The Second Journey - By Triniti

  It was 5:30 A.M., on another fateful Wednesday. It was mid-August, and adventure was calling. My eldest brother came to pick us, and our baggage up, than we started towards the airport. We were headed to Boston, with nothing but two carry-ons each, some high expectations of what the east coast would look like, and, in my case anyway, a sense of foreboding when I thought of landing. 
  We left California at around 9:30 to our first new state of the trip, Indiana. On the flight, we met some nice people. Also on the first flight, one of the stewardesses looked just like Officer Jenny from Pokemon! When we landed, we were only in Indiana on about a ten minute layover, so we didn't get to do much except for walk across the small terminal and wait for our plane to get there. By this time, I was ravenous for something besides peanuts. We walked by several of the in-airport restaurants, which didn't help much. We boarded the next plane, and this flight was completely uneventful. 
  We landed in Boston, where my sister's best friend's family came and picked us up. We spent the drive to their house discussing the many ways that people have gotten hurt playing Pokemon Go, and so before I knew it we were at their house. By this time, I was (in my spoiled American mind) on the brink of starvation. I ate some cheese and crackers, but then my appetite was thoroughly spoiled as a mosquito was killed. Using a slice of cheese. 
  We went to bed, and the next day we were given a tour of our friend's mansion. It had a whole library, complete with rolling ladder! It was awesome. ;) The library was on the second floor, and beneath it was the guest bedroom, so in the lower half it had a custom Murphy bed (the kind that folds up into the wall or cabinet). 
  We went to Plymouth, but we did not see Plymouth Rock. Instead we saw a post office, the National Monument to the Forefathers, and a historical graveyard. The monument had the personification of Faith at it's center, with other characteristics of good countries and countrymen surrounding her, including Morality, Law, Education, and Liberty. It was over eighty feet tall, and was made entirely of granite. There was also a list of all the people from the Mayflower on the side of the statue.

  The historical graveyard that we saw was the site of the first fort, built by the Pilgrims in 1621. The lower part was used as a church. It was also the site of a fort built in 1675. Many of the Pilgrims were buried there. 

  The post office was uneventful, except for the fact that I heard the Boston accent for the first time. It was interesting. I enjoy picking up accents, so I figured that I'd try to learn that one on the trip. I re-figured after I heard it. I liked the challenge, but I wasn't up to it. I figured that I could base it off of the British accent, since Massachusetts was one of the thirteen colonies. It is nothing at all British in any way, shape or form. When the Separatists decided to make their own country, they didn't even leave Mother England in syllable pronunciation. Whenever I tried it, it became so wicked southern, I decided to just give up. 
  Friday was Caleb's birthday. He turned 13, and Kylie, Aubrey, Kaeli, and I helped to decorate his cake. 
  We also worked on a sewing project while we were there. We found an excellent pattern for some portable sewing kits (or wallets, phone cases, etc.), and when they're done they promise to be beautiful. 

  We found some lovely remnants at Joann's. Kaeli and Aubrey (right) chose some orange, teal, and purple fabrics with a teal bias tape. Kylie (left) and I found quite a few fabrics in the blue and brown color scheme. We got brown bias tape.

  On Saturday we went to Providence, Rhode Island. We went to a historical house which had previously belonged to Governor Stephen Hopkins, way back during the revolutionary war. Governor Hopkins was elected four times as governor of Rhode Island, and three times as a Chief Justice for the Rhode Island Supreme Court.  His lodging was a small, two-story house, with so much history in each room. The room into which you enter is the original kitchen, but not the original entrance. There was a lovely crib in there. It had a spot for the baby, and then at the feet of the crib was a rocking seat for the mother. As you rocked, the crib was also rocked, which helped the baby fall asleep with you sitting right next to it. 

The rocking crib

  There was also a beautiful antique spinning wheel, and several other pieces of antique furniture. 

  There were several other rooms in the house, including the master/guest bedroom/parlor in which General George Washington had spent the night and held political conversations with Governor Hopkins. George Washington was actually a friend of Governor Hopkins, and had given him a crystal decanter set.

  We then went to Chick-fil-a, then back to their house. 

  The next day was Sunday, and we went to our friend's new church with them. The sermon was on peace, as the church was in the midst of a study on the Fruit of the Spirit. We sang some of my favorite songs, including "It Is Well With My Soul," by Horatio Spafford.

  The history behind that song, and the faith in God that it displays are so amazing. After several horrible events in his life, including the death of all of his children, he still proclaimed that, "Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed His own blood for my soul."  

   Later in the evening, our friends took us out in their boat on the North River. It was so beautiful. It was the perfect temperature to be out on a river, and the cattails were shifting in the breeze. The sun shone brightly in the 4:00 sky, and water rippled and flowed.

