Coffee's Big Adventure

Wow we have had a.great day today! We started out with a very tiring 12 mile bike ride along the coast of St. Croix. We visited a local school that was built back in the 1700's and they are still using it today. We also rode through their rain forest, well actually it is a moist forest as they do not get enough rain. We visited an old plantation and now we are just sitting by the pool and resting our tired bones. We have to get some good rest tonight as I hear we are going to be on the go tomorrow too.

 

Jimmy

Dear Jake,

Jimmy had a great week in Maine! He and his new friend, Marty, are flying to Wisconsin today! They will stop in Detroit and Minneapolis before they arrive at Grandma Jean's home in River Falls.

Have a great week and I'll see you at Aunt Carolyn's and Uncle Jack's for Thanksgiving!
With much love-

Aunt Marybeth

Mkayla

Hi Emma,

We had a busy rest of the day yesterday! Mkayla was hungry so we drove to the donut shop for a snack. Mkayla picked out a donut with pink icing and sprinkles. Next, Ashley, I and Mkayla went to the book store to get Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2 for Colin. Colin and Ashley had two parties after school yesterday and Mkayla joined them. The first party was a Thanksgiving potluck and there was a piñata for the kids. You can see Mkayla standing in line with Ashley in the pictures. After that, Mkayla joined in at a birthday party for one of Colin’s friend’s at a play place called Jungle Island. It was a very busy and long day for all of us. Mkayla is headed home to you today! Thank you so much for letting her visit us in sunny CaliforniaJ

Tara

 

Coffee

So glad to be going on vacation with Sandy and Keenan but very sad leaving my two new buddies Bentley and Bonz! See you at the next stop.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder!

Bobby Bear

Thursday, November 21

Hi Joseph,
Arrived in Pompano Beach on Saturday the 16th at 5:00 PM via USPS. The trip was a little bumpy but pleasant.

The weather has been great, so I was able to go to the beach every day. There was a possibility of showers today, so we went sightseeing. I saw my first manatee. A manatee is a marine mammal that looks like a seal except it has a flattened tail like a whale. Manatees love the hot waters around Florida and when the waters get a little cooler in the winter, they travel inland for a source of warm water. They can do that because they can live in salt or fresh water. Adults can reach 15 feet long and weigh over 3,000 pounds. They can live over 50 years. They are gentle and curious, sometimes popping up their heads next to boats to check the company. They like to play, chasing each other and rolling over and over. They sleep on the bottom of shallow waters, slowly surfacing every few minutes for air. It is said that Christopher Columbus mistook a manatee for a mermaid and concluded that mermaids were not as beautiful as he had been led to believe! Their only enemy is boat propellers. The entire state of Florida has been declared an official manatee sanctuary.
Wish you were here.

I'm off to California later this evening. From one coast to the other!

Your friend,

Bobby Bear

 

 

Portsmouth, Rhode Island

Hi Alex!

Almond Joy arrived in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, this week and has been having fun visiting 'the island'. Most of Portsmouth is on the largest island in Narragansett Bay, which it shares with Middletown and Newport. The island's official name is 'Rhode Island' and its common name, 'Aquidneck Island', helps to distinguish the island from the state. The official name of the littlest state in the Union is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations", now that's a mouthful! Today Almond Joy was in Newport to visit a submarine lab where she had some fun riding on a torpedo! She had a few other adventures on a submarine, but no pictures please, we have to keep some things secret!!!

Campbell, California

Hi Emma,

Yesterday Mkayla made lemonade with Ashley. I am attaching a picture of her picking the lemons. This afternoon, Mkayla had a nice cup of tea with honey.

Tara

 

 

Hi Emma,

Mkayla arrived in Campbell, CA on Saturday, November 16, 2013. She took a few days to settle in and meet my son Colin, 7 years old, and daughter Ashley, 4 years old. Her box was ripped a little bit, but we taped it back together. Mkayla went on a bike ride today with Ashley, a carriage ride and helped decorate for Thanksgiving. It was a busy day! Tomorrow we are going to make lemonade with lemons from our yard (about half the fruit grown in the U.S. is grown in CA!). Thank you for letting her visit us.

 

Tara