountains breaking storms up as they try to cross over them. The storms will often reform farther east. Also a weather feature known as "cold air damming" occurs in the western part of the state. This can also weaken storms but can also lead to major ice events in winter. North Carolina was originally inhabited by many different native peoples, including those of the ancient Mississippian culture established by 1000 A.D. in the Piedmont. Historically documented tribes included Cherokee, Tuscarora, Cheraw, Pamlico, Meherrin, Coree, Machapunga, Cape Fear Indians, Waxhaw, Saponi, Tutelo, Waccamaw, Coharie, and Catawba. Spanish explorers traveling inland encountered the last of the Mississippian culture at Joara, near present-day Morganton. Records of Hernando de Soto attested to his meeting with them in 1540. In 1567 Captain Juan Pardo led an expedition into the interior of North Carolina on a journey to claim the area for the Spanish colony, as well as establish another route to protect silver mines in Mexico (the Spanish did not realize the distances involved.) Pardo made a winter base at Joara, which he renamed Cuenca. The expedition built Fort San Juan and left 30 men, while Pardo traveled further, establishing five other forts. He returned by a different route to Santa Elena on Parris Island, South Carolina, then a center of Spanish Florida. In the spring of 1568, natives killed all the soldiers and burned the six forts in the interior, including the one at Fort San Juan. The Spanish never returned to the interior to press their colonial claim, but this marked the first European attempt at colonization of the interior of what became the United States. A journal by Pardo's scribe Bandera and archaeological findings at Joara have confirmed the settlement.[9][10] Sir Walter Raleigh returns to find the colony abandonedIn 1584, Elizabeth I, granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, for land in present-day North Carolina (then Virginia).[11] Raleigh established two colonies on the coast in the late 1580s, both ending in failure. It was the second American territory the British attempted to colonize. The demise of one, the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, remains one of the great mysteries of American history. Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587. Dare County is named for her. As early as 1650, colonists from the Virginia colony moved into the area of Albemarle Sound. By 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to establish a new colony on the North American continent which generally established its borders. He named it Carolina in honor of his father Charles I.[12] By 1665, a second charter was issued to attempt to resolve territorial questions. In 1710, due to disputes over governance, the Carolina colony began to split into North Carolina and South Carolina. The latter became a crown colony in 1729. Reconstructed royal governor's mansion Tryon Palace in New BernThe first permanent European settlers of North Carolina were British colonists who migrated south from Virginia, following a rapid growth of the colony and the subsequent shortage of available farmland. Nathaniel Batts was documented as one of the first of these Virginian migrants. He settled south of the Chowan River and east of the Great Dismal Swamp in 1655.[13] By 1663, this northeastern area of the Province of Carolina, known as the Albemarle Settlements, was undergoing full-scale British settlement.[14] During the same period, the English monarch Charles II gave the province to the Lords Proprietors, a group of noblemen who had helped restore Charles to the throne in 1660. The new province of "Carolina" was named in honor and memory of King Charles I (Latin: Carolus). In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. With the exception of the Earl Granville holdings, it became a royal colony seventeen years later.[15] Differences in the settlement patterns of eastern and western North Carolina, or the low country and uplands, affected the political, economic, and social life of the state from the eighteenth until the twentieth century. The Tidewater in eastern North Carolina was settled chiefly by immigrants from England and the Scottish Highlands. The upcountry of western North Carolina was settled chiefly by Scots-Irish and German Protestants, the so-called "cohee". Arriving during the mid-to-late 18th century, the Scots-Irish from Ireland were the largest immigrant group before the Revolution. During the Revolutionary War, the English and Highland Scots of eastern North Carolina tended to remain loyal to the British Crown, because of longstanding business and personal connections with Great Britain. The Scots-Irish and German settlers of western North Carolina tended to favor American independence from Britain. Most of the English colonists arrived as indentured servants, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Some Africans were allowed to earn their freedom before slavery became a lifelong status. Most of the free colored families formed in North Carolina before the Revolution were descended from relationships or marriages between free white women and enslaved or free African or African-American men. Many had migrated or were descendants of migrants from colonial Virginia.