Travelog for: Fidditch

We went on a search for insects for one of the host kids's science class. He was horrified at the original assignment, which involved catching bugs, freezing them to death, then pinning them to a piece of cardboard. The teacher relented to his request and let him take photographs of them instead. My favorite was this bunch of web worms!

Host mom had to go to Wichita for a continuing education conference, so she took us in the convertible, with the top down! On the way home, we stopped at the park in El Dorado to feed the geese!

We went to youth group and had so much fun! There was a puppet show, and we did arts and crafts

I tagged along with the host family, to go to the dentist, in Lawrence. Afterward was my favorite; dinner out at CiCi's Pizza!

Host mom's middle daughter wanted a wild poncho, so host mom made it for her! She'll be warm and cozy in those zebra stripes

We went to Wichita to see Momix Botanica at the Orpheum Theater. Since we were running too late to get pictures outside and they don't allow cameras inside the Orpheum, host mom didn't get a chance to take any pictures there. But, she did get a picture of our great pre-show dinner at China Star.

Kansas City is famous for its race cars and October is Breast Cancer Awareness month... we came across this great pace car, celebrating both!

Host mom helped her daughter make cabin for her third grade class assignment on the book Sign of the Beaver. I really liked how it turned out!

We started out on an exciting road trip today! The first place we stopped was St. Joseph, Missouri, where we ate at a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut franchise for lunch.

Our next stop was at the Loess Hills Visitor Center in Iowa, which has been dubbed "the best rest stop in Iowa." We learned about the geography of the Loess Hills, and that this type of hill was formed by glaciers and is only found in this part of the United States, and part of China.

Our second destination was just around the corner from the first. The Lewis and Clark Trail Visitor's Center was supposed to be closed due to the federal government shutdown, but the state of Nebraska provided extra funding so that it would be open for tourists like us! We saw so many interesting things, and out the back door, we got another view of the bridge we had just walked on!

Our first morning in Omaha, we took a visit to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. It spans the river between Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. The first thing we saw, after we parked, was the most enormous vending machine I have ever seen! Behind it, the bridge seemed mystical in the chilly morning mist!

We visited Joslyn Castle in downtown Omaha. It has a very interesting history and even though it wasn't open for tours of the inside, we got to take a nice look at the outside!

Our last stop of the day was Boy's Town. We stopped at the main office to get directions to the museum and garden, and had the opportunity to feed a loaf of bread to some friendly geese. We also got to see the world's largest ball of stamps, the museum that told about the history of Boy's Town, and the Bible Garden.

The next morning we crossed the river and went to Council Bluff, Iowa, where we visited the Squirrel Cage Jail. Both the architecture and the history were quite fascinating, so be sure to click the link and learn more!