{Video} New England Trip 2012

Salut mes amis,

I decided to make a slideshow of some of my travel photos to share with my friends on YouTube. If you'd like, you can watch it right here (watch it in HD for best quality) :




~Sophie

Day 5: Clara Barton's Birthplace

Salut mes amis, 


We got up early on Friday, August 10th to drive down to Connecticut for a visit with some of my guardian's extended family. On the way down, I visited Clara Barton's birthplace in North Oxford, Massachusetts.

















Born Clarissa Hartlowe Barton on December 25, 1821, Clara Barton is most known for founding the American Red Cross (in 1881), but she also worked as a teacher. During the Civil War, she was known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" because she nursed many a soldier back to health.

Although Clara died on April 12, 1912 in Glen Echo, Maryland (she died while the Titanic was sailing!), her name and legacy lives on. The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc. is in the same area, and behind her house is a camp for diabetic girls.

I had a lot of fun touring Clara's birthplace and listening to the tour guide tell about Clara's life. There were a lot of period artifacts to look at, some of which belonged to Clara and her relatives. Here are some of the things that I saw on my visit :

This spinning wheel was more like a ferris wheel to me!

I squealed when I saw a wood-framed foot stove just like Kirsten's! Hot coals from a pan inside the foot stove would give off heat and help warm up the house on a cold winter day.

Clara's family even had indoor plumbing! Obviously this is a lot different from what we are used to today, but not many people had indoor plumbing when she was growing up. Can you imagine having a well inside your house and having to fill a bucket up several times a day, whenever you needed water? I think I'm going to go kiss my faucet right now!

 

Isn't this dress lovely? I don't think it belonged to Clara herself, but it is reminiscent of something that she might've worn. It reminds me a little bit of Elizabeth's riding outfit, even though it's a bit more modern. The jewelry displayed on the dress belonged to her, though.

 

Here I am posing with a picture of Clara!

I met several new friends while on the tour of Clara's house. In the bedroom, I met this lovely girl. She belonged to one of Clara's nieces, if I remember right. I wished that she'd have lent me her dress; I love it!

Posing next to this trunk made me think of the antique dolls (complete with their own trunks of clothes and accessories) that inspired Pleasant Rowland to create Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. My friend Samantha could use a trunk like this - her armoire is way too full!

On top of the trunk was this beautiful paper doll set. I'm drooling over that red dress that the doll is wearing : 

Here is an overall view of the bedroom. It's a room that my guardian would be very content to live in. With a quilt on the bed and dolls, what could be better? My guardian loves simple, old-fashioned, yet elegant things.

In the parlor, I stumbled upon this piano. The ribbon across the chair prevented me from playing it, but I wanted to get a picture with it regardless. It reminded me of a fancier version of Josefina's! I wonder if Caroline would've had something similar to this?

Also in the parlor was this huge writing chest. This reminded me of Felicity's clothes press, but with a pull-out desk! Gorgeous.

In the kitchen, I met another little friend sitting in this high chair.

Would anyone like tea? I carefully admired the Barton family's tea set, pretending all the while that I was a proper young lady in the year 1831. I was also reminded of the time when my friend Nathalie had high tea in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Here is another friend that I made while visiting the Barton family's house.

Now this bed looks just about my size! Had I been tired, I might've curled up for a quick catnap.

Here I am sitting by the kitchen hearth, trying to imagine what cold winter nights in New England - that is, a New England without all of the modern conveniences like electricity! - would be like. I figured that the Barton family spent many a winter night huddled together on this rug, telling each other stories while keeping warm. 

Thanks for joining me on my tour of Clara Barton's Birthplace! Have you ever toured a historical house?

~Sophie

Day 2: Greater Boston Metropolitan Area!

After saying goodbye to Susie's family and friends, we started in the direction of Framingham, Massachusetts (which is part of the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area). Before we could exit New Hampshire, however, we came upon a tiny little hole-in-the-wall called Richmond. This had us bursting out laughing because we are from a place called Richmond (only ours is much, MUCH bigger!). We had to stop at the gas station in town just to say we've been in it! 

Richmond, NH was incorporated in 1752 and held its first town meeting on March 27, 1765. Located in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire, it borders Swanzey, NH; Troy, NH; Fitzwilliam, NH; Royalston, MA; Warwick, MA; and Winchester, NH. There is a beach, a fire station, a town hall, a gas station, a cemetery, a library, and houses. There is not much in the way of shopping! 