[16] As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in Great Britain, more slaves were imported and the state's restrictions on slavery hardened. The economy's growth and prosperity was based on slave labor, devoted first to the production of tobacco. On April 12, 1776, the colony became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence from the British crown, through the Halifax Resolves passed by the North Carolina Provincial Congress. The dates of both of these independence-related events are memorialized on the state flag and state seal.[17] Throughout the Revolutionary War, fierce guerilla warfare erupted between bands of pro-independence and pro-British colonists. In some cases the war was also an excuse to settle private grudges and rivalries. A major American victory in the war took place at King's Mountain along the North Carolina–South Carolina border. On October 7, 1780 a force of 1000 mountain men from western North Carolina (including what is today the State of Tennessee) overwhelmed a force of some 1000 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson. Most of the British soldiers in this battle were Carolinians who had remained loyal to the British Crown (they were called "Tories"). The American victory at Kings Mountain gave the advantage to colonists who favored American independence, and it prevented the British Army from recruiting new soldiers from the Tories. The road to Yorktown and America's independence from Great Britain led through North Carolina. As the British Army moved north from victories in Charleston and Camden, South Carolina, the Southern Division of the Continental Army and local militia prepared to meet them. Following General Daniel Morgan's victory over the British Cavalry Commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, southern commander Nathanael Greene led British Lord Charles Cornwallis across the heartland of North Carolina, and away from Cornwallis's base of supply in Charleston, South Carolina. This campaign is known as "The Race to the Dan" or "The Race for the River."[15] Generals Greene and Cornwallis finally met at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro on March 15, 1781. Although the British troops held the field at the end of the battle, their casualties at the hands of the numerically superior American Army were crippling. Following this "Pyhrric victory", Cornwallis chose to move to the Virginia coastline to get reinforcements, and to allow the Royal Navy to protect his battered army. This decision would result in Cornwallis's eventual defeat at Yorktown, Virginia later in 1781. The Patriots' victory there guaranteed American independence. Antebellum Period On November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the twelfth state to ratify the Constitution. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh, still standing today. Most of North Carolina's slave owners and large plantations were located in the eastern portion of the state. Although North Carolina's plantation system was smaller and less cohesive than those of Virginia, Georgia or South Carolina, there were significant numbers of planters concentrated in the counties around the port cities of Wilmington and Edenton, as well as suburban planters around the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Durham. Planters owning large estates wielded significant political and socio-economic power in antebellum North Carolina, often to the derision of the generally non-slave holding "yeoman" farmers of Western North Carolina. In mid-century, the state's rural and commercial areas were connected by the construction of a 129–mile (208 km) wooden plank road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).[15] In addition to slaves, there were a number of free people of color in the state. Most were descended from free African Americans who had migrated along with neighbors from Virginia during the eighteenth century. After the Revolution, Quakers and Mennonites worked to persuade slaveholders to free their slaves. Enough were inspired by their efforts and the language of men's rights, and arranged for manumission of their slaves. The number of free people of color rose in the first couple of decades after the Revolution.