Travelog for: Winter Bear

Winter Bear dined with four little hedgehogs this evening. The little hedgehogs were so busy that Winter Bear got tired out just watching them!

The host family decided to do a small garden in their back yard this year, but host mom wanted to stop by the community garden to see what other people are growing!

Host mom got working in her garden today. She planted onions, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and a few cabbage in the ground and then mint, tomatoes, and oregano in pots. There's still more to do, but it was a great start!

In the afternoon, we drove up to the Great Plains Mall and had a look around

Winter Bear wasn't sure whether to be curious about or afraid of the zombie horde...

Host mom finished her second little girl dress! So cute!

Host mom has a fascination with water towers. She showed us the one in Garnett this morning!

Host mom and her youngest daughter took me for a walk to see what was blooming at Hillbrant House. Mr. Hillbrant was home and he let us go in the back yard to see his koi and waterfalls back there! Sadly, he is selling his house because he is in his 80s and figures he doesn't need a house and yard that big. We sure hope the next owners will appreciate and maintain his gardens!

Yay, a birthday to celebrate! Winter Bear loved the ice cream and cake, and the unwrapping of the presents!

This morning, host mom took us to see the community corrections garden that is maintained by the county jail. The motto is "Building Character Through Gardening." We met a super nice lady there, who told us about how she works with the inmates in the garden. Being a small town with a large jail, our county houses a lot of female inmates from the bigger cities, when they have overflow. She often works with people who have never, ever gardened and have no idea about plants or where vegetables come from. One day, she was working with a group of ladies and handed them each a radish, plucked from the ground, and they stood around, and finally one said, "What am I supposed to do with this?" She said, "You eat it." The lady thought a while, then said, "I can't eat it, it's dirty." The nice lady explained all vegetables grow in dirt and you just have to wash them off. The lady argued a bit, so she showed her how to wash it with the hose and try it. The lady tried it, gobbled it down, and then her whole face lit up, and she exclaimed, "I like dirty food!"

We made a potty stop at the tourist stop in Burlington!

We had a yummy dinner at CiCi's Pizza in Topeka!

Host mom finished her last little girl dress! Her three littlest daughters are going to be so happy (and so cute) in their new dresses!

The dresses were so adorable that we Toy Voyagers insisted on being photographed with the pretty princesses wearing them!

Winter Bear enjoyed sabbath school and potluck at the Seventh Day Adventist church.