                                                                     

  All of these pictures are completely unedited, and were taken on our way to where the other kids were gonna swim. We stayed at the spot where the last picture was taken for several minutes. We were having a lot of fun, until we had to leave. 

  On the way back, the river was even prettier! The clouds were reflecting off of the rippled surface of the water, and it was so beautiful.

  After we finished our awesome ride, we went back to the house and played the game that my mom says "Monopoly should have been," Power Grid. This game is really fun. It involves a lot of strategy, so I always lose, but it's super duper fun. ;) Kaeli and Aubrey played on a team, and somehow they beat not only me, but also the two adults who were playing! They were really good. 

  On Monday we took all the kids twelve and under (and me) on a small road trip. We went to Kimball Farms very first. It was a wonderful ice cream place, and I really enjoyed it. The first state we went to was New Hampshire. We went to the Currier Museum of Art while we were there. There were some great pieces of art, including a Monet and a Picasso. One of the paintings looked just like Anna! Another one looked just like my grandma. 

  There was also a super cool video compilation. A man had taken one of the cameras that you would use to take a video of a hummingbird, and filmed the streets of New York City. It had creepy music accompanying it, and you really felt like you were there. You became aware of everything. The girls who had come from the American Girl Store. The pickpockets. People going about their everyday lives, with no knowledge that they are being filmed. It was really interesting; I could have sat there all day if we didn't have another state to get to. 

  We started off to Vermont. As we stopped at a toll-booth, I saw a dollar taped to the back wall. As I was trying to figure out why there was a dollar there, I noticed that Benjamin Franklin was on it. I was amazed. Who pays $100.00 at a toll-booth? Then I noticed, Ben was in color! I was shocked. Was that a Living Waters million dollar bill? A gospel tract? In a toll-booth? Yes. Yes it was. I thought that that was amazing. The gospel is always being spread, even in a tiny toll booth in a tiny state. 

  We stopped at a visitor center for directions to the nearest town in Vermont. We ended up going to a town called White River Junction. As we drove over in a twelve-passenger van, I looked out of the window, and saw that an old man who looked vaguely like Santa Claus was counting the eight children in the car! I was shocked. What was his problem? I soon found out however, because as we parked we saw a Planned Parenthood right across the street from us. 

  Cheaper By the Dozen immediately popped into my mind. The part in which the woman from Planned Parenthood comes to the Gilbreth's house, for she wished to know if they would mind hosting teas for the afore said group. As the Gilbreth's twelve children ran down the stairs, the woman yelped in dismay, "And within eighteen miles of national headquarters too!"

  We stopped at an eclectic consignment store, which had some interesting things. The people who worked there were really nice. One of them told the little kids where some toys were, and they proceeded to play with them for the remainder of the time that we were there. My mom and I both got really pretty dresses. Mine is light blue silk, and Mom's is gold brocade. There were some dresses in there that were really weird though. The same lady told us where a good food place was, and we headed out to the middle of nowhere to find us some good old fashioned...sandwiches. We wanted to stop in Connecticut also, but if we'd of done that we wouldn't have gotten back until well after midnight, so we headed straight back to Massachusetts. 

  On Tuesday we went to the beach. It was my first time in the Atlantic, and I must say, like Lake Erie, I was pleasantly surprised. I grew up with the false impression that the Pacific is the only ocean worth going to. Both Lake Erie and the Atlantic Ocean astounded me in how beautiful they were. The Atlantic is now my favorite ocean. The water was bluer than anything I'd ever seen before, and it was as cool and refreshing as the Merced River in Yosemite. There were a lot of decapitated crabs all over the place though, and I don't know what that was all about. Miss Leslie said she thought that they were from clam bakes. There were lots of rocks that would've been perfect for skipping, except for the fact that I don't know how to skip rocks...

  On Wednesday we boarded another airplane to head back to California. We added another state to our ever-growing list, Missouri, and then got on another plane to get to California. On this second flight, I think that my sister and I really annoyed the stewardess. We had asked a steward for peanuts. He never brought them. A half-hour later, we were not only hungry, but thirsty as well. I wanted to listen to my iPod, so I asked Kaeli if she would ask the stewardess for crackers or pretzels and a hot chocolate for me, and also whatever she wanted. As the stewardess walked by Kaeli asked her for that long list of things. The lady rolled her eyes, turned around, and walked over to the food and beverage station. The man who we had asked originally came back with a whole bag of peanuts and two packs of crackers. The lady came a few minutes later, first bearing ginger ale and then hot chocolate. I don't know if you've ever flown Southwest before, but when you order hot chocolate they include a red toothpick with a heart on top. When I received my beverage, the pointy part was sticking up and the heart was sitting in the bottom of the cup rather than the top. We didn't ask for anything after that. 

  We landed in California, and my older brother again picked us up with our luggage. We stopped at El Tarasco, which is this really good Mexican food place, then we headed home. 

And that was the end of the Second Journey.