[18] On October 25, 1836 construction began on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad[19] to connect the port city of Wilmington with the state capital of Raleigh. In 1849 the North Carolina Railroad was created by act of the legislature to extend that railroad west to Greensboro, High Point, and Charlotte. During the Civil War the Wilmington-to-Raleigh stretch of the railroad would be vital to the Confederate war effort; supplies shipped into Wilmington would be moved by rail through Raleigh to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. During the antebellum period North Carolina was an overwhelmingly rural state, even by Southern standards. In 1860 only one North Carolina town, the port city of Wilmington, had a population of more than 10,000. Raleigh, the state capital, had barely more than 5,000 residents. While slaveholding was slightly less concentrated than in some Southern states, according to the 1860 census, more than 330,000 people, or 33% of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African-Americans. They lived and worked chiefly on plantations in the eastern Tidewater. In addition, 30,463 free people of color lived in the state. They were also concentrated in the eastern coastal plain, especially at port cities such as Wilmington and New Bern where they had access to a variety of jobs. Free African Americans were allowed to vote until 1835, when the state rescinded their suffrage. In 1860, North Carolina was a slave state, in which about one-third of the population of 992,622 were enslaved African Americans. This was a smaller proportion than many Southern states. In addition, the state had a substantial number of Free Negroes, just over 30,000.[20] The state did not vote to join the Confederacy until President Abraham Lincoln called on it to invade its sister-state, South Carolina, becoming the second to last state to join the Confederacy. North Carolina was the site of few battles, but it provided at least 125,000 troops to the Confederacy— far more than any other state. Approximately 40,000 of those troops never returned home, dying of disease, battlefield wounds, and starvation. Elected in 1862, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance tried to maintain state autonomy against Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond. Even after secession, some North Carolinians refused to support the Confederacy. This was particularly true of non-slave-owning farmers in the state's mountains and western Piedmont region. Some of these farmers remained neutral during the war, while some covertly supported the Union cause during the conflict. Approximately 2,000 North Carolinians from western North Carolina enlisted in the Union Army and fought for the North in the war, and two additional Union Army regiments were raised in the coastal areas of the state that were occupied by Union forces in 1862 and 1863. Even so, Confederate troops from all parts of North Carolina served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederacy's most famous army. The largest battle fought in North Carolina was at Bentonville, which was a futile attempt by Confederate General Joseph Johnston to slow Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865.[15] In April 1865 after losing the Battle of Morrisville, Johnston surrendered to Sherman at Bennett Place, in what is today Durham, North Carolina. This was the last major Confederate Army to surrender. North Carolina's port city of Wilmington was the last Confederate port to fall to the Union. It fell in the spring of 1865 after the nearby Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Bennett Place historic site in Durham, North Carolina.The first Confederate soldier to be killed in the Civil War was Private Henry Wyatt, a North Carolinian. He was killed in the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the 26th North Carolina Regiment participated in Pickett/Pettigrew's Charge and advanced the farthest into the Northern lines of any Confederate regiment. During the Battle of Chickamauga the 58th North Carolina Regiment advanced farther than any other regiment on Snodgrass Hill to push back the remaining Union forces from the battlefield. At Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865, the 75th North Carolina Regiment, a cavalry unit, fired the last shots of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. For many years, North Carolinians proudly boasted that they had been "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox." Film studios are located in Shelby, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem. Some of the best-known films and television shows filmed in the state include: All the Real Girls, Being There, Blue Velvet, Bull Durham, A Walk to Remember, Glory (film), The Color Purple, Cabin Fever, Super Mario Bros. (film), Cape Fear, Children of the Corn, The Crow, Dawson's Creek, Dirty Dancing, Evil Dead 2, The Fugitive, The Green Mile, Hannibal, The Last of the Mohicans, Nell, One Tree Hill, Patch Adams (film), Shallow Hal, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Leatherheads, Nights in Rodanthe and 28 Days. Half of Steven King's movies were filmed in North Carolina. The television show most associated with North Carolina is The Andy Griffith Show, which aired on CBS-TV from 1960 to 1968. The series is set in the fictional small town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and was based on the real-life town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, although it was filmed in California. Mount Airy is the hometown of actor Andy Griffith. The show is still popular in reruns and is frequently shown in syndication around the nation. North Carolina is also home to some of the Southeast's biggest film festivals, including the National Black Theatre Festival and the RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina. The School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is