Once we were in Massachusetts, we stopped in Concord for lunch and a little shopping. It was here that we called a friend in the area, and since she was free, we decided to stop by her house for a quick visit! We haven't seen this friend in several years, so being able to meet up with her again was a real treat.

While the grown-ups talked, I met some of the girls who live here. This is Hazel Laura, who is actually named after my guardian:

Hazel introduced me to her good friend, Sonali:

After visiting with Hazel and Sonali for a bit, I was starting to get hungry. My new friends pointed me in the direction of the nearest ice cream parlor. After ordering a root beer float, I met Mia St. Clair, another local resident.

Mia was babysitting this darling little girl; isn't she sweet? 

Before I had to leave, I introduced myself to the ice cream parlor's owner, a girl named Mei Ling. She was just finishing up a batch of doughnuts, which I totally would've taken for the road had I not just finished a large root beer float!

After our brief visit, we continued on to Framingham, where we stopped for the night. Can you guess where I was headed next?

~Sophie

P. S. The friend we visited today runs a website called Just Magic Dolls. It's a great resource that compares American Girl dolls with other 18" (or similar) play dolls like Magic Attic Club, Just Pretend, etc. Please check it out, if you haven't already!

Day 1: Keene, NH with Susie & Claudia!

Salut mes amis,

Wondering where I've been? I've been on a New England road trip for the past couple of weeks, and boy, do I have a lot of photos to share with you!

The first stop I made was to revisit some friends I met a couple of years ago, in 2010. Remember when I visited Ashuelot Park with Annie, Sarah, and Elphaba? Well, I got to go again!

On August 6th, I met up with my friends Susie and Claudia in Keene, New Hampshire. After having lunch at Olive Garden and walking through Michaels together, we three decided to hang out in Ashuelot Park for a bit. We talked, posed for pictures, observed nature, and shared a bowl of Walpole Creamery ice cream.

Susie is on the left, I'm in the middle, and Claudia is on the right:

Here we are with Ashuelot River behind us; isn't it pretty? 

In addition to having photos taken of me, I brought out my own camera. I took pictures of the river, plant life, and numerous wildflowers that fell across our path.

Here is one picture that I took of the Ashuelot River dam. Can you see the man sitting on the opposite bank? I think he was giving us weird looks; I wonder why?

Keene is such a pretty city! If I was going to live in New Hampshire, I think I'd live here! It's not too big, yet not too small, and there are a lot of fun boutiques to shop in:

I think that is Queen Anne's Lace on the left, but there are a couple of different flowers that resemble it. It does look like lace, that's for sure. Do you see the bug nestled on it? I was quite proud of myself for being able to capture the bug while he was actually on the flower.

Aren't these flowers pretty? They look like some kind of wild daisy to me.

After we said goodbye to Claudia, Susie and I continued walking around downtown Keene for a little bit. She took me into an old mill that has been refurbished into a neat shopping center. One of the stores in the shopping center was a bookstore, which is where I was in the photo on the left.



I am posing next to a sign announcing Julia Child's birthday. Some of you may know that I'm a huge fan of the American chef best known for her cookbooks Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume I and Volume II. Mrs. Child, had she lived, would've turned 100 years old this year, and this bookstore had a nice birthday tribute display set up to recognize this fact.

There were several picture books discussing Mrs. Child's life and even one told from the point-of-view of Minette, her cat! I had to get a picture by the books (in case I decide to buy them someday).

In the lobby of the shopping center was this old-fashioned buggy. Immediately Susie and I hopped aboard so that we could pretend we were two elegant Victorian ladies going to a ball. There was a sign on the seat of the buggy that prohibited people from climbing on it, but we pretended to ignore that. You can probably see the bit of white paper sticking out from around us as we tried to cover up the fact that we shouldn't be in the buggy. We were quite the daredevils, haha!

When we'd had our fill of the buggy, Susie took me to the infamous Parrish Shoes sign, as seen in the movie Jumanji (the movie was filmed in Keene). I'd seen the sign before, but my guardian hadn't. She's a huge fan of the movie and had to see the sign for herself! 

Susie and I continued walking around the shops in downtown Keene for a bit, before having dinner at the local Friendly's. After dinner, we said goodbye, and I went on my way back to Bellows Falls, Vermont, where I was staying for this leg of the journey.

