Essay - Trip to the East Coast

Trip to The East Coast

* Gordon

      Take a look at what's new at our blog: our amazing trip to the east coast!!!!!

ship in grey: World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young

Boston train station
where we took train
from Boston
to New York

      Boston is a perfect place to relax and have fun. At Boston Common, the Freedom Trail starts. Just follow the red brick line and lets pick up clues from the past. The Boston new State House dome is covered with pure gold. People started to build the new State House from 1795-1798. The dome was originally made by wood, but there was always holes, so the Paul Revere's Revere copper company gave them copper for the dome. But then the copper turned green, nobody wanted a green dome so they turned it into a pure gold dome. That dome itself is more then $3,000,000. Boston Duck Tours were once used in the military at World War II. They were used because they had the ability to go on both land and water. Boston is amazing!!!

We received our 1st Jr. Ranger badge at Faneuil Hall

Listen to NY history at the top of
Freedom Tower

     New York, the Empire State is great. The Natural History Museum gives you cool knowledge. The free Staten Island Ferry give you an idea of how big the Statue of Liberty is. It is 309 feet high(93 meters)! The Staten Island Ferry is only 100 meters away from the Statue of Liberty. Brooklyn Bridge was made in 1883. It still stand good as new. Last but not least: ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER!!!!! As high as 102 floors, it stand proudly reminds people of the 9/11 tragedy that happened in September 9th, 2001. Sony Wonder Technology lab is great! Video games, robots, if you have a child, I'd recommend you go there.

Congress Hall

      Philadelphia is great! University of Pennsylvania, American nation's first university, is in the top ten universities. The liberty bell has a crack because of the mix of metal. It weighs more than 2,000 pounds. the Liberty Bell stands for liberty and independence to all!!!At Independence hall, the rising sun chair is where general George Washington sat. There is a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The U.S. Mint is fabulous. If you owned it, you'd be rich. The U.S. Mint makes the best coins ever!

John Witherspoon
as a representative of New Jersey
the only college president to sign
the Declaration of Independence.

riding cable car
to the mountain top
at Six Flags New Jersey

      Princeton is beautiful and great. It is very famous. Albert Einstein worked here as a guest professor. He won a Noble Prize for Physics! Princeton is wonderful for technology! New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure is awesome. It has crazy ride everywhere you look! But you can't miss this one: KING DA KA, world tallest and 2nd fastest roller coaster in the whole world!!!

rainbow over the American Falls



tasted water from Canadian
Horseshoe Falls,
Hornblower Cruise



the power of the
American Falls,
Cave of the Winds

      Niagara Falls is majestic at night time. Lights, laser beam light up the night sky. There are fireworks only on Friday and Sunday nights! The Hornblower boat lets you feel how strong the American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls is. Journey behind the falls (Cave of the Winds) is unforgettable. You switch your shoes to their special shoes, grab your water-proof coat. Now, get ready to get extremely wet!!! (P.S. Don't worry if you get wet, I call it a free shower!)

view of Washington Monument
from Lincoln Memorial



proudly received
Jr. Ranger Badge
at Ford Theater

      Washington D.C., the Nation's Capital, is great! Washington Monument may have been cracked, but the love in it and the person it respects never cracks. The White House beautifully sculptured is where every president has lived except for George Washington, America's first president. The outstanding Library of Congress is world's largest Library. The Capitol Building is fantastic. There's a humongous Freedom Goddess statue  on the top. Ford Theater, the sorrowful place where President Lincoln dead, is where people respect Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America.

      Guess how many states we crossed in all this summer? 18 states!!! Our trip was the BEST trip ever in our whole life so far!

 * Aaron

      The trip to the East Coast was very exciting. Boston and Philadelphia were very important places in the Revolutionary War. Washington D.C. was built after the Revolutionary War. The leading financial of the world is New York. Six Flags Great Adventure and Niagara Falls were very cool places. The trip to the East Coast was very fascinating.

Old State House
Boston Massacre
locates in front of
the building

tour of Freedom Trail
Boston

      Boston and Philadelphia are key places in the Revolutionary War. Boston was where the Boston Massacre took place. Ben Franklin, American Founding Father, was born in Boston. Philadelphia used to be the nation's capital! It was where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed. Franklin lived most of his life in Philadelphia. Boston and Philadelphia was the places full of history.



American space flight Apollo 11, landed the first humans on the Moon,
American Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969
National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

U.S. Capitol Building

      The current capital of the U.S. is Washington D.C. The U.S. Government is located there. It has many famous landmarks and museums in the National Mall. The document of Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights are kept in National Archives. Washington D.C. is an awesome place.

New York Stock Exchange
Wall Street

Metropolitan Museum of Art

     New York is one of the most influential places in the world. New York was built around Wall Street. It has some cool museums like the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Statue of Liberty was amazing. The United Nations Headquarters are in New York. New York was very wonderful.

Six Flags Wildlife Safari animals

American Falls of
Niagara Falls

      Six Flags and Niagara Falls were excellent. Six Flags has the famous Wildlife Safari and Kingda Ka. Niagara Falls is on the border between Canada and the U.S. It is actually 3 falls, but the American Falls and horseshoe Falls are more famous. Six Flags and Niagara Falls were exciting.

     The trip to the East Coast was very cool. Boston and Philadelphia are famous places. Washington D.C. is where national laws are made. New York is a fascinating place. Six Flags and Niagara Falls are very fun. It is the best trip ever.

