Taiamai No 9: Our last week in North America.

Kia ora everyone,

I hope you are having a fantastic holiday, helping your mums, staying safe and resting up for a busy Term 4.

Well as I said before, we headed back to NY city, but this time stayed in a posh hotel. There we met Mrs H's grand-daughters Sylvia and Emily who had flown in from Dubai with their mum and dad. They had done lots of research before arriving in New York and had planned a day to suit their age and interests so I wasn't too sure I was going to enjoy the Girls' Day Out but it ended up being lots of fun. They let me spend time with the squirrels,

Me, Sylvia and a squirrel in Central Park, New York.

so cute, and took me on a cool boat ride in Central Park where we saw turtles, YES real life turtles in NY!

Then we went to the American Girls Doll shop where little girls bring their dolls from home to have their hair styled.

Emily watches her doll get a hair do.

So it's a hair salon for dolls! That was a bit crazy. One of the hairdressers there suggested I might like to have my mane restyled so I showed her my teeth and she changed her mind.

After that, we went to the Museum of Modern Art and saw real paintings and sculptures by famous artists like Picasso and Monet. We saw the Waterlillies painting by Monet which is huge, super famous and quite amazing!

We rounded up the day by going out at night to Times Square and Greenwich Village. That was very colourful, exciting and jam-packed with creatures more strange and delicious looking than anything I have ever seen on the African plains. I wasn't allowed to catch and eat any of them unfortunately, so Mrs H bought me a New York hotdog instead.

Early the next morning, we hopped on an Amtrak train and went all the way to the state of Maryland.

We are staying here for a week with Mrs H's pride and I have a special new friend, Kirby. He is a very happy dog and he loves me a bit too much. Mrs H had to stitch me up because he chewed right through me. Don't worry, I'm okay and looking forward to more sightseeing.

Yesterday, we went to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, that was pretty amazing. All the sailors and marines were in classes learning how to be real navy men and women to protect America and even NZ. America and NZ are buddies you see and always promise to look after each other in the bad times. The whole time we were there though, Mrs H kept muttering about ,"...An Officer and a Gentleman," and "...I wonder if we will see Richard Geer??" Don't ask me what she was on about!

Today we are doing more sightseeing and then we go to Washington,DC (Trump Town) for 2 days.I wonder if I will see Mr Trump? I reckon he needs to take his head to the American Girls shop and get some attention as they could not do a worse job than his current hairdresser.

Mrs H is looking forward to visiting the Smithsonian Institute which is the most amazing collection of museums, zoos and research facilities on the planet. You would love it as they have oodles of skeletons of dinosaurs, mammoths and ancient humans which you can look at. I'm hoping to see a display about my ancestors, the sabre-tooth tigers!!!

I'll see you all on the 16th, can't wait to catch up.

Your best friend,

Taiamai

Taiamai No 8. Back in the Big Apple-It's Party Time!!

Kia ora everyone

Here's a picture of our last camping place. It was our last night in the RV last night and I had to stand guard while everyone else slept!!!  I can never let myself fall asleep and have a cat nap in case Mrs H catches me and accuses me of lion around on the job!!!   JOKE!!
I thought I might get to catch a glimpse of my cousins ( cougars/mountain lions) when I was in North America but I guess they are too sneaky and clever to let themselves be seen.

Tomorrow, we head back to  New York to meet up with Mrs H's children who are flying there from half a world away just to have fun with their mum in the big city!!!!   It's amazing what crazy adventures you can have anywhere on the planet when you work hard, stay out of trouble and have a good job!!!

Then, we head down to Mrs H's cousin's place further south and get ready to start packing our bags for the homeward flight. 

Hey, I heard you guys got first and second place in the movie competition!! Great job, Aotearoa Hunters, but really I'm not surprised seeing as how you got to observe my hunting methods when I was at home. And as for the Super Lambs team, well  I think it's a bit weird that you chose one of my favorite snacks to be your superhero actors, but you did a great job too! 

Can't wait to catch up when we get back. It's been a blast, but I kind of missed you guys!!!

Your friend
Taiamai Ted

Taiamai No 7: Back in the USA

Hi all,

Last week for you so I will update you now!

Here are some pics of me at Fort Knox. In the olden days, England and France used to fight over who would be in charge of America and Canada and they built lots of forts overlooking the sea, lakes and rivers so that they could shoot at each other's ships. We went to visit a Fort where they re-enact what used to go on.

Oh my goodness those cannons and cannonballs were so big, and when those soldiers actually fired the cannon it was very loud and scary!

