Travelog for: Regit Brown

Hi Mom!!!
I have been pretty darn busy and just now finally uploaded my photos!! It is a pain to have to upload them on photobucket and then come back and post them....BUT if I want to type anything between the photos...thats how I have to do it!! Anyways I will back track to 14 days ago.... I got to go with my host to the Marine Corps Birthday ball!!! I HAD SOOO MUCH FUN!!  We drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina which is two hours from here.  We stayed at a nice resort on the Oceanfront!!! My host got a few photos of me but I could not take any during the actual ceremony at the ball.  I have posted a brief rundown on the history of the ball and about the ball ceremony.  My host was one of the honor guards and looked pretty spiffy with his dress uniform on and his NCO sword!!  Here is the history behind the United States Marine Corps birthday ball

The first formal ball was celebrated in 1925, though no records exist that indicate the proceedings of that event.  Birthday celebrations would take varied forms, most included dances, though some accounts include mock battles, musical performances, pageants, and sporting events.

The celebrations were formalized and standardized by Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. in 1952, outlining the cake cutting ceremony, which would enter the Marine Drill Manual in 1956. By tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines passing their knowledge to the new generation of Marines. The celebration also includes a reading of Marine Corps Order 47, republished every year, as well as a message from the current Commandant, and often includes a banquet and dancing if possible. In many cases, the birthday celebration will also include a pageant of current and historical Marine Corps uniforms, as a reminder of the history of the Corps. Another modern tradition includes a unit run on the 10th. Marines are reputed to celebrate the birthday, regardless of where they may be in the world, even in austere environments or combat.

Anyways we had a beautiful formal sit down dinner and dancing afterwards in the ball room.  I got to see the cake cutting ceremony and watched a brief movie and heard the reading of the Commandants Birthday Message.  It was all so very neat and I am so glad I got to be a part of it!!


Here I am on the deck of my hotel room.  I am looking at the Atlantic Ocean and watching people on the beach and at the pool!




Here is another view of me and the Atlantic Ocean.



Here I am with the Ball program and schedule of the nights events.



Here I am at my table.  I was seated at table 51 and I had a perfect view of the entire event!!




Here I am with my yummy dinner!!!




The next morning we stopped at a Pancake house.  Just look at my yummy breakfast!! These are Peanut Butter pancakes made with Reeses Peanut Butter chips!! I also got a bunch of whipped cream on them and then I poured butter then syrup!! they were soooo good!!




I have more updates to do about my Holiday Parade and Thanksgiving, but I have to resize all my photos first!! I hope you are doing well and it is now time for me to go eat leftovers from last night!!! yum yum!!

Hi Mom,
My host took me to Cancun, Mexico with Beaver for the first two weeks of December.  Some jerk stole her camara and that is why no updates have been done.  I had a wonderful time while in Mexico and I also took a day trip by boat to Isla Mujeres.  I am sad that all the photos she took of me are gone   I had a great Christmas and New Years eve was fun.  My host still does not have a camara and is very sorry that all the updates she had planned for me from my trip and Christmas/New Years did not get done due to no photos.  I am doing fine and have a very nice tan!! 

After a great stay I am now off to the United Kingdom to visit Mia!!! I have packed my bags and now off on my flight to my next adventure!!

I have arrived and was given a warm welcome! I am going to have fun here!

Hello Mum!
Today, we've come to Ryton Gardens, headquarters of Garden Organic, an organisation founded to promote organic gardening, education and research.
It is Potato Day. Gardeners come here to buy seed potatoes of many different varieties to grow at home and/or the allotment.

Duke of York had 10,000 men who marched up a hill and marched back down again.

There's over a hundred varieties here.

After my host bought their choices, we went on a tour of the Heritage Seed Library.

These things are drying.

This is a display in the Vegetable Kingdom section, showing us the importance of various things.

Outside, we went for a walk around the gardens. This is a biodynamic garden.

This is an allotment with sprouts.

There is a wormery in the greenhouse.

A compost tumbler.

In the Children's Garden, with a totem pole!

Hello Mum!
After the fresh air at Ryton Gardens, we went to a hands-on science museum near Ironbridge.

This is a flywheel.

They have various inventions on display. Full steam ahead.

Ooo look, K'Nex

Ironbridge is famous for the first successful bridge built from iron. Here, people can have a go at building bridges.

How about building earthquake-proof buildings? Somehow, I don't think this will survive the shakes. A young girl was fascinated with us ToyVoyagers and assisted us with our photographs!

This is a tessellation jigsaw

This is a steam engine.

Look at all these marbles in the shop. It is time to head home to Wales.

A big parcel arrived at my host's house.
Shall we take a look inside?

Wow, look at all that K'Nex!

My host's son likes building things with K'Nex.

Hello Mum!
My host took me to the town of Porthmadog. She wanted to rescue toys who wanted to go travelling round the world. But first, we spotted something strange going down the road.

A steam train leaving Porthmadog on the Welsh Highland Railway line. This line goes all the way to Caernarfon.

The line from Caernarfon has opened in sections before reaching all the way here. This is the first year that trains will be able to run the whole length.

Half-term is soon. Perhaps we'll be able to go on a train ride!

It isn't a very long train. There isn't much room on the platform for the trains to come this way.

There it goes. This is the Glaslyn river.

we went in search of toys.

Do you think one here wants to go travelling?

After all that shopping for toys needing rescue, we were in need of refreshments.

Pippi and I were telling Misty Rose and Luc Zeke about our travels.

Needless to say, they both want to see the world!

We said farewell to Charlie B. today.

Have a safe journey little mouse.

We've come to Techniquest, a hands on science centre associated with Glyndwr University in Wrexham

There were all sorts of illusions.

The patterns have changed.

It makes my eyes go funny.

Another illusion.

A parabolic mirror

A pin thing.

A pin thing with smaller pins.

I hid under those, but I think you could see me in the smaller one clearer.

Outside, we caught the end of a rocket-launching session.



I think they said the pressure they were going up to was 50psi for these demonstations. 

Back inside, there's a weather station. It wasn't a very windy day.

Ooo waves.

This is an orb, with a layer of fluid between two domes. Shiny crystals in the fluid show the lines of flow.

We are going to my host's mum's today. How exciting.

It's party time! It is Captain Caramel's birthday.

There's a candle on the cake.

After the cake, we played with these balloons!

On our way home, we went via Magna, an industrial science museum set in an old steelworks near Rotherham/Sheffield.
There were 4 zones. The first zone we went to was Water.

A whirlpool exhibit.
Next, we went to Fire.

Something is spinning.

This is a fire tornado.

Lighting isn't that good for photographs with the fire tornado.

Next stop was Air. This is a musical exhibit with tubes and things.

The exhibit can be quite noisy.

We then went for a game of Air hockey.

The air blows through holes in the table and lifts up the puck ever so slightly.

This is a frequency exhibit with little polystyrene balls bouncing.

This is a different frequency.

There was an information exhibit about the Bessemer Process (air is blown through molten iron to remove impurities).

Before going on to the final area, we caught some of the Big Melt show, a reconstruction of how they made steel. This is the arc furnace.

We went to the final area, Earth. The set up is quarrying "rocks" and these get picked up by the children and taken somewhere by wheelbarrow before going on conveyor belts and distributed either back to the "quarry" or to a chute.

Can you see the "rocks" on the conveyor belt?

Tomorrow, I will be leaving Wales for pastures new. My host took a photo of me with all the other ToyVoyagers and will upload the photo soon.