Driving through the adorable city of Camden this morning was a treat as there weren't any cars or people and I could inch through the town checking out all the businesses. By 9am when we left, the town was packed with cars and people!
All the kids were up pretty early so we discussed our options for the day while we were packing up then climbed into the car for our first stop - an oil change! Exciting I know, but we actually got to catch up on some news while we were there. The kids were asking each time we saw a light house if they could walk up in it, so I found a magazine about lighthouses and scoured it to find one on our way to the next stop that we could. We hiked up a trail to Owl's Head Light House to check it out.
Unfortunately, they only had the light open on weekends and Wednesdays. Not having good luck today!! We still enjoyed the view and walked around a little bit.
Laney brought her camera this time - a budding photographer!
Next up, the kids decided to visit the Strawberry Banke Museum in Portsmouth, ME. The only thing I didn't like about this place - we didn't have more time there! This museum is a huge 32 building living history of houses from the 1700s-1940s that were built on a section of Portsmouth then called Puddle Dock - a tidal inlet that rose and fell by 14 feet. In the late 1800s the inlet was filled in then during the urban renewal project, a group of locals decided to turn the area into a museum instead of demolishing all the historic buildings for new construction.
After strolling through the gorgeous garden (flowers like these don't exists in Florida in August!) and saying hello to Mr Regan c(1870), we headed to the Shapiro House. A Jewish mother (c1919) was there talking about what she was cooking that day. We headed to the living room to check out the kids toys of the time.
We'd learned about stereopticons reading American Girl books with Laney - it was neat to actually use one!
Then we went upstairs to check out the bedrooms - her is 10yo Molly's bedroom.
The kids loved trying to dress like the kids back then!
We talked with Mrs. Shapiro as she told us about the roomers they had living in the house to show the country they were patriotic. She also told us about their modern refrigerator for which she had an order for ice in the window.
Nextdoor was the Cotton Tentant House where the kids learned how plants turn into cloth. They were natural weavers within minutes!
Next up was the Pitt Tavern. Mr Stavers (c1777) was there roaming the tavern while the kids played checkers. We could hear him talking politics with some of the other visitors. For the record, Ryan ended the game with a nice double jump!
This looks like one dangerous poker game!
There were interesting documents all over this place of ledgers from the taverns and political newspapers. What a lively place this must have been! It was said to have been visitied by George Washington, John Hancock and Marquis de Lafayette!
Our last stop was the Jones House Discover Center where we spent the rest of our time. They had a neighborhood grocery store so of course we had to stop there. The kids each took turns buying lard, seeds, cloth, produce, and flour from the Clarke kid store owner.
I browsed through the school books of the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s. I'm thinking about trying to get a copy of this one!
Across the hall was the game room. While Laney read, I played chess with Brayden and Chutes and Ladders with Ryan. Check out this old game!
Laney also enjoyed writing with a quill pen.
In the last room the kids cooked meal after meal for me in two different kitchens. Half was set up like the 1800s and the other like the early 1900s. I'm not sure the kids really understood they were comparing the different cooking styles, they just had fun!
Peanut butter and lettuce sandwich for lunch in 1940 - gross!!
We left shortly before closing and headed to our campsite for the night. One our way out, the kids were thrilled to have a visit with the black cat of Strawberry Banke as they had asked him to wait for them when we first came in! They are really missing Milo!
We said goodbye to Maine and hello again to New Hampshire driving through some heavy rain, but by the time we got to our site, the weather was beautiful. Just after we got the tent up we were visited by the welcoming committee!
After a quick snack dinner we headed to the beach for a run around the playground and more camp ball.
I was hoping for stunning sunset, but it was still beautiful!
Quote of the day: "Mom, they have our picnic table!" says Brayden right before we decide to go steal it back. You can't camp without a picnic table and the site next door had 2!
Day 25 - history play day
No comments:
Post a Comment