November 16, 2009
Today was fun sharing our weekend adventures with the people at work and friends on the phone. It was like a trip down memory lane. We’d jump from one of our weekend adventures to someone’s remembered adventure from long ago. Had all kinds of smiles and grins. Just like the adventures in Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!, once triggered the stories flowed from one cherished memory to another. Rainy days, sunny days, cloudy days all had their special moments. It was a lot of fun!
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Special Moments | Tagged: child, Childhood Memories, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, Grandpa Do It, grandparent, grandson, kids, Memories, Places to Go, play, playing, Playing with Children, portland, rainy day | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
November 13, 2009
Today Austin and I spent two hours at the library reading lots of different books that he picked out. The day was rainy so we stayed inside! It was a lot of fun! He would pick several books out and hand them to me. Then we sat in the Children’s Room and read them together. Then he picked out some more. We read them. Then I thought he was done but he pulled out a book he recognised from school called Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis (Author) and David Soman (Author, Illustrator) and he wanted to take it home to show Mom. BUT I didn’t have Mom’s library card with me and he had to write his name to get his own card, so the librarian suggested we either put it on 3 day save or go up to the Reading Room to read it. Austin decided to read it NOW so we made it up the stairs to the Reading Room only after side-stepping for Austin to grab a transportation picture book and a horse picture book as well. So that was another hour or so.
At the end we signed a hard-cover Grandpa Do It! I Do It, Too book and donated it to the library – since it is HIS library after all. That was fun, too!
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November 12, 2009
Santa Monica is getting the moniker of the West Terminus of Historic Route 66. From the LA Times article: “The highway’s original end point in 1926 was at 7th Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, according to Glen Duncan, president of the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation. A decade later, the road was extended to Olympic and Lincoln boulevards in Santa Monica.”
Here’s some fun stuff on Route 66.
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November 11, 2009
The San Diego Zoo polar bears are having fun. The polar bear trio, whose names are Kalluk (The Athlete), Tatqiq (The Princess), and Chinook (The Stalker), take turns in the Polar Bear Plunge. Here is the video cam. Learn some Polar Bear facts here. Here’s the Polar Bear Blogsite.
More info on the San Diego Zoo is here.
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1 Comment | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, Chinook, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Kalluk, kids, nature, Places to Go, polar bear, San Diego, San Diego Zoo, Tatqiq, zoo | Permalink
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November 8, 2009
Grandpa Ron and I had a great time at the California State Railroad Museum yesterday in Sacramento, CA. We wandered through the Lincoln Exhibit and learned many new tidbits of information. For example, neither of us knew that Abe Lincoln floated down the Mississippi River on a flat boat to take items to market in New Orleans. It gave him a small impression of how large the United States is and helped ground his firm belief that railroads were a way to unite the country. The name of the exhibit is “The Rail Splitter and the Railroads: Lincoln, the Union and the Golden State.” It will be showcased in the Museum’s Theater Mezzanine Gallery through February 15, 2010.
We also got to tour the inside of the beautiful Gold Coast Observation car which was a special treat not normally offered during regular visits to the museum. From the museum website: “Georgia Northern No. 100 Gold Coast Central of Georgia 1905 Private Car Ex Central of Georgia No. 97; Georgia Northern No. 100; Lucius Beebe & Charles Clegg’s private car. Gift 8/1969 of R&LHS, Pacific Coast Chapter. Restored by CSRM to 1948-50 appearance.”
Here’s the special Kid’s Corner.
We were there for a special Trainmaster Reception event for museum donors. We had a really wonderful time meeting other patrons of the museum and tapping our toes to the music of the Black Irish Band as they sang lots of railroad songs along with their Irish and Italian numbers.
The museum is a great place to take the grandkids and family – the kids get to see up front and close just how big the train cars are! Train rides are also possible. Here is visitor information. Here is the 2009 Calendar of Events.
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Leave a Comment » | Indoor Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: Black Irish Band, California State Railroad Museum, child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, kids, Lincoln Exhibit, museum, Places to Go, railroad museum, rainy day, Sacramento, train, train museum, train ride, Trainmaster Reception | Permalink
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October 17, 2009
The famous Haunted Halloween Terrorfest Shipwreck of the Queen Mary is a fun event of the locals. There are 5 different mazes within the ship. Here is a list of interactive maps of attractions.