a unique arts conservatory that combines rigorous professional training with unparalleled facilities, equipment and resources. All Second, Third and Fourth Year productions are entered into film and video festivals worldwide, and several have won major awards, including the Student Academy Award, the Angelus Award and the Cine Eagle Award. The best Fourth Year productions are also screened on film in front of large industry audiences at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles in June each year. School of the Arts alumni have performed in or behind the scenes of Broadway shows, film, television and regional theatre, and are members of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and opera and dance companies. They have won or been nominated for all of the major awards in the entertainment industry, including Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and others. Some well-known alumni of the NCSA School of Drama are Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Dent, and Tom Hulce. Although North Carolina did not have a major-league professional sports franchise until the 1980s, the state has long been known as a hotbed of college basketball. Since the formation of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1953, the conference's North Carolina member schools have excelled in conference play. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Duke University, and North Carolina State University are all located within 25 miles (40 km) of one another, creating fierce rivalries. Wake Forest University, another ACC member, is located less than 100 miles (160 km) to the west of these schools in Winston-Salem. UNC has won four NCAA national championships in basketball: 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005. The Tar Heels also won a national-level championship in 1924, before the NCAA was created. Duke has won three NCAA championships: 1991, 1992, and 2001. NC State has won two: 1974 and 1983. The Duke-UNC basketball rivalry has been called one of the best rivalries in sports and the two schools are often contenders for the national title. In addition to the ACC schools, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte went to the NCAA's Final Four in 1977, and Davidson College near Charlotte went to the NCAA's "Elite Eight" in 1968, 1969, and 2008. In 2007 Barton College in Wilson won the NCAA Division II championship in men's basketball. Although basketball remains the dominant college sport in North Carolina, several schools have also enjoyed success in football and other sports. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Appalachian State University won the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision championship; they are the first university to win the Division I Football Championship Subdivision championship three times in a row. Wake Forest University has also enjoyed substantial success in football; in 2007 they won the ACC football championship and participated in the 2007 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. This was the first major bowl berth for a North Carolina-based team since Duke defeated Arkansas in the 1961 Cotton Bowl (game). The Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shining Rock Wilderness AreaDue to geography, rich history, and growing industry, North Carolina provides a large range of recreational activities from swimming at the beach[53] to skiing in the mountains. North Carolina offers fall colors, freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting, birdwatching, agritourism, ATV trails, ballooning, rock climbing, biking, hiking, skiing, boating and sailing, camping, canoeing, caving (spelunking), gardens, and arboretums. North Carolina has theme parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, historic sites, lighthouses, elegant theaters, concert halls, and fine dining. North Carolinians enjoy outdoor recreation utilizing numerous local bike paths, 34 state parks, and 14 national parks which are the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site at Flat Rock, Croatan National Forest in Eastern North Carolina, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at Manteo, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro, Moores Creek National Battlefield near Currie, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, Old Salem National Historic Site in Winston-Salem, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Uwharrie National Forest. Famous food and drinks from North Carolina 2008 Lexington Barbecue Festival A nationally-famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue. However, there are strong regional differences and rivalries over the sauces and method of preparation used in making the barbecue. Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat. The "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Wilson, near Raleigh. