June 8, 2016 - Tanya's in the Azores and More - Day 20 - Boston

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Garvies Point Museum & Preserve, Long Island

Well, a big hello to you!  Not only is it Hump Day (half-way through the week), but it is also W2GW (Where To Go Wednesday) here on Travelin' Cousins.

​Have I got a special treat for you!
Yeterday, I accompanied Kelsey and her entire 4th Grade Class to Garvies Point Museum & Preserve in Glen Cove, Long Island, and boy, did I have a wonderful time!!

​I will tell you all about it in a moment.

First, I have to just tell you how excited I am that I have updated my "travel bucket list."  Yes, that's right.  I had a few moments the other night (while waiting for the second load of laundry to finish drying) and I was about to sit in front of the TV while I waited...when, all of a sudden, I decided to do a little travel reading online.

For whatever reason, I decided to venture south - way south - to South America!  You know folks, unlike my cousin, Tanya, I have never visited this continent.  

​My dear Cuz has been to Peru - catch all the details from her June 2012 Trip of a Lifetime and the adventures she and Dave experienced.

But, as for your's truly, I just never took the time to really read and investigate much about it.  There were just too many places that were higher up on my list.

That all changed this week!! I am now very fascinated with the prospect of doing Argentina, Chile and Peru.  As I continue to read, I will preview my thoughts on the "where" and "how" and hopefully "when" for these three South American destinations!!

I think it would make for an amazing trip - say 16 -17 days with my dear old cousin! 

We are due for another trip together, just the girls, like our European Rail Trip last June-July (2015).

I have a good feeling about this.  Of course, Tanya and I are also talking about doing Georgia (not the state; the country) and Armenia, as well as Croatia!  AHHH, too many places and not enough time!!!
More to come on these!

Click Image for more information

Let's get back to the feature of today... Garvies Point Museum and Preserve.  

What a delightful place - right here on Long Island's North Shore.  I'm ashamed to say, I did not know anything about this local destination and I am so grateful that I volunteered to be one of the chaperones on this very informative and delightful field trip.  

The day began with a rather hot and bumpy school bus ride to Glen Cove where the museum is located.

It was actually fun (not the hot part lol).  ​

The museum is devoted to regional geology, American Indian culture and the science of archaeology.

And, boy, do these folks know their stuff!!

(c)travelincousins.com

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Most of the preserve was formerly part of the dr. Thomas Garvie estate.  Dr. Garvie was a physician and founder of this prominent Long Island family who emigrated from Scotland to Glen Cove in the early 19th Century.

The preserve consists of 62 acres of glacial moraine covered by woodlands, thickets, and meadows.  Two man-made ponds are fed by rainfall runoff and natural springs.  It also consists of five miles of nature trails.

The Garvies Family Tree (c)travelincousins.com

Our three hours were spent participating in two of the educational programs offered by the museum. The first, Native American Tools and Artifacts, was a combination lecture/deomonstration of how Native Amerians made and used tools as a means of adapting to their environment.

Beach Ecology, the second program, allowed the students to participate in a "hand-in" hands-on investigation of the beach tidewater environment and explore common beach ecosystems.

Inside the Museum (c)travelincousins.com

Long Island, "The Big Fish" (c)travelincousins.com

Native American Artifacts & Tools (c)travelincousins.com

Moccasins (c)travelincousins.com

Clothing made from deer skin (c)travelincousins.com

A rock most likely used to crush acorns or other nuts (c)travelincousins.com

The Native American Tools and Artifacts segment was so captivating to me. Our guide did a sensational job explaining the way the earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago and used wonderful analogies that kept the kids wide-eyed and interested.  

She cleverly compared the formation of the earth to that of a "giant peanut M&M" teaching her audience of 10-year olds about the Core ("peanut"), Mantle ("Chocolate") and Crust ("colored andy shell").

I learned a great deal today, namely that the earth's crust is 15 miles thick - who knew!

What better way to keep fourth graders all-ears than to use an Ice Cream Sundae analogy for describing the impact of the last ice age and the effects of the glacial tilt on what is now the unique geography of Long Island or "The Big Fish" as it is often referred.

Mortar and Pestle used to crush corn (c)travelincousins.com

"Fire Bow" (c)traveincousins.com

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In a beautifully weaved story starting with the Big Bang some  9 million  years ago, to the end of the ice age, 22,000 years ago to the arrival of the Native Americans to North America from Asia by way of the land bridge, 18,000 years ago, we all took a trip back in time learning about the development of tools as these ancient people adapted to their environment.

The kids were able to touch and feel many of these artifacts including antlers, pointed rocks (made by way of pressure flaking) and hand-made spears and Atlatls (spear launchers). We were also enlightened as to how these native people made canoes out of trees! 

They especially enjoyed the hands-on experience of trying the "Pump Drills," "Fire Bow" and Giant Mortar and Pestle for crushing corn.

Walking down to the beach (c)travelincousins.com

From inside the museum and this truly educational presentation about the Native American Tools, we moved outside to the Beach Ecology segment. The kids got to change their footwear to water shoes and flip flops and head down a wood path straight to the shore in Hempstead Harbor.

In case you didn't know, Hempstead Harbor leads into the Long Island Sound, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean.

Climbing Poison Ivy (c)travelincousins.com

Walking down to the shore (c)travelincousins.com

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The kids' "artifacts" (c)travelincousins.com

Hempstead Harbor at Garvies Point Museum & Preserve (c)travelincousins.com

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Me and my munchkin (c)travelincousins.com

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The views of Hempstead Harbor were lovely and the shoreline, full of rocks and tree branches was and iconic Long Island.  

​Our group of 16 got up close and personal with some interesting sea life, including horseshoe crabs!  I had no idea that these strange creatures are  more related to scorpions than crustaceans!  They existed even before dinosaurs!!