Today we have been on a bear hunt, I had to climb up and down over 1000 steps in a deep forest with huge boulders and deep dark scary caves. We did not find a real bear though.

I am still having a great time, so many things to look at every day. Tomorrow we go interstate, take the highway to Boston which is in Massachusetts. We are having 2 nights there, driving out to Cape Cod. Then when you are on holiday, I will still be travelling into Pennsylvania to where the Amish people live - can't wait!!

Talk soon, have a fantastic last week, be kind to Mrs B and Miss D!

Taiamai Ted says 'Hi!" No 6

Hi everyone,
I know I am supposed to write on my own blog, but I just wanted to say that I am a bit jealous that I have not been there to observe you cutting up all those hearts and kidneys, I would love to have seen your reactions!😂😂 I wonder who would not even touch one😧
We have left Novia Scotia, which is very sad as it was so amazing, and are now back in New Brunswick, down in the Bay of Fundy. Ask Kirsten about it as she has been here. Sorry Kirsten we did not make it to Fredricton, we turned off at Moncton. We travel between 300 to 400 kms a day, this country is soooo big! Lucky I have the best spot right up by the windscreen so I see everything. Although it has been really warm here, it is actually Autumn and the leaves are all changing colours, it is very beautiful.
Tomorrow we are heading to Bar Harbour in the USA, so we have to cross the border. I hope Mrs H has not got anything she is not supposed to have😜
Hey you guys only have one more week of school, hooray,
I hope you keep checking me out in the holidays, because I miss you all and would love to hear from you,
Taiamai
PS - I am trying to upload photos because I have been to some amazing places, but it's just not happening  so I am going to share the Taiamai Travel pics folder with you for you to look at. I wonder if you can work out where I am in each one from my blog post?
Catch you soon,
Taiamai😘😘

Taiamai No 5: In Nova Scotia, Canada.

Kia ora from Nova Scotia,

Goodness, you all sound as though you have been so busy! How was your assembly? When I get some time ( it's very busy being on holiday you know!),  I will check out some more of your posts. I hope you are enjoying reading Holes - I love that book!

Well, I have had some adventures I can tell you. We had a great drive from Quebec into New Brunswick,

but it was very long because Mr Henderson likes travelling on back roads for the amazing scenery and following the coast or rivers where we can.

They decided to free camp that night by the coast, some lovely locals told us where to go, but I was pretty scared because I did not know if there were bears or racoons or skunks out there! However we survived the night and travelled through NB to an amazing campground on a lake, but guess what?  There was a ski field right beside it so in winter you could ice skate or go ice fishing on the lake. Wouldn't that be cool?!

We continued on to Prince Edward Island and had another free camp, but this time in one of Canada’s amazing National Parks. The sand there is red and that is what the First Nation people (the red indians) used to paint their faces and bodies for war. I guess that’s why white people started calling them red indians, because they aren’t actually red, their skin is a light tan colour. To get to the island we had to go over a 12.9km bridge. YES, 12.9km. It was so amazing!

Oh, and at the campground, we went on a butterfly hunt but it was really hard to find the butterflies as they sit on the bark of the trees and they have evolved really good camouflage. We had to temporarily capture one and bring it home to the camper van to get a good picture. And then Mrs H said we had to let it go which was hard for me to do because, well, I am a predator!

Luckily, the forest was full of bears. They were so cute and friendly that I sat up in a tree and made friends with them.

For all the great readers in Team Moana, has anyone read Anne of Green Gables? Well, I'm sure Mrs B has because Mrs H has and she took us to the house and farm where the books were written. Would you believe it? There was a dog there dressed up as Anne, and then Mrs H dressed up too, that was a bit embarrassing!

Tonight we are camping again, in a park on the harbour

and tomorrow we are driving over a causeway to Cape Breton Island.Have a look at Google maps and see where we are now. Gee, we are so far east now in Eastern Canada that if we go too much further we will be in the Atlantic Ocean!

 We HAVE to do a 3km walk (one way) to the North Cape, wish me luck!

Taiamai No 4 In Quebec City, Canada

I am so excited because today I had another very big day. First of all I met a new friend, his name was Ted, how about that! He loved me so much he carried me around in his mouth and would not let me go.

Next, we went on a double storey bus around old Quebec City.  Gosh, we had a big history lesson here.  Do you know the French took over this area in 1759?! That is a long time ago. Everybody here is bilingual, they speak fluent French and English. All the school children here have to learn how to talk, read and write in both languages. Look at the Palace Royale, it was huge and is a very fancy hotel today. 

