Days 1, 2, and part of 3

Hello, friends and family! Ms. Davis here - the kids are off making their own t-shirts with the Berwick Academy art teacher, Reagan Russell. Sorry for not posting sooner, but this is the first day we've had internet access.


Louisville Airport, getting ready to check-in

We have had a wonderful time so far. As the parents know, the trip up here went well. Other than a 20 minute delay leaving Louisville and having to wander a bit to find food in the Detroit Airport, we got here safe and sound. The first stop was not Berwick Academy, where we're staying, but my grandmother's house. My mother organized the cook-out, but many other members of my family helped out. The kids got a chance to eat as well as swim in my grandmother's pool.


Matt on the water slide


Alex flying off of the diving board

The girls also enjoyed getting to meet my nephew. Terri has been looking forward to it for quite some time.

Brittany, Terri, and Joseph (that's my dad in the background)

After dinner, we drove to the BA campus to get settled in. Jen Onken, who arranged the trip on the Maine end, was a great help with everything the first night. We're staying in an apartment in the top floor of Burleigh-Davidson, the administration building (originally a house built in the 1800s!). Pictures to come!

On Sunday, the kids braved the rain and ran on a scavenger hunt around campus. We played some games with our Berwick buddies and ran around in the gym. The kids whooped the adults' butts in a quick game of softball.


Marcia laughing in the gym lobby with Jen Onken (the one arranging for all our fun times!)


The winning scavenger hunt team

After a quick lunch at Subway, we then headed to the Great Bay Discovery Center in Stratham, New Hampshire. This is a part of the Great Bay Natural Estuary Research Reserve. From the great amount of knowledge our kids displayed, they should be able to tell you what an estuary is when you ask. Mr. Roberts and I were very proud of how well the students thought out the answers to our guide's questions. The kids all got a chance to huddle around the touch tank and hold a horseshoe crab. Check out a video here (if it ever finishes uploading to flickr). They were also able to walk down to Great Bay and take a look out at the estuary.


Some of the boys at the water's edge


Sawgrass at the edge of Great Bay

On the way back, we stopped at the Kittery Trading Post for a little souvenir shopping.

The kids and their new friend, a Maine native

We finished up the night with pizza and a Berwick coffee house (where students get together and play music). We had an amazing performance by our own Brian Thomas (now a student at UK and a chaperone on the trip). Several of our girls performed with some Berwick girls, and Mr. Roberts, Joseph, and Alex rounded out the night with a very enjoyable rendition of "Hotel California."

That was it for day 2, but day 3 is just as much fun (with no rain this time!). We spent the morning kayaking the York River and exploring York Harbor Beach. Pictures to come on that front, as I've not yet uploaded them to my computer. Hopefully later tonight (after our tour of the lobster wharf and a lobster dinner with the Hoyt family) we'll have a few student guest bloggers with accompanying pictures.