With lots of legs, their blood differs from our's as it is white on the inside of their bodies and blue on the ouside! They also possess many eyes and that long "stinger-looking" thing is not a stinger at all. It is actually a a rudder that helps them swim.
Did you know horseshoe crabs swim upside down??  Well, I didn't!

Lots of other sea creatures including mollusks and worms were around for the kids to touch and feel! Some were more enthusiastic than others!! Kelsey steered clear of touching most lol.

Horseshoe Crab - more akin to a scorpion than a crustacean (c)travelincousins.com

Underneath view of horseshoe crab (c)travelincousins.com

Snails (c)travelincousins.com

We also got a peak at some land-based algae, called Lichen, on a tree down by the water as we ventured back up toward the museum and picnic area. ​

Those white-ish circles on the tree's trunk is land-based algae, called Lichen. (c)travelincousins.com

A beautiful blue jay perched in the tree (c)travelincousins.com

The kids ended their field trip with an outdoor picnic lunch and then we headed back home - well, almost...not before heading into the gift shop!!

​It was a very enjoyable day and I highly recommend a visit.  ​

Museum Gift Shop (c)travelincousins.com

Garvies Point Museum & Preserve offers a number of ongoing programs and upcoming events, for which you may want to mark your calendars...

Nature Programs  
Bird Watching
Dinosaurs & Geology
Native American

June 18, 2016 - 11am to 4pm
NYS Path Thru History: New York Before History
Rock and mineral I.D., stream table demonstrations, outdoor geology walk. Craft
$5.00 per person

August 6, 2016 - 10am to 4pm
Garvies Point Day
Tour of the beautiful Butterfly and bird-friendly gardens. Native American Exhibits & nature trails, Crafts, live animal show, film and more.
$5.00 per person

November 19-20, 2016 - 10am to 4pm
Native American Feast
Native food displays and samples, learn pottery making, open-fire cooking, use of Atlatl (spear-throwing), fire making, films and more.
$5.00 per person


Well, I'm off to have breakfast with my Aunt Ro this morning and then back to our last and final Girl Scout Troop meeting of the 2015-2016 School year!

Catch ya back here tomorrow!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: BOSTON

Back in the States!

Good day everyone & greetings from Boston!

I'm back in the USA.
*White font on a white background just doesn't seem to work...lol

Boy was it a stormy day in São Miguel yesterday, so rather than romping through the rain and getting all wet and sloppy, I decided that we should just spend the last hours of our time enjoying our lovely rental (I seriously think this might be the ONLY place I want to stay when in São Miguel)!

Then it was finally time to load up the car and make our way to the airport.

But yikes when we arrived at the airport talk about WET & SLOPPY!!!

I honestly think I was squealing every couple of seconds from getting wet and having the poor bottom of my pants dragging in the water (which were hanging too low for my choice of shoes - which btw is another story*)

*So when going through my extreme packing job for this trip, in addition to the outfits being chosen, I select our footwear - and I've learned my lesson about choosing really "cute" high heeled shoes.
Blisters on top of Blisters in Roma
So now I pretty much avoid high heeled shoes, but I still opt for a cute wedge every now and again...

But the thing is, is that there is never a "good" time to wear them...cobblestone streets rule in Europe!

And then you lug around extra weight in your bags and take up extra space (that can be used for more souvenirs). 
And so when figuring out which shoes to wear with yesterday's outfit - I previously chose a cute wedge, until deciding not to wear it and go with a more sporty and comfortable shoe - which is also a flat and caused my pants to drag on the floor...the wet, puddly ground. And thus adding to my squeals. And yes I squeal.
​If you ever get the chance to witness me squealing - it's a sight to be seen and heard!!

After fighting the elements, we made our way into the terminal and began our journey across the Atlantic.

We arrived back late yesterday afternoon after a late afternoon flight out of Ponta Delgada - which is 4 hours ahead of the east coast time, making the flight seem like a rather short 1h & 45m!

Going through customs at Logan International airport was surprisingly a breeze. Stepping outside was surprisingly warm. Then hopping in a cab and heading over to our hotel only to drop off our loads of bags and turn right back around to go back out and have dinner. ​

Things were going quite well, until I stuffed myself and exhaustion had hit...HARD!

Starting your meal out with a milkshake (vegan or not) is a one way ticket to eating too much, and that is exactly what I did...and then I crashed - HARD.

My poor tummy hurt so bad and I was so over tired, that I could've curled up in our booth and fell asleep right then and there.
But we still had to get a cab and get back to the hotel. I was getting freakin' delirious, so not myself. It was sooo weird. The gang was concerned about me and I just wanted a bed and to digest.
I also was texting Elisa around that time and even she noticed that I was OUT OF IT!!

So when the rest of the gang finished there desserts - I had originally wanted to get dessert (they are so good over at Veggie Galaxy), but by this point I didn't even want to look at a dessert.

And once we started to the exit what did we notice??? It was pouring outside and yet again we didn't have our rain gear with us.

Seriously what's the point of packing all this rain gear if I keep leaving it in our hotel rooms?!
 
Oh well, after we volunteered Dave (who was still wearing his rain jacket from the morning downpour) to go find us a cab, once loaded up I quickly fell asleep to the caressing of my wonderful caring children<3
Getting to the hotel, and going up to our room only to have forgotten what room we were in and trying the key over and over again on the wrong door. By this point I decided to take a seat on the floor and just wait for Dave to hoping get us into our room.

Yup we were at the wrong door. Anyhow the rest is history, I changed into my PJs and curled up in bed, zonking out immediately.

And today we continue to close our homeward bound journey with a trip from Boston to San Diego.

I'll catch up with you guys again tomorrow from home!
​-T