Atlanta, GA & Gatlinburg, TN

This is Chelsey. I was able to go with F. to Gatlinburg and Atlanta over holiday break. The first day at Atlanta we saw F.'s cousin. She was very nice. I saw her whole family that night. We went out to a restaurant that was called Slice. It was very fancy . When we got back we went to sleep. The next day for breakfast I ate hot chocolate and cereal. It was yummy.

I went in the woods with F. and G. and her cousins. We saw old cars and bottles and news paper and old houses. It was chilly. After that I met a new friend. His name was Bailey and he was smart too. He let me chew on his bone. Then we had a little nap. Then I played Guitar Hero with F. and everyone. I was rocking. I went to bed. In the morning I had breakfast before we went to Gatlinburg.

We got to our hotel and unpacked. Then we went to play in the snow.





It was cool looking. Then we went back and went to sleep. F. snored. Then we got up and went to explore. First we looked at candy shop. Then we saw a scarey girl. Then we went on top of the mountain and ate. We came back down and ice skated. Then we went back to our hotel. The next day was F.'s sisters birthday so we celebrated by letting her explore and then we went home. F. took me back to school. It was so cool. The end.

Dallas & Houston, Texas

My trip to Texas with B. was so much fun! We left Jacksonville early in the morning and drove for 13 hours. When we finally arrived in Houston, it was very dark. I was so tired of sitting in the car all day.

We spent our first night in Houston at the Mainstay Suites Hotel. It was a very nice hotel. The hotel staff were very nice and made sure we had everything we needed……


After spending one night, it was time for us to continue our trip to Dallas. It was a shorter ride than our ride from Jacksonville. We were so excited when we got to Dallas. It looked so different from home.

Before we headed back to Houston, we decided to stop by and try Boba Tea. I didn’t want to try the tea but I did try the vanilla ice cream. It was so yummy…….

By the time we got back to Houston, it was almost dinner time. We headed straight back to the Mainstay Suites Hotel. It was so cool! We got the same room we stayed in on our first night in Houston.



The next day we went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant before heading to the Houston Space Center. The food was so yummy! I had to sit in my own chair while B. ate his lunch.


The NASA Space Center was so cool. It had so many cool things to play with and see. I even watched a video about Space. I learned so much! The Space rockets at NASA were so cool. We went really close to a real space rocket.

After a fun day at the NASA Space Center, we had a wedding to attend. We had so much fun that night. It was a very nice wedding. After dancing all night, it was time to head back home to Jacksonville. We slept all the way home. We had a lot of fun but it sure was nice to be home again.

North Olmsted, Ohio

Well after my 2 and 1/2 hour flight I arrived at Miss Evanko's home in North Olmsted, Ohio. It was only 19 degrees out! As you can see in the picture, this is what Ohio looks like. The high was 25 today and the low was 19! What is this? I thought it was a joke at first but Miss E told me, "You better bundle up and brace yourself!" I put her boots on.

One of the first people I met was her two dogs: Heidi and Chyna. She kept talking about how excited she was to see them on the plane. They greeted me as soon as I got in her house. I was a little nervous. However, I found out quite a lot about Heidi. Apparently her favorite hobby is eating snow and sleeping on Mr. Evanko's bed.

Here is me inside her Christmas tree. I have never seen a tree this big before! The one in the classroom is as tall as me. Someone help me down please! Chyna? Heidi? Anyone?
I started up a nice conversation with a snowman who was just hanging around. He was wearing sunglasses, flip flops, and an inner tube. Apparently he was once from Florida but Miss E took him from Florida and gave him to her mom last Christmas.

Now I was ready to go see all this snow Miss E has been going on and on about. She helped me get ready and we headed into the snow. These ski masks are really hard to see out of.

Look at this snow mountain I was playing on. I think I should have had pants on. Brrrrrrr!

Look at that nice shoveling done by Miss E. She said it is not her favorite part about the snow. Too bad the shovel was too heavy for me or I would have totally helped out!

After all that coldness we went back inside to warm up. Hot chocolate is the cure for coldness. I met another nice friend. He kept complaining about this mean green man who makes him pull a huge sleigh. I swear I have seen him somewhere before! He told me he gets that comment pretty often.

After we were home for the day Miss E's mom put her straight to work on making Christmas cookies. YUM YUM! I was really excited to help out. I couldn't really wear a hair net so Miss E had me watching. Then, she told me to be very careful by the oven because my fur might catch on fire easily. I took her advice and just ate them when she was finished. She is such a good baker!

After those cookies I was looking for a little excitement. I met another friend bear. He told me that sometimes he gets really crazy and goes for late night wagon rides. We were sneaky not to wake Miss E up and headed outside. WOHOO!

I thought it was strange there was a plant growing from Miss E's doorway. She explained that it is called a mistletoe. Before I could ask what that means Chyna gave me a huge sniffer kiss! People caught under it have to smooch each other. I had to explain to her we were 'just friends'.

One thing Miss E does with her family is driving around to see Christmas lights. This house was amazing! I bet people can see it from outer space. I would have gotten out of the car but it was only 7 degrees out.

As Christmas came near, I had to help Miss E wrap gifts. The tape was so sticky and I had some problems cutting because I don't really have fingers. Paws make it pretty hard. Here I am after it was all finished. I love gifts!


My last stop was at Lake Erie. This is one of the Great Lakes, not to be fooled with an ocean. I found out there aren't any sharks, dolphins, whales, jellyfish, waves, or tides in this lake. Miss E said there is a lot of seaweed and huge silver fish. It sounds much safer than the ocean.Look I found an iceberg! Oh man was that water freezing. I definitely won't be swimming in there anytime soon.

Wow. What a chilly yet great vacation. Miss E and I were so tired. She had me sleep on her bed with her because she didn't trust Chyna and Heidi. I am so glad I got to come visit her state but I can't wait to get back to the warm weather in Florida!

Gatlinburg, TN

WOW...I just got back from a great trip to the Smokey Mountains. Last week I went with Mrs. H. and her family up to Gatlinburg. We had a great time. The first day we arrived after a 9 hour car ride. We were tired when we got to our cabin.

The next morning we got up and there was frost and ice everywhere. It was SO COLD. We even took pictures of the ice crystals on the car window.

That day we went to Pigeon Forge and in the National Park. I loved going down to the river and walking around.


By the end of the day we were cold and tired. The next morning they got up and went skiing at Ober Gatlinburg. They made me stay behind so I wouldn't get lost on the mountain. On Thursday we jumped in the car and got to go play putt putt golf in Pigeon Forge. That was a blast.
We spend the afternoon downtown Gatlinburg doing all the tourist stuff. The next day it was time to get in the car and come back home - 10 hours to get back. Here are some photos from the trip.