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a ketchup and vinegar based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival which brings in over 100,000 visitors each October. North Carolina is the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola, first produced in 1890 in New Bern. Regional soft drinks created and still based in the state are Sun Drop and Cheerwine. Krispy Kreme, a popular chain of doughnut stores, was started in North Carolina; the company's headquarters are in Winston-Salem. Despite its name, the hot sauce Texas Pete was created in North Carolina; its headquarters are also in Winston-Salem. The Hardees fast-food chain was started in Rocky Mount. Another fast-food chain, Bojangles', was started in Charlotte, and has its corporate headquarters there. A popular North Carolina restaurant chain is Golden Corral. Started in 1973, the chain was founded in Fayetteville. Popular pickle brand Mount Olive Pickle Company was founded in Mount Olive in 1926. Cook Out, a popular fast food chain featuring burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes in a wide variety of flavors, was founded in Greensboro in 1989 and operates exclusively in North Carolina. Ships named for the state Several ships have been named for the state. Most famous is the USS North Carolina, a World War II battleship. The ship served in several battles against the forces of Imperial Japan in the Pacific theater during the war. Now decommissioned, it is part of the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial in Wilmington. Another USS North Carolina, a nuclear attack submarine, was commissioned on May 3, 2008.[55] Cardinal, North Carolina state bird Strawberry, North Carolina state red berry [edit] State symbols Main article: North Carolina state symbols State motto: Esse quam videri ("To be, rather than to seem") (1893) State song: "The Old North State" (1927) State flower: Dogwood (1941) State bird: Cardinal (1943) State colors: the red and blue of the N.C. and U.S. flags (1945) State toast: The Tar Heel Toast (1957) State tree: Pine (1963) State shell: Scotch bonnet (1965) State mammal: Eastern Gray Squirrel (1969) State salt water fish: Red Drum (also known as the Channel bass) (1971) State insect: European honey bee (1973) State gemstone: Emerald (1973) State reptile: Eastern Box Turtle (1979) State rock: Granite (1979) State beverage: Milk (1987) State historical boat: Shad boat (1987) State language: English (1987) State dog: Plott Hound (1989) State military academy: Oak Ridge Military Academy (1991) State tartan: Carolina tartan (1991)[56] State vegetable: Sweet potato (1995) State red berry: Strawberry (2001) State blue berry: Blueberry (2001) State fruit: Scuppernong grape (2001) State wildflower: Carolina Lily (2003) State Christmas tree: Fraser Fir (2005) State carnivorous plant: Venus Flytrap (2005) State folk dance: Clogging (2005) State popular dance: Shag (2005) State freshwater trout: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout (2005) State birthplace of traditional pottery: the Seagrove area (2005) Hope you enjoyed your history lesson Mom!! Chocolate Moose
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 6, 2009, 1:19 am	Hi Mom! Today a new TV named Etwas arrived! All of us gathered around to say hello and welcome him to his new home!! We celebrated his arrival by making Rice Krispie Treats!! These are soooooooooooo good and soooo easy!! 4 tablespoons of butter 1 bag of Marshmellows 6 cups of Rice Krispie cereal Melt butter and marshmellows together on low heat. Once melted add Rice Krispie cereal and stir until well coated. Take mixture and press into a baking dish. Let cool and then cut into squares!! Yummy!!!!
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 8, 2009, 12:59 am	Hi Mom!!! Even though motorcycle racing season is now over, we took Steves race bike up to the drag strip! Now if you remember Steve races his bike around road coarses such as Daytona, VIR, Road Atlanta ect. He was complaining that his starts were not very good at the last race so we had the idea to take the bike up for some drag racing fun!! They had the IHRA drag racing going on with the top fuel Dragsters. I saw the Drag cars go 200 MPH!!! My host has never had his bike up at the drag strip and Darcie said it was going to be fun!! Here we all are pulling into the track at the main gate. Here we are warming up Steves Bike while he gets his leathers on. Here is a closer view of us on the gas tank of the GSXR 600. We go over and get the special Race Fuel. This is VP U4.2 you have to order it from a dealer and it is not sold at the gas station. It is very hot out tonight so we go get a diet coke to drink!! Here we are watching some of the cars on the drag strip. They are super loud and very fast. Now it is Steves turn so Darcie tucks us into his leathers and we go race down the track with him!! They had a Junior dragster class and look at how young this little girl was!! This is her and her drag car we thought it was cool!! Here we are on a Hayabusa 1300 cc motorcycle. Darcie tells us this is a very unsafe and dangerous drag racing bike, because it has WAY to much power!! This bike is very popular with the 20 year olds LOL We thought it was very cool looking! We had chili dogs and french fries for dinner and we stayed out till about midnight. I had a great time and hope you liked the photos!!
