Teddy Bears Around the World

Globe Runner visited Washington DC just as the Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom. It was beautiful, the blossoms are white and pink and the trees fill the tidal basin by the Lincoln Memorial.

He also had a tour of the White House West Wing.

West Wing of the White House

There aren’t too places you can take pictures inside the West Wing but we found a few spots.

The Navy Mess (dining room)

Globe Runner at the White House Dining Room

and the kitchen…

In the kitchen at the White House

He also stopped into the Press Room where the news reporters receive updates from the Press Secretary and sometimes even President Obama.  Globe Runner stopped right at the Presidential Podium.  See the White House seal behind him?  That’s what you see when the President gives a press conference from the Press Room.  (There are many different places that are used for press conferences.)

Globe Runner in the Press Room at the podium.

The Rose Garden (outside of the Oval Office) is another place you may see a Presidential Press Conference.

Rose Garden, outside of the Oval Office, site of press conferences and other events.

And the tour is over, Globe Runner Bear waves good bye, it was a great tour.

We are excited to be a part of this Teddy Bear Project. Please watch for upcoming posts from our newest friend, Globe Runner!

Monday, January 5, 2009 - this is our last day of our very fun trip.  Sam was especially happy this morning as we had a big surprise for us when we woke up.  Every day on this trip Sam and I have wished for snow - today our wish came true!   Sam, Hannah and their cousins Khazaria and Safi quickly put on hats, gloves and boots so we could play in the snow while we waited for our car to come to take us to the airport.  We had fun making snow balls and will make for good memories of our trip.

I hope I can come back to England one day with Sam and his family.  I especially enjoyed meeting everyone, and seeing all of Sam’s English aunts, uncles and cousins.  It was nice to see Ella’s parents (Helen & Mike) and to see Ashely and Christian her two big brothers.  They gave me big hugs and wished for us a safe trip home to Jacksonville.

Thursday, January 1, 2009 - today is new year’s day and a good day to visit London.  We had to get up quite early today as just under two hours by car for us to drive up here.  We really enjoyed this day seeing all of the sites.

My favorite was seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Sam really liked the Tower of London and thought the guards or Beefeaters as they are called were really cool in the black and red uniforms.  Sam’s sister Hannah liked seeing Buckingham Palace and when were were leaving London we drove past it one last time just to wave goodbye to the Queen!

December 31, 2008 - Today Sam and I went to Portmouth and Southsea which is where Sam’s Mommy grew up.  We went to the dockyard and saw lots of boats, ships and ferries.  In Old Portsmouth we saw the elementary or primary school that Sam’s Mom went too.  It was called St. Judes Church of England school.  It was very neat to see this school and very much reminded Sam and I of SJEDS.  We also saw a really old church that has no roof - we were told that the roof was blown off during World War II.  Luckily no people were in it.

On this day, my favorite thing was our visit to Southsea castle.  Sam, his sister Hannah and I had lots of fun running around and enjoyed sitting on the old cannons.  This castle was built during the time of Henry VIII and is very old.

December 31, 2008 - Today Sam and I went to Portmouth and Southsea which is where Sam’s Mommy grew up.  We went to the dockyard and saw lots of boats, ships and ferries.  In Old Portsmouth we saw the elementary or primary school that Sam’s Mom went too.  It was called St. Judes Church of England school.  It was very neat to see this school and very much reminded Sam and I of SJEDS.  We also saw a really old church that has no roof - we were told that the roof was blown off during World War II.  Luckily no people were in it.

On this day, my favorite thing was our visit to Southsea castle.  Sam, his sister Hannah and I had lots of fun running around and enjoyed sitting on the old cannons.  This castle was built during the time of Henry VIII and is very old.

Saturday, December 27, 2008 - today we arrived at London Gatwick airport.  As our plane flew across southern England all the fields were covered in frost.  Sam and I thought it had snowed!  It was really cold when we got off of the plane, but luckily Sam’s Mom had hats and gloves for us to wear.  We were quickly met at the airport by a driver named Ken and enjoyed a nice ride in his car to Fareham in Hampshire.  We arrived at  Nanny Shirely’s house where we met all of Sam’s family.  Nanny Shirley is the sister of Sam’s grandmother and where we stayed during our trip.

Saturday, December 27, 2008 - today we arrived at London Gatwick airport.  As our plane flew across southern England all the fields were covered in frost.  Sam and I thought it had snowed!  It was really cold when we got off of the plane, but luckily Sam’s Mom had hats and gloves for us to wear.  We were quickly met at the airport by a driver named Ken and enjoyed a nice ride in his car to Fareham in Hampshire.  We arrived at  Nanny Shirely’s house where we met all of Sam’s family.  Nanny Shirley is the sister of Sam’s grandmother and where we stayed during our trip.

On December 26, 2008 I was very lucky to fly back to England with Sam!  I was especialy happy because I would be seeing Ella’s family again.  It has been almost six months since Ella passed away and so wanted to tell her parents that everyone at SJEDS has them in their thoughts and prayers.

Sam was excited to be going to England to see some of his family again, as well as Hannah his little sis’ as she has not been there before.  We had a lot of fun on our flight, watching movies, reading books and coloring and drawing lots of pictures.  We did not get much sleep

Hi, Everyone!

I have now sailed up the coast of Africa to the country of Namibia. As countries go, this is a young one. It was only eighteen years ago that it became independent from South Africa. There are 2.1 million people living in this country or about 1/30 the population of Florida. It is the first nation in the world to have incorporated into its constitution a clause requiring protection of the environment..

As we sailed into the city of Walvis Bay, where the ship is docked, we were surrounded by pods of seals swimming along beside us and jumping through the water. They looked like they were having fun! Walvis is Dutch for Whale, so the bay is named for the many whales which used to be found here. I hoped I might see one but didn’t, even after hours of watching.

The city is on the edge of the Namib Desert. There is only 15 mm of rain each year which falls in the desert. What water there is comes as a fog which rolls in off the sea each morning to condense on the leaves of the desert plants The desert comes right down to the sea shore, so you see an endless expanse of water right next to an endless expense of sand; opposites side-by-side! There are huge dunes hundreds of feet high and miles long. These dunes are five million years old, I’m told. After we docked, we got off the ship and drove for two hours into the desert. The road was very rough and bumpy. There wasn’t much to see except sand, a few bushes, and an occasional stand of palm trees

There was one plant which the driver stopped to point out. He called it a fossil plant because individuals were over a thousand years old! He gave its scientific name as velvechia mirabilis. The plant consisted of a number of long, thin leaf-like branches lying flat on the ground. They have a radial arrangement, like the legs of an octopus. The driver said only two of the leaves are alive at a time and that as they die, two more grow out to take their place. The small amount of shade under the leaves, both living and dead, support a tiny ecosystem of bugs and lizards in this otherwise dry and hostile place.

This evening we went out onto the desert for dinner. The ship had prepared dining tents in the desert and we were serenaded by a choir of about thirty children from the schools of Swakopmund another town on the sea just to the north of Walvis Bay. While we were there, the most amazing thing happened! It began to rain! There was a thunderstorm with lightening and rain and later, as the sun was going down, a rainbow.

Our ship is leaving Africa tonight and setting out across the South Atlantic Ocean. I will write again when we get to the Island of St.Helena.

Jose