Washington D.C. - by Aaron Smithsonian Castle, National Museum of Natural History, National Air & Space Museum, National Zoo, Botanic Garden

Washington D. C. Smithsonian

- Aaron

      The Smithsonian places are awesome. James Smithson was an English wealthy inventor. In his will, he pointed that all his money will go to his nephew, if nephew died with childless, all the rest of the money goes to the government of the United States of America. Six years later after his nephew died, the U.S. claimed his wealth. Congress debated with what to do with his money. In the end, they decided to build a museum, the Smithsonian Castle. Later, other museums built near the castle made up the group of Smithsonian museums. That is the story of today's Smithsonian Institute.

Smithsonian Castle

Smithsonian Castle



Edison lamp with bamboo piece

Apollo Lunar sample return container

      The museum has lots of national treasures including a Edison lamp with a slice of bamboo, the sample container from one of the Apollo Lunar missions, and a vase from China.


about to explore the castle

National Museum of Natural History

entrance to National Museum of Natural History




world famous
Hope Diamond

Paleontologist at work,
trying to pictures for fossils

      The National Museum of Natural History is home to more than 125 million great specimens and artifacts. Some popular displays are dino skeletons, a huge collection of gems, artifacts from early human, an insect zoo, and many more. There are always crowd for the unwrapped mummies displayed in glass cases. People waiting in turns patiently to take pictures of the world famous Hope Diamond. I thought it was at least as big as a cannonball. I was so disappointed to find out the Hope Diamond is actually only the size of a thumbnail. On the way out, we saw a real Easter Island stone sculpture. I call it Dum Dum. This museum is the biggest and coolest one I have ever seen.


Atlantic right whale

the real Egyptian mummy of a boy




Easter Island sculpture

National Air and Space Museum

Apollo 11 command module, Columbia
world's first landing on the Moon

huge amount of spaceships



a cool aircraft

      The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) displays the largest collection of air and spacecraft in the world. Supersonic planes were hanging from the ceiling. A whole big room displayed the Wright Flier. The most popular display was Apollo 11 Command Module, which carried the astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their famous voyage to the Moon on July 16-24, 1969. I learned about the history, science, and technology of flying. The National Air and Space Museum carries full of famous planes.
  



the Wright Flier



Apollo-Soyuz test project 

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum



Chart of upper level and lower level
ranking during World War II

United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum

      The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a great museum. It tells about the Holocaust, (the capture of Jewish people) which happened during World War II. I discovered that the Nazis measured the lengths of people's nose and their head along with comparing their eye and hair colors to determine who they were. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum brought me back to World War II and exhibited lots of sad stories. World peace is essential to everybody and every country.

Smithsonian National Zoo







can you find the Giant Panda,
Tian Tian,
who is sleeping inside the cave.

cheetah - world fastest land animal
on earth

      The Smithsonian National Zoo is one of the oldest zoos is America and the only one in Washington, D.C. Smokey (the bear) was rescued from a fire and lived at the National Zoo from 1950 until his death in 1976. They now have about 2,000 animals from 400 different species. It was my first time to see the world's fastest land animal Cheetah in real life. I guess the most famous species among them is Giant Panda. There are 3 Giant Pandas at the zoo,  1 male and 2 females. When we visited, 1 female, Mei Xiang, was about to give birth and kept inside a building. The other female Bao Bao was shy and hid inside the same building. The only Giant Panda we could see was the male panda, Tian Tian. He was taking his nap in a cave to avoid the heat. The news said that just 30 minutes after we left, Mei Xiang gave birth to a twin. Isn't that amazing. The Smithsonian National Zoo is an awesome place with many animals.





Botanic Garden

 

entrance of indoor Botanic Garden
fragrant, fresh air

followed Jr.
Botanical Ranger
program to learn plants



papaya is good for
the digesting system

Jr. Botanical Ranger
backpack

      The plant museum located on the National Mall has a huge indoor garden with about 4,000 tropical plants. It was managed by the architect of the Capitol and has special exhibits throughout the year. Do you know that the Botanical Garden has some plants over 200 years old? Borrow Jr. Botanical Ranger backpacks, follow Jr. Botanical Ranger program, Now start exploring different exhibits from all over the world. Have fun...

      The Smithsonian Institute has the most popular museums, a fun zoo and a cool garden. The Smithsonian Castle has important artifacts. The National Museum of Natural History is a very informational place. The National Air and Space Museum is an awesome place carries Apollo missions and lots of cool airplanes. The National Zoo and Botanical Garden have awesome animals and plants. I will definite come back and visit again.

Union Station, a train station



swimming in a rooftop pool

      We took the train from Philadelphia to Washington DC. Our Washington D.C. trip started from the train station, Union Station. The sculptures and decorations are as pretty as New York's Grand Central Terminal. Don't miss out Georgetown. It is a nice well preserved 18th century town. It has tons of shops and restaurants. You can walk along Washington Harbor and see the Potomac River. Also, Washington D.C.'s Chinatown has lots of delicious food from all around the world. There was Chinese, East Asian, Italian, Mexican, and even Greek food. Every night, our tummy led us to Chinatown, and never get bored. Swimming is always a relax and enjoyable thing in our trip. At Washington DC, our hotel provide a roof top open air swimming pool on its 10th floor. It was so nice to swim in the pool especially when the pool lights up at night. We played with our new friends here every night. Our east coast trip ended here at Washington D.C. But our mission to explore the whole wide world, will never end.



day view of Chinatown

Georgetown waterfront

night view of Chinatown





Georgetown street view



can you spot the birds singing in the tree?