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 13, 2009, 12:49 am	We are starting to get ready for Halloween!! we went to Walmart to go grocery shopping and also to start gathering Halloween things for the big night!! We see some nice pumpkins and a scarecrow so we climb on the hay bale and take a photo. Here we are in the costume aisle. Our favorite aisle is the candy aisle!!! It never ended!!! look at all the yummy candy!! We climb in on top of all of our groceries...yep we bought a lot of stuff!! We get home and get the candy out that we bought for the trick r treaters...Darcie says by the time Halloween gets here we will probabley have to buy more lol We stop by the Halloween store at the Mall and get some stuff to decorate Darcies Spyder. Her car is a 1955 Porsche Spyder so we are going to decorate it as a Spider for the cruise in that we are going to next weekend!! We are entering it in the car costume class We see lots of spooky stuff!! we are going to the Pumpkin patch tommorro!!! Im getting my OWN pumpkin to carve for Halloween!! woohoo!! Love Chocolate Moose
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 25, 2009, 2:21 pm	Hi Mom! Today we all got in the car and drove to the Pumpkin Patch! Darcie said we can each get our own pumpkin for Halloween so we start looking to find that special one!! We pick out our pumpkins and take them back home. We start putting up all the Halloween decorations!! We put cobwebs on the rose bushes...dont they look scary!! We see a spooky cemetary that only comes around in the front yard during Halloween We hang up all the decorations on the front porch. We like the witch that moves up and down and the dancing skeleton. Here we are with the candy and toys that we will hand out on Halloween. This is my other host Steve and he tries to scare us with his Saw mask. The Saw mask is very real looking and Darcie's dogs hate it lol well that is all for now! we are going to a Halloween cruise in with Darcies car club today! It should be lots of fun! Love Chocolate Moose
Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 31, 2009, 5:03 pm	Hi Mom! Today is Halloween! I am getting everything all ready for the trick or treaters that will come to the house. We watched scary movies last night. We saw The Shining Carrie and Christine. We also made Tandoori chicken last night and carved out our pumpkins!! Here are the photos! First we start by cooking the black beans. Next we get the Nan bread already to go in the oven. Here we are cooking the rice. Doesnt the chicken look good? This is one of Darcies favorite foods and it is a shame there are no Indian restaurants in this town! Here we are with the completed meal...yum!! After dinner we all go outside to start carving pumpkins. Here we are ready to go! First we pick out a design to carve our pumpkins with. Next we get our special pumpkin carving tools. Here is our finished pumpkin! Do you know what it is?? Today has been really fun and we are waiting for it to get dark outside!!! Happy Halloween mom!!
Pixiedustlady Posted Nov 25, 2009, 12:51 pm	I was watching football last night and after the game Darcie told me that I am going to travel to Colorado!! I am so excited and I tell all the other TVs!! I promise to write to them and will see them again in my travels.
Daghain Posted Dec 3, 2009, 2:00 am	Today I arrived in Ft. Collins, CO. It sure is cold here today! I guess I just missed the warm weather by a couple days...I sure hope this cold snap ends soon!
Daghain Posted Dec 3, 2009, 2:04 am	I also got to meet Pixel the cat. I'm not too sure what she thinks of me yet. Oh well, I'm sure we'll become really good friends. I'm going to rest up from my trip - I hear I get to see Denver International Airport tomorrow! I can't wait!
Daghain Posted Dec 4, 2009, 4:46 am	Today we went to Denver International Airport to pick up Daghain's boyfriend. It was VERY cold (14 degrees fahrenheit!) and dark. Daghain forgot her camera, but got this picture with her cell phone. You can see the top of the airport building in the background.
Daghain Posted Dec 4, 2009, 11:45 pm	Today I got to go to work with Daghain. She works in a factory that makes cardboard boxes - many things you've bought in stores come in boxes her company has made. Here is the outside of the building.
Daghain Posted Dec 4, 2009, 11:47 pm	Here is Daghain's office. She works in accounting. On a clear day, she can see the mountains from where she sits at her desk.
Daghain Posted Dec 4, 2009, 11:49 pm	Ft. Collins is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. You can see them in the background, although it's a bit cloudy today so they're not really clear.
Daghain Posted Dec 9, 2009, 2:07 am	Wow, snow! Moose love snow so I was particularly excited when about six inches fell over the weekend. This morning, as I rode to work with Daghain, it was falling again. There was supposed to be another six inches or so, but it stopped this morning. It's been VERY cold outside, though! Hopefully it will warm up a bit so we can go outside and look around some more.
Daghain Posted Dec 17, 2009, 12:59 am	Today we went downtown for some Christmas shopping. Here we are coming into town towards the mountains.
Daghain Posted Dec 17, 2009, 1:02 am	Here we are downtown - the Christmas lights are pretty and the buildings are pretty cool! There's some cool statues in Old Town Square and a small skating rink too!
