Dr. Bearington's Tour of Atlanta

 The southern stop on Dr. Bearington’s tour started in Atlanta. He visited the World of Coke museum with Avery’s cousins, Jack and Alex and Avery’s Aunt Kelly. The attached picture shows Dr Bearington being held by the famous Coke bear in the picture. Dr. Bearington was very interested in finding out the secret ingredients to Coke…but it’s top secret so even though he is a chemist, they would not reveal the secret COKE recipe! After that, he visited CNN Center where he saw how they make a newscast. He was hoping they would ask him to guest anchor a segment on Chemistry…but alas, they did not need a chemist on air that day!

After Atlanta, Dr Bearington visited Nashville Tennessee. Nashville is the center of country music so he was able to check out some music shows and he toured the Grand Ole Opry, where almost every famous country music star has performed in their career. Dr. Bearington was tempted to try his hand at singing but decided to keep his career in chemistry. 

He will be leaving Tennessee and heading to his next stop. Avery’s cousins have so enjoyed having him visit!

Butterscotch in NC

Pfafftown, NC is merely a Zip Code Tabulation Area and only exists due to a post office location, which was established 125 years ago. Pfafftown Christian Church was founded in 1865 on Transou Road. The church still exists today, on Transou Road, but in a newer structure. The post office and the church are the only two landmarks that define Pfafftown. Both were closed when we were out on January 1st, but we took pictures at the sites.

We went to an area in Winston-Salem named Old Salem. It is very similar to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. One difference is that anybody can get onto the property of Old Salem by foot, or car, without paying a fee. Some of the old buildings are open to the public. Other buildings require a ticket/pass to get inside. We took the free tour. The visitor’s center had a Christmas tree in the lobby so I climbed in for a picture. Then we proceeded to the huge covered bridge that was built to go up and over the road, connecting the Visitor’s Center with Old Salem. It is a beautiful site with the large timbers that were used for the construction. After that, we visited the vegetable gardens and I used a cabbage for my photo shoot. I didn’t want to get in the dirt. We visited The Boys’ School Yard/Piazza, Single Brothers House, Market Fire Engine House, and The Salem Tavern.

Once we were done with the tour of Old Salem, we stopped by Whole Foods and I was able to check out the local Carolina Wild Flower Honey. That was fun!! Tonight, I am getting packed up so that I can go visit my next host in Texas. I wonder if they make cowboy hats for bears. Hmmm!

Nellie is in Provo, Utah

Nellie arrived the end of November, and knowing our whole family would be together, (some traveling here from Arizona, and others from Colorado), we were really excited to have Nellie go to events planned for our family, and to be with us through the holidays. Because we had a two year old grandson here who we feared might want to make Nellie his permanently, we had to keep Nellie a little “undercover” on our adventures. Places “Nellie” bear has seen over the holidays:

Nellie was thrilled, with the rest of us, when we woke up Christmas morning to a beautiful white Christmas.

Nellie enjoyed hanging out in the tree for most of the day.

We later took a family photo with Nellie before we knew we would be sending him to his next destination. That picture will come back to Shea with Nellie, in the journal. Having Nellie was a treat! We hope everyone else to whom he goes will enjoy him as we did.

Daisy is Having Fun in Chicago

Daisy in downtown Chicago

Teddy the Bear Visited Augusta, Georgia

Teddy the Bear visited us in Augusta, Georgia. While he was here we shared many meals, including Thanksgiving with him. He was the perfect guest, always using his manners. J Teddy went with us to the doctor and the dentist for our annual checkups. He got a clean bill of health too. He also visited the new trampoline park and James Brown’s statue in downtown Augusta. He even got to celebrate Hanukkah with us. We really wanted to take him on vacation with us, so we kept him a little longer (we hope that was okay) and he traveled to Cherokee, North Carolina with us. He learned a lot about the Cherokee Indians. After spending a few days there, we visited Asheville, North Carolina. While Teddy was there he visited the Biltmore. He had never see such a big house!! We have had a lot of fun with Teddy the Bear, but unfortunately it is time for him to move on to his next stop. Hoping he continues to have a great adventure!!

The Shoenholz Family

Marshmellow Tours Portland, ME

Portland Observatory

Captain Lemuel Moody ordered construction of this octagonal, 86-foot high tower to serve as a communication station for Portland’s bustling harbor. In 1807, ships entering the harbor could not be seen from the docks of Portland until they rounded the point at Spring Point Ledge. With his powerful telescope, Moody, sea captain turned entrepreneur, identified incoming vessels as far away as 30 miles.

The Portland Observatory is a historic maritime signal tower at 138 Congress Street in the Munjoy Hill section of Portland, Maine. Built in 1807, it is the only known surviving tower of its type in the United States. Using both a telescope and signal flags, two-way communication between ship and shore was possible several hours before an incoming vessel reached the docks.

Marshmellow was really excited to wear her boots and see the tug boats that take care of Portland harbor.

A tugboat (tug) is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,[1] or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for their size and strongly built, and some are ocean-going. Some tugboats serve as icebreakers or salvage boats. Early tugboats had steam engines, but today most have diesel engines. Many tugboats have firefighting monitors, allowing them to assist in firefighting, especially in harbors.

Portland Head Light is an historic lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The light station sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor, which is within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Completed in 1791, it is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keepers' house is a maritime museum within Fort Williams Park.

The wreck of the Annie C. Maguire ranks among the most famous Maine shipwrecks.
The Maguire entered Casco Bay at about 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve in 1886, with the intention of riding out the bad weather in Portland Harbor.

Behind Marshmellow is the ledge where the Annie C. Maguire came aground.

Marshmellow mans the ship!

Marshmellow inspects some antique diving gear.

Marshmellow

Marshmellow arrives before Christmas Day!

She quickly got into the holiday spirit and climbed the Christmas tree!