A Teen Traveler

Hey guys! I went to the Circus Museum at the Ringling in Sarasota, Florida, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! The Ringling is a large complex that features a circus museum, an art museum, a rose garden, a historic house, and large, beautiful grounds. My family and I went to the Circus Museum Tibbals Learning Center . We saw a giant mural, a miniature circus, sparkly costumes, and a circus bandwagon and calliope. We also got to try to fit in a clown car and “walk the wire” in a fun, interactive room. You see the giant mural right when you walk in, and it depicts lots of people and things from a circus, such as acrobats, clowns, animal trainers, and animals such as elephants and tigers. The next thing we saw was the Howard Bros. Circus Model. This miniature circus has 44,000 pieces and was all built by the man for whom the learning center was named! Some of my favorite things about the mini circus were the sideshow ads and the big top (which of...

Welcome back! I have someplace really fun to tell you about, called Sun-N-Fun. Sun-N-Fun is a private RV resort in Sarasota, Florida, but from April to Labor Day the pool and some activities there are open to the public. The pool area features an Olympic-size pool, an inflatable obstacle course floating on an indoor pool, a tall twisty waterslide, two hot tubs, a poolside bar and grill, and sometimes bungee jumping and "the Meltdown." The indoor obstacle course is made by Wibit Sports and is set up on the surface of an indoor pool. There are two long strips of obstacles, going in opposite ways. It is kind of something like American Ninja Warrior , with things to run on, jump over, and climb up. I really liked the Wibit. It is fun to challenge and race your friends, but also go by yourself and get better at it. In my opinion, one side was easier than the other, but both were fun. Every time you do it, you get a little bit better. I think falling off and...

Hey guys! I have another entry about Pennsylvania for you!! I went to the Kids' Castle Playground , located in Central Park in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  The castle is made of mostly wood, something you don’t see on as many playgrounds today. It is like a maze inside, because there are so many twists, turns, and many different ways to go. I would not recommend it for claustrophobic people because some of the tunnels and pathways can get small and narrow! Did you know that the playground is eight stories tall? There are two green, enclosed tube slides. The slides start at a very high part of the castle. They are very twisty and are kind of like a giant spiral down. Something else I like about the playground is that it has lots of pieces of artwork on it, as can be seen above. The playground also has a smaller “pirate ship” for little kids to play on, and some other things to do such as two “rock” towers you can climb on. Just behind the fenced...

What’s up guys? I have one more thing about Philadelphia to tell you about. I stayed at an awesome hotel called the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia. When we walked in, we were greeted by a doorman holding the door for us. The lobby is beautifully decorated with comfortable, antique-meets-modern furniture, chandeliers over the check-in desk, and an array of Japanese paintbrushes hanging on the wall behind the check-in area. The room was a decent size with two big beds and a nice bathroom. The room also had neat wallpaper with lots of intricate designs. I liked the decorative pillows on the bed, especially the one with the poem about a bed on it: “O bed! O bed! Delicious bed! That heaven upon earth, to the weary head!” If you are going into Philadelphia, I would recommend this as a place to stay. It is within walking distance of almost all of the historic area of Philly, and it is a beautiful place to sleep and relax. So check it out! 

Hey guys! I’ve got another blog post about my adventures in Philadelphia for you. This time, it’s about my trip to the Betsy Ross House , which is where Betsy Ross sewed her first American flag. You can either get an audio tour or a self-guided tour of the house, which is what we did. I saw Betsy Ross's bedroom, her upholstery shop (which was in her house), her kitchen, and more. I enjoyed seeing the house, and I learned a lot. I learned about how she made the flag, why she made it in her bedroom, how she lived her life, and more! The Betsy Ross House is a great place to learn more about our country’s flag and how the first one was made. Next time you’re in Philadelphia, I highly recommend this as a place to stop by!  

What’s up guys? I have another Philadelphia adventure to tell you guys about! All around the historic section of Philadelphia, there are semicircle-shaped benches with a yellow-green sign that has a picture of a bell and says “Once Upon a Nation.” These benches are called Storytelling Benches . There are 13 of them, and at each one there is a person (a storyteller) who tells you a story about the history of Philadelphia. Before they start, they ring a bell and shout, "Free stories! Get your free stories here!" The story is usually about the historic site the bench is near. The benches are run by the organization Historic Philadelphia and are part of its Once Upon a Nation program . You can visit the benches during the summer, between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. They are open many days of the week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  At the first bench you visit, you get a flag with 13 stars. At each bench, you get one star sticker to stick over a star o...

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary… Do you know those words? They are from the Declaration of Independence! I went to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which is where the Declaration and the U.S. Constitution were revised and signed. Independence Hall offers tours that last for about 30 minutes. On these tours you see two rooms—a courtroom and the Assembly Room, where the Second Continental Congress was held. There is a chair in this room that is the actual chair that George Washington sat in! The chair is at the head of the room with a rising sun carved into the top. Construction of the building began in 1732. Did you know that the building was built to be the Pennsylvania State House? The brick building has a tall tower in the middle, as can be seen above. On the tower is a big turquoise clock with Roman numerals that chimes loudly every hour. I think that the history of Independence Hall is very interesting. I enjoyed the t...