Going Home

 We left Arizona a little earlier than usual this year because Kurt and Amy were moving into their new/old house and we wanted to be able to help them with some painting and whatever else they came up with.

Before we left, we found this little fella in our back patio.  Now it's not unusual to see these little geickos runing around but after I took his picture, we discovered he was dead.  I'm not sure what it was that stopped him dead in his tracks.  I dried him out in the sun for a couple of days and then put him in a little container so I could bring him home to our Miss Katie who LOVES lizards.  He made the trip all the way to Washington in good condition but boy, did he stink when we opened the container.

 These are the views we had from our windshield going home in Arizona and New Mexico.  Aren't they beautiful?

 A cross on a hill.....

 Snow!!!

 

 In Columbia, Kansas we visited the National Orphan Train Museum and it was very nice.  Over 300,000 orphans were transported from the streets and orphanages of New York City to the Midwest.  Each child was given a suitcase such as the one below and that is all they had in this world with two changes of clothes.  One outfit they wore each day on the train and they had one "fancy" outfit to wear when they arrived in a town that had organized "give aways".  The children would be brought into a church or townhall and lined up for potential parents to take.  Many of these children were never adopted but just made their homes with the families.  They were to be fed and cared for and sent to school.  For some children, it was a new life but for some others, it was almost slavery.

There was another component that was connected with a newborn/young child orphanage in New York City.  People could "request" a child of a certain age and even a certain color of hair and eyes.  The orphange would attempt to match them up with prospecivet parents.  The prospective parents would be sent a letter with a number on it and a patch with the matching number would be sewn in the child's clothing. These children were all adopted by the parents, which was one of the conditions.

If you are ever in the area, it's a very interesting small museum to go to.

 

That's it for today.  Happy 4th of July!!!

 

Love to all,

Gramma and MOM