It was so good to see Claudia and Susie again (as well as some of their other friends whom we didn't get pictures with due to inclement weather)! I already miss them! Perhaps I shall have to make a third trip up to Keene someday?

Have you ever taken a road trip to see friends who live faraway?

~Sophie

Window shopping in American Girl VA

Salut, mes amis! 

On Thursday, I got to go to the American Girl store in Northern Virginia! Before you ask, I didn't go with the intention of buying anything. That would've been nice, but we don't really have the money to spend right now. Still, since I hadn't seen the store for myself, I really wanted to go. I'm always up for meeting the AGs who live in the store, as well as seeing new AG products in person.

Here are some of the photos I took in the store. I apologize in advance if they aren't the greatest quality; anyone who has ever taken photos in an American Girl store knows that they don't exactly have the best photographic lighting.

First, I wanted to meet the Girl of the Year for 2012. As everyone undoubtedly knows, her name is McKenna Brooks, and she's a gymnast from Washington State. She's also the second GotY to have a movie released about her life (McKenna Shoots for the Stars; click HERE to watch the trailer). 

McKenna and I seemed to hit it off nicely. I don't know if a girl like her will enroll at Fair Hollow, though it'd be nice if she did. She could teach me a bit about gymnastics! I'd borrow her clothes for sure. I loved seeing her fancy outfit in person (see below). She's also got the most gorgeous hair color that I've ever seen. No one who goes to school here has caramel-colored hair like hers. 

After I'd said my goodbyes to McKenna, I wandered over to Rebecca Rubin's parlor for a bit. While I relaxed on her comfortable settee, Rebecca kindly served me some tea, freshly brewed from her samovar. We chatted lightly about the movies we've starred in (she called them "moving pictures") while I finished my tea. 

I came across a girl that resembled Juliette and me! She had the same dark eyes, feathery eyebrows, and dark hair. Her facial expression was completely different from either of ours, however! (Note: She is not taller than me. She was wearing ice skates and was on a stand.) Needless to say, I didn't stay around  to chat with her. I think we were both a little taken aback by the other's presence!

Next, I exchanged pleasantries with Marie-Grace Gardner, a shy girl from New Orleans. I oohed and aahed over her lovely lace parasol, curly brown tendrils, and pale pink dress.

I was a little freaked out, however, when I came across Marie-Grace's best friend, Cécile Rey. Despite wearing a bright yellow dress, she was the clone of the American Girl doll I'd just received. It was like my doll had come to life! Imagine that! 

  

I spent some time in Kit Kittredge's attic bedroom. While she interviewed me for her latest edition of the Hard Times News, I drooled over her lovely roll-top desk. It reminded me of one I'd been fortunate to have in my dorm room last year, which I'd had to give up. Maybe I'll get my own someday! 

I took this photo for Juliette. She's always wondered what she'd look like if she had green eyes, and this girl looked just like Juliette would if she'd been given green eyes. She's pretty! Maybe she's our long-lost cousin or something? 

After all of that walking around, I was getting more than a little hungry! When I thought no one was looking, I snatched a cookie off the bakery table. Hopefully no one noticed the strawberry jam residue that the cookie left on the corners of my mouth . . .

I made sure to check out the T-shirt boutique, where you can pick out an iron-on design for your very own T-shirt. I still haven't done this yet! I really like the looks of the 'Music' and the 'Stand Tall' iron-ons. 

Here are some examples of the shirts that you can make. My only regret is that they have a limited selection of T-shirt colors to choose from. Pastels aren't my favorite colors!

I thought this girl was gorgeous! She reminded me of my friend Marina who lives in Star Valley. I loved the way she pulled her hair up into a curly ponytail.

Here is another girl whom I thought was gorgeous! The dark pink color of the Pretty Party outfit really suits her complexion.

Isn't Chocolate Chip adorable here? Seeing him in person almost made me want a dog of my very own! However, I think the name "Brownie" suits him more than his original name. 

This beautiful girl made even the Bath Wrap set look tempting. I love her dark blue eyes.

Before the long drive back to school, I made sure to pay a visit to the ladies' room. I had to take the obligatory photo in the bathroom stall, but of course! How humiliating!

Have any of you ever visited an American Girl Place or Boutique and Bistro? If you haven't, I hope you are able to do so someday.  They are really wonderful places to visit, even if you are just window shopping like me.

~Sophie