Daghain Posted Dec 23, 2009, 11:02 pm	Snow for Christmas! It snowed last night, and we got quite a bit. Look!
Daghain Posted Dec 23, 2009, 11:04 pm	By afternoon, the pavement was pretty clear, but there was quite a bit of snow - look at the chair behind me in the second picture.
Daghain Posted Jan 8, 2010, 2:13 am	Oh boy! I heard today that I am going to Australia! I'm so excited! I've had a lot of fun in Colorado, and I'm looking forward to meeting my new host! Wish me luck on my new adventure!
becka_kate Posted Jan 19, 2010, 8:29 am	Hi I've arrived safely in Sydney (just a little too late for YumCha in the city ) Will report more soon!!
becka_kate Posted Feb 10, 2010, 8:00 am	Today is Australia Day, marking the 222nd anniversary of British settlement / colonisation / invasion depending on your point of view. The weather was way too hot and sticky to make the thought of battling the crowds in the city bearable, so we stayed at home in the air conditioning and partook in a different Aussie experience - watching the cricket. I'm not going to go into the rules here (they're a little too confusing!). All you really need to know is that Australia was playing Pakistan in a one day match at Adelaide Oval (some cricket matches go for a week and are called a "Test") and that Australia won by 40 runs. (If you really would like to know more, see Kari's page on the day she actually went to a cricket match!)
becka_kate Posted Apr 3, 2010, 4:29 am	Today we went to Berry, on the NSW South Coast. It is a pretty country town and the drive down was quite scenic - farmland, cows and coastal views. While in Berry we spent some time at the markets, which were a combination of crafts, food and 'trash and treasure'. View my photos on my Chocolate Moose flickrpage
becka_kate Posted Apr 3, 2010, 5:27 am	Tonight I was taken to the Royal Easter Show, the time when 'the country comes to the city' ('cept we didn't go to see any of the animals - oops!) After dinner of pluto pups (battered hot dogs on a kebab stick) and chips we headed off to check out the arts and crafts displays and enjoy the fun of the sideshow. We started our exploration with the Fresh Food Pavillion, the highlight of which are the district exhibits where each 'region' of the state designs an artistic display showcasing their local produce. Probably because it was only the first night and school holidays had only just started that evening, it was very quiet, so we were able to get right up close to the displays, something that is apparently normally almost impossible to do. Check out the detail with the seeds... (We particularly liked the cows!) Next we headed into the arts pavillion, where arts and crafts created by the public are judged and showcased. Patchwork quilts... Cakes... After having our fill of crafts we headed out into the sideshow and to the Showbag Pavillion. Deciding against the majority of the showbags, we bought the traditional $2 Bertie Beetle bag (Bertie Beetles are beetle shaped chocolates with honeycomb chips through them) Next stop, Sideshow Alley, where we enjoyed the sounds and the lights, but not the rides, my host being somewhat of a chicken!) Eventually we made our way back to the Main Arena for the evening's entertainment - precision driving, motorcross and the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robosaurus] Robosaurus[/url, the car eating dinosaur (Excuse that I'm not in a lot of these photos - the camera had to be zoomed to get the shots) Eventually it was time to head for home. On the way out, my host pointed out the ANZ stadium, which is the stadium where the 2000 Olympic Games were held, and Acer Arena - also an Olympic Venue (where the basketball, gymnastics and other indoor events were held)
becka_kate Posted Apr 6, 2010, 1:18 pm	Happy Easter! We've been pigging out on Easter eggs- yummo!!