Facts and history from the Queen Mary website and another interesting note from LongBeach.com. If you want to visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach, here are some reviews on TripAdvisor and the Calendar of Events.
This video tells of the renovations going on by the new owners. So the “tired” ship will be restored to her old grandeur. That will be awesome!
Leave a Comment » | Places to Explore | Tagged: Annual Halloween Terror Fest, child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, haunted maze, kids, Long Beach, Places to Go, Queen Mary, Queen Mary Shipwreck | Permalink
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October 16, 2009
The Aquarium of the Pacific, one of my favorite aquariums, just blogged how many whales they’ve seen on their outings this summer. They have some pictures, too. They saw all kinds of whales: Blue, Fin, Minke and Humpback!
Tomorrow the aquarium is having their great Seafare Evening. Should be pretty awesome.
Here is their on-line Learning Center.
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October 13, 2009
From an email I received today , here are some good words to get our kids playing ouside:
For many of us, childhood memories are synonymous with outdoor moments like climbing trees, skipping stones, or gardening. But today’s kids spend twice as much time indoors as their parents and grandparents did, missing out on the simple pleasures and lasting mental and physical health benefits of daily outdoor time.
Studies show that children who spend time in nature are healthier, happier, and become better stewards of the environment. National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is launching
Be Out There, a national movement to return to the nation’s children a connection to the natural world around us and the joy and sustenance it brings.
– Want to play “Wild Things Bingo”? Check out our Activity Guide for Kids — adults can play too!
– Get ideas for planning your own Wild Rumpus Day.
– Start your Be Out There adventure by heading outside to watch for animals near you with help from Wildlife Watch.
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October 11, 2009
Giant Corn Mazes are getting more and more popular as an October or Halloween family activity. Grandson Austin and the rest of the family went to the pumpkin patch and giant corn maze this weekend. I did some more research and came up with some fun Giant Corn Maze websites. So here they are below!
Visiting Corn Mazes with Kids – Photos as well
Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Patches in the State of Oregon
Portland, OR Family Fun Mazes and Patches
The Corn Maze Pumpkin Junction 10 acre maze – Train Ride & a Maze!
Kackleberry Farm in Louisville, GA
Depner Farms in Caseville, Michigan – Haunted Dino Maze and Maze-O’-Saurus
Cows-n-Corn 9 acre maze, Washington, DC
Kelley Farms in Lexington, KY – giant corn maze & pumpkins
Past Mazes at Pendleton’s Country Market in Lawrence, KS – Pumpkin Patch this weekend
Corn Mazes in the US
Corn Mazes in Canada
Corn Mazes in the UK
1 Comment | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: Canada, child, children, England, family, Family Fun, fun, Giant Corn Maze, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Green Hour, Halloween, Hay Rides, kids, nature, October Activities, Oregon, Places to Go, Pumpkin Patch, United Kingdom, Washington DC | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
October 10, 2009
I love AUTUMN! I love the swirl of color of reds, golds, yellows and greens! I remember raking the leaves into a pile and then jumping into them! It’s a great time to do some family hiking in National Forests or National Parks or reserves or city parks or along the river or …..! The mixes of color are different at every curve in the path.
I found some really fun sites of additional information for you – For my niece Michele here is The Chemistry of Autumn Colors. Google images of fall colors are totally beautiful! The Wikipedia cornucopia of knowledge is bountiful. Here are color cams of colorful foliage. This New England Travel site has several webcams to cyber-watch the New England fall colors. Here is the Mono County, CA fall foliage guide. The Eastern US fall color guide is full of info, too! Any arboretum or park will be gorgeous, but here is a beautiful site from Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Iowa fall colors are described in USA Today. Mount Rushmore is also awesome! The Smokie Mountains are also changing color. In Alaska, Denali National Park is awesome in autumn, according to Margaret Bauman. The Western Michigan Tourist Association offers 26 different scenic driving tours for enjoying the autumn colors. Also a very decent website on autumn color is Total Escape on California off the beaten path.
Here is a science project for kids on Autumn Leaves.
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MyGrandmaSue 