Do you know who this statue is of? Her name is Joan de Arc.  Check her out, she was a pretty amazing lady and very brave!!

Tomorrow we are heading even further north. We will go into New Brunswick where Kirsten comes from, but we will be travelling down the coast and may be out of touch for a few days.

I'll catch up with you when I can.

Take care,

Taiamai.

Taiamai 3. Quebec, Canada.

Oh I am so happy, thank you for replying to me, I miss you all heaps. Yes I am having a fantastic time.
I have to say one of the best places I visited in NY was the Guggenheim Art Gallery, and it waspretty amazing seeing all that amazing art work from people like Picasso, Van Goph, Cezanne, Degas and I think my favourite Kandinsky.  

The Empire State Building and the 9/11 memorial were pretty special too. We were quite glad to leave NY as it is soooo noisy and there are so many people there. The subway was pretty exciting. There are policemen everywhere and one lovely policeman recognised Mrs H every day (I think because she was usually looking lost), so on the last day there Mrs H gave him a special key ring from NZ. He was so happy.

Luckily Mr H bought a TomTom so we can find our way around everywhere in our spacious camper van.  Honestly, we would be really lost if we did not have that lovely lady on the Tomtom  telling us where to go every day.
Here I am on guard duty. Do you know that Mrs H has made me and my buddies do sentry duty every night when we camp?? We have to keep a look out for bears and raccoons! Luckily we haven't seen any yet!

Can you see me by the Falls? Do you know which ones they are? It was a bit scary when the boat went right up close, I thought we might get sucked under!!

Do you love the food in the food counter? That was at a French catering school, it was so yummy!

Today we travelled nearly 6 hours through the most amazing farm country - do you know there are no fences anywhere because if they do have cows they are all in barns, they do not ever get outside to see the sunshine?!
All the fields have maize and soya bean crops, for miles and miles and miles!
Lucky I have my new friends Macaw and Duck to keep me company, because it is hard to meet people along the way, although when people find out we have come from New Zealand they are very kind and helpful.
Tomorrow we are going on a bus trip around the old walled city of Quebec, they only speak French here so wish me luck, Au revoir, bonne chance!!

Taiamai 2- Not lost in New York.

Morning all,

Feeling a little sad today, nobody has been in and commented on my blog updates, 

Now I know how you guys feel when no-one checks out your hard work. 

I am having a fantastic time though, although it is a bit tricky driving on the wrong side of the road, Mr H has to be very careful! 

I wonder who can find out and name all the places I have been so far.

Have a great week, I think you are going to be very busy!

Mrs H

Boy, there are a lot of bridges in New York and they are big!!!!

Can you find out what building I  had to be in to get this picture?

Ahoy there, me Hearties!!! We went on a cruise all around Manhatten Island. It was mind-blowing!!!

Here we are getting ready to cruise around Manhatten Island. We went right past the wharf where the Titanic was meant to tie up when it arrived from England. Instead, it met up with an iceberg.

This statue is so beautiful. I wondered how many thousand of immigrants have passed by her worrying and wondering about their future in America.

Yes, that's a massive gun at the front of that boat. The security people were having a practice day.

Here are my two travelling buddies that Mrs H's mokopunas sent on the trip. Too bad they didn't have any zebras or antelope.

New York, New York, it's a super-cool town, but you spend lots of time going up and going down.

Mrs H is such a responsible citizen that she took time out of her holiday to go to the NZ Embassy and vote for our next Prime Minister. Too bad this lady with her is not applying for that job.

Taiamai Ted's First Post from America.

Taiamai's Travels

Welcome to Taiamai Teddy's Page - he is looking forward to his travels to North America - make sure you follow him!!
This is a map of the area of the USA and Canada he will be travelling in, it is just a tiny tiny part of the United States and Canada!

This is a map of the entire USA - can you find the area that Taiamai will be travelling in?

Friday 1st September

I have arrived!! After 24 very long hours, and travelling very high in the sky, me and my 2 new friends arrived in New York. Yes, I am travelling with Macaw and a white duck, they belong to Rafferty and Oscar, (Mrs H's mokopunas), so you will see them in some of my pics. We were all a bit tired and grumpy when we arrived but we have had a great sleep and are looking forward to collecting the RV today and going exploring! Have a great weekend all, we'll post again soon I hope. 

Arohanui 

Taiamai

These are my first pics, at the airport, on the plane ( unfortunately I was not in business class, just trying it out!) and finally arriving in NY.