becka_kate Posted Apr 16, 2010, 12:51 pm	Today we headed south again, but this time inland to Australia's capital, Canberra. On the way we stopped at Lake George. I guess you might be thinking that its a pretty strange looking lake, seeing as it has no water in it? Well, Lake George is a freak phenomenon. It has been known to disappear virtually overnight. The lake has been totally dry in 1837, 1870, 1902, most of the1930s and the early1980s. It has been completely full in 1852, 1897, 1925, the 1950s and the mid-1980s. There is no pattern to this strange phenomenon. Pretty wierd huh? The place is huge, big enough for a couple of farms to have been built here following World War One (during a dry spell of course!) There was actually water in it a few months ago, but its dried out again. Its actually a pretty freaky place, particularly, or so I'm told, at night. Next stop... Canberra
becka_kate Posted Apr 16, 2010, 1:11 pm	Our first stop in Canberra (after a quick shopping trip to buy shoes for my host who stupidly forgot that the weather in Canberra might be slightly cooler than in Sydney and wore sandals!) was at the Australian National Museum. We ate lunch in a park on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin, sitting on giant bogan moths (let me tell you, Canberra can be a strange place at times) This museum opened in 2001 as a part of the celebrations of the Centenary of Australian Federation to celebrate Australian social history. The building itself is quite bizarre and is meant to represent the vibrancy and innovation of Australians. The strange loopy thing is called 'The Uluru Line' which is meant to symbolically link the museum with Uluru in the centre of Australia. This the Garden of Australian Dreams... Apparently each step you take across it is the equivelant of 100kms (how they measure this, I don't know!) and is based on central Australia. All the writing is the word home in a variety of Indigenous and foreign languages found in Australia. No photos of the inside exhibits, but we saw the impact of Europeans on the native flora, fauna and indigenous people, learnt about the First Fleet and the stories of immigrants over the past 200 years and Australian sport, music and literature.
becka_kate Posted Apr 16, 2010, 2:07 pm	Our second day in Canberra and we headed into the War Memorial, something that you need most of the day to see even a part of. According to its website, the Memorial's purpose is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war. Its mission is to assist Australians to remember, interpret and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society. The idea for it came about after the First World War, in which over 100 000 Australians were killed (out of a small population of just over 5 million) and opened in 1941, by which time Australia was already fighting in World War Two. Outside the Memorial is a sculpture garden, containing a variety of outdoor monuments to Australian servicemen and women, like this one of an Australian 'Digger' and this one to Simpson and his Donkey, who are both a huge part of the Australian ANZAC legend. He was a stretcher bearer with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign, in World War I. After landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, he obtained a donkey and began carrying wounded British Empire soldiers from the frontline to the beach, for evacuation. He continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed. From the front of the Memorial down to Lake Burley Griffen runs Anzac Parade. Workers were building scaffolds for seating for the ANZAC Day commemorations that will be held on April 25th, marking the landings of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in Gallipoli, Turkey, in 1915, and the first time Australian troops fought as 'Australians'. It is a really moving place to visit, and one I highly recommend if you ever have the opportunity.
becka_kate Posted Aug 1, 2010, 1:29 pm	Before heading home, we made one last stop to view Lake Burley Griffen up close. This is a man made lake and kind of forms the centre of Canberra. Cook Fountain The High Court & Parliament House The National Carillon Black Swans
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Oct 6, 2010, 11:29 am	I have now arrived in the Foster Care Home for toyvoyagers! It's nice in here, my foster mom says there are plenty of elks around in the autumn (which is now).
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Oct 30, 2010, 9:47 am	Happily horrible Halloween!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Dec 11, 2010, 3:31 pm	Happy Independence Day Finland! Finland declared independence from Bolshevik Russia December 6, 1917.
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Dec 26, 2010, 7:24 am	Iloista joulua! Buorrit Juovllat! Merry Christmas! Nollaig chridheil huibh! God jul! Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noel! Q Ná merye i turuhalmeri! QISmaS DatIvjaj 'ej DIS chu' DatIvjaj!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Dec 29, 2011, 2:12 pm	Iloista joulua! Merry xmas! God jul! Buorrit juovllat! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noël! And so on! And have a great new year - 2012!
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Jun 22, 2012, 8:14 am	FosterCareHome Class 2012 group photo by the riverbank of Porvoo
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Nov 3, 2015, 4:01 pm	Over a year in Finland and no sign of a real moose!?
FosterCareHome FosterCareHome@web.de Posted Dec 15, 2015, 8:57 am	Today I arrived in Germany! I'